238 FIRKINS. — LUMP BUTTER. 



better than stone, and consequently keeps butter bet- 

 ter. Tubs are better than pots. 



Western butter comes in coarse, ugly packages; even 

 flour and pork barrels are sometimes used. Much of it 

 must be worked over and re-packed here before it will 

 sell. It generally contains a good deal of milk, and if 

 not re-worked soon becomes rancid. Improper pack- 

 ing, in kegs too large and soiled on the outside, makes at 

 least three cents a pound difference. Whatever the 

 size of the firkin, it must be perfectly tight and quite 

 full of butter, so that when opened the brine, though 

 present, will not be found on the top. 



Until the middle of May, dairymen should pack in 

 quarter firkins or tubs, with white oak covers, and send 

 directly to market as fresh butter. From this time until 

 the fall frost there is but little change in color and 

 flavor with the same dairy, and it may be packed in 

 whole firkins, and kept in a cool place. The fall butter 

 should also be packed separately in tubs. 



To prepare new butter-boxes for use in the shortest 

 time, dissolve common, or bicarbonate of soda in boiling 

 water, as much as the water will dissolve, and water 

 enough to fill the boxes ; about a pound of soda will be 

 required to be put into a thirty-two pound box, and the 

 water should be poured upon it. Let it stand over 

 night, and the box may be safely used next day. This 

 mode is cheap and expeditious, and, if adopted, would 

 often save great losses. Potash has a like effect. 



As already seen, in the statements of practical dairy 

 men. the greatest care is required in the salting or sea- 

 soning. Over-salted butter is not only less palatable to 

 the taste, but less healthy than fresh, sweet butter. The 

 same degree of care is needed with respect to the box 

 in which it is packed. I have often seen the best and 

 richest-flavored butter spoilt by sending it to the exhibi 



