Sept.. 1909.] ^^ STUDY OP FARM BUTTER-MAKING. 261 



Judging from the above figures, on only 37.4% of the farms 

 visited provision was made for controlling the temperature of 

 the cream between the time of separation until time for ripening 

 or churning. It may have been possible in some of the best 

 cellars to obtain fairly uniform results, but it is believed that 

 even with the best cellars there are times during the year when 

 the use of ice or cold spring water is necessary in order to control 

 the temperature of cream during storage and. ripening, which 

 is necessary to produce a uniform quality of butter from day 

 to day. In many cases the cream was stored in a refrigerator 

 which was used for storing a variety of food stuffs. As cream 

 absorbs odors very readily it is common to find butter with fruit 

 or vegetable flavors, or a mixture of these and the flavors of meat, 

 potato and other food stuffs. In addition to these individual 

 flavors the butter would acquire the same characteristic aroma 

 as found in such refrigerators This practice should, as far as 

 possible, be discontinued and the "all-purpose" refrigerator for 

 storing cream should l)e replaced by jacketed cream vats or some 

 arrangement by which the cream can be kept cool in a pure air. 

 Placing the cans in tubs or tanks of cold water is one of the 

 simplest and most effective means for controlling temperature. 



The method of storing cream in cans directly on the cellar 

 floor does not always lead to satisfactory results. The fact that 

 the temperature of the cellar floor as a rule is lower than the 

 temperature of the atmosphere is no guarantee that the cellar 

 is sufficiently cold for the storing of cream and butter. The 

 temperature of a cellar may vary from 55° F. to as high as 

 75° F., depending on the time of day and the efficiency of the 

 cellar to obtain a low temperature. In one case the temperature 

 in the early morning was 67° F. If cream is to be stored on a 

 cellar floor it would be well to place a thermometer where it 

 could be easily seen and when the temperature becomes too high, 

 above 60° F., to make other arrangements for taking proper care 

 of the cream. 



The storing of cream in the kitchen or in the living room is 

 undesirable both from the standpoint of temperature and also 

 from the danger of contaminating the cream with foreign odors 

 and flavors. On one farm visited during the month of August 

 churning was done once a week. The cream was kept in Cooley 



