Sept., 1909.] A STUDY OP FARM BUTTER-MAKING. 269 



milk as a rule looks thin and bluish, showing thorough churning. 

 On one farm the churning temperature was 78° F., the time of 

 churning twelve minutes and the loss of fat in the buttermilk 

 was 0.95%. Another place the churning temperature was 67° F., 

 the time of churning eight minutes, the loss of fat in buttermilk 

 1.5%. 0.2% is considered a normal loss of fat in buttermilk. 

 In the first ease the loss was four and one-half times and in the 

 second case seven and one-half times more than normal. 



Such excessive losses can be avoided by a daily comparison of 

 the factors mentioned above, especially the churning tempera- 

 ture, as upon it depends very largely the time of churning and 

 the loss of fat in the buttermilk. 



Straining of Cream. — The straining of the cream into the 

 churn is a practice w'hich is not common among the New Hamp- 

 shire farm butter-makers, as only one farm in ninety was found 

 to make use of the strainer. Straining of cream into the churn 

 should be more extensively used, as it takes very little time and 

 adds very little expense to the farm butter-making operation. 

 The value of straining lies in that it removes undesirable sub- 

 stances from the cream which if left would detract from the ap- 

 pearance and quality of the butter. Cream when sour sometimes 

 contains small lumps of curd. These lumps, if not removed by 

 straining, will be carried into the butter. As the lumps of curd 

 always are whiter than the butter, whether butter color is used 

 or not, they appear as white specks and detract from the appear- 

 ance of the butter, and also impair its keeping quality. Even 

 with the best care accidents will happen. It is not uncommon 

 to find that a few flies, smaller insects, or some solid impurities 

 have fallen into the cream. In one case even a mouse has been 

 found in the cream can. If the cream is not strained such im- 

 purities may easily escape notice and perhaps ruin a churning 

 of butter. 



When to stop Churning.— The old practice, and one which 

 still is followed by some, was to gather the butter in the butter- 

 milk. By this method a great deal of buttermilk is introduced 

 into the butter, giving it a poor ffavor and very poor keeping 

 qualities. It is best to stop churning when the butter granules 

 are about the size of wheat kernels or small kernels of corn. If 

 the butter is in this condition, less buttermilk will be incorpo- 



