78 HINTS ON DAIRYING. 



use it too violently, by pounding it down, and thus ma- 

 king the butter greasy or oily. It should be gently 

 pressed together in the package in such a way as to leave 

 no spaces rilled with air, for the air will surely mingle 

 with the surrounding butter and injure its flavor. A 

 good way is to begin the pressure at the center and work 

 carefully toward the circumference, so that all air may 

 escape at the sides. In this way, perfect solidity of the 

 mass is secured, and it is left in the best condition for 

 keeping, so far as the packing is concerned. 



PREPARING THE PACKAGE. 



Before putting the butter in the package, the package 

 should be soaked in water, so as to remove the taste of 

 the wood, and then thoroughly soaked in saturated brine, 

 so that the wood will not draw the salt from the butter 

 which comes in contact with it. If it does, the butter 

 thus deprived of salt will turn white, have a sickish fla- 

 vor, and soon turn rancid. It is a good idea to not only 

 sprinkle a thin layer of salt over the bottom of the pack- 

 age, but to rub the moist inner sides with dairy salt, and 

 thus make sure that there is salt enough in contact with 

 the wood to prevent its absorbing the salt from the butter. 



CLOSING THE PACKAGE. 



When a package is filled, a piece of thin muslin, cui 

 so as to just fit into the top of the package and complete- 

 ly cover the butter, should be wet in cold water and 

 carefully placed over the top, having the edges pressed 

 down close to the sides of the tub. Then the cloth 

 should be completely covered with a thin layer of salt : 



