112 



SKETCHES OF RURAL AFFAIRS. 



into troughs lined with lead. The pans are of earthen- 

 ware or metal. The latter is preferred, because it cools 

 rapidly in summer, and may be readily warmed in 

 winter. Iron-tinned or zinc vessels are better than brass, 

 or than leaden troughs. The latter especially have been 

 injurious, from the formation of white lead, where the 

 cream acts upon them ; and dairy-maids have even suf- 

 fered from the painter's cholic, owing to this circum- 

 stance. In some dairies, vessels of glass have been 

 substituted for earthenware. The cheapness and clean- 

 liness of the material are great recommendations, and 

 the thick green glass of which they are made is not 

 much more liable to breakage than common pottery- 

 ware. Great praise has been bestowed on vessels of 

 zinc, which are said to increase the quantity of cream, 

 by means of a galvanic action which takes place between 

 the acids contained in the milk and zinc. The milk is 

 poured into the pans to the depth of four or five inches, 

 and is exposed to a draught of air from opposite win- 

 dows. In twelve hours all the best of the cream has 

 risen to the surface, and if skimmed and churned imme- 

 diately, it makes a very 

 delicate butter ; but it is 

 generally left for twenty- 

 four hours, and then skim- 

 med, and put into a deep 

 earthen jar. In removing 

 the cream from the milk, 

 a thin shallow dish is used, 

 which is called a skimmer 

 or creamer. This dish is 

 of tin, with holes in it, or 

 of wood, or of stone- ware ; 

 tin being, perhaps, the 

 most common. In dairies 

 of the usual size, the cream 

 is churned every two days. 

 Churning is merely the beating or agitating the eream 



UIRIGHT CHURN. 



