1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



481 



to an arm of the chum, the horse-power thrown 

 out of gear, and »& gentle rocking motion 

 caused the butter to be collected at the lower 

 side, directly over the small hole through 

 which the remaining water escaped. It was 

 left in this condition about two hours. After 

 breakfast we returned to see the working of 

 the butter. 



Butter-"Worker. 



"In one comer of the spring-house stands 

 the butter-worker, a revolving table about three 

 feet in diameter. The centre of this, for a 

 diameter of twelve inches, is an iron wheel 

 with a row of cogs on the upper side of its 

 rim. From its rim to the raised outer edge 

 the table (made of wood) slopes downward, 

 so that as the buttermilk is worked out it 

 passes into a shallow groove and is carried 

 away through a pipe which discharges into a 

 pail standing below. Over the sloping part of 

 the table there works a corrugated wooden 

 roller, revolving on a shaft that is supported 

 over the centre of the table, and has a small 

 cog-wheel that works in the cogged rim of the 

 centre wheel, and causes the table to revolve 

 under the roller, as this is turned by a crank 

 at its outer end. Of course, the roller is 

 larger at one end than at the other, so as to 

 conform to the slope of the table, and its cor- 

 rugations are very deep, not less than two 

 inches at the larger end. Supported at each 

 end of the roller and on both sides are beveled 

 blocks, which, as the table revolves, force the 

 butter from each end toward the centre of the 

 slope. About twenty pounds of butter is now 

 put on the table, and the roller is turned, each 

 corrugation carrying through a long narrow 

 roll, which is immediately followed by another 

 and another, until the whole table is covered. 

 The roller does not quite touch the table, and 

 there is thus no crushing of the particles. 

 The beveled blocks slightly bend these rolls 

 and crow^ them toward the centre of the slop- 

 ing part so that when they reach the roller 

 again they are broken in fresh places, and by 

 a few revolutions are thoroughly worked in ev- 

 ery part. 



Final Frocesses. 



"Then follows a process that was new to all 

 of us — the 'wiping' of the butter. The dairy 

 maid (in this instance a lusty young man^ 

 turning the roller backward, with the left band, 

 so that the butter comes through all the right 

 hand side, presses upon every part of it a 

 cloth which has been wrung dry in cold spring 

 water, and which he frequently washes and 

 wrings out. This is continued until not a par- 

 ticle of water is to be seen in the butter as it 

 comes from the roller, to which it begins now 

 to adhere. If there is any secret in the mak- 

 ing of Philadelphia butter, this is it ; and it 

 has much to do with its uniform waxiness of 

 texture, whether hard or soft. 



"After this, the butter is salted (an ounce 

 of salt to three pounds of butter) — still by 



this machine, and any lurking atom of mois- 

 ture is in this way prevented from becoming a 

 cause of rancidity. 



"When the salt is thoroughly worked 

 through the whole mass, the butter is removed 

 to a large table, where it is weighed out and 

 put up into pound prints. 



"The working, wiping and salting of over 

 one hundred pounds of butter occupied about 

 an hour, and before 10 A. M. the entire 

 churning, beautifully printed, as fragrant as 

 the newest hay, and as yellow as pure gold, 

 such butter as only Jersey cream will make, 

 was deposited in large tin trays and set in the 

 water to harden. The next morning it was 

 •wrapped in damp cloths, each pound by itself, 

 put in a tin case, each layer having its own 

 shelf, with two compartments of pounded ice 

 to keep it cool, and surrounded by a well- 

 coopered and securely-locked cedar tub, was 

 sent to the Continental Hotel, where we found 

 it on our return as delicious as when it left the 

 farm." 



CIiEABIKra MEADOWS. 



Scarcely anything in the farming operations 

 of this State, is as a general rule so slovenly 

 carried on, as Its meadow lands. It Is the ex- 

 ception, to find a meadow free from bushes 

 and stumps and rough spots. A smooth 

 meadow is a beautiful sight. It never fails to 

 attract the attention of the passer by. 



In order to get rid of bushes, it Is the cheap- 

 est way in the end to cut them out by the roots. 

 A clump of bushes on a muck meadow may 

 be cut round, and then a common ox chain 

 thrown around and hitched to the whIfHetree 

 behind the horse, and it may be twitched out 

 In a twinkling. A rod of such land once 

 cleared is forever cleared. All projecting 

 stumps and roots should be removed as fast as 

 practicable, so that the horse rake, and even 

 on many meadows the mowing machine may 

 be made to work. A few days spent in this 

 way will add much to the annual value of the 

 farm, as well as to the. comfort of the laborer. 

 Let ditches be dug so as to drain out the stag- 

 nant water, and a marked improvement will be 

 visible from year to year. 



A farmer remarked in our hearing recently, 

 that in his boyhood, farmers did not begin to 

 cut their meadows till the first of September. 

 The consequence was that meadow hay was 

 regarded as scarcely worth the cutting, and 

 such was the fact. He said that when he was 

 old enough to own a meadow, he commenced 

 cutting it the first of August, and his neigh- 

 bors all cried out that he would certainly spoil 

 his meadow; but he continued the practice, 

 and now has one of the best meadows any 

 where. Lately he has commenced cutting as 

 early as the 10th of July, and his meadow hay 

 Is bright and green, the upland grasses having 

 worked in to a considerable extent, and his 

 bay is little, if any, inferior in value to upland 



