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Butter for Exportation. — Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris. Vol. XII. 



Butter for Exportation. 



The foltowing are extracts from letters from Clon 

 el and Cork, furnished by Brown, Shipley & Co. of 

 of Liverpool, to B. P. Johnson, Secretary of N. Y. 

 State Agricultural Society. To those who furnish our 

 tub butter for winter use, every bint for its proper 

 manufacture, is important. A great proportion of it 

 brought to Philadelphia is really not such as this mar- 

 ket should be supplied with. Our pound butter — we 

 mean that which is brought by our market people from 

 day to day, — is perhaps unsurpassed in its general cha- 

 racter, by that wh'ich is found in any market in this 

 country — but our winter, firkin butler needs improv- 

 ing.— Ed. 



Letter receited from Clonmel, dated 1st 

 of July, 1847: " We are this morning in re- 

 ceipt of your favour of 29th ult., and in reply 

 we will give you all the information we can, 

 as to how butter is manufactured in this 

 neighbourhood. Our best makers have large 

 airy, cool dairies, and churn twice or three 

 times a week, which depends on the heat of 

 the weather. Caution must be used not to 

 allow the cream to be too long in the tubs 

 and pans, or until it gets sour, as the butter 

 will then be inferior and what is termed 

 cheesy. The butter-milk must be well 

 washed out of the butter, and when salted 

 to be packed firm into the firkin. These, 

 with great cleanliness, are the principal 

 things to be looked after in the manufacture, 

 otherwise your butter will not keep its qual- 

 ity. The quantity of fine salt is 3 lbs. to 

 the firkin, containing about 65 lbs. The 

 butter in this district is made expressly for 

 the London and north of England markets ; 

 in the former, at certain periods of the year 

 it takes precedence of the Dutch. We never 

 heard of Rose butter, but we know one of 

 the Waterford houses brands the best quality 

 Jie ships with a rose. The navy are supplied 

 with butter exclusively from Cork, where a 

 larger quantity of salt is used in the manu- 

 facture, and where it is made up expressly 

 for foreign exportation." 



Extract from a letter from Cork : " In re- 

 ply to tiie query as to the best mode of pre- 

 paring butter for hot climates, we believe 

 more depends on the climate the cow is 

 feeding in, than in the preparation ; as we 

 find that the Cork butter, which is drawn 

 from the counties of Cork, Limerick and 

 Kerry chiefly, has maintained a character in 

 all foreign markets, when the trade for such 

 has failed in all other Irish ports where it 

 was attempted. The butter brought here is 

 packed by the farmer in original packages, 

 which should be good casks of about 6G to 

 70 lbs. nett each, capable of containing 

 pickle; the pickling and cooperage — with 

 some one or two lbs. of the salt on each 



package additional, to keep the pickle at full 

 strength, — should be done at port of export- 

 ation, as it is here. The quantity of salt 

 mixed in tiie making of the butter to be 

 about one lb. of salt to 10 or 11 lbs. of but- 

 ter, and the buttermilk to be well worked 

 out of the butter, without using, however, 

 the hand too much. In packing, care should 

 be taken to pack it as closely as possible. 

 This, we believe, is the only instruction that 

 can be given. The term 'rose butter,' we 

 know not the derivation of There is only 

 one description shipped here, and all is 

 brought in for inspection to a public market 

 in this city." 



Gypsum, or Plaster of Paris. 



To Chancellor Livingston is owing the 

 introduction into New York, and the com- 

 mon use of gypsum or plaster of Paris, as a 

 manure. About the year 1789, he began to 

 make experiments on his own farm, and suc- 

 ceeding, he communicated his results to the 

 farmers of the State. And in a few years 

 he had the satisfaction of seeing it gene- 

 rally used. It is this chiefly which has given 

 New York its present primary staiion among 

 the United States. The lands upon our 

 Hudson river were fast deteriorating, having 

 been worn out by constant tillage. On this 

 account, the inhabitants of this district of 

 country were fast removing into the more 

 unsettled parts of this State, or more gene- 

 rally into some of the new States. But the 

 seasonable introduction and use of plaster of 

 Paris renewed our worn-out lands, and 

 brought them back to more than their origi- 

 nal fertility. The depopulation of our State 

 was prevented. Emigrations from other 

 States were made into it; and New York, 

 which in the year 1790 was only the fourth 

 in population, and in 1800, only the third, at 

 the last census in 1810, was the largest in. 

 population of any in the Union. But it not 

 only made our inhabitants numerous, it made 

 them industrious, prosperous and rich. The 

 gypsum was the true philosopher's stone, 

 which had been so long sought for. It 

 turned everything it touched into gold. 



To Chancellor Livingston this State is 

 further indebted for the introduction of the 

 Merino breed of sheep, and for the general 

 emulation excited among our farmers, to 

 rear and improve these valuable animals. 

 The introduction of these was a consequence 

 of the Chancellor's mission to France, and 

 must be of the greatest and most decisive 

 advantage to the United States. Already 

 its effects upon our manufactures have been 

 seen. The most affluent among us now feci 

 proud to wear and to exhibit the fruit of our 



