148 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



as milked, into milk dishes or coolers ; but a greater 

 quantity is put into each dish than is done when 

 the cream is to be taken off. In the north of Ire- 

 land, where churning the whole milk is a prevalent 

 practice, the milk is strained into a jar or " crock," 

 successive milkings being added until the jar is full, 

 but. avoiding putting in new milk just before churn- 

 ing ; that is, suppose churning takes place in the 

 course of the forenoon, the morning's milk is not 

 added to the contents of the crock which are to be 

 churned, but put into a fresh crock, and beeomes 

 the beginning of another gathering. This system, 

 however is not so good as keeping each milking by 

 irself so that the warm and cold milk is not mixed 

 together. The frequency of the churning will 

 partly depend on the weather, but the whole milk 

 ought not to be allowed to remain longer than 

 three days in ordinary cases, or, perhaps, four, with- 

 out being churned ; and, in warm weather, it may 

 be churned in two days from the time the first of 

 it was taken from the cows. 



In large and even moderate-sized dairies the 

 churns are driven by power, which is preferable to 

 manual labor. Hot water is often added to milk 

 or cream, to bring it up to the proper temperature 

 for churning — say 52° or 53° ; but this is not a 

 good practice, and where an increase in the tem- 

 perature is necessary, it is better to acquire it by 

 putting the churn containing the milk or cream in- 

 to a tub filled with a sufficient quantity of water 

 to bring the contents to a proper state. During 

 the process of churning, the temperature will rise 

 to 56° or 58° ; but it is requisite that attention be 

 paid, so that it may not rise much higher than that 

 point, otherwise the butter will be injured. When 

 whole milk is churned, it will stand, however, a 

 higher temperature than cream. Rapid churning 

 is not desirable, and over churning is equally bad ; 

 but the best medium will be found when it takes an 

 hour and a quarter of steady churning, in ordinary 

 weather, to produce butter. 



There is a difference of opinion as to the best 

 mode of handling butter after it is taken from the 

 churn. Some put it into a small, flat tub, and 

 wash the buttermilk out of it by kneading it among 

 clear, cold spring water, the milky water being oc- 

 casionally poured off, and fresh supplies added, un- 

 til it ceases to become tinged with milk ; others 

 knead it and beat it in a clean cloth, which absorbs 

 the butter milk, and is frequently wrung dry, until 

 the buttermilk is entirely taken away ; whilst a 

 third set of butter makers say that it ought to be 

 worked by means of a wooden skimming dish, and 

 that to work it in any degree by the hand is to 

 spoil it, from the heat and perspiration, which is 

 said to render the butter waxy. Mr. Ballantine's 

 method, as detailed in the prize report in the 

 " Transactions of the Highland Society," was to 

 extract the milk by working it with the cool hand, 

 but the butter itself was not washed or worked in 

 water. Mr. Dillon Choker, who paid great atten- 

 tion to the management of butter, recommended 

 that, after finishing the churning, the milk should 

 be drawn off by a plug from the bottom of the 

 churn, and replaced by a quantity of pure spring 

 water. A few turns of the wheel is then given, 

 and the water run off; this is to be repeated until 

 the water appears as clean as when it is put into 

 the churn, showing that the milk has been all ex- 



tracted. A strong pickle, well strained, is now 

 put on the butter, and several turns of the paddles 

 given, so that every part will feel the effect, which 

 finishes the operation. If the weather should 

 prove warm, it will be advisable, he considered, to- 

 let the butter lie in the churn for a few hours, which 

 will render it firmer than it was when the washing 

 was finished. 



The salting process should commence directly 

 after the buttermilk has been all extracted from the 

 butter, and the quantity of salt must be regulated 

 by the purpose for which the butter is intended. 

 When it is to be sold merely powdered, a quarter 

 of an ounce of salt wtll be sufficient for a pound 

 of butter. For ordinary keeping purposes, or the 

 London market, it may be cured with half an. 

 ounce of salt to the pound of butter, and many 

 add quarter of an ounce of yellow sugar, and one- 

 eighth of an ounce of powdered nitre. For ex- 

 port to the colonies, or long keeping, more salt is 

 necessary, and as much as one ounce of salt, with 

 a proportionate quantity of sugar, and the fore- 

 going quantity of nitre, will be required. Nitre 

 and sugar are both omitted by many, but these in- 

 gredients assist in flavoring and preserving the 

 butter. 



The salt used must be of the purest description, 

 free from the salts of lime and magnesia which 

 exist in ordinary sea salt. Prof. Johnston recom- 

 mended the purification of common salt for dairy 

 purposes "by pouring two quarts of boiling water 

 upon one stone or two of salt ; stirring the whole 

 well about, now and then for a couple of hours, 

 and afterward straining it through a clean cloth. 

 The water which runs through is a saturated solu- 

 tion of salt, and contains all the impurities, but 

 may be used for common culinary purposes, or 

 may be mixed with the food of cattle. The salt 

 which remains in the cloth is free from the soluble 

 salts of lime and magnesia, and may be hung up in 

 a cloth till it is dry enough to be used for mixing 

 with the butter,, or with cheese." 



The salt must be rendered as fine as possible, 

 which may be done by crushing it with a rolling- 

 pin, and the nitre and sugar well mixed with the 

 salt, when these ingredients are used along with it. 

 In Salting, the butter is spread out thin in the tuly 

 and the salt, etc., carefully sprinkled over it, and 

 worked in with " the heel of the hand," until the 

 whole is uniformly and thoroughly intermixed. 

 Some only work in half the salt at first, and then 

 lay the butter aside until next day, when the re- 

 mainder is added, after pouring off any brine which 

 has come from the butter. A great deal of Irish 

 butter is spoilt by over-salting. 



When the saltiug process is completed, the but- 

 ter is packed into "crocks" — earthenware jars — or 

 into small casks. The former answers well enough 

 when the butter is intended for home use, but 

 when it is to be sent by rail or steamboat, it should 

 be packed in firkins. These are made of ash or 

 oak, and previous to being filled with butter, they 

 must be first filled with boiling water, which will 

 he allowed to remain in them for 20 or 24 hours; 

 they are then well rinsed in clean, cold water, and 

 filled with a strong hot pickle, which may remain 

 in them till they are required for use. The firkins 

 :u\- weighed before the butter is put in, and half a 

 pound being allowed for any additional soakage 



