THE DAIRY. 303 



and above that a piece of wetted parchment, or, for want of that, fine linen 

 that has been dipped in melted butter, that is exactly fitted to the edges of the 

 vessel all round, so as to exclude the air as much as possible, without the as- 

 sistance of any watery brine; when more butter is to be added, these coverings 

 are to be taken off, and the butter applied close above the former, pressing it 

 down and smoothing it as before, and so on till the vessel be full. When it is 

 quite full, let the two covers be spread over it with the greatest care, and let 

 a little melted butter be poured all round the edges, so as to fill up every 

 cranny, and effectually exclude the air. A little salt may be then strewed 

 over the whole, and the cover be firmly fixed down to remain close shut till it 

 be opened for use. If all this be carefully done, the butter may be kept per- 

 fectly sound in this climate for many years. How many years I cannot tell: 

 but I have seen it two years old, and in every respect as sweet and sound as 

 when it was only a month old. 



It deserves to be remarked, that butter cured in this manner does not taste 

 well till it has stood at least a fortnight after being salted; but after that period 

 is elapsed, it eats with a rich marrowy taste that no other butter ever acquires; 

 and it tastes so little of salt, that a person who had been accustomed to eat but- 

 ter cured with common salt only, would not imagine it had got one-fourth part 

 of the salt that would be necessary to preserve it. 



Judge BUEL says 



Believing that butter may be kept sweet and good, in our climate, almost 

 any length of time, if prope'rly manufactured, and well taken care of, in order 

 to test the validity of this opinion, we had two pots put down, one in June, 

 and the other in August, 1834, more than twenty months ago; and on probing 

 them with a tryer, while penning this article, the butter is found perfectly 

 sweet, and seems to retain most of its original flavour and freshness. 



In the manufacturing process, no water is permitted to come in contact with 

 the cream or butter because it is believed that water, and particularly soft 

 water, dissipates much of the fine flavour that gives to butter its high value. 

 The Orange county dairywomen say, "give us good hard water and we will 

 make good butter;" for the reason, probably, that it abstracts less of the aroma 

 from the butter than soft water. The temperature of the cream may be re- 

 gulated by cold or hot water put into a tub, in which the churn may be plung- 

 ed. If the cream is clean, it needs no washing; and if the butter is dirty, water 

 will never clean it. 



Nothing but good well pulverized salt is used in preserving the butter; this 

 is all mixed, and all dissolved, in the mass, before the butter has its second, 

 thorough and final working with the butter ladle, and which is not finished till 

 all the buttermilk is expelled. 



To avoid all taint from the butter vessels, and the better to exclude it from 

 the air, which soon injures it, the butter is packed close in clean stone jars, 

 and when nearly filled, is covered with a strong brine, rendered pure by pre- 

 vious boiling, skimming and settling. In twenty months this brine has been 

 twice renewed, on the appearance of a film upon the surface of the old pickle. 

 To preserve butter, air and water, and heat aoove 65 or 70 degrees are to be 

 guarded against as much as possible. The brine upon the surface does not 

 penetrate the mass, nor while sweet taint it, but thoroughly excludes the air. 



The making of butter in winter is a very nice process, and 

 at times attended with difficulty. On the farm of Dr. JONES, 

 and in various sections of Virginia, the following process is 

 adopted. Mrs. JONES prepares her cream for churning by 

 heating the milk after it has stood from twelve to twenty-four 

 hours, by placing it over coals the evening before churning. 

 When it has nearly attained the boiling point, it is set by till 

 morning. The cream is then skimmed off, and churned by 

 stirring in an earthen vessel. The butter is delicately white 



