CHAPTER III. 



The Handling of the Milk and Cream 



How Quality of Butter Is Judged. 



TO FULLY appreciate the importance of great 

 care in handling the milk from the time it 

 leaves the cow until it is put in the churn, 

 and to understand why many of the buttermaker's 

 troubles are traceable to things that happen to the 

 milk or cream, it is first necessary to understand how 

 butter is graded, what determines the price you get 

 for it. 



With the butter trade that is, butter buyers, whole- 

 salers and retailers butter is graded as follows: 



"Specials," the very best; "Extras," "Firsts" and 

 "Seconds" in the order named. There is a wide varia- 

 tion in the prices between "Specials" and "Seconds." 

 There is always a good market for "specials" whereas 

 the lower grades are a drug on the market most of the 

 time. 



In judging butter, especially in prize competitions, 

 the following division of points is made : 



Flavor 45 



Body or grain 25 



Color 15 



Salt 10 



Package 5 



The flavor is given nearly one-half the total score, 

 indicating it is the most important factor in determin- 



19 



