MAKING BUTTER. 259 



in water ; but we are happy to see better notions lat- 

 terly prevailing, and that the celebrated highland 

 Scotch butter is made as our own experience has 

 proved to be best. There is no mistake about it. 

 The buttermilk left in the butter is the principal cause 

 of its rancid taste when long kept. 



The butter must now be taken out with a small 

 wooden shovel — maple wood is good — and the dairy- 

 woman's hand, clean or unclean, must not touch 

 the batter, for it must not be melted. This shovel 

 should be used to work over the butter and let out the 

 water contained in it; and the next day it must be 

 shoveled over again and worked as well as a neat ma- 

 son works his mortar, not touching his hand to it. 



Salting down Butter. On the first working, some 

 salt should be intermixed, and one ounce of salt to 

 sixteen of butter is commonly sufficient ; but, as much 

 of this salt will be washed away on the second work- 

 ing, it will be necessary to add more, as taste may re- 

 quire. And now, on the second working, a little salt- 

 petre and a little pulverized loaf sugar must be well 

 mixed with the salt last added. We have found one 

 teaspoonful of saltpetre and two of sugar quite suffi- 

 cient for twelve pounds of butter. It must be thor- 

 oughly mixed, so that every part of the butter may 

 have a share. 



This should be packed in hard-wood firkins, as 

 close as possible, to exclude the air. No brine need be 

 poured on, for the salt will form a sufficiency with the 

 moisture of the batter ; and, when a new layer is to 

 be added, this brine must be poured off to let the two 

 churnings come close together. 



We have often had butter put up in this manner in 

 September and in October, that proved perfectly sweet 

 in the following June. People who ate of it could 

 hardly be made to believe it had been made eight or 

 nine months. 



This delicious article, this indispensable in cook- 



