278 HAMPSHIRE SOCIETY. 



county. Our farmers feed out their hay and grahi, and return 

 their fertilizing properties to their farms. We speak advisedly 

 when we say that at least one hundred and twenty-five thou- 

 sand dollars' worth of beef are annually fattened within the 

 limits of the society. 



Butter and Cheese. 



Twenty-two specimens of butter, of fine appearance and of 

 superior quality, contributed largely to the exhibition in Sweet- 

 ser's Hall. 



The statements of the process of making butter, might have 

 been more full, and therefore much more valuable. The entire 

 method may be familiar to housewives, yet it is not probably 

 uniform. The best mode is to be ascertained by compar- 

 ison of statements, the publication of which will put them 

 within the cognizance of every farmer's wife and daughter. 



The manner of milking has much to do with the quantity 

 of butter produced. Let the cow's bag be thoroughly exhausted 

 of milk ; for it is believed, that one pint at the close of milking 

 will make as much butter, as four pitits, at the commencement. 



The most suitable place for the milk, while the cream rises; 

 the proper time for this operation ; the right depth of the pans ; 

 whether the cream, after it is skimmed, should be put in buck- 

 ets or in pans; in the well, or in the cellar, or in a cool vault 

 constructed under the cellar floor, are matters of importance. 



It is desirable, that the degree of temperature of the cream, 

 during the churning process, and that the form of churn — 

 which produces the best quality and largest quantity of butter 

 — be ascertained, and generally adopted. 



After the butter comes, the most delicate part of the process 

 remains, the removal of all particles of the buttermilk. It is 

 suggested, that our dairy-women could aff'ord to apply here 

 double their usual labor to half the quantity of butter ; for this 

 half would be worth more, for the table or for the market, than 

 the whole in the condition it is usually prepared. The removal 

 of buttermilk is eff'ected by some, with the use of water ; by 



