308 THE DAIRTMAX'S MANUAL. 



and are providecl with a winding stair around the sides, 

 and a floor eight feet from the bottom. In the center of 

 this floor there is a square opening covered with a sash 

 similar to a skylight ; at one side is a trap-door leading 

 to the stairs. The lining should be cleanly whitewashed, 

 which reflects the liirht and makes the cellar bright, 

 clean, and fresh-looking. A raised bench of brick or 

 stone work, at least eighteen inches high, should be built 

 around the cellar, upon which the butter is ranged, as 

 this precludes all danger of earthly contamination when so 

 raised. The upper part of the building is raised about 

 four feet above the surface and covered with a broad 

 roof. The wall above ground should be double, with a 

 foot of air space between the two, and the door should 

 be protected with a porch. A window on the north side 

 only will be sufficient for light. The upper j^art may be 

 used for a dairy-room, but nothing should be done or 

 permitted in it that could in any way cause impurities to 

 collect in the cellar below. The temperature in a cellar 

 of this kind may be kept at fifty-five degrees through the 

 summer, if it is opened in the winter time so that the 

 walls may be made cold. Any excess of dampness may 

 be reduced by the occasional exposure of a basket of 

 fresh lime in the cellar. A peck of lime weighing 

 twenty pounds will absorb three quarts of water without 

 becoming moist, and this dry-slaked lime will always be 

 found useful, so that there will be no waste. The re- 

 lease of this moisture from the walls and floor of the 

 cellar will lower the temperature, and, with the water, the 

 lime will absorb any injurious or odorous matter dissolved 

 or taken up by it. A cellar twelve feet square will be suffi- 

 ciently large to store the butter, and also to set the milk, 

 if that is desired. There will be no harm in this to the 

 butter, if the milk is not spilled about or suffered to be- 

 come very sour in it. A u ell-kept milk-cellar should 

 have nothing in it that could injure butter that might 



