180 



FARM SEPARATORS 



usually the most advantageous. Creameries, as a rule, are 

 better equipped to control the quality of butter. The price per 

 pound of butter-fat is usually about 2 cents below " New York 

 Extras." A few of the best creameries are able to pay more 

 than that. 



Shipping of Cream. If cream is sent or shipped to cream- 

 eries and central plants, it is essential that it be delivered as 

 frequently as possible, and that it be delivered in cans which 

 will help keep it in good condition. If cream is to be hauled 

 any great distance and exposed to the sun, it is advisable to use 

 special jacketed cans, which retard the transmission of heat. 

 It is a good plan to cover the cans with a wet sack or cloth during 

 the summer, and the use of a dry sack on the outside in thQ winter 

 often prevents the cream from freezing. 



Making Butter on the Farm. If cream is kept in good condi- 

 tion and proper skill is ap- 

 plied, the best of butter can 

 be made on the farm. The- 

 oretically, better butter can 

 be made on the farm than at 

 the creamery, because all 

 conditions can be controlled 

 better. In the creameries 

 one can of bad cream mixed 

 with a quantity of good cream 

 is likely to contaminate and 

 injure the whole lot. The 

 cream which is to be made 

 into butter on the farm should 

 not be over-ripened before 

 it is churned. In creameries, 

 starters are used to set up a 

 quick and desirable fermentation in the cream ; conditions . are 

 usually such on the farm that it is not convenient and practical 

 to use a starter. It is very essential that the cream be cooled to 

 a low temperature (50 F.) and left at this temperature for at 

 least two hours before it is churned ; otherwise the butter is likely 



FIG. 62. A barrel churn. 



