ANIMALS AND THEIK PKODUCTS. 139 



flavor and conservative principle of the butter, leav- 

 ing it, as some do, little else than a mass of dry wax. 



251. When butter is to be preserved for future use, 

 it should be put down in wooden firkins. Stone pots, 

 unless glazed better than we commonly find them, are 

 porous. The mould which gathers on the outside, works 

 its way through to the butter. It is not so with wood. 

 The pores fill with water, so as to become nearly im- 

 pervious. Besides, pots of sufficient size cannot easily 

 be obtained. The larger the mass of butter, the bet- 

 ter it keeps. Whether the firkin be large or small, it 

 should, if possible, be filled at once. If this cannot 

 be done, the top of the old should be taken off, and 

 the staves of the firkin thoroughly cleansed, before 

 adding new. We all know that the surface of butter, 

 when it comes in contact with the firkin, very soon 

 begins to, putrefy. Something foul gathers along the 

 edge, where the air, butter and wood all come in con- 

 tact. A sort of rancidity commences there almost 

 at once. If this is not taken off, it will communicate 

 itself to the whole mass. Some cover the top with 

 brine, but this only makes bad worse. The whole 

 should be kept as dry as it can be in an ordinary cellar. 



252. When new butter is to be added to a tub 

 partly filled, the staves, after removing the surface- 

 butter for an inch at least, may be cleansed by scrap- 

 ing the butter from them and then rubbing them with 

 a cloth moistened in a weak solution of saltpetre, care- 

 fully sponging off with a dry cloth any water which 

 may have fallen on the butter. The new should be 



