382 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



thinner, though the cream of the former is of a 

 richer f|iiality- H' tli'<"k miilt therefore be di- 

 luted with water, it will afford more cream than 

 it would have yielded in its pure state, tiiougli 

 its quality w'.\\ at the same time be inferior. 

 4. Milk carried about in pails, or other vessels, 

 agitated and partly cooled before it is put into 

 the milk-pans, never throws up such g-ood and 

 plentiful cream as if it had been put into proper 

 vessels imn'iodiatcly after it came from the cow. 

 IVom these fundamental facts, the Doctor de- 

 duces, in substance, the following rules : 



1. The cows should be milked as near the 

 dairy as possible, to prevent the necessity ot 

 carrying and cooling the milk before it be put 

 into the dishes ; and ps cows are much hurt by 

 far driving, it must be a great advantage, in a 

 dairy farm, to have the principal gr:iss lields as 

 near the dairy or homestead as possible. In 

 this point of view, also, the practice of feeding 

 cows in the house rather than turning them out 

 to pasture in the field, must be obviously bene- 

 ficial.* 



2. The practice of putting the milk of all 

 the cows of a large dairy into one vessel, as it 

 is milked, there to remain till the whole milk- 

 ing be liiiished, before any part is put into the 

 milk-pans, seems to Be highly injudicious, not 

 only on account of the loss sustained by the agi- 

 tation and cooling ; but also the more especi- 

 ally, because it prevents the owner of the dairy 

 from distinguishing the good from the bad cow's 

 milk, so as to enlighten his judgment respecting 

 the profit that he may derive from each. With- 

 out this precaution, he may have the whole of 

 bis dairy produce greatly debased by the milk 

 of one bad cow for years together, without be- 

 ing able to discover it. A better practice, there- 

 fore, would be to have the milk drawn from 

 each cow, separately, put into the creaming 

 pans as soon as milked, without being ever 

 mixed with any other ; and if these pans were 

 all made of such a size as to be able to contain 

 the whole of one cow's milk, each in a separate 

 pan, the careful dai] would thus be able to re- 

 mark, without any trouble, the quantity of milk 

 afforded by each cow every day, as well as the 

 peculiar qualities of the cow's milk. And if the 

 same cow's milk were always to be placed on 

 the same part of the shelf, having the cow's 

 name written beneath, there never could be 

 the smallest dilficulty in ascertaining which of 

 the cows it would be for the owner's interest 

 to dispose of, and which he ought to keep and 

 breed from. 



3. If it be intended to make butter of a very 

 Jim timitity, it will be advisable, not only to re- 

 ject entirely the milk of all those cows, which 



* Mr. Lawrence, in his " Treatise on Cattle," ob- 

 serves that " it is affirmed by theoretical writers, that 

 to feed cows in tlie home stall increases their quantity 

 of milk, a fact which various experiments compel me 

 to rlisprove. With me it has ever had the effett of ad- 

 ding; to the substance of the animal, and of diininishin* 

 the qnantity of her milk ; probably from defect of the 

 exercise she was wont to take in collecting her food, 

 and the select i(>n of herbage she was enabled to make. ''^ 

 'I'his writer, however, is of opinion, thnt " the aggre- 

 gate qnantity of milk in a dairy may be enlarged by 

 keeping pastures free from the tread of the cows, since 

 a greater number inuy be kept, perhaj)? by one tinrd, 

 on the same extent of ground ; at the same time the 

 animals may be sicured Irom the harassing and debili- 

 tating efficts of the sun and flies." 



t \ provincial word, denoting the person who has 

 the cliief concern iu a dairy. 



yield cream of a bad quality, but also, in cvevy 

 case, to keep the milk that is first drav.n from 

 the cow at each milking, entirely separate from 

 that which is got last ; as it is obvious, if this 

 be not done the quality of the butter must be 

 greatly debased, without adding much to its 

 quantity. It is also obvious, that the quality of 

 the butter will be improved in proportion to 

 the smallness of the quantity of the last drawn 

 milk which is used, as it increases in richnesM^ 

 to the very last drop that can he drawn from 

 the udder at that time ; so that those who wish 

 to be singularly nice, will do well to keep for 

 their best butter a very small proportion of the 

 last drawn milk. 



Dr. Anderson proceeds to state in substance 

 that in the Highlands of Scotland the common 

 practice is to let the calf suck till the dairy- 

 maid judges that it has had enough ; it is then 

 separated, the legs of the mother having been 

 previously shackled by a very simple contriv- 

 ance, to oblige her to stand still, and the dairy 

 maid milks ofi' what is left by the calf In this 

 way, he observes, the Highland butter has been 

 greatly celebrated as the '• richest marrowy 

 butter which can any where be met with." — 

 The milk which is tirst drawn, and consequently 

 of inferior quality, may be converted into an 

 inferior kind of butter, sold sweet, or made into 

 cheeses, which, by being made of sweet milk, if 

 made with care and skill, may be of fine quality. 



Churning ought to be regularly coiitniued till 

 the butter comes, or is formed. If the motion 

 in summer be too quick, the butter will, in con- 

 sequence, ferment, and become ill tasted ; and, 

 in winter, it will go back. Churning, it is said, 

 may be made easier by putting the bottom of 

 the pump chum about one foot deep into a ves- 

 sel of cold water, and continuing it there till 

 thp butter is made. The addition of one or 

 two table spoons full of distilled vinegar, after 

 churning a while, will, it is said, produce butter 

 much sooner in many instances than it can be 

 formed without such addition. 



Some writers advise to wash the butler after 

 it is formed, thoroughly in several waters till 

 all the milk is removed. Dr. Anderson, how- 

 ever, advises to force the milk out of the cavi- 

 ties of the butter by means of a flat, wooden 

 ladle, furnished with a short handle, at the same 

 time agitating the butler as liltle as ])Ossible, 

 lest it become tough and gluey. " The beating 

 u]) of butler," he observes, " by the hand is an 

 indelicate practice, particularly if it be consti- 

 tutionally warm ; and as it is hurtful to the qua- 

 lity of the butter to pour cold water on it dur- 

 ing this operation, the butter, if too soft to re- 

 ceive the impression of the mould, may be put 

 into small vessels, and there be permitted to 

 float in a trough of cold water beneath the 

 table, zcilhoKt n'etting the butter, which will soon 

 b^ome sufliciently firm. Or, when butter is 

 tirst made, after as much of the milk has been 

 got out as possible, it may be thinly spread on 

 a marble slab, and the remaining moisture be 

 absorl ed by patting it with clean dry towels." 



It is said in liordley's Husbandry, that "dash- 

 ing in water, and then without pause, clearing 

 the butter from every particle of water is wide- 

 ly difl'erent from washing butter by kneading 

 and letting it remain at all in the water. Very 

 good butter for llavor, color and consistence, is 

 made by one who washes it twice, but never 

 lets it remain in the water a msmcnt. Another 



butter maker says, mix the salt in the butter in 

 the evening, and let it rest till morning, then 

 work out the liquor, but never let it be once 

 touched with water. 



Other authors, however, including the writei 

 whose remarks on thii subject are republished 

 from the Poultney Gazette in our paper p. 364, 

 say that the butler should be well and repeat- 

 edly washed ; and the Complete Farmer, an 

 English work of merit, advises, after the churn- 

 ing is completed, to pour water into the churn, 

 and continue to work the churn some time ; 

 then to turn out the water and pour in fresh, 

 and repeat the process three times. Then to 

 suffer the butter to remain in the last water 

 some hours to cool and increase its hardness, 

 when the warmth of the weather renders it re- 

 quisite. Dickson's .\griculture likewise recom- 

 mends kneading, breaking and pressing new 

 mado butler in water, and changing the water 

 till at last it appears scarcely tinged with the 

 milk, which is the only proper criterion by 

 which to determine when the butter has been 

 sufficiently worked. 



Dr. Anderson remarks, that a considerable 

 dejree of strength as well as dexterity is re- 

 quired in the working of butter. The thing 

 wanted is to force out the milk entirely, with 

 as little tawing [working] of the butter as pos- 

 siUe, for if the milk be not entirely taken away, 

 the butter will spoil in a short time ; and if it 

 be much worked the btilter will become tough 

 and gluey, which greatly debases its quality. 



Before you put butter into the vessels which 

 are to contain it, great care must be taken that 

 they be well seasoned by frequent washing and 

 exposure to the air for two or three weeks. As 

 it is difficult to season new firkins, it will always 

 be prelerable to employ those which have been 

 UR<5<1. The most speedy method of seasoning 

 firKins is by the use of unslacked lime, or a 

 large quantity of salt and water well boiled, 

 with which they should be repeatedly scrubbed, 

 and afterwards thrown into cold water, to re- 

 main there three or four days till wanted. They 

 should then be scrubbed, as before, and well 

 rinsed with cold water; and before the butter 

 is put in, every part of the inside of the firkia 

 must be well rubbed with salt. 



Butter may be sailed by working into it one 

 or two ounces of salt, after the butler milk has 

 been forced out. The salt should be thoroughly 

 incorporated, and be of the best and purest qua- 

 lily. Dr. Anderson, however, recommends the 

 following preparation, which he has experienc- 

 ed to be much superior, as it not only prevents 

 the butter from becoming in any degree rancid, 

 but also improves its appearance, and imparts a 

 sweeter and richer taste than could be given 

 by common salt only. For every pound of but- 

 ter take half an ounce of best common salt, ooe 

 quarter of an ounce of loaf sugar, and one quar- 

 ter of an ounce salt petre ; beat and blend the 

 whole completely together. Butter thus cured, 

 should stand three or four weeks before it is 

 used, that the salts may be well mixed. The 

 best butter is made in summer, but by adding a 

 certain portion, (which experience alone can 

 determine) of the juice expressed from the pulp 

 of carrots to the cream previously to churning, 

 winter made butter will thus acquire the ap- 

 pearance and flavor of butler that has been 

 churned during the prime part of the summer 

 season. 



