154 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



rel? Such butter, when it arrives in New York, is denominated " western 

 grease," and sells at a price corresponding with its name. 



WHEN TO SKIM MILK. 



The right time to skim milk is just as the milk begins to sour on the 

 bottom of the pans. Then the cream is all at the surface, and should at 

 once be removed, with as little of the milk as possible. That housewife or 

 dairy-maid who thinks to obtain a greater quantity by allowing the milk to 

 stand beyond that time labors under a mistake. Any one who doubts can 

 try it. Milk should be looked to at least three times a day. The Dairy- 

 mail's Record gives the opinion that the heating of new milk to near the 

 boiling point, just after it is drawn from the cow, is preferable to allowing 

 it to stand for a time before heating, and thinks both butter and cheese are 

 improved by so doing, "because the animal odors which are objectionable 

 would be expelled," and goes on to say that " tasteless and leathery " 

 cheese is caused by manufacturing under too high a temperature rather 

 than from high heating before manufacturing. 



DUST AND FLY COVERS FOR MILK PANS. 



To keep dust out of milk pans, make hoops of ratans or ash wood, a little 

 larger than the tops of the pans, and stretch over and sew on them some 

 thin cotton stuff that will not stop the circulation of the air, but will keep 

 out the flies and mites, and when the milk is cool lay these covers on the. 

 pans. To keep out flies, use musquito netting or wire gauze instead of 

 cloth. The wire gauze is a fine thing to cover all windows in fly time. 



Some inventive Connecticut genius has contrived a portable ventilated 

 milk closet, which, from the description, we should think a very good 

 thing, but presume that any ingenious wood-worker could get up one a 

 little diff"erent in form to answer the same purpose; and we recommend all 

 families that keep but one cow to provide themselves with such a con- 

 venient ventilated milk closet, or one that will let fresh air in and foul air 

 out, and keep the milk safe from pestiferous insects and vermin. 



The following item shows the benefit of keeping milk cool: 



" In sending milk to market, though it left the dairy perfectly sweet, it 

 was often found curdled on delivery to custemers. To remedy this the cans 

 were cased with thick cotton cloth, and this was wet with salt water. In 

 this way the difficulty was entirely obviated." 



The place where milk is kept, churning done, or butter stored, should be 

 absolutely sweet, clean, and deodorized of every smell. Water — cold 

 water, and its liberal application — is an essential about the dairy house, 

 and outside of it; upon ever3^thing ever used, hot water, soap and sand, 

 and hard hand work, to make absolute purity, are the essential requisites 

 to produce good butter. Every woman should assure all the "men folks,'' 

 and often repeat it to them, that no woman can make good butter if the 

 cows are not provided with suitable food. Recollect, food and shelter, 

 airy, roomy, clean stables, summer and winter; none of your milking in the 

 road, among the hogs ; setting milk for cream when the air is scented with the 

 effluvia of the hog pen, or any other than that of roses, mint and new-mowu 

 hay. 



