212 Milk and Its Products 
milk or cream through this wide range of tempera- 
.ture, the quality of the butter is very seriously af- 
fected. The butter is in the best condition when it 
is churned at such a temperature that the particles 
of fat unite readily, and when united form firm 
masses or granules of butter. The temperature at 
which this desirable end is brought about varies 
under a wide range of conditions, the most impor- 
tant of which are the following: The individuality of 
the animal; the period of lactation; the nature of 
the food of the cows; the season of the year. 
These conditions are all conditions which affect the 
melting point of the butter fat. The higher the 
melting point of the fat, the higher the tempera- 
ture at which the milk should be churned, and the 
lower the melting point of the fat, the lower the 
churning temperature. Any condition which tends 
to make the butter fat hard will necessarily be fol- 
lowed by a rise in the churning temperature, and 
any condition which tends to make the butter fat 
soft will for the same reason be followed by a 
fall in the churning temperature. It is impossible, 
then, to name any single temperature which is the 
best or even the proper one at which to chum; 
but while there is a considerable range of tempera- 
ture, which under different conditions may give the 
best results, still this range is not so wide as the 
range of temperature at which it is possible to 
churn, and the limits may perhaps be placed at from 
50° to 66° F. In general, the lowest temperature 
compatible with securing butter in a reasonable 
