THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



137 



Dairying in Austraiiam 



THE HON, F. R. MOOR'S IMPRESSIONS. 

 {Continued.) 



BUTTER-MAKING FOR FARMERS. 



T±LE tollowmg IS a lurtlier instalment 

 of the pamphlet : — 



Much of the butter produced iu the 

 Colony (N.S.W.) is made by farmers 

 and dairymen who find it inconvenient 

 or impossible to dispose of their 

 milk in a creamery or factory. The 

 proper handling of the milk, the 

 treatment of the cream, and manufac- 

 ture of butter demand consideration sepa- 

 rate from that of the factory. As the 

 average run of dairy butter on the market 

 is of much lower quality than that from 

 the factories, there would appear to ex- 

 ist a greater scope for improvement. But 

 owing to many reasons the dairy butter 

 can never hope to get on equal terms with 

 factory output. 



The chief obstacle m the way iu our 

 climate is the want of refrigeration. It 

 will not pay small dairymen to bestow as 

 much attention, or to j^rovide as perfect 

 appliances for manufacturing butter, as 

 it does when treating it in a large way. 

 In exceptional instances as good, and oc- 

 casionally a better, article is made on the 

 farm ; but being small in quantity, it is 

 confined purely to the local market. 



When a surplus of dairy butter finds its 

 way on the local market, it has to be dis- 

 posed of at low figures, to allow for mix- 

 ing up and making into large quantities 

 of uniform (luality that will warrant ex- 

 porting. In some places this handicap 

 can be overcome by the people combin- 

 ing and adopting the factory system. ' 



Attention is specially directed to the 

 regulations on another page regarding the 

 care of milk and cream. Many hints are 

 also given under the heading "Factory 

 Butter-making." 



The milk when set in dishes in hot 

 weather often thickens before half the 

 cream rises, and even under ordinary 

 circumstances a greater percentage of the 



butter-fat is lost in the skim-milk by the 

 gravit\' system than by the modern separ- 

 ator. ' Cleanliness and temperature are 

 the great essential points to be studied 

 for successful butter-making. The dairy 

 should be so- erected as to permit of its 

 being easily kept clean and sweet, and the 

 temperature regulated. 



Every dairy should have a fire-place, 

 or stove, to keep the place dry as well as 

 to regulate the teiii]u_-raturc during the 

 winter. Small chca|) icriiun'rators within 

 the reach, and suitable for a small dairy, 

 is a convenience not yet catered for. In 

 the meantime the temperature of the 

 dairy in the summer must be kept as low- 

 as possible. A temperature of 60 deg. 

 is the average required, about 65 deg. is 

 the best in winter, and 54 deg. in sum- 

 mer, but it is seldom practicable to g'-r 

 the dairy so low in hot weather. 



Speaking of temperature, in how many 

 dairies is a thermometer to be found ? A 

 thermometer in a dairy is as great an 

 essential as a compass on a ship. 



A ship can be steered on her course 

 without the aid of a compass, so can 

 butter be made without a thermometer, 

 but how much safer, and what a lot of 

 energy, time and trouble are saved by 

 their use. 



Every dairyman should possess a ther- 

 mometer and use it. A proper one for 

 the dairy costs Is. or Is. 6d. Those with- 

 out any frame are best, as they can easily 

 be kept clean. If it is set in a wooden 

 frame it ought to be removed before plac- 

 ing in the milk or cream. If the frame 

 is put in the milk, it soon becomes foul. 



The dairy 'is unfortunately too often 

 considered a handy depot in which to 

 place all sorts of things. Sometimes a 

 hare or rabbit is left hanging up. Often 

 it is made to serve as a general cool room 

 for fruit, vegetables, and meat. 



