Oji the Production of Butter. 



77 



" Imports of Irish Butter into London and Liverpool during 

 the last five years. 



Firkins. 



Year ending April, 1846 344,634 



,, 1847 307,716 



,, 1848 382,718 



„ 1849 360,299 



„ 1850 380,758 



Averag-e .... 356,000 

 Average imports of five years from Ireland into 



Liverpool . . " 380,000 



" Irish butter for London is shipped from the following ports, 



and in about the proportions annexed : — 



Firkins. 



Waterford . . . . . . . 140,000 



Cork . . . 90,000 



Limerick 70.000 



Sli^o 12,000 



Dublin 13,000 



Tralee, Wexford, Newry, and Gahvay , . . 35,000 



360,000" 



Bristol and Glasgow also import Irish butter ; Cork exports 

 large quantities to Lisbon, South Amxcrica, West Indies, and 

 colonies and ports in the English Channel. 



It may appear somewhat strange that the Belgians can send us 

 fresh butter from Ostend, whilst Irish butter reaches us as salt as 

 ships' provisions. The explanation given of this is, that the 

 Irish butter sent to these m.arkets is not prepared for quick con- 

 sumption, and is therefore salted for long keeping. Small shop- 

 keepers prefer it, as a firkin will stand for weeks on their counters 

 without injmy, Where English or Dutch would get rank from ex- 

 posure to the air. Again, many of the Irish dairymen are very 

 small makers of butter, and take a long time to fill a firkin. 

 "The greatest drawback to Irish butter from Limerick, Cork, 

 Tipperary, and Sligo, is," says the factor to whom I am indebted 

 for the above statistics, " the strong taste and smell of peat and 

 smoke it has. Many of the farmers have no dairies, and they set 

 their cream in their cabins, which, in many instances, have no Hues. 

 Irish butter would rule much higher if it was not so salt, and was 

 free from the odour of smoke. It has, however, this advantage : 

 whilst Dutch and fresh English must be sold at the market price, 

 whatever that may be, wdien it arrives (and at times the loss is 

 great), Irish merchants can keep their stocks." The fresh butter 

 in Ireland, properly made, is as good as any other butter, espe- 

 cially that made in the county of Cork, where the dairywomen 

 took a lesson from the wives of the militiamen of Dorset, who in 

 the early part of the v/ar were quartered there. The Dutch butter 



