8 
American Butter Factories. 
Butter Factories. 
The creamery was the first trial of the associated system by 
the milk dairymen, and out of it grew the butter factories. The 
country milk-sales, being under the control of the city operators, it 
was found necessary to devise means to become independent of 
combinations that were being made from time to time to reduce 
the prices of milk and cream. Hence the idea of manufacturing 
the milk into butter and cheese when fair terms could not be 
made with the milk dealers. The plan proved at once a success, 
as it regulated the price of milk in accordance with the value of 
other products of the dairy, and avoided losses that previously 
occurred on account of surplus milk, which, under the old system, 
often had to be retained at the creamery. 
The Orir/inal Factor)/. — The first American butter factory was 
erected by Mr. Alanson Slaughter, of Orange County, New 
York. The main building is a cheap two-storied structure, 
arranged on a plan similar to that of the cheese factories. On 
the ground-floor are the milk vats, presses, and other appliances 
for making cheese (see Fig. 2), while the second-floor is entirely 
devoted to the dry-room, or department for storing the cheese 
during the process of curing, &c. 
The spring-house is built out upon the end of this structure, 
forming a wing, and is one story high. It is divided into two 
rooms, one 12 feet by 16 feet, and the other 14 feet by 24 feet. 
The packing and churning room is in a separate building, 12 
feet by 24 feet, and stands opposite the spring-room, with a 
narrow alley between. This alley is used for a horse- walk 
where the teams deliver milk and cart away the products of the 
dairy. Connected with the packing and churning department 
there is a horse-gear for churning, and an ice-house and store- 
room. 
The subjoined cut represents the ground-floor of this esta- 
blishment, which is regarded by many as convenient and 
economical in its arrangements. This factory is intended to take 
the milk of 400 cows. 
The Springs, and the Manner of Treating ]\Iilk. 
Among the first factories erected, the springs are situated 
within the enclosure of the spring-house, and vats or tanks are con- 
structed about the springs for holding the water. These pools 
are each 12 feet long and b feet wide. The earth is excavated, 
and the sides of the pool are laid up in solid masonry, or with 
stout oak-plank, so that the water in the pools shall rise no higher 
