Dairy Farming. 
693 = 427 
In the neighbouring county of Devon, butter is made, without Devonshiri; 
I urning, from clotted cream. The pans in which the milk has butter. 
Dod lor twenty-four hours are placed upon a hot plate, until 
■ milk is raised nearly to the boiling temperature, indicated 
the formation of blisters under the coat of cream, which 
l^omes thickened and tough, and may be lifted bodily off. 
'le butter comes from it readily by stirring for a few minutes 
a dish, either with the hand or with a wooden spoon. 
For the following notes on Irish Dairy Husbandry I am in- Iiish J«iiy 
. bted to W. Bence Jones, Esq., of Lisselan, Clonakilty, county l>usbandi y. 
ijrk. The soil and climate of Ireland are favourable for the 
pwth of grass ; there is a constant fresh spring of grass and 
\ry few hot days, than which nothing can be better for cows 
:d butter. Probably nowhere can better butter, in all respects, 
I produced, and the reason why so much inferior butter is 
iide in Ireland is wholly from the habits of the people. Care- 
lisness and slovenliness are the root of the evil. 
In some districts the whole milk is churned. In Munster only 
3 cream is used ; and on large farms, feeding 20 to 50 cows, 
icellent butter is often made, which brings the best price in 
1 markets, to which it is sent in firkins of 65 lbs. to 70 lbs. 
Facilities of communication and the high price of good and 
• en bad butter in England have greatly affected the trade. 
}irmerly the chief market for Cork butter was in foreign coun- 
les and the colonies. Now very little of the foreign trade 
mains, and none of the colonial. England is the market for 
^arly all the Irish butter. It was necessary that butter to be 
• ported should be heavily salted, using 5 to 7 lbs. of salt to 
l5 cwt., else it would not keep. The trade in this heavily 
.' ted butter is a profitable one to the Cork dealer, but bad for 
producer, because the heavy salting of butter makes it 
iicessarily an inferior and lower-priced article. 
The great body of Irish farmers, too, keeping six or eight 
< ten cows apiece, can never get the best price, even of Cork 
iirket, for their butter. They cannot usually fill a firkin of 
< lbs. at one churning ; and if a firkin is filled at two churnings 
Uh equally good butter, that still reduces its quality. Another 
) )de of business accordingly has sprung up in the past twenty- 
) e years. Dealers in all the smaller towns buy butter every 
iirket-day, fresh in lumps from the farmers, (Sec. These men go 
1 the name of " slashers," because they attend the market with 
i arge square tub on a cart, into which they " slash" the lumps 
«l butter bought. It is taken home, washed in cold water to 
^nove butter-milk, &c., and at last washed in warm water, and 
i.xed together into a mass of one texture and colour, and, in a 
• nifluid state, after being salted, it is poured into firkins, and 
