234 
STAVES. 
by a dab or paddle every particle of butter-milk. 
Some dislike working it in cold water, but if pro¬ 
perly managed in other respects, we do not consider 
this objectionable. A. third requisite is, to use the 
very best, perfectly pure salt , finely pulverized , and 
have this intimately blended with the butter in suffi¬ 
cient quantity to make an agreeable taste. The 
fourth is, to have the butter, as soon as ready for 
packing, carefully put down in clean white-oak 
firkins or stone jars, crowded so closely as to fill up 
every part of them, and have the top carefully cov¬ 
ered with a clean linen cloth, with salt one inch deep 
placed on this, and cold water enough added to make 
a brine. Then keep it in a cool place till ready for 
shipping. 
Since the above was written, we have received our 
foreign journals of the past month, containing reports 
of the late proceedings of the English Agricultural 
Society. In these we find an article “ On Preparing 
Butter for the London Marketand as the good 
house-wife is never tired of reading subjects of 
this kind, we copy it into our columns, thinking she 
may get a hint or two from it which may prove ser¬ 
viceable even here in our own country. Working 
butler with the hand, and softie other things recom¬ 
mended in this article, may be admissible in the cool 
climate of Great Britain, but should never be prac¬ 
tised in this country. 
“ The following is the most approved method of 
^making and preparing butter for the London market, 
;and is submitted for the advantage of farmers and 
dairymen throughout Ireland. Butter made on this 
system, with care and quick dispatch, will ensure 
high prices and quick returns. The agent’s comment 
on each dairy’s butter, and improvement, are still 
going on. The best land is old pasture, as free from 
weeds as possible, with abundance of good water. 
The cows should not be heated or tormented in any 
way ; housed at night, and fed on green food, and the 
pasture changed when practicable. In milking, take 
saltpetre in the pail, one-eighth of an ounce to 8 
quarts of milk. The dairy should be perfectly clean, 
.airy, of equal temperature (say 50°), very little light, 
•and completely shaded from sun, by trees or other¬ 
wise ; and in winter a stove may be required. Strain 
the milk into coolers, sweet and dry (never mix warm 
and cold milk), keep it from two to four days, then 
put the whole of the milk and cream into a clean 
churn, which is not to be used for any purpose, ex¬ 
cept during the time it is in operation. Boiling water 
to be added to raise the temperature to about 68° or 
60°, if horse or water power be used. The time oc¬ 
cupied is from one to two hours, depending on the 
size of the churn ; but churning should not be contin- 
med beyond the proper time. After churning put the 
'butter into two bowls or pans of pickle, made from 
pure water and fine-stoved salt (as common gives the 
butter a bad flavor). It should be well washed, and the 
pickle changed frequently, until all milk is extracted, 
working with the hand the two pieces alternately, 
until the grain becomes quite close and firm ; when it 
»is to be cured with the finest dry-stoved salt and 
sugar. The proportion to be one ounce of refined 
sugar to one pound of salt, to be well worked into the 
shutter with the hand; but the quantity of curing ma¬ 
terials will depend on the time and labor given by 
the dairy-woman, in working and beating the butter 
(after the salt and sugar are applied), which should 
continue until all pickle is driven out. The butte 
should be finished the day it is churned, and then be 
pressed as closely as possible into the cask. The 
cask should be well seasoned for some days previous, 
with strong pickle, frequently changed, or hot 
pickle ; and must be strong and air-tight; the size is 
of no consequence, if filled and sent off in one week. 
If not filled at one churning, the butter is to be cover¬ 
ed with pickle until the next; but no cask to contain 
more than one week’s butter. If butter should, at 
any time, appear pale in color, after churning has 
commenced, a little grated carrot-juice may be put 
into the milk, and will not injure either milk or but¬ 
ter. All butter should be at the place of shipping one 
day prior to the steamer leaving, so as to run no risk 
of going forward to the agents.” 
STAVES. 
Since the late reduction of duty in Great Britain 
on staves from the United States to 28s. per 50 cubic 
feet, they will become an article of considerable ex¬ 
port ; it is important, therefore, that they should be 
properly prepared for the English market. For the 
benefit of those farmers engaged in the stave business, 
we subjoin, from a circular recently received here, the 
principal directions to fit them for the British market. 
Size 1—The standard to which staves are now 
limited is 72 inches long, 7 inches broad, and 3 
inches thick, and it is always very desirable to get 
the staves of this full length and breadth, length 
especially. By making them 72 inches long, they 
suit at once for the sides and ends of all puncheons 
for the West India trade, and also for the side 
of sugar hogsheads. For brewers’ casks, both for 
the home and export trade, there is a large demand 
for white oak staves, 30, 37, and 47 inches long, 7 
inches broad, and 2£, and 3 inches thick. The 
present standard thickness of Canada pipe staves, 
viz.: 1J inches, is very suitable for coopers in gene¬ 
ral, but 1 inch, 2 inches, 2 h inches, and 3 inches, are 
all used, although the thick sizes are considered less 
valuable, and scantlings with large proportions of 
those in them do not take the market so well. Be¬ 
sides the full length of 72 inches, the only other 
sizes at which staves should be cut are 42 inches 
and 33 inches. These lengths would answer the 
home cooper trade generally, and suit exactly for 
West India casks, &c. The lengths of 30 inches to 
33 inches, are also the sizes required for beef tierces; 
and if split at the proper thickness of an inch, or 
rather less, or if they were of such thickness as 
would split into an inch, large quantities of them 
might be disposed of. These are what have hitherto 
been called pipe staves. As regards small staves, 
the only length it would be worth sending is that of 
42 inches. Of these there are three kinds which 
require to be specified : 1st, rum puncheon ; 2d, mo¬ 
lasses puncheon ; 3d, sugar hogshead. Rum pun¬ 
cheon and molasses puncheon staves are cut 42 
inches long, and should stand at least 1 inch thick in 
the rough state. A similar stave, for spirit casks, 
&c., 45 inches long, and H thick, would generally 
find a ready sale. Some hogshead staves are 42 
inches in length and three-quarters of an inch thick. 
Particular attention should be paid to make them 
stand about an inch more than the lengths stated, to' 
allow for working them to the net size. 
For the London Market, hogshead staves, 42 inches 
