ORANGE COUNTY BUTTER-MAKING. 
263 
leads into the cellar of the house. When the 
milking operation is going on, a woman stands in 
the cellar with empty pans placed under the end 
of this horizontal tube, which, as fast as filled, she 
sets away upon the cellar bottom. Here the milk 
stands till it becomes loppered and soured, as it is 
said to make more butter in this state than in any 
other, and of a better quality. It is now poured, 
cream and all into the churns, which hold about 
one barrel each. If the weather be cool, and the 
milk not sufficiently warm to come readily, a can 
is filled with hot water, and this is placed in the 
milk in the churn, and stirred about till it reaches 
a temperature of from 55 to 60 degrees. A small 
water-power is now applied to the churns, the 
handles of which are moved up and down on the 
same principle as in Fig. 53, No. 8, of this period¬ 
ical. Where water-power can not be had, a dog, 
goat, calf, or sheep is used; and the best power 
for an animal is Fig. 54 of the present No. Wa¬ 
ter-power, however, is to be preferred, as it is the 
most steady, and according to the good housewife’s 
notion, who certainly ought to be authority on 
these subjects, it produces the best butter. When 
the butter has come, the power is stopped, and a 
pump is rigged into the churn ; the handle of this 
instrument is then attached to the power, and the 
butter-milk pumped up into a reservoir just outside 
of the cellar, standing on a level with the ground. 
From this the butter-milk is conducted by means 
of a tin pipe about 100 feet to another reservoir 
olose by the piggery, from which the milk is 
dipped out in buckets, and fed to the pigs; so that 
everything almost, moves of its own accord or by 
water, from the moment the milk is drawn from 
the cows in the yard, till it is churned into butter, 
and the butter-milk is concocting itself into pork 
from the pigs’ stomach. The whole expense of 
laying down these tin tubes is but trifling. The 
expense of building a water-wheel, and bringing 
the water to it is greater or less according to one’s 
position; but when a dairy of 40 cows is kept, it 
is well worthy of being adopted if not too costly. 
After churning, the butter is thoroughly washed 
off with cold water; if this be not done, it is diffi¬ 
cult to get the butter-milk clean out of it. As 
soon as cool and solid, the butter is taken on to a 
marble or smooth stone table, properly salted with 
clean, fine salt, and worked over thoroughly with 
a wooden ladle or spatula. The hand is never 
allowed to touch the butter, as it is warm, and 
softens it. After being thoroughly worked, half, 
or full firkins, made of white oak staves, (the lat¬ 
ter holding about 85 pounds, and the former 40 
pounds,) are used for packing it. Previous to pack¬ 
ing, the firkin is well washed inside with cold wa¬ 
ter, and then rubbed all around with salt; the 
butter does not then adhere to the sides of the 
keg, but comes off clean when wanted to be taken 
out for table use. It is put down in layers as 
churned of three or four inches deep. When the 
firkin is full, a linen cloth is placed over the top of 
the butter, on this about half an inch of salt, to 
which a little water is added so as to form a 
brine. The firkin is now headed up and sent to 
market. Mr. Betts thinks if the butter be destin¬ 
ed for shipping, stone jars with covers would be 
preferable to firkins for packing, and his opinion 
coincides with our own. 
In butter-making, a good cellar is a very impor¬ 
tant consideration; indeed, without one, it is al¬ 
most impossible to produce good butter. The 
cellar should be about 7 feet deep; 18 inches of 
which should be above the level of the ground, for 
the purpose of having windows in it for ventila¬ 
tion. These should be open at all times, and in¬ 
stead of glass be made of fine wire-gauze, stretch¬ 
ed across the apertures. This prevents the en¬ 
trance of the smallest fly or gnat, and yet is no 
hindrance to the air. The walls ought to be of 
stone, and pointed ; the bottom of stone slabs or 
cobble stone, thickly plastered with water cement. 
Made in this manner, neither rat, nor mouse, nor 
any other vermin can find entrance ; and the but¬ 
ter, and cream, and milk, are perfectly protected. 
General Wickham’s farm-house is one of the 
nicest cottages we have lately viewed ; with a 
pretty yard in front, studded with flowers, and em¬ 
bosomed in shrubbery. The piggery, barns, stables, 
and yards, are also very complete; and they all 
stand close by a wild little stream that runs bab¬ 
bling on in its clear full course over a pebbly 
bottom to the noble Wallkill. Altogether it is 
one of the prettiest models of a dairy establish¬ 
ment we have ever seen, and a young friend of 
ours, who accompanied us to inspect it, quite forgot 
his own handsome cottage and fine farm, in ad¬ 
miration of that of General Wickham’s. 
In a future No., we shall take up the milk dair¬ 
ies of Orange county, and give a description of the 
method of preparing and sending it to this city for 
sale. We shall also have many particulars to re¬ 
late hereafter of farms which we visited there, 
course of cropping, stock, and other matters. 
This county is unsurpassed in some respects, 
and in consequence of its contiguity to a city mar¬ 
ket, its course of agriculture varies considerably 
from those portions of the state more remote. 
