96 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[March, 
from which the beut pieces, shown at figure 3, were 
•worked out. They were strengthened by iron 
plates on each side of the bend, as there shown. 
To these were bolted two or three boards, and the 
frames were then fitted into the sockets for use. 
By lengthening out the reach, and having the bos 
twelve or fourteen feet long, a very large load may 
Fig. 1.— REED BUTTER-W'ORKER. 
be taken. If thought best, in order to permit the 
team to turn readily, the box may be cut at the 
sides, so as to prevent the fore wheels from binding 
or being locked or cramped. The first mentioned 
of these racks, should be put together with carriage 
bolts and nuts, so that when the season is over, it 
can be taken apart and laid away in a small space. 
The second one may be taken apart, andlaid aside in 
separate portions, occupying very little space, a'nd 
in this lies not the least of their advantages. 
Butter-Workers. 
Tire hard work of the dairy is being rapidly 
transferred from the homestead to the factory, or 
Fig. 2. —CALIFORNIA BUTTER-WORKER. 
is becoming greatly lightened by the use of im¬ 
proved machinery. Animal-power in the smaller 
<0 8 
Fig. 5.—BUTTER-BOX. 
dairies, and steam in the factories, perform the 
heavy labor of churning, and the working of filie 
butter is now rendered easy by a great variety of 
contrivances, which get rid of the buttermilk, and 
mix the butter as well, at least, as it could foe done 
by hand, and with a great saving of labor. Upon 
the proper working of the butter, depends to a 
very great extent its quality, flavor, and its ability 
to keep sweet for a long period, and the better this 
Fig. 4.— BUTTER-MOLD. 
is done, the better will be the butter. Much butter 
is spoiled by bad working, and for the best meth- 
Fig. 3.—BUTTER-KNIFE. 
ods of working, a peculiar manipulation or “ sleight 
of hand” is needed. The butter must be gashed, 
and squeezed, so as to provide an outlet for the 
buttermilk, and to force it out of the mass. But 
this must be accomplished without any drawing or 
plastering motion, by which the granular, or waxy, 
texture of the butter would be destroyed, and a 
greasy character given to it. The chopping action 
of the butter-ladle in the hands of the dairywoman, 
and the careful squeezing of the butter thus gashed 
into slices—both very laborious when done by hand 
—are now performed in the most perfect manner 
by several machines. One of these machines of 
more than ordinary usefulness, is shown in figure 1. 
It consists of a tray, and a traveling roller, which 
is furnished with sever¬ 
al wings or radiating 
blades. The roller is 
mounted in a frame, 
which, as the handle is 
turned, works back and 
forth upon a metal 
rack, and carries the 
roller over the butter in 
the tray. The butter is 
cut and gashed by the 
wings or blades of the 
roller, and the butter¬ 
milk is squeezed out at the same time. Ii desired, 
water may housed to wash the butter. This machine 
is extensively used in Chester Co., Penn., and has 
been tested by some dairymen of our acquaintance, 
with satisfaction. It is known as the Reed butter- 
worker. A worker that is used in a large dairy in 
California, is shown in figure 2. This particular 
dairy is known as the Point Reyes’ Ranche, and 
consists of a tract of over 45,000 acres of land, which 
juts out into the Pacific Ocean, being joined to 
the mainland by a narrow neck only. There are 
3,000 cows upon this point, kept for butter-making. 
The tract is divided into seventeen farms, which, 
with the cows, are leased to tenants at a stated rent. 
One of these tenants has 300 cows. The dairies up¬ 
on these farms are furnished by their owner with 
all the modern improvements. Among these is this 
butter-worker. This is a stout table of hardwood, 
standing upon three legs, which are screwed firmly 
to the floor. In the center of the table there is a 
socket. A revolving top is placed upon this table, 
and is kept in its position by means of a pivot in 
the center, which fits into the socket. At one side 
of the table there is a standard, which rises above 
the revolving plate. Into this standard fits the end 
of a sort of wooden knife, shown at figure 3, which 
has an oval or double-bladed form. The butter be¬ 
ing placed upon the revolving portion of the table, 
is cut and squeezed with the lever until it is suffi¬ 
ciently worked, when it is salted and left for a time. 
After this, it is again worked, and pressed into 
molds, (fig. 4), or into cylindrical rolls, which 
are wrapped in muslin, and packed in a square box 
upon their ends, (figure 5). The molds are made 
of lignum vitce, in the manner of a pair of bullet- 
molds. Each half being filled with the finished 
butter, the handles are forcibly squeezed together, 
and the butter is compressed firmly into a solid roll, 
which drops from the mold when it is opened. The 
mold is kept wetted with cold water during the 
operation. When the box is packed full, the lid, 
which fits close upon the ends of the rolls, is shut 
down and locked, and the butter is ready for 
market. Figure 6 represents a small knife of lignum 
vitce , which is used to run around the inside of the 
milk pans, to separate the cream for skimming. 
Fig. 6 .—CREAM SEPARATOR. 
The use of this simple little tool is to be recom¬ 
mended in every dairy, even if but one cow is kept, 
so that the uncleanly method of separating the 
cream with the forefinger, may be avoided. Such 
a knife can be easily whittled out from a piece of 
maple, birch, or ironwood, with a jack-knife, and 
should be kept clean and hung up in the dairy. 
Portable Forges. 
A portable forge, suitable for the farm workshop, 
is here illustrated. This has the merit of cheap- 
fift~ 
& 
PORTABLE FORGE. 
ness in cost, and of occupying but little Space. It 
may be placed upon a box or a work-bench, and 
used with the greatest convenience. It stands up¬ 
on legs only 13 inches high, and weighs but 50 lbs. 
The blast is worked by gearing, and is sufficiently 
strong to get up a heat that will melt inch iron in 
two minutes, or get a welding heat upon a 21-ine‘h 
bar in ten minutes. The bearings are made of 
bronze, and those of the fan are self-lubricating. 
The cost is only $16, and there are few machines so 
useful to the farmer, mechanic, or amateur, that 
costs so small a sum. In a communication from a 
farmer, referring to this forge, the writer says that 
he saved $10 in one day, last harvest, by having a 
small forge on his farm, which enabled him to re¬ 
pair a break in his mower, without loss of time. 
These forges are made by the Empire Forge Com¬ 
pany, of Troy, N. Y., whose larger machines have 
been already described in the American Agriculturist. 
Operating Table for Poultry. 
There are occasions when it is found necessary to 
confine a fowl for the easy performance of some 
operation, and when this is the case, the arrange- 
Sfliliilf 
iif 
I upr 
J 
1 
OPERATING TABLE FOR POULTRY. 
ment shown in the accompanying engraving will be 
found very useful. It consists of a siout Will, 
such as a fence picket, upon which are fastened two 
cushions; one small one, which supports the rear 
of the bird, and one larger one upon which its 
breast may rest. A pair of straps, with buckles, 
which may be readily made of c. pair of suspenders 
past their usefulness, or of some other soft materi¬ 
al, are fastened to the underside of the lath by 
tacks. To use the afiair, a loop of strap iron may 
