]74 CAST-IRON GARDEN CHAIRS — YGRi CULTURE OF THE CHINES E -NO. 6. 
sound, before it is skimmed, in order to afford the 
most butter and that of the best kind In cold 
weather, it may stand 6 or 7 days before it is 
skimmed: but in hot, close, or thundery weather, 
perhaps not more thad 10 or 12 hours. The cream 
will keep best on the milk, as long as the milk is 
sound ; and the sooner it is churned after it is 
taken off, the sweeter the butter. And butter pro¬ 
duced from sweet cream has the finest flavor, when 
fresh, and appears to keep longest without acquir¬ 
ing rancidly ; but the buttermilk, so obtained, is 
poor and small in quantity. When the cream is 
intended for churning, however, it may be kept un¬ 
til it turns slightly sour ; as then, the butter will 
the more readily “ come.” For, if churned when 
quite sweet, the operation will be tedious, and fre¬ 
quently fail. In occurrences of this kind, the 
dairy maids, of old, used to declare that the milk 
was u bewitched,” and fearfully proceeded to de¬ 
vise some means of driving off the “ spell.” The 
cause of this, is the want of acidity, which is not 
he case when the cream is kept for a certain time. 
The addition of a little rennet, strong cheese, or 
vinegar, is the proper remedy in this case, and will 
cause it almost immediately to appear. 
Milk, when scalded, it is said, yields the largest 
quantity of butter, which, if intended for immediate 
use, is agreeable to the palate, and meets with a 
ready sale; but if designed to be salted for long 
keeping, it is liable to acquire a rancid flavor. Be¬ 
sides, the process of scalding is troublesome, and 
the milk, after the removal of the cream, is poor 
and unfit for use. . . 
During the operation of churning, it is very im¬ 
portant that the milk, or cream, is brought to a 
proper temperature; say, from 58° to 60°. This 
can be ascertained by the use of a thermometer 
churn, and may be effected by means of hot or cold 
water. In summer, the churn may be kept cool by 
placing it in a tub of cold water, or by covering it 
with a cloth previously dipped; and in cool 
weather, a contrary effect may be produced by using 
hot water instead of cold. The churning may also 
be performed in a warm room, but not near a fire. 
The butter, when churned, should first be worked 
in fresh, cold, spring water, so that it may become 
firm; and at the end of the fourth washing, some 
salt should be thrown into the water, m order to 
raise the color of the butter, as well as to wash or 
purge away the milk that may remain, lhen, 
after thoroughly working the butter with a wooden 
slice, or spoon, and gently pressing it with a clean, 
wet towel, or with a clean, soft sponge, wrapped in 
a cloth, it will be fit for immediate use; but, if in¬ 
tended to be long preserved, let it be put up forth¬ 
with, in a cask, holding 60 or 70 lbs., and cured by 
a mixture of 1 part, by weight, of raw sugar, 1 par 
saltpetre ; and 2 parts of best St. Lbes, Cadiz, Liv¬ 
erpool, or Turk’s-Island salt, well incorporated to¬ 
gether and reduced to a fine powder. One ounce 
of this mixture is enough to preserve a pound ot 
butter; or if salt alone be used, one ounce to a 
pound will be sufficient. In working butter, the 
hands should not come in contact with it more than 
can possibly be helped. 
When packed for sale, butter cannot be too 
firmly pressed into the cask, nor too carefully cov¬ 
ered, to exclude the air. One of the nest methods 
of doing this, is to fill up the pots, or casks, to with¬ 
in an inch of the top, and then lay on common 
coarse salt to the depth of three fourths of an inch, 
just before heading or covering them up. 
Butter should never be kept unsalted till the next 
churning, for the purpose of mixing the two par¬ 
cels together; for this ^.ijures the flavor and ren¬ 
ders ever afterwards the whole mass too soft to be¬ 
come firm. 
CAST-IRON GARDEN CHAIRS 
Fig. 39. 
These utensils are made of various sizes and 
patterns, and if carefully used and kept well painted, 
they will resist the effects of the weather for 
hundreds of years. They form a handsome orna¬ 
ment for gardens, or pleasure grounds, and are 
often found very convenient to sit upon, which 
may be done without soiling the clothes. Prices, 
from $4.50 to $10. 
AGRICULTURE OF THE CHINESE.—No. 6. 
Egg-Hatching by Artificial Heat .—'One of the 
greatest lions in Chusan is an old Chinaman, who, 
every spring, hatches thousands of ducks’ eggs by 
artificial heat. His establishment is situated m the 
valley on the north side of the city of Tinghae, and 
is much resorted to by the officers of the troops 
and strangers who visit the island. The first ques¬ 
tion put to a sight seer who comes here, is, whether 
he has seen the hatching process, and if he has not, 
he is always recommended to pay a visit to the 
old Chinaman and his ducks. 
When I set out upon this excursion for the hist 
time it was a beautiful morning in the end of May. 
The’ mist and vapor were rolling lazily along the 
sides of the hills which surrounded the plain on 
which the city of Tinghae is built; the Chinese, 
who are generally early risers, were already pro¬ 
ceeding to their daily labors, and although the 
greater part of the laboring population are very 
poor, yet they seem contented and happy. Walk¬ 
ing through the city, and out at the north gate, 
