Butter Making 
9 
rally, from this that milk must be kept in a clean, cool, well venti¬ 
lated room, free from all taints and flavors. Anyone who has ever 
exposed a pan of milk in an ice box* along with onions, boiled cab¬ 
bage, cantaloupes or cucumbers, or who has placed it in a freshly 
painted or varnished room, or who has allowed the cans of milk 
to remain in a vile smelling stable for some time, knows the inevitable 
consequence. The cream from such milk must necessarily give its 
respective flavor to the butter made from it, and when the consumer 
complains of an off flavor, the ranchman proclaims his innocence. 
Much of the dirt and dust, together with many disagreeable odors, 
can be obviated by arranging a small milk-room, adjacent to the cow 
stable and separated from the cows by a tight partitition. Here the 
straining can be done and the cans kept while they are being filled 
from the milkers’ pails. 
The cream should be cooled as soon after separation as possible 
in order to check the growth of bacteria. This can be accomplished 
easily by placing the cans, containing the milk or cream, in cold well 
water by which a temperature of at least 50 degrees F. should be 
obtained. 
Inasmuch as the offensive germs thrive chiefly in the curdy part 
of the cream, it follows that a thick cream, low in curd, will keep better 
than a thin cream. For the same reason, poorly worked butter, conttin- 
ing considerable buttermilk, will not keep as well as butter which is 
worked thoroughly. Consequently, it is best to separate as heavy a 
cream as the separator will handle and as is consistent with the time 
of year, say 35 per cent, in winter and 40 per cent, in summer. Be¬ 
sides obtaining a better grade of cream for butter making, the bulk 
is reduced, which simplifies the handling, and more skimmed milk is 
available for feeding purposes. 
In closing this chapter upon the production of clean milk, its 
application to butter making must not be lost sight of. Stated briefly, 
it is simply this: high class butter can come only from clean cream 
and clean cream is possible only from clean milk. 
The Use of Commerciae Starters. 
The natural flavor of well made butter from fresh, clean cream is 
very pleasing to the taste of the average person and it is chiefly this 
desirable flavor for which the consumer pays. It is obvious, then, 
that the goal toward which the butter maker must strive is a desir¬ 
able flavor, accompanied by a pleasing aroma. To be sure, the text¬ 
ure can not be lost sight of, but when the layman buys a pound of 
butter, he judges it for flavor first of all, and inasmuch as his judg¬ 
ment will determine ultimately the demand for a certain brand of 
butter, it is important that his verdict be given the weight it deserves. 
As noted above, the bacteria which are present in the cream, 
and which in the end find their way into the butter, are responsible 
in a large measure for the flavor. On the one hand, if filth germs 
dominate in the cream, then the butter will have a strong, rancid 
flavor and odor from the beginning. On the other hand, if the 
