THE OX. 
37 
THE DAIRY. 
the manufacture of cheese is combined with the preparation of butter to be disposed of in the salted state. The interests and habits 
of the dairyman will lead him to the kind of dairy which he shall establish. If he is in the vicinity of a town, he will generally 
adopt that which is to supply the inhabitants with milk in the natural state. In this kind of dairy the rule of practice is, that the 
milk shall be conveyed to the consumer before the cream has separated from the liquid, and before acidity has taken place by the 
formation of acids. To prevent ascescence and the separation of the lighter parts, it should be kept at the greatest possible degree 
of cold. The ascescence and coagulation of the milk, too, may be retarded or prevented by the addition of an alkaline carbonate, 
of which the most suitable is carbonate of soda. The crystallized salt, being dissolved in two or three times its weight of cold water, 
is to be mixed with the milk, until a slip of turmeric paper, dipped into the fluid, retains its yellow colour, or rather just begins to 
change its yellow colour to brown. And even when milk has become acid and curdled, it may have its properties restored by this 
means. Milk, too, may be preserved by heating it when taken from the Cow, and once a-day afterwards. When milk is evaporated 
to dryness, the residuum, in the form of a powder, may be preserved in close bottles; and when required for use, mixed with water, 
to be formed into an emulsion, which is not very different in its flavour and qualities from the original milk; and in this manner 
the substance of milk may be preserved for the longest sea-voyages and distant journeys. The trade in milk in large towns has 
given rise to a system of adulteration which ought to be punished as a fraud upon the consumer. The primary adulteration is 
dilution by water, which is known to be practised to a great extent in some of the capitals of Europe, and chiefly in London and 
Paris. The effect is not confined to an impairing of the nutritive properties of the milk : it leads to other devices, still more cri¬ 
minal, for the purpose of concealing the adulteration. 
The next destination of the dairy is the production of Butter. The preparation of butter is a simple process, capable of being 
performed on the large scale, as well as on the small, by the domestic inmates of the household. It may be obtained either by 
separating the cream from the milk and churning it, or by churning the cream and milk together. By churning the cream alone, 
butter will be obtained of better flavour and more valued for domestic use ; by churning the milk without separation of the cream, 
butter will be obtained in larger quantity, and though not usually so delicate in its fresh state equally suited for being salted. 
When butter is to be prepared by churning the cream alone, the following is the method adopted. The Cows being milked, 
the milk is carried home to the dairy in pails or larger vessels, into which the smaller ones have been emptied, with the least possible 
delay or agitation of the milk. For which reasons, as well as in order to economize the time of the milkers, the cows to be milked 
should be driven quietly home to the vicinity of the dairy. The milk is passed through a hair-sieve into the vessels in which it is 
to remain. These vessels may either consist of shallow troughs formed of marble or slate, of a size to contain the milk of several 
cows, and having an aperture with a stopcock at bottom; or of shallow circular vessels capable of containing from half a aallon 
to a gallon. The latter are made of wood, but better of unglazed earthenware; and, with still greater advantage, of zinc, or of 
cast-iron softened by annealing, turned smooth inside, and coated with tin. Whichever class of coolers is emploved, the milk is 
emptied into them to the depth of from four to six inches, and the liquid is left at rest in the milk-room. In twenty-four hours, 
the greater part of the cream will have risen to the surface; but a larger quantity will be obtained if the milk is allowed to stand 
for a longer time. Sometimes, in very cold weather, it is permitted to stand for forty-eight hours, but twenty-four will suffice for 
obtaining all the more valuable part of the cream. When the larger troughs are used, the stop-cock is turned, and the serous 
milk is withdrawn from beneath the cream; and then the cream is in like manner withdrawn into a separate vessel; and in the case 
of the smaller coolers, the cream is skimmed off, which may be done by a flat perforated dish of tin. Sometimes repeated skimmings 
of the cream take place, and sometimes its separation is favoured by the application of heat. The apartment for containing the 
milk, commonly termed the milk-room, should be well protected from the effect of the sun’s rays, and formed so as to admit of 
easy ventilation. It should, if possible, be arched with brick or stone, have a northern exposure, and be distant from standing ponds 
of water and putrid effluvia. 
The cream being removed, is put into a vessel, frequently a barrel, but better a jar of unglazed earthenware, or vase of 
marble. Fresh portions of cream, from successive milkings of the cows, are added, until a sufficient quantity is collected for churn¬ 
ing. It may remain a week, but it is better that the period should not exceed four or five days. In this state the whole cream 
becomes acid and coagulates, which favours the separation of the butter; and in order to produce coagulation, the acid juice of 
lemon may be added. When the necessary quantity of cream has been collected, it is put into the churn. 
Churns are of various kinds. The most common is the Plunge-churn, as it is called, moved by the hand. It consists of a 
cylindrical vessel of wood placed upright. The agitation is given to the milk by a perforated board, which nearly fits the cylin¬ 
der, and to which is attached a long handle. This being moved up and down, the milk is agitated, and the butter, after a time, 
is separated. The other kind of churn, termed the Barrel-churn, consists of a cylindrical vessel of wood, placed horizontally, throuoh 
which an axle passes having sparred arms or wings, which are fixed to it within the cylinder. A handle is attached, and either 
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