33 
The women of Shetland are, in gener¬ 
al, ignorant of making cheese: but their 
butter, when made for sale, is equal to 
any that can be found elsewhere. That 
made for the payment of rent is of a 
much inferior quality. 
It was an old custom here to pay their 
rent one half in grease butter at Lammas, 
and the other half in money at Martin¬ 
mas. This custom, however, is general¬ 
ly relinquished, and the butter converted 
into money. 
Their method of making butter being 
curious, I have thought proper to de¬ 
scribe it. They fill their churn with 
milk, which they churn in the usual way 
till the oleaginous part be made to sepa¬ 
rate from the serum. They then throw 
in some redhot stones, and continue 
churning till the butter float at the top, 
when it is taken out, and carefully wash¬ 
ed and salted. The buttermilk being 
boiled* what floats on the surface is used 
c 
