244 
WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
ter in flavor and texture than fancy brands made at the butter 
factories of New York; but it is equally as good, and being 
put up in small rolls, or prints, and packed in refrigerators, it 
arrives in market as perfect as when it left the hands of the 
butter-maker. 
The best Philadelphia butter comes mainly from Chester, 
Lancaster and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania. 
The spring-house is about 18 feet by 24 feet, built of stone, 
with its foundation set deeply in the hill-side, the floor being 
about four feet below the level of the ground at the down hill¬ 
side. The floor is of oak, laid on sand or gravel; this is flowed 
with spring-water to the depth of three inches, and at this 
height the flowing water passes out into a tank at the lower 
side of the spring-house. The milk, when drawn from the 
cow, is strained in deep pans, which are set in the water upon 
the oaken floor. Raised platforms or walks are provided in 
the room for convenience in handling the milk. The walls of 
the spring-house are about ten feet high, and at the top on each 
side are windows covered with wire-cloth for ventilation. The 
depth of the milk, in the pans is about three inches, and the 
flowing water which surrounds the pans maintains a tempera¬ 
ture of about 58 de Fahrenheit. 
The milk is skimm.d after standing 24 hours, and the cream 
is put into deep vessels having a capacity of about 12 gallons. 
It is kept at a temperature of 58 deg. to 59 deg. until it ac¬ 
quires a slightly acid taste, when it goes to the churn. The 
churn is a barrel revolving on a journal in each head, and 
driven by horse-power. The churning occupies about an hour, 
and after the buttermilk is drawn off cold water is added and 
a few turns given to the churn, and the water then drawn off. 
This is repeated until the water as it is drawn off is nearly 
free from milkiness. The butter is worked with butter-work¬ 
ers, a dampened cloth meanwhile being pressed upon it to ab¬ 
sorb the moisture and free it of traces of buttermilk. The 
cloth is frequently dipped in cold spring water and wrung dry 
during the process of “wiping the butter.” It is next salted 
