Novemper 1, 1906 
Notes on Packing Butter. 
By R. Silver Jones, Dairy Expert. 
The systems of packing butter for 
Market are very varied, some haying their 
‘own particular virtues, but many are not - 
‘conducive to the keeping qualities of the 
article packed, and now that the summer 
Season will soon be upon us, these few 
hints may be of considerable value to 
farmers who have to send their butter 
80me considerable distance.j 
The make-up and fapperance of the 
butter should be neat end tastefully at- 
tractive, 1 lb. brick shaped pats being the 
Most easily marketable, and it must be 
remembered that the appearance will help 
considerably towards the satisfactory sale 
n the market. ‘The ends and edges of 
the pats should be made as square as 
Possible so thatfthe pats of butter will fit 
pently into tbe box, holding it as one 
block, 
_ Each pound of butter should be wrapped 
In special parchment paper, with ends 
carefully and neatly folded down, This 
baper folds more easily and neatly down, 
and also has not the tendency to adhere 
to butter when open, if it is wetted prior 
to the folding. The paper, however, 
Should be allowed to dry off before being 
finally packed. It is also highly desirable 
lat farmers should have their names, 
With the name of their farm, plainly and 
Neatly printed on the parchment paper, 
So that customers can the raore easily see 
Whose butter they are buying. By this 
Means customers once satisfied will always 
90k for the same name in future, and 
© farmer will reap the benefit in the 
Shape of increased call for his butter. I 
4Ve invariably noticed that on all mar- 
8ts, both town and country, butter so 
Wrapped with the name on the paper 
“aims the best prico on that market, 
Omplaint is sometimes made against the 
Paper that it causes black spots in the 
butter : inferior paper will do this, but 
®nly the best paper should be bought from 
* firm which lays itself open to supply 
dairy utensils of the best quality. An- 
other complaint is heard that the salt 
Worked into the butter crystallises when ~ 
this paper is used. This complaint has 
hothing whatever to do with the paper. 
Rt © cause is obvious, either that the water 
ae not been thoroughly worked out of 
ae butter, and after it is allowed to stand 
* © moisture evaporates and leaves the 
alt crystallised on the outside of the 
Hee which very considerably reduces 
. rE appearance ; or that more salt has been 
oak ded than the water can dissolve, which 
fs _to a deposition of salt and detracts 
°m its appearance. 
bute package or box into which the 
juiter is packed is of great importance, 
“0 ideal box for the purpose should be 
: yett, Strong, dust-proof and well made, 
Sine of the boxes used by the farmers are 
ha at you might term really ideal, but one 
M, to choose from the best available, 
_ “ny descriptions of patent butter boxes 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 7 
ar) upon the market, nearly all excellent, 
but their initial cost is heavy and their 
weight is almost prohibitive in proportion 
to the amount of butter they hold as it 
increases the cost of trausport to market 
and in the case of non-return the loss is 
heavy. The most serviceable boxes are 
made of spruce, ash or oak which should 
be thoroughly well steamed and filled 
with hot water for at least twenty four 
hours ; if this does not take the smell from. 
the wood, fill a second time with hot water 
in which salt has been dissolyed. 124 in 
cube, inside measurement, will comfort- 
ably hold 50, 1-Ib pats, Wood 4 inch in 
thickness should be ample for strength 
and not too heavy for transport. The use 
of old soap boxes, improperly cleaned tins 
and such like makeshifts should be dis- 
‘continued as being most detrimental to 
the butter, 
The packing of the butter into the 
package is of considerable importance ; 
whatever style of package is used, it must 
be thoroughly well cleaned and well dried 
before use. It should be lined with clean 
white parchment paper, which can be pur- 
chased for the purpose in large sheets, 
Old newspapers which are very often used 
should ke condemned, the paper itself is 
not nice and the ink often comes off on to 
the butter, reducing the tasty appearance 
at once. The butter pats should fit into 
the box tightly, so as not to move about 
and thus lose their shape if the box is not 
full; the packing should then be neatly 
folded over, and, if the box isnot fulla 
batten nailed in to hold it justin position 
if the box is full this of course is un- 
necessary. However there should be no 
movement inside the box when either full 
or half full. The lid can now be fastened 
on, and no wet cloths of any description 
must be inside the box, as such are likely 
to induce mould, should the box not be 
opened for a few days, besides having the 
tendency to give the butter a musty 
flavour. All that remains now to do is 
to protect the butter from the heat of the 
sun, and the best plan for this is to sew 
the whole box into an ordinary bag, well 
cleaned, which is soaked in water, or pre- 
ferably salt water, and if the butter has 
very far to travel, the better way is to put 
into two bags, or first sew a piece of kaftir 
sheeting round the box and then sew it in 
the bag, soaking the whole as before, 
These should be kept wet so that the eva- 
poration will prevent the heat from get- 
ting through to the butter. 
One has only to visit the different mar- 
kets of the Colony to see what a varied 
assortment of packages and methods of 
packing are used. Packing in butter- 
muslin is not by any means to be advoc- 
ated. Many again line the inside with 
wet kaffir sheeting. This too is bad and 
should not be continued. Put the sheet. 
ing outside the box and it will help you. 
Some enterprising farmers during the 
summer months particularly pack each 
pound of butter in a properly prepared 
thin wood strip box; these can easily be 
procured and cost 6}d per dozen, and I 
feel inclined to think that they aid the 
proper sale of the butter to private con- 
sumers and customers, and by their help 
purchasers can more readily handle the 
butter without damaging it, and I am 
quite convinced that they at the very 
least pay for themselves in a higher price 
obtained. 
It is of little avail and encouragement 
to the producer to pack his butter in the 
best style possible, if when it arrives at 
the market the boxes are ripped open and 
often broken and the butter exhibited for 
sale in a slovenly manner, and there is 
undoubtedly great room for improvement 
in this direction, and I feel convinced 
that it would be to the advantage of all 
concerned if some more general and more 
uniform system were adopted in the make 
up and packing of the butter sent to the 
various markets of the colony. The Rail- 
way Department would then be better 
able to deal with the traffic and with a 
package of more uniform and regular 
type, with the name and address of the 
owner clearly branded on the outside, 
they would be in a better position to see 
to the proper return of empties, the con- 
tinual loss of which must reduce the 
profits somewhat, and I learn from many 
farmers that it is the question of return 
empties which deters many from adopt- 
ing a better box, and makes them adhere 
to the present makeshift one that is now 
so much used. The cause of this ques- 
tion of return empties is by no means 
wholly at the door of the Railway De- 
partment, but the tréatment they receive 
at the hands of the markets is by no 
means fair and reasonable. 
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Every detail is overlooked by our Sur- 
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LA | 
Loganberries are ripening now and the 
young canes for next year’s fruiting are 
making rapid growth. These should be 
carefully looked after and tied to the wires 
_ all lateral and superfluous growth be re- 
moved. 
ee 
