1 Frs., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, 118 
THE FINISHED PRODUCT. 
Whey butter has a characteristic sweet taste of its own, which is very 
pleasant to the palate, although it cannot be compared in point of quality and 
flavour to a good sample of butter made from the cream of new milk. It may 
readily be salted down in pots for the winter, and will be found excellent for 
kitchen use, both for cooking and the making of buttered toast. 
In the early part of the cheese-making season—~.e., the spring of the year— 
a little colouring matter will not come amiss, and should be added to the cream 
before churning. 
As to the market value of whey butter, this usually runs about 2d. per |b. 
lower than the price of best or new milk butter, and is in great demand among 
the workpeople of the districts in which it is made. 
BUTTER RATIO, Etc. 
In the experience of the writer, the whey obtained from 60 gallons of 
milk is sufficient to afford 1 lb. of finished butter, but it will readily be seen 
that variation in the manufacture of the cheese and other matters, such as 
the prevailing weather, exercise some considerable control over the yield of 
butter. For instance, in still warm weather, the cream will not rise to the 
surface of the whey in nearly such quantity as throughout a cool breezy. 
night. 
The following analysis of whey, taken from Professor McConnell’s Agri- 
cultural Note Book, is worth recording :— 
THE ANALYSIS OF WHEY. 
Water, 9°30 per cent.; albuminoids, 1:0; fat, °3; milk, sugar, &e., 50; 
ash, °7. It will be seen that the butter-fat contained amounts to “3 per cent. 
his would mean that 3 lb. or thereabouts of butter could be obtained from 100 
gallons of whey if the whole of the fat was recoverable, but in practice one 
could not expect such a result; and under the circumstances attending cheese- 
making, &c., the ratio of 1 lb. in 600 means a very reasonable return for the 
extra labour involved. 
A VISIT TO A DUTCH CHEESE FACTORY. 
Every traveller in Holland soon becomes familiar with that eminently 
characteristic Dutch product—the Edam cheese. It invariably appears on the 
table at every meal, while cheese sandwiches—thin slices of ‘“ Edam’’ between 
the halves of a cut, fresh roll—seem to be extremely popular at all the cafés. 
As is well known, the Edam cheese is globular, hence the fanciful French 
name of “ cat’s heads” (¢etes de maure) applied to them. They weigh about 
4 1b. each, and, when carefully cured, keep for several years. ‘The best kinds 
are made in North Holland—Edam, Alkmaar, and Hoorn being perhaps the 
chief centres. A true ‘Edam’ is a fatty cheese made from full-cream milk, 
while those made in Friesland are, as a rule, much poorer, as only skim-milk is 
used in their manufacture. It is said, however, that the miik used for Edam 
cheese-making must not be too rich in fats, but, seeing that the supply invari- 
ably comes from cattle of the Dutch breed, it is extremely unlikely that the 
milk will ever err on the side of excessive richness. 
The cheeses are made either by the farmer himself or in factories ran on 
the co-operative principle. The methods pursued on the farms seem to be 
rather primitive, yet I was told by the dealers that they prefer the farm to the 
factory-made cheese; and certainly the farmer’s wife (who seems, by the way, 
to do most of the work while her lord stands by and smokes), apparently by 
long practice and experience, has undoubtedly discovered the right “ tricks” 
to secure the desired results. 
I 
