528 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
liihe  4,  1808. 
after  milking — a  desideratum  in  all  setting  — and  skimmed  twice, 
at  intervals  of  twelve  hours.  Shallow  earthenware  pans  are 
often  used  in  place  of  the  tins,  hut  on  account  of  frequent 
breakages  come  a  little  more  expensive. 
In  the  West  of  England  most  of  the  cream  is  raised  by 
‘  scalding/’  a  method  so  simple  and  productive  of  the  well 
known  delicious  “  clotted  cream,”  that  one  wonders  it  is  not 
more  largely  practised  in  other  parts  of  the  country. 
For  the  benefit  of  the  uninitiated  we  will  briefly  describe  the 
process.  The  milk  on  being  brought  in  is  strained  into  round 
tins  about  8  inches  deep,  and  16  across.  These  are  allowed  to 
stand  twelve  hours,  after  wh'ch  they  are  gently  carried  to  a 
stove  or  “scalder” — an  apparatus  for  heating  water,  the  cover 
of  which  is  made  with  round  openings,  into  which  a  pm  of  milk 
fits.  The  milk  is  heated  from  twenty  to  thirty  minutes,  by 
which  time,  if  the  water  were  nearly  boiling  (200°  F  ),  the  cream 
becumas  thick  and  blistered-looking,  and  a  ring  corresponding 
to  the  bottom  of  the  pan  may  be  seen  It  is  then  taken  back  to 
the  dairy,  skimmed  after  an  interval  of  twelve  to  twenty-four 
hours,  according  to  the  time  of  year. 
Where  a  proper  “  scalder  ”  is  not  available  the  milk  may  be 
scalded  on  an  ordinary  kitchen  stove  by  placing  the  pan  of 
milk  in  a  vessel  of  water  on  the  top  of  the  stove.  On  no  account 
must  the  milk  be  allowed  to  boil,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
mu  t  be  sufficient  heat  to  raise  it  to  180°  F.,  a  temperature 
insuring  the  blistered  appearance  within  half  an  hour. 
Having  obtained  our  cream,  the  next  thing  is  the  selection 
of  a  churn  We  may  remark  en  passant,  that  good  butter  can 
be  and  is  made  by  all  and  every  sort  of  churn  provided  it  is  used 
with  skill  and  cleanliness 
Our  improved  modern  churns,  however,  are  easier  to  turn, 
more  convenient  in  use,  and  easier  to  wash,  but  cannot  claim 
t  >  produce  a  better  article  than  one  that  has  been  in  use  half  a 
c  mtury  in  some  old  fashioned  farmhouse.  Where  a  churn  has 
to  be  purchased,  it  should  be  chosen  with  a  large  mouth,  so  that 
both  arms  can  go  in  for  the  removal  of  butter  and  for  washing 
o  it  The  lid  ought  to  be  fitted  with  a  round  piece  of  glass,  by 
which  one  can  note  the  stage  of  churning  arrived  at  If  there 
are  beaters  they  should  be  moveable,  not  fixed  As  a  churn  must 
not  be  more  than  half  filled,  it  should  be  bought  large  enough  in 
the  first  instance. 
In  churning  much  depends  on  the  temperature  of  the  cream. 
Therefore  a  dairy  thermometer  is  indispensable.  This  should  be 
from  54°  to  58°  F.  in  the  summer,  and  58°  to  63°  F.  in  the  winter  ; 
the  cooler  the  day  the  warmer  the  cream,  and  vice  versa.  Cream 
from  different  cows,  and  produced  on  different  land,  will  require 
varying  temperatures.  Having  our  limitations— 543  to  63° — we 
soon  find  what  is  best  suited  to  our  own  particular  cream. 
If  the  butter  comes  in  less  than  half  an  hour,  and  is  soft,  and 
the  butter-milk  appears  rich,  we  may  conclude  the  temperature 
was  too  high,  or  if  churning  takes  much  over  an  hour,  a  degree 
higher  temperature  may  be  tried  with  advantage.  When  the 
butter  is  the  size  of  grains  of  Wheat,  churning  must  be  stopped 
and  the  butter  milk  let  out.  The  but'er  is  washed  best  and 
<  asiest  in  the  churn,  and  this  is  done  by  pouring  in,  say  a  pailful 
of  water  at  a  time,  and  churning  rapidly  some  dozen  times  each 
way  This  should  be  repeated  until  water  comes  away  clear, 
showing  no  butter-milk  remains.  Butter  churned  into  big  lumps 
can  never  be  perfectly  freed  from  butter-milk,  hence  does  not 
keep  so  well.  If  fresh,  slightly  salted  butter  is  required,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  soak  it  in  brine  (2  lbs.  of  salt  to  1  gallon  of 
water)  for  ten  minutes.  This  improves  the  colour  and  helps  to 
harden  it.  If  more  salt  is  preferred,  half  an  ounce  of  fine  dry 
salt  may  be  sifted  on  to  every  pound  of  butter  or  quart  of 
cream. 
Though  a  cumbersome  old-fashioned  churn  may  serve  its 
purpose,  a  modern  appliance  is  very  desirable  for  working  the 
butter.  These  butter-workers,  as  they  are  called,  can  be  bought 
from  12s  6d.  upwards,  and  will  be  found  most  valuable  additions 
to  all  dairies.  They  consist  of  an  oblong  wooden  table  with  a 
ledge  all  round,  a  ridged  wooden  roller  (pushed  by  hand),  which 
runs  up  and  down  the  table,  over  the  hutter,  and  so  presses  out 
the  moisture,  which  drains  away  through  a  small  outlet  This 
table  slopes  to  one  end,  but  for  the  purpose  of  “  making  up  ” 
can  be  made  level 
The  making  up  of  the  butter  should  be  done  with  “  Scotch 
hands,”  small  boards  made  for  the  purpose  A  brick  shape  is 
best  for  packing,  and  easiest  made;  next  comes  a  plain  roll. 
Whatever  the  style  adopted,  it  should  be  as  neatly  turned  out 
and  as  uniform  as  possible.  In  this,  as  in  preparation  of  all 
other  food,  appearance  goe*  a  long  way.  When  made,  it  should 
be  placed  in  a  draught,  protected  from  dust  (by  a  piece  of  dry 
muslin)  in  order  to  “  set  ”  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Swedes  having  been  sown,  and  the  land  all  bat  ready  for  drilling 
with  common  Turnips,  we  may  walk  round  and  take  Btock  of  work 
done  and  probable  results.  If  the  walk  be  a  long  one,  as  in  our  own 
case,  a  pleasant  rest  may  be  taken  on  the  top  bar  of  a  gate  (if  the  said 
bar  be  fairly  wide  one),  and  with  the  broad  fields  in  full  view  our  plans 
laid  for  the  future. 
We  have  often  wondered  whether  the  aged  man  described  by  Mr. 
Lewis  Carroll  as  sitting  on  a  gate  was  an  up-to-date  agriculturist ;  at 
any  rate,  his  Bkill  at  standing  on  his  head  would  have  been  exceedingly 
useful  at  the  present  time  if  he  were,  for  the  evolutions  of  the  acrobat 
are  as  nothing  to  what  the  farmer  has  to  master  in  these  ultra  modern 
days. 
The  rain  has  been  sufficient  for  the  Wheats,  which  look  well  ;  hut 
the  same  cannot  be  said  for  Barley  and  Oats,  which,  looking  well  where 
sown  early  on  good  land,  are  still  crying  out  for  rain  where  there  is 
piverty  either  of  soil  or  management.  We  see  and  hear  of  fields  which 
have  only  partly  germinated  the  seed  put  in  them.  It  is  a  trying 
time  with  the  young  Clovers  and  grass  seeds,  and  we  find  the  tiny 
plants  not  so  numerous  as  they  were  when  first  up,  which  clearly  shows 
that  the  drought  has  killed  many  of  them.  Some  people  would  re-sow, 
but  the  same  thing  might  occur  again,  and  if  there  be  half  a  plant 
visible  a  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush,  and  half  a  loaf  is 
better  than  no  bread. 
Potatoes  are  looking  very  promising,  though  the  heavier  soils  have 
been  a  little  rough,  and  the  “iron  age”  horse  hoe  has  been  used  with 
excellent  effect. 
Mangolds  are  coming  up  very  thinly,  and  there  is  nothing  like  a  full 
plant  yet.  Early  Turnips  have  come  well,  with  sufficient  moisture 
there  should  be  good  crops  of  Swedes.  The  land  is  well  cleaned  and  in 
fine  condition. 
Pastures  are,  alas  1  anything  but  good  ;  seeds  are  very  bare,  and  the 
outlook  for  hay  and  Clover  anything  but  promising  ;  in  fact,  hay 
cannot  be  an  average  crop,  and  many  fields  of  Red  Clover  are  too  thin  of 
plant  ever  to  make  a  good  crop. 
This  his  been  quite  a  typical  May  month,  fine  on  the  whole,  with 
slight  frosts  and  generally  cold  N.E.  winds.  Had  there  been  more  rain 
in  April  all  would  have  been  well,  for  May  should  be  dry  to  benefit  the 
farmer.  Upon  time  much  depends.  “A  dripping  June  puts  all  in 
tune  ”  is  an  old  saying  and  a  true  one,  let  us  hope  that  it  may  be  fulfilled 
this  year  of  grace  1896. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1896. 
M  rr-*  _ I 
Sag 
3  IS 
no  j 
o  ^ 
KCO  oJ 
0> 
£Q  cacQ 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
a 
ca 
ca 
May. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Wind. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
• 
Sunday  .. 
24 
Inchs. 
30*336 
deg. 
55-7 
deg. 
48-6 
N.E. 
deg. 
66-2 
deg. 
66-2 
deg. 
47-3 
deg. 
113-9 
deg. 
41-3 
Inchs. 
Monday  .. 
25 
iO-484 
56-4 
4*-3 
N.E. 
56-9 
63-4 
44-0 
105-1 
40-6 
— 
Tuesday  . . 
26 
30*389 
54-8 
49  1 
N.E. 
56-8 
67-9 
44-8 
118-6 
36-9 
— 
Wednesday 
27 
30-253 
59  8 
52-4 
N. 
570 
71-1 
44-1 
122-9 
>7*1 
— 
Thursday  . . 
28 
30-298 
57-2 
51-0 
N.E. 
57-9 
68-4 
48-1 
118-4 
43-1 
— 
Friday 
29 
31-196 
57-7 
63-1 
N. 
58-9 
78-9 
46-9 
122-9 
44-3 
— 
Saturday 
30 
30-163 
59-3 
52  8 
N. 
60-1 
61-8 
62-9 
86-8 
44-3 
— 
30-303, 
57-3 
50-8 
57  7 
68-2 
43-9 
112-7 
41-1 
— 
REMARKS. 
24th.-  Bright  sunny  morning  ;  cloudy  in  late  afternoon  and  evening. 
25th.— Generally  overcast  throughout,  but  intervals  of  sunshine. 
26th.— Alternate  cloud  and  sunshine  all  dry. 
27th.— Bright  sun  all  morning  ;  cloudy  at  times  in  afternoon. 
28th. — Bright  and  fresh. 
29th.— Bright  sunshine  almost  throughout. 
30th. — Overcast  day,  with  occasional  gleams  of  sun  ;  fine  evening. 
A  rainless  week,  closing  a  month  with  less  than  one- tenth  of  the  average  fall,  and' 
with  the  least  rain  in  any  May  for  thirty-eight  years.  Since  April  16th  less  than  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  of  rain  has  fallen.  Temperature  of  the  week  very  near  the  average, 
— G.  J.  Symons. 
