Hints on Dairying

ELEMENTS OF FOOD.

We give the names of a few foods, with their relative amount of nitrogenous and carbonaceous elements:

ENSILAGE.

Major Henry E. Alvord, of Houghton Farm, N.Y., gives the following as the range and average of analyses by a large number of eminent scientists:

REMARKS.

It is safe to always feed cotton seed meal, bran, or linseed cake with corn fodder, or fodder corn, or ensilage. And it will always be found to work well if corn meal is fed with clover hay. Corn ensilage with clover hay will constitute a proper feed. To avoid waste, and secure the best results, we must learn to balance the nitrogenous and carbonaceous foods. Our greatest difficulty in feeding, as in manuring the soil, is to secure enough of the nitrogenous elements. These are what we have mainly to look out for, the carbonaceous foods usually being over abundant.

Not only must we proportion the elements of food properly, but we must prepare the food so that it will be in a proper condition. It may contain all the elements, but in consequence of being in a bad or wrong condition, the animal cannot digest it. There is plenty of carbon in coal, but who would expect the animal stomach to digest it? So there is nitrogen in saltpeter and gun-cotton, but they are not in a suitable condition or form for digestion, and hence have no food value. Most raw vegetables are indigestible in the human stomach, but cook them, and thus put them in a proper condition, and they become nutritious foods.

There are few, if any, perfect foods. Every food needs to be supplemented with something else. Hence it is that both men and animals want variety. Summer pasture, composed of mixed grasses, makes the best food for all kinds of stock. Meadow hay, cut at the right time and properly cured—provided there is a mixture of grasses—makes a proper food for winter; but even this needs to be accompanied by roots, ensilage or something of a juicy nature, as a relish, if for nothing else, and as an aid to digestion.

In a state of nature, roaming free, animals select and balance their rations according to the cravings of appetite. But when domesticated, they have no such freedom of choice, except perhaps in a few of the summer months. In winter, they must take what is given to them. It is our duty, therefore, to give their food a proper balance of elements as far as possible; and in thus conforming to the laws of nature, we shall find both the greatest economy and the greatest profit.

HANDLING MILK.

It is a comparatively easy operation to milk, if one knows how. The process is about as simple as that of Columbus in making an egg stand on end, but it requires skill, practice and a muscular hand to do it well. Grasping the teat so as to fill it with milk, and then tighten the thumb and fore finger so as to prevent a return of the milk to the udder as the rest of the fingers are gently but firmly closed, so as to give a downward pressure and expel the milk, is not likely to be done by the novice the first time trying. But ordinarily, the performance of this operation is soon achieved by any one who wishes to learn, though it is declared by some that they "never could learn to milk." Substitute "would" for "could," and we think the truth is more nearly approximated. Still there is a great difference in milkers, as well as in cows, the man or woman with a good grip in the hand having decidedly the advantage, both as regards ease and expedition—and it is quite important that the milk should all be quickly and continuously drawn from the cow after the milking is begun, and while the cow is in the mood of "giving down."

KEEP QUIET.

If a cow is suddenly disturbed, so as to get excited, or gets tired and out of patience, the flow of milk may be prematurely stopped. If this disturbance is continued from time to time, the effect will be to permanently lessen the flow, or "dry up" the cow. Anything that irritates a cow, while being milked, reduces both quality and quantity. Hence, milking should be done in a quiet and orderly manner. Treat the cow very kindly and gently, so as to gain her confidence, and be as careful as possible not to hurt her teats by unnecessarily tearing open any cracks there may be, or pinching any warts, and be sure to not dig your finger-nails into the teats.

REGULARITY.

It is a good plan to milk cows regularly in the same order, taking the same one first, and winding up with the same one every time. Regularity of hour in commencing the milking of the herd is an advantage, in securing the best results, since animals as well as men are greatly the creatures of habit, and when the time comes around the cow will desire to be milked and all the functions of her system will concur in this desire.

KEEP DOWN THE FOUL ODORS.

The milking should be done in a sweet, clean place—either a stable kept scrupulously clean, and plaster or other deoderizer freely used, or in a row of stanchions in an open shed, with barely a roof to keep off storm and sunshine, and no filthy deposits allowed to accumulate around it. The milk, as fast as drawn, should be removed from the place of milking, lest it absorb odors from the droppings, the breath, or the exhalations from the cow's body—or even from the sweat and grime of the person and clothes of the milker—for milk is extremely sensitive to these influences. It is much more so than is popularly supposed, and should be put in a sweet atmosphere as soon as possible when drawn. Fine fancy goods, with the most delicious and delicate flavor, cannot be made from milk that has been exposed to the influence of a foul atmosphere.

KEEP OUT THE DIRT.

So, also, great care should be taken to keep out all hairs, dirt and filth of every kind. If permitted to get into the milk, filth cannot be entirely strained out, and hence some of its odors and flavors will linger in the fats of the milk and appear in the product manufactured from it. The indispensable necessity for clean utensils has already been mentioned. Filth from this source will not only affect odor and flavor, but is quite likely to contain the germs of ferment which will multiply in the milk and product, and cause disastrous results. With a clean can, clean pails and clean hands, begin the task of milking by brushing off all loose materials from the cow's side that may rattle down into the pail, carefully brush and clean the udder and teats, and then place the pail between your knees in a way to prevent the cow putting her foot into it, or upsetting it, if she should move about nervously, or be suddenly startled—which should not be permitted if it is possible to avoid it.

LET OUT THE COWS.

As fast as milked, it is best to let the cows go. This gives more room, reduces the generation of heat in the stable or milking place, and lessens the amount of droppings and consequent bad odors rising from them. Those left will soon understand this and not get uneasy.

A LICK OF MEAL.

If the cows have been prepared for milking by giving them a lick of meal, or a little dry hay, when they come into the stable, it will be found to have a good effect. It will also cultivate a willingness to come home at milking time and take their respective places in the stanchions. It pays to please and satisfy a cow. She will deposit her appreciation in the pail.

CARE OF MILK.

When the milking is over, the milk should be taken as directly to the place of manufacture as possible. If it must be kept over night, see that it is well stirred and properly cooled to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, before leaving it. Do not put on a close cover, unless the milk is thoroughly cooled. It is far better to deliver it directly to the cheese or butter maker, who knows how to care for it, and has facilities for doing the work—or, at least, ought to have. Very much depends on having the milk delivered in good condition. If it is not, no after care and skill can make a perfect product from it. True, if all right when delivered, it may be afterward injured or spoiled, but it is not likely to be. It is therefore the duty of the patron to do his part of the work all right; then he may with some reason blame the operator if the result is not right. But butter and cheese makers are too often expected to turn out first-class products from second or third class milk—a task impossible to perform. With good milk and proper facilities, there is no valid excuse for failure.

The first object is the production of good milk. This is of prime importance. Without it, the after product must of necessity be inferior. The next object is to preserve the milk in its best condition, all through the handling, in order to reach the best results. Milk is often spoiled in the handling. Hence care and judgment must be exercised to maintain the proper conditions to the end.

COMPOSITION OF MILK.

Few understand the delicate and complex nature of milk. It is a compound of many ingredients; and if any one of these is disturbed, it affects the whole. Their union is very weak and unstable, and liable to be broken by many influences. To give a clearer idea of the composition of milk, we copy the following diagram, prepared by Dr. E. Lewis Sturtevant, Director of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station:

[1] Includes, albumen and whatever else is coagulable by acetic acid.

[2] Not found in all milk.

Here are between twenty and thirty different constituents, in various proportions. Their combination is effected through the organism of the cow, the ultimate work being performed by the udder, where it is no sooner completed than reaction begins and change is the result.

DETERIORATION OF MILK IN THE UDDER.

The longer the milk remains in the udder, the more it is impoverished by absorption of some of its ingredients. This is specially true of the fats, which are taken up by the absorbent vessels of the udder and carried into general circulation. For this reason, the first milk drawn—which is the first secreted, and therefore remains in the udder the longest—is the poorest milk drawn, and that which is last secreted and last milked (the strippings) is the richest. Hence, the longer the interval between milkings, the poorer the milk for butter making. Three milkings a day will give better results than two.

DO FATS EXPAND BEFORE CONGEALING?

If milk is to be set for cream, the sooner it is put to rest and the less heat it looses before setting, the better for the separation of the cream. If cooled down much, the cream will rise more slowly and separate more imperfectly. In cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids condense faster than the fats, and hence become relatively heavier, and settle as the fat globules rise, by virtue of the law of gravitation. The theory has been broached by Mr. H.B. Gurler, of DeKalb, Illinois, that in sudden cooling, the fluids and semi-fluids are not only condensed, but the fats expanded, thus increasing the difference in specific gravity in both directions. In this way, the rapid rising of cream in sudden cooling he thinks may be better accounted for. His idea is based on the fact that water, just before congealing, begins to expand and continues to expand as the temperature lowers. Fats consolidate at a much higher temperature than water, and he thinks the same law of expansion may intervene in both cases. So far as we are aware, it is not known whether fats do actually expand before and after reaching the point of congelation or not, and we shall feel an interest in having the question positively settled by the scientists. If it is a fact, it introduces a new element into our philosophy, and will help in the solution of some points not yet satisfactorily determined.

EFFECTS OF FALLING TEMPERATURE.

It is a fact that cream rises best in a falling temperature, very slowly in a stationary one, and little or none in a rising temperature. Hence, in cold weather, when milk cools very rapidly after being drawn from the cow, it is the practice of many good dairymen to raise the temperature of the milk to 100 degrees when set. In this way, they get a quicker and more complete separation of the cream as the milk cools down.

It would be a good idea to have, in all butter factories, apparatus for setting milk so constructed that the temperature of the mass of milk can be gradually and evenly raised to 100 degrees, or even slightly above; for it is difficult to deliver warm milk in a good condition especially in hot weather—if it has to be carried any considerable distance, while in cold weather, it is sure to get considerably reduced in temperature, both in milking and on the road to the factory. Hence, it seems almost absolutely essential, if the best results are to be attained, to have some means of properly raising the temperature of the milk at the factory.

COOLING AND AIRING.

If milk is to be sent to the factory, for either butter or cheese making, where the distance is half a mile or more, it should be aired and cooled—especially if it is to be shut up in a tight can. This cooling should be done as speedily as possible after milking, to avoid taint or souring. If the milk is kept over night, such airing and cooling are absolutely indispensable. The mode of doing this must vary with conditions and circumstances; but, whatever method may be adopted, we would by no means recommend putting ice directly into the milk. The effect cannot be to improve flavor or keeping quality.

PROTECTION FROM THE HOT SUN.

By no means should the can of milk be exposed to the direct rays of a hot sun, either on the platform waiting for the delivery wagon, or on the wagon. Give it shelter and shade of some kind, in both cases. If a woolen blanket is wet in cold water and wrapped around the can, the rapid evaporation from the blanket will keep down the temperature. Everything that can be should be done to preserve milk in its normal condition.

TREATMENT OF NIGHT'S AND MORNING'S MILK.

The night's milk and the morning's milk should never be mixed before starting for the factory, but kept in separate cans and so delivered. The effect of mixing will be seen soon enough at the factory, and often much too soon in hot weather. If the morning's milk were made as cool as the night's, the effect of mixing would not be so speedy and disastrous. But it appears to be an immutable law, that reducing the temperature and then raising it hastens decomposition. A low temperature only retards decomposition; it does not prevent it, unless very low and it is continued. As soon as the temperature is raised, decomposition sets in with accelerated rapidity, as if to make up for lost time. Hence, we have always looked upon low temperatures in the dairy as objectionable. As low as 60 degrees but not below 50 degrees is the limit which we prefer. We think this range more effective for long keeping than a lower one. Certainly, dairy goods made and kept within this range will not go to decay so soon as in a higher temperature.

RECEIVING.

In receiving either milk or cream from the patron, it is essential not only that justice be done in the weight or measure, but that the patron should be satisfied of this fact. The agent sent out to gather cream should be an honest man, in whom the patrons as well as the employer have confidence, and should understand his business and do it in a workman-like manner, so as to inspire confidence. He should also be versed in the various tricks that may be resorted to by patrons to deceive and cheat, and be on his guard, quick to discern any suspicious surroundings or indications. As much depends on his judgment and observation as on his honesty—especially if any of the patrons are disposed to be dishonest, as is sometimes the case where it would generally be least suspected. The later device of not only measuring cream by the gauge, but of testing its yield of butter by churning a sample, is not only a guard, to considerable extent, against fraud, but more closely approximates justice by getting at the actual quality of the cream, on which depends its value. There is no associated system yet devised—save that of churning every patron's cream separately and weighing the product—that secures exact justice to all. Nature does not appear to have furnished standards of commercial measure or value for the purpose of indicating mine and thine in mixed transactions, or in speculative exchange. We have only relative and approximate guides, by which justice, in a business sense, is by no means secured.

TESTING.

Where milk is delivered at the factory, we have as yet no standard test of value. All the receiver can do is to see that it is in a normal condition—neither sour nor tainted, nor containing bad odors. For this purpose, the smell must mainly be relied on. Hence, healthy and keen olfactories are a great aid here, as in some other cases. If one catches the fumes when the can cover is first removed, or as the milk runs into the weighing can, he is pretty sure to detect any very positive bad odor. The eye, to one of experience, is almost certain to detect any great variation. Even slight watering is seen by some from the peculiarity of the reflection of light from the surface—especially when in motion. Much water shows from the "thin" appearance of the fluid. Where the smell or appearance are cause for suspicion, or there is any other cause, a sample may be saved and such tests as are at hand may be applied. The so-called lactometer will show whether the specific gravity is below or above the normal standard. The cream gauge will give the percent of cream at a given temperature. If, afterward, a sample right from the herd, taken so as to know that it has not been tampered with, shows better quality by these two tests, it is pretty conclusive evidence that the milk from which the factory sample was taken was not in a normal condition. If the herd has been subject to no change of feed or conditions between the times of taking the two samples, any jury would be safe in bringing in a verdict against the defendant for watering, skimming, or otherwise tampering with his milk, as the facts in evidence might indicate.

BAD MILK.

Sour or tainted milk, to any perceptible degree, ought not to be received at the factory. One such mess will injure, if it does not spoil, a whole batch. The sour milk is likely to lead to a sour, leaky batch, and the tainted milk to huffy if not floating curd, and porous, quickly off-flavor and decaying cheese. We have little patience with those who deliver such milk, and none with those who attempt to devise means to work it into palatable cheese and thus to get it into the unsuspecting stomachs of the consumers. It is too much like making omelets of rotten eggs. This is especially the case with tainted milk. The first stages of souring are not so objectionable, so far as wholesomeness is concerned. Sour milk may make good pot-cheese to which we do not object, but it will not make good American cheddar cheese. To attempt to work it into this is the worst use it can be put to.

WEIGHING.

All possible precautions should be taken to avoid mistakes in weighing and giving credit. A hasty comparison of each mess with that of the previous one delivered by the same man will indicate any marked departure from weight and serve as a check against error. It is well to always announce the weight to the patron, who then has a chance for comparison with his average or previous messes. He will be pretty likely to mention any marked variation, especially if it is against him. Some patrons like to have a pass-book, in which the weight of each mess is entered. This is a little trouble to the receiver when in a hurry, but it is a complete check against errors of entry on the factory book, and against the forgetfulness of the patron, who may get the impression that he has delivered more milk in a given time than he has been credited with. Everything that guards against error or misunderstanding will be found to pay and give satisfaction to honest men. An honest factoryman not only wants to be right, but to appear right and have the confidence of his patrons. A dishonest one will want to appear right, and it is well to take such precautions as will make him what he appears. See that the weighing can is properly balanced, that the scales are true, and that the weights are correct. An honest man will bear watching, and it is absolutely necessary to watch a rogue. Where the milk is sold to the factory, of course all interest in the matter with the patron ends when he gets his milk correctly weighed and his money for it. Where the pro rata system is carried out, this interest extends to the weighing of the cheese, its marketing and the division of the proceeds.

KEEPING MILK.

When the milk is in the cheese vat, it should be stirred and aired at night until the temperature is down to 70 degrees, if it is to stand quiet; if an agitator is used, which is preferable, no further attention need be paid to the milk but to see that the supply of cold water is ample and continuous. As to mixing the morning's with the night's milk, it appears to be preferable to working up the two milkings separately.

BUTTER MAKING.

There really are but four systems of setting milk for cream, notwithstanding the numerous inventions and devices. These are: 1. Cooling in water; 2. cooling in air; 3. shallow setting; 4. deep setting.

DEEP SETTING AND WATER COOLING.

Deep setting, whether in pails or pans, is always accompanied with water and the use of ice. In many instances, however, where running water is abundant, ice is dispensed with, and the pails are set in pools or tanks, while the pans have water run around them, if not under them. Under-cooling, however, is pretty well understood to be a disadvantage, unless the vessel containing the milk is submerged in water or nearly so. Ice is a good deal used, and the milk rapidly run down in temperature. Some think this is the better as well as the quicker way, if not the only way to get all the cream. Our only objection to this rapid cooling is that it runs the temperature too low, and, in our opinion, injures the keeping quality of the product.

EFFECT OF TOO LOW COOLING.

If run below 40 degrees, or the point where water begins to expand, all cooling below that point lessens the difference in specific gravity between the water and the fat globules, and operates diametrically in the opposite direction to what is desired. The aim is to condense the water, which is a good conductor, and leave the fat globules, which are poor conductors, unchanged or but slightly contracted. In this way, the heavier fluid settles and drives the light particles of fat upward to rest on the surface. But, if we go below 40 degrees, we produce the directly opposite effect and retard the rising of the cream. For quality, we prefer the slower cooling in water, and think the longer time given will secure all the cream available and in a purer condition.

BUTTERMILK FLAVOR.

If more cream or butter is obtained by rapid cooling, we think it is because more particles of caseine are entangled in the cream and remain in the butter when churned. This would of course make more weight for market, but of inferior quality and sooner to go off flavor. But where the butter is consumed fresh from the churn, this does not matter so much; and if the particles of caseine give the butter a slight buttermilk flavor, it pleases some palates that have been educated to like it. We, however, prefer the sweet, delicate flavor of cream butter, free from caseine or lactic acid. But, if one has a special line of customers, he must please them, whatever the demand may be. If the butter is thrown on the general market, and there is liable to be delay in getting it into consumption, it cannot be made too pure, nor retain its rosy flavor too long.

SHALLOW SETTING AND AIR COOLING.

Generally, in shallow setting, whether in large or small pans, cooling the milk in air is depended upon. Formerly, an underground room, or one in a shady place, was the only appliance usually resorted to for cooling. But, of late years, some method of artificially cooling the air by the use of ice is generally adopted. In some cases, the milk room is made small, with low ceiling and double walls, so that a cake of ice near the ceiling does the cooling. Usually, however, some sort of refrigerator construction is resorted to, so that cool air from the ice-house, or ice placed above the milk room, is introduced to regulate the temperature and keep it steady. We prefer cooling in air, though it may take a little more space and time. By this method, extremely rapid cooling and low temperature are avoided, and no violence is done to the milk or cream. Deep setting, it is true, exposes less surface to the air; but if the milk is not submerged, the surface is likely to be cooler than the air above, and to condense the vapor in it, which falls with all its impurities on the surface of the cream. Any foulness or bad odors are thus absorbed and go into the butter product. While submerging obviates this objection and keeps out all impurities from the air, it also prevents all escape of bad odors by evaporation. Whatever that is objectionable may be in the milk is retained there. By setting in open air, which should of course always be pure and sweet, the air, being cooled down and used as a medium for cooling the milk, takes up the exhalations of moisture and odor from the milk, and thus purifies it. The colder medium is always the condenser and absorbent, and it is only when the milk gets colder than the air above it that it condenses the moisture in the air and absorbs its odor. This will never occur where cold air is the cooling medium. The milk theoretically can never get cooler than the air, while practically it remains a degree or two warmer than the air.

OXYDIZING CREAM.

There is another advantage in using the air as a cooling medium. In shallow setting, more surface is exposed and the air, coming in contact with the surface, imparts to it a portion of its oxygen, which mingles with the oils and develops that fine butter flavor so much relished by most and which is a peculiarity of fine butter. Again, slow cooling gives more time for this oxydation to go on, and thus "ripen" the cream for churning without souring it. This leaves all the fine flavor in it, unmixed with flavors resulting from acidification. But, where milk is set deep for creaming—and especially where there is no exposure to the air, as is the case in submerging—no butter flavor is developed, and the cream has to be kept until sour before it is properly oxydized. There is not a full development of butter flavor proper, but development of flavor resulting from the mingling of lactic acid with the oils. But without this exposure and acidification, the butter is insipid and comparatively flavorless. Any subsequent exposure to the air soon throws the butter off flavor, the oxygen mingling with the fats alone while the cream is rising and still sweet. This development of flavor by oxydation is not mere theory; it has been scientifically demonstrated at Cornell University, New York, if not elsewhere, and must sooner or later be generally accepted and butter making proceed on a more rational and certain basis. But it is hard work to get people out of old ruts, or to overcome fixed habits and prejudices. Really scientific butter making, in which every step will be thoroughly understood and deliberately taken, is a thing of the future. It will come in time, and then our descendants will wonder why we were so stupid and slow as not to see and adopt the simplest principles when they were thrust into our very faces. But mind and judgment are matters of growth, the same as everything else in this universe of being.

SKIMMING MILK.

So many improvements or inventions have been introduced in the setting of milk for cream that the term "skimming" has become almost a misnomer. In both deep and shallow setting, arrangements have been made in several of the patent pans and cans for drawing out the milk from the bottom and leaving the cream. Glass gauges are set in the vessels so that the exact depth of the cream can be seen, and the milk drawn down close to the cream or a small amount of the upper portion of the milk left with the cream. In skimming with a skimmer or dipper, many aim to take the upper portion of the milk, on the theory that the separation is less perfect toward the top than it is lower down. Especially may this be done where a dipper or skimmer without holes is used. It is claimed by some careful experimenters and close observers that this adds to the quantity of butter yielded without deteriorating the quality.

WHEN TO SKIM.

Whether skimming off the cream or drawing off the milk be practiced, the question arises as to the proper time for performing the operation. The more general practice is to "skim" just as the milk gives unmistakable signs of acidity, or thickens a very little on the bottom of the pan or can. A few prefer to skim the cream sweet, and still another few let the milk lopper. This wide divergence of opinion and practice shows how very imperfectly is the real philosophy of butter making understood; but, notwithstanding this, each one is usually very tenacious in his belief as to the superiority of his own practice. A few fancy butter makers say that the finest butter is made from sweet cream, raised in cold air by shallow setting. It is insisted by them that airing and oxydizing, and not souring, is what "ripens" cream and fits it for easy churning, while this airing and oxydizing imparts the fine aroma so much desired in the finest butter. This view of the origin or development of flavor is sustained by experiments made at Cornell University, at the suggestion or under the supervision of Prof. L.B. Arnold. It is also claimed that the lack of flavor and the short-keeping of sweet-cream butter churned from cream raised by deep setting is due to its lack of oxygen, and that souring the cream thus raised, before churning, both oxydizes it and imparts a ranker and more positive flavor resulting from the effects of the lactic acid. We think both propositions look reasonable, and we should like to see a series of scientific experiments made to determine both the effects of oxygen and the effects of lactic acid on the butter product of cream. At present, theory and practice vary so widely with different butter makers who turn out a high-priced butter for the market, that one is led to doubt all theories and query whether the quality of butter does not depend on something not yet known, which is independent of all current theories and practices.

CHURNING.

And as to the proper time of churning, there is an equal divergence of opinion and practice. One churns his cream sweet, another wants it slightly changed, a third wants positive acidity in the cream, and a fourth loppers the cream, while a fifth lets the cream stand even twelve hours after loppering—and this extremely sour cream butter sells for the very highest market price. So we are left all at sea, so far as acidity is an element in butter making. Again, to further illustrate these extremes, while a gentleman in Vermont is setting his neighbors agog by raising cream in a vacuum, a Canada gentleman is experimenting with an invention to raise cream by hydrostatic pressure and get the fat of the milk so pure as to dispense with churning. We hope both will succeed.

TEMPERATURES.

There is not so wide a difference in opinion and practice as regards the temperature at which churning should be done in order to secure the best results; yet there is quite a wide range—from 55 degrees to 65 degrees—or 10 degrees Fahrenheit. But only a few go as high as 65 degrees or as low as 55 degrees. The great majority favor 60 degrees to 63 degrees as the proper range of temperature for different seasons and conditions. Some favor 58 degrees to 60 degrees, and all appear satisfied with results. It is not improbable that different degrees of acidity in the cream require different degrees of temperature for churning, and that sweet cream requires still another variation of temperature. So the breed, condition of the cows, kind of feed, quality of feed, character of the water drank, length of time the cows have been in milk, and other considerations, require variations in the temperature. Sure we are that the difference in conditions and surroundings must explain some of the differences of opinions and practices among butter makers.

WHAT MAKES THE BUTTER COME.

It is not known whether concussion or friction, or both, cause the separation of the butter from the buttermilk in churning. But we suspect that concussion is the real agent that produces the separation, as we have really seen no churn that did not in some way produce more or less concussion. All the churns we have seen used appeared to produce good results, and we find every dairyman is satisfied with the work of the churn he uses, whatever the kind, style or patent. We cannot, therefore, recommend any style of churn as superior to another, but we prefer the simple and less expensive forms, as not only costing less but being easier to keep clean.

The churning should be steady and not violent. A too rapid or sudden separation of the butter from the buttermilk is not desirable. It is no recommend for a churn that it churns quick. Such a churn is apt to injure the so-called grain of the butter and make it salvy and greasy. The least churning that will separate the butter from the buttermilk is the best.

WHEN TO STOP CHURNING.

The improved modern method, now in practice by the best butter makers generally, is to stop the churn as soon as the butter is collected in particles the size of wheat kernels. Just before this, when the first signs of the separation of the butter is seen, the sides of the churn are washed down with cold water—usually below 60 degrees, or about 55 degrees—to not only prevent waste, but to harden the butter and make it easier to handle. When the granules are the size of wheat kernels, the butter is drawn off or the butter taken out of the buttermilk, as the case may be. If the butter is left in the churn, water is poured in to float the butter, which is then gently agitated a moment and the water drawn off. This operation is repeated until the water runs clear. Sometimes one of the washings is in brine, which coagulates the caseine into a soluble form and prepares it to be washed out afterward. In this way, it is believed that purer, longer-keeping butter can be made. In some cases, however, butter makers have customers who want a buttermilk flavor in their butter. They, therefore, do not wash the butter, or wash it very little. Such butter must be consumed at once, as it will not keep.

WORKING.

By this method of retaining the butter in a granulated form, only sufficient working is required to evenly work in the salt. The less working the better.

SALTING.

The salt, after the butter is properly drained, can be carefully mixed with the butter by stirring. When thoroughly incorporated, barely pressing the butter together into a solid mass is all that is needed. If one does not want butter very salty to the taste, it can be evenly and nicely salted by completely wetting it with saturated brine, then carefully pressing the granulated butter together and leaving in it as much of the strong brine as will remain. We have seen butter salted in this way, and it was very evenly and completely salted, having in it no undissolved grains of salt, but it was not as salt to the taste as some like.

About an ounce to the pound is good salting; but more or less salt must be used to suit the taste of customers. None but refined salt should be put into butter. No salt is better for this purpose than the Onondaga F.F., which is American, and the cheapest salt fit for dairy use that can be obtained.

The principal office of the salt in butter is to impart an agreeable flavor, in conjunction with the natural aroma of fine butter; but it is a fact that too much salt injures good flavor, and it may, to some extent, be used to cover up or neutralize bad flavors. We do not recommend its use for this latter purpose, preferring that the natural flavor of butter from pure cream should be preserved.

SALT AS A PRESERVATIVE.

Salt does very little to preserve butter. It retards the decomposition of the caseous and albuminous materials left in it; but if butter is properly made of cream not mixed with loppered milk and is completely washed with pure water, it is a fair question if butter will not keep longer without salt than with it. There are instances on record where butter has been kept sweet without salt for a long time. We half suspect that, though salt at first retards decomposition, the salt itself, in time, decomposes and becomes sodium and chlorine gas, or enters into new combinations with the constituents of the butter, and thus makes new compounds that do not in the least improve the flavor. We have no positive evidence of this, but have had this suspicion awakened by facts related about the keeping of butter and by a process of general reasoning. It is true that salt is one of the most stable compounds known, but we have proof that it can be resolved into its original elements, when stronger affinities are presented for one or both of them to unite with. It would not, therefore, be strange if such decomposition sometimes follows when used in our food preparations.

PACKING BUTTER.

It is quite a knack to properly pack butter in large packages, and the work needs to be carefully done. Some use it too violently, by pounding it down, and thus making the butter greasy or oily. It should be gently pressed together in the package in such a way as to leave no spaces filled with air, for the air will surely mingle with the surrounding butter and injure its flavor. A good way is to begin the pressure at the center and work carefully toward the circumference, so that all air may escape at the sides. In this way, perfect solidity of the mass is secured, and it is left in the best condition for keeping, so far as the packing is concerned.

PREPARING THE PACKAGE.

Before putting the butter in the package, the package should be soaked in water, so as to remove the taste of the wood, and then thoroughly soaked in saturated brine, so that the wood will not draw the salt from the butter which comes in contact with it. If it does, the butter thus deprived of salt will turn white, have a sickish flavor, and soon turn rancid. It is a good idea to not only sprinkle a thin layer of salt over the bottom of the package, but to rub the moist inner sides with dairy salt, and thus make sure that there is salt enough in contact with the wood to prevent its absorbing the salt from the butter.

CLOSING THE PACKAGE.

When a package is filled, a piece of thin muslin, cut so as to just fit into the top of the package and completely cover the butter, should be wet in cold water and carefully placed over the top, having the edges pressed down close to the sides of the tub. Then the cloth should be completely covered with a thin layer of salt; and if the salt is moistened, so as to form of it a thick paste that will become air-tight when it dries, it will do much to keep the top of the butter clean and sweet—for the more nearly air tight the package is when completed the better it is for the preservation of the butter. Then put on the cover, and seal the whole as tightly as possible.

STORING.

Remove the package to a cool, sweet place, not above the temperature of 60 degrees, and set it so that it will absorb no moisture or odors from the ground. Much butter is spoiled by keeping, because of neglecting the temperature, and setting the bottom of the package directly on the cellar bottom. If kept at a temperature above 60 degrees, butter will surely go off flavor, and wood will as surely draw moisture from the ground, if in contact with it, and become sour and musty, sooner or later affecting the flavor of the butter within the package. Nothing is to be lost, but all to be gained, by paying attention to these little things.

STYLE OF PACKAGE.

Of course, where a maker has a special market for his butter, he will put it up in such style and form of package as suits his customers. He needs no other guide and would injure his business if he followed one. But, for general market purposes, the 50 lb. tub is the best form. The New York and Boston dealers like this because it is convenient for the retailer, who can readily slip the tub off from the butter for either weighing or cutting up for his customers. But aside from these considerations, the Welsh tub is a very bad form of package for keeping butter, as it is by no means air-tight nor anything approaching it. Hence, butter sent to market in these tubs must soon be sold and go into consumption, or there is material depreciation in quality and a corresponding loss in price. The old-fashioned firkin, which could be headed up and the butter covered with brine, is a much better package for keeping butter. But, where butter is consumed as fast as it is made, and fresh winter made butter supplies the demand through the cold season, the keeping of butter for any considerable length of time is not of so much consideration. We think it fortunate that this is so.