Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1868-08-05
Butter Making.

While making call on my neighbor, |
Squire Brown, the other evening, the CONVEX |
sation turned on butter making and the dairy.
The Squire keeps a small but fine dairy, con-
sisting Of half a dozen cows or so, and his
wife is well known as a superior butter
maker and dairy woman. | asked Mrs
Brown if she had any secret method of OPP
Grafton for making such nice butter at any
and all seasons of the Year,
90, no, indeed Only the method I've
followed during these last twenty years"
{" But your butter brings an extra price in
market, and is always so hard, yellow, and
niee-looking, whether it is winter or summer
How do you save your cream Y'
81 skim the previous days milk every
morning, keep it in stone jar, in cool
place, and churn as often as necossary-say,
three or four times week, according to the
season."
"What kind of churn do you use? ?"
| The old-iashioned dasher' I've tried
several of the patents, but none of them
suit me. It's a great deal Of labor to keep
them clean
81 How do you ! lay down your butter?"
4" make most of il into balls, to suit my
lNuntbnNlSi WIN Inv II DNtlNI 81 ihI Niult ll.ts
The rest | pack into stone jars, cover it with
a layer of salt and keep in the cellar until
wanted for use or the market"
4" What quantity of salt do you use to the
poundp
"a very little over an ounce to pound
But some Of my customers ike it sailed light
er. am always careful to have the very
best fine salt that can be found Another
and | think one Of the principal things in
making good butter is, to keep every thing
you use perfectly sweet and clean which re.
, quires a strict personal attention, as well Il,
plenty of scalding water"
How do you operate with your cream il
cold weather.
Warm the churn with scaldiug water
and set the cream near the FIRE, if possible
, until warm enough. Or warm water may b,
added 10 the cream before ehurning, until i
=. is of the right temperature"
AT this point, the Squire, who had beer
= quietly listening to the conversation, broke il
! with, That's all very true, but you haven
: given me any credit. | don't believe you cal
: make bricks without sand neither do | be
. lieve you can make good butter without goo,
= milk and | know you can't have rich mill
and cream without good cows, well fed"
4 That's my opinion, exactly, Squire; an
: I've no doubt but Mrs Browns success il
butter making is due as much to your out-of
4 door management as to her excellent metho,
of operation. Are your COWS any particula
breed, Squire?"
"Well, no, The older ones are natives
and the younger ones are part Ayrshire blood
:, When buy or raise good COW, it don
u make any odds to me what breed or blood sh
is. The proof of cow is in the milk-pai
though | s'pose blooded stock is best to bree
from"
'e !" At what age do you have your heifer
& come in7r
n "The spring they are two-year olds, a
ID ways do not believe in waiting till the
n are three-year olds, as some do; it's dea
n loss Of one year. I've tried il often enoug
i to convince me. They make just as goo
&c cows to come in at two as to wait longer. I
7, be sure the heifcr gets more growth on her
II she don't calye till she's three years old, b,
d ! never believed in monstrous COWS.
g course I'm speaking of heiiers which are we
m kept, and are thrifty, and large Of their ag
ID Only early calves, such as come in Februar
ID Or March are suitable to raise. Then the
can be weaned on hay, and, with good pa