The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-03-12
Terms $500 per amman, In aarance.
Dairy Manufacture.

Seldom do take up an agricultural Deriod
ical without finding some article on dairy
work and dairy products, and the journals
which, like the Press, devote portion of
their space to rural topics, give to milk, but
ter and cheese large share of consideration.
There is reason enough for this. These mat :
tiers come home to every one, in that the al
ticles of food in question come to every ones
table, and not always in acceptable condition.
1t is not of the raw material of dairy man
utactures would speak. II we can obtain
that, pure and simple, Ia difficult matter in
deed, in some quarters) we will be content.
How large fraction of the butter brought
to market in our State is really goodP Let
any one whose business necessitates taking
meals in variety of places, and who cares
at all for the quality of the condiment he
eats with his daily bread give his opinion
on this point. l am disposed TO think that
the verdict of this Class of persons win be
that good butter is uncomfortably rare.
Look, then, at the Price Current. For
large part of the season the supply of choice
commonly no lack Of what is. designated
as "middling," "store," and grease" Itfol-
lows that the majority of people who depend
upon the current supply must use inferior
butter much of the time.
Why is so much of the butter poor? With
out attempting to account for all its bad quail
tiles, or rathei, to give all the reasons"why it
is not what it should be, several causes may
be mentioned therefor; such as, /. Setting
the milk in unsuitable places. Second. Keep
ing the cream too long before chuTning.
Third. Mismanagement at the time of churn-
ing. Fourth. Wrong treatment of the but
ter ITSELF Any one of these errors in man
ufacture is enough to seriously impair the
quality of the product, and where two or
more combine, the result is an article
which alike disgraces our market and our Ia
bles, and whose prevalence so much damages
the dairy credit of our State. There is the
tchite butter, uninviting to the sight and
keeping its promise to the taste; there is
strong butter in oil its varieties; there is 6it-
ter butter; and there is ouer-salted butter.
Although living in the country, am not
50 situated as to be able to make my own
butter. generally procure all that we use
at one dairy, and that one of the best within
reach, getting supply in June, and another
quantity in September or early in October.
have had butter from this dairy that when
first received was scarcely inferior to the
famed product Of Goshen. It would not,
however, preserve its sweetness for so long
time. But the butter from this dairy is very
apt to be unequal in quality. From the same
place have now on hapd two samples of
autumn butter. One kind, churned in Octo-
Der, would be excellent butter, were it not
salted to such degree as to almost disguise
its proper favor. The other, made little
later in the season, but while the cows still
had plenty of fresh vegetables, is white
and somewhat rancid its bad quality ow-
ing in part, suspect, to oyerheating the
the cream before putting it into the churn.
My experience in this matter is, as / have
reason to believe, that of a large majority of
butter purchasers Is there no remedy for
this sorry state of things? DoRcAs.
Oxford County, March 10th, 1869.