The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-02-08
FARM AND GARDEN.

cream:" asked Mrs. Seeall, my oppo-
site neighbor. 1t was not my custom
to receive my friends in the cellar, and
hesitated a moment before l could
cordially invite her to descend into the
lower regions. She stood at the top of
the stairs looking down upon me as |
sat at snowy white table skimming
the thick, golden cream off from five or
six pans of rich, Alderney milk, and as
soon as l said 80, yes, come down if
you like, but there is no chair to offer
YOU" she ran down and seated herself
upon the lower step of the stairs.
.'There!" said she, 81 came over
this morning purposely to see you skim
your milk-pans, and learn the secret of
your making the best butter in the
county. On these hot scalding morn
ings mercury at eighty-my butter
comes as soft as lard, and not much
better favored. Mr.. Seeall declares
that you have peculiar knack in max
ing gilt-edged butter, and so l have
determined to steal it.
was not delighted to receive call
when was going to make butter, but
luckily we do not live in the Palace of
Truth, and need not always speak it,
so quietly said. 81 will call Katie to
bring you a chair, not being able to
stand up myself when at work; and as
soon as these pans are SKINNED shall
begin to churn, or rather Charley will
do the work, and l superintend it"
"No. no! don't bring chair, she
exclaimed; "I'll look around and see
how you manage affairs"
SO she peeped into the milk-pans,
standing upon the racks; lifted the
cover of my cream-jar and smelled its
contents, and then said:
"Well, that cream doesn't smell old
or musty, but has real nice nutty fla
vor. How many days has it stoods"
.'This is the sixth day. l answered.
81 keep mine six days. and it al
ways smells horribly said she.
"Indeed!" replied 1; "that will of
course make the butter both smell and
taste badly. If the cream is over
thirty hours, it is to old for anything
but the swill-pail. I skim milk morn
ing, noon, and night, taking off the
cream when the milk has just clabber-
ed, and then it possesses really deli
cious flavor If, by any chance, a pan
has been overlooked and stood too long,
throw its contents to the pigs. Then I
always put table spoonful of salt into
the first skimmings that go into the
cream-jar, and take care not to drop
the cream around the sides or edges of
the jar, inside or out, and thus it is
kept perfectly clean and sweet"
"What makes your cellar so sweet
and dry: l do not perceive any damp,
mouldy odor here; not fly is to be
seen; and the air is so pleasantly cool,
that, were it mine, l would bring a
rocking chair and use it for my sitting
room," said Mrs. Seeall.
"Yes, it is pleasant" )" replied. "1n
early spring its walls and ceiling were
thoroughly swept down, and then COW
cred with lime wash made yellow with
copperas. This is one of the very best
disinfectants, and keeps the rats and
mice at a distance. Then once or
twice week, the shelves, table and
stairs are secured down with soap and
sand, and rubbed dry as possible.
"By doing so, everything is kept
sweet and clean, and there can be no
bad odor The soap, pork, cider, and
vinegar barrels are in another part of
the cellar. l would not have my milk
pans set near them, and the kerosene
can is set far away. No one can make
we'll ll-favored, 'gilt-edged' butter, if the
milk stands near such disagreeable
neighbors. l often think that great
deal of bad butter is chargeable to the
grocer rather than to the dairywoman; !;
for it may leave her hands as sweet as
nuts, and contract all sorts of disagree
able odors while awaiting purchaser. :"
"Indeed," exclaimed she; 81 never
thought of that The kerosene barrel
stands right alongside of my milk
shelves, and Mr.. Seeall has declared
several times that the butter tasted like
coal-oil."
"Few persons are aware of the pc
culiarity of milk and cream to take to
themselves all extraneous odors. 1t is
on account of this property that sour
milk will take all the piny taste out of
butter-frkins, and deodorize casks and
frkins that are not sweet" replied l.
BY this time the churn had been
scalded out, and then cooled with ice
water, the cream turned in, and Char
lie was rapidly revolving the dasher.
Mrs. Seeall watched all the operations
with careful eyes, and while pounded
the salt, she examined some bundles of
dried sweet clover which laid upon the
upper shelf of the rack, and were also
scattered among the pans.
'Now, Mrs. Cary!" she exclaimed,
"what are these herbs: l first thought
it was some kind of mint, but it smells
like new-mown hay, and that is what
your butter tastes like"
They are bundles of the blossoming
clover, which keeps its perfume
all the year, and is always so delicious
to me that perfume my linen chest
with it, and also my handkerchief
| drawer, and am often asked what per-
fume l use that is so pleasant. This
season l thought l might keep my Gel
lar more fragrant, so l gathered large
bundles of it, and partly dried them in