The Portland daily press., 1874-05-18
Agricultural.
SUGGESTIONS IN BUTTER MAKING

SUGGESTIONS IN BUTTER MAKING.
The comparative scarcity and high price of
butte. during the early part OF the present
year have turned the attention of dairymen
to butter III -nufacture. We hear of quite a
number of cheese factories which it is pro-
posed to change into butter factories. Proba-
bly, such change will continue to be made from
time to time by dairymen, either from cheese
to butter or from butter to cheese until the
relative price Of the two products bear the
proper proportion the one to the other. We
do not apprehend, therefore, that either OF
these two branches of dairying can long
maintain monopoly above the other, since
the tendency to increase or diminish produc-
ton soon brings the prices of both products
to a standard of relative values. But in the
strife for high prices-whether it be for but
ter or cheese-one feature of considerable
moment to the general product results-that
is, an emulation among manufacturers to ex-
Gel in their goods. Thus, improvements
gradually reach out among the masses, and
our dairy products grow better and better
from year to year.
TIE recent Improvements in butter making
are highly commendable, and they show
what our enterprising and intelligent dairy
men are capable of doing under stimulant
of high prices. 1t may well be doubted
whether so rapid progress would have been
made in butter manufacture had not the rates
for butter been comparatively high during
the past few years. 1t is curious to notice
the new methods which are constantly re-
sorted to for securing better quality in the
product. Among these, butter makers will
perhaps be interested in some reaent sugges-
tiOns given by Mr.. E. 5. Lewis, of Oxford,
Chenango county, N. Y. which he communi-
Gates to the Utica Herald, in reference to sep
arating the buttermilk from the butter so as
not to injure the grain
One of the essential requirements in butter
| makingis the thorough expulsion of the but
| termilk. There are various ways employed
| by butter makers to accomplish this object,
but one important feature must always be
borne in mind, that extreme care must be ta-
ken in this and the subsequent process of salt
ing, not TO injure the grain of the butter. A
great deal Of butter is spoiled by overwork-
ing that would otherwise be of the finest
quality. As rule, the less butter is handled,
the more perfect the grain, hence any device
from the bnttermilk with the least
possible working, will be likely TO
improve the texture of the butter. Mr.. Lew
is adopts the following process, which he
claims is an improvement on the general
practice: r
'When the butter comes," he says, 'sand
as soon as the dash chnrns clean, take off the
churn; do not gather the butter compact with
the dash in the churn-as is usually done-do
not gather it at all, but have hair sieve.
which first wet IN hot and then in cold water,
SO that the butter will not stick to it. Then
cave piece of board that will fill inside of
| the chnrn 10 hold the butter back; turn the
| buttermilk from the churn through the sieve
| When the buttermilk is drained out let the
butter remain in the churn; then take your
water, holding it up as high as your head,
| pour it upon the butter in stream sufficient
| ly large. so that 1T will force its way through
the butter, and keep the stream moving about
upon the butter; this will separate the little
balls of butter; fill up the churn with water
until what little buttermilk there was in the
butter is diluted TO that extent that there
will be DO necessity of changing the water,
and the result will be that your butter will be
washed or the buttermilk all riused out of the
butler without breaking, marring or injuriDg
single grain of the butter.
"When it sufficiently hardens in the water,
take it out for sailing, using the ladle to get
out the most Oft, then the seive. Now
coined the sailing and working. For a
butter worker an inclined plane in the shape
of letter A, with round lever, is preferred.
| Spread the butter upon the worker, then put
| on half the quantity of salt you desire to use,
roll it in, then with a small, fiat wooden
shovel, turn one half of il over on to the top
of the other half; put on halt of the remain
ing salt, roll it back; do the other half in the
same way, and then put on the balance of
| the salt; then work the salt in somewhat
taking particular care not to let the lever slip
on the butter while working it. Always let
the lever go on the butter with rolling mo-
ton. Ifyou allow the lever to slip on the
| butter it will destroy the grain and make it
| look shiny.
''Set the butter away in cool place at
| night put it in the worker; work it little,
then let it stand until morning. and work
| again just enough to be sure the streaks are
| out-the white streaks are parts that have
| not taken salt-then Pack. The butter work
| er should stand face to the light. The best
bowls to use are the white oak butter tubs"
Mr.. Lewis, we believe, is the manager Of a
creamery, and he expresses the opinion that
as much butter can be made on the plan of
setting the milk deep, as by shallow settings.
He recommends that the cream of each milk
ing be chnrned by itself, or il the cream of
different milkings is to be churned, the cream
of such milkings should be mixed at least
eight or. ten hours before churning. Enough
milk should always be skinned in with the
cream to give the butter, when it comes, a
| clean, bright color.
These suggestions appear to be sensible,
and as some of the processes differ from those
in general practice, they may very justly claim
attention.-Rurdl New Yorker.
FARM FENCES.
Fencing has become one of the most i'm
portant considerations demanding the at
| tention of the farmers and it is wonderful
| that they should so long submit TO the want
| of proper legislation in their respective States,
which would relieve them from this most ex-
pensive and unnecessary burden.
An impression, almost as old as our ccun-
try itself, seems to exist that public roads are
| public property, and that grass which grows
upon them is the common property OF all
| the inhabitants, upon which their cattle may
be turned to pasture. This is great mis-
take, and one which requires immediate cor
rectlon, if for no other reason than that it is
! very expensive one to farmers. Public
roads are, to be sure public property, but
only for special purposes. While the public
have the right to pass and repass over them,
| they have no other right than this, which
| the law gives them, and no more substantial
| claim to pasture their cattle upon the
load than upon the other side o.
the fence, in their neighbor's field
The law allows the public to use the land oc-
cupied by the road to travel over, and when
ever they cease, either by operation of law
or otherwise, to use it for that purpose, i
again becomes the property of the owner O
the farm through which it passes. His il
the fee-simple right. 1t is very unjust that
either he who owns no land, or owning it
prefers to use that of his neighbors, should
be INDUCED in so manifest a wrong. IL
the DUTY ofthe legislatures of all the thckiy, 4.
settled States to protect the agrlcui,ul.a, 80, ~.
terests the country, by proviolng .La' S.,.,
tie shall not run al large, but that every man
sh.Il he comneled to take care of end feed
his own stock. instead of turning 1t loose
mon the HIGHWAY to depredate upon the