The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1876-08-19
agricultural department.
CONDUCTED sy ALBERT CHAPMAN.
What is Butter.


constituent oft? We are told thai
milk is n substance secteted in the I'D
der Of a COW, and that it is composed o
water, casein, butter, sugar and miner
al salts. These constituents of the milh
are all in solution in the water, except
the butter, which is dispersed through
the fluid in the form of fine globules
which have tendency to rise to the
top when the milk ls left at rest. About
the plobule., then, which are butter In
it's first stage how are they produced
from the blood of the cow? The milk
glands contained in the udder are, as
to their minutesi PARTS, composed OF
myriads OF little sacks. called cells
These cells lie surrounded by net
work of the smallest blood vessels, call
ed capilaries, and continually grow
from matter which they draw from the
blood that flows along 10y them. Their
growth is first simply enlargement, but
when their full size is attained they be-
gin to aggregate" or "proliferate. "
TINT IL, to divide or bud, producing
from each mature cell number of lit
tie ones, In which the same process Is
continued. The space allotted to these
cells being limited, as they continually
Increase in number and size they must
have an opportunity to escape, which
is afforded by the little passages called
ducts, which lead from every part Of
the milk glands towards the pouches
provided in the lower part of the udder
To- receive the milk. The mature cells
do not pass along the passages without
rupturing and dispensing their contents
in the fluid exuded from the capillar-
les outside Of the cells by process
called 'transudution." This lransud-
al fluid is the watery part Of the milk,
containing in solution the cnscln sugar
aud salts Of the milk
" hat is il that ESCAPES from the cells
when their waits are rent :. II is the
butter llpi,ul--. whlri, me in fact lit
ile round drops of oil since bnltef at
The Temperature Of the animal body is
hnid
1t is stated above That the cells are
little sscks-that il, they have \ wall
81 covering, similar TO the shell of an
egg. OF the skin OF = pea. This cover
Ing, or cell membrane, is visible under
the microscope as transparent film,
and there is no doubt about its exist
ence. But after bursting il disolves. or
falls to pieces and Disappears in the
duid By which it is surrounded.
1t is usually stated that the oil drops
which escape from the cells have also
thinner than the cell membrane and |
W. have long been assured that the |
process OF churning is only process Of
Ihreshing these globules in order to beat |
off the membrane, which prevents the |
globules from adhering together to form |
visible butter But this is theory
which some of the best observers de.
clare has no proof, either optical or
chemical, TO sustain il. II is theory
merely, which probably arose from the
belief that without such covering the |
oi! drops would run together of them
selves. There is, however, abundant |
evidence that this Is not necessarily so.
The drops are able to preserve their
identity If not violently disturbed and
even when so disturbed they cannot be
made to unite except within certain
rather narrow limits of temperature,
while the milk itself remains pure and
undecomposed
80 long as these oil drops remain dis
united, they may be heated to scslding
heat and cooled, even more than once,
without injury to the butter. Under
certain circumstances this heating will |
favor their separation from the milk by |
the action of gravity that is, the rising
OF the cream. But If undisturbed they
VIII always tend towards the surface at
all temperatures from scalding down to
freezing; and, according to recent ex-
periments. the colder the milk, so long |
as 1t remains fluid, the more quickly
and completely this rising occurs.
When those oil globules are cooled,
they become solidfied, and are then
butter globuIes. They crowd together |
upon the surface of the milk closer and |
loser, hour by hour, so long as the
milk lying between them remains suf-
hciently fluid 10 permit them to do so
This phenomenon. which Is best Oh
'erved by removing the cream at the
end of twenty-four hours, To test tub
- called The shrinking" OF the |
cream aud il It il NOT undrT-iDOt, error |
" III occur la tie r-liinate ni the rria. |
I've amount at cream ia the milk 0fin- |
iIvituai cows since ~ume cream shrinks |
mere than others.
la order 10 make these gl0bules adhere |
together and form butter, it is neces- |
-ary to agitate the cream in suitable |
vessel at proper temperature. If too
cold, they will not adhere for the same |
reason that cold butter Ia "crnmbly"-
particles Of fat not being adhesive ut "a |
low temperature. Ii, on the other |
hand, The cream Ii too warm, the beat |
lnR of the churn IL ineffective 10 secure |
adhesion OF the globules, since warm
tat. In a halfoily state, will not cohere
into plastic mass. such as we expect
butter to be. The right temperature
for securing the best results is in the
neighborhood of sixty degrees.
The physical condition of the butter
globules when they adhere. under the
action of the churn, has very Import
ant Influence upon the commercial
value of the product. AS they join
globule to globule, the little pellets