The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-04-08
THE PRESS.
GILT-EDGED BUTTER.
A Splendid SET of Rules for Making a
Prime Misunderstanding Which Every
Farmer should Save,

Prime Article-S0methinR Which Every
Farmer should Save,
E. d. Mason, President Of the Vermont
Dairy men'sAssociation, calls attention to an
article recently printed in Moore's Rural
Meac Yorker, which is presented herewith.
Inc rules laid down for making butter are
the result oil many years of experiment and
study by the Vermont dairymen. The con-
ditions of climate, feed etc, in Vermont and
New York are identical, and we have every
rules may aid in lifting the already high STAN
dard OF New York butter:
FEEDING.
Select your cows with reference to the
quantity and richness of the milk produced.
The best cows are the cheapest for butter, so
get the best you can of whatever breed you
select. Give them good pasturage in the
summer, and plenty OF pure water, with fire.
quent access to salt. In winter, feed sweet,
early cut bay, well cured corn fodder, roots,
cabbages, etc, and ration of bran, corn
meal, ground oats or middlings.
IMPLEMENTS.
Have the best implements, and keep them
scrupulously clean, well scalded, and often
exposed to the sweetening influences of the
sun. The milk pals and pans should be of
the best quality of tin. A reliable thermom-
eter is necessity to every good dairyman.
MILKING.
The milking should be done quietly and at
regular times, and the utmost cleanliness OBJ
served. Nothing is tainted quicker than
milk by foul odors, and surely at times with
nearly all cows there is enough animal odor
to it without any more.
SETTING.
Strain the milk slowly into the pans, four
to six inches deep. 1t is an excellent plan to
strain the milk into large can set in cold
water, and cool down to go deg. before put
ting into the small pans. The milk must be
set in a pure atmosphere, at such a tempera-
ture as will permit the cream to rise in from
80 to SO hours after setting. In order to do
that the room should be kept at about 60 or
rs deg. and not allowed to vary much above
or below. In hot weather keep a large piece
of ice In tub in the room. Cover it over
with thick blanket. and if arranged so that
the water will run of, it will keep long time,
and keep the room very uniform. In cold
weather some arrangement for warming the
milk-room should be adopted.
SKIMMING.
Skim as soon as the milk begins TO turn
sour. Do not neglect this rule, as 1t is impos-
sible to make good butter from cream that
LAS DeCOu6 Olu dEu eOuI. w utu yOu pUuT
your cream into the cream jar, as little as pos
sible. Stir the cream every time you add
more to it aud wipe the sides of the pot
Keep the temperature at about 60 deg, and
the cream pot in the coolest part of the house,
covered With fine gauze netting strained on
a hoop, not with tight cover. Ifcovered too
tight, fermentation is often to too rapid.
CHURNING.
Churn often, as there is nothing gained by
long keeping. Bring the temperature of the
cream in the churn to So deg aud do not al
low it to rise above Ga deg. Cburn early in
the morning, while it is cool. First scald the
churD, turn the paddles few times; then
pour of, and pour in cold water, and turn
the paddles; pour off, and pour in your cream.
In churning revolve the paddles with an easy,
regular motion, not to fast or too slow. The
butter should come in about 40 minutes, a
little more or little less if the temperature
OF the cream when put in is about IS deg.
ascertained by the thermometer.
WORKING AND Sailing
When it has ''broken" and there is a diff
Guilty to make the butter gather, throw In
some cold water and give few more turns.
Some-and think majority of the best but
ter-makers of tO-day-wash their butter with
cold water before removing it from the
churn. Gather your butter with the paddle
and lift it out into the tray, press it gently
and incline it, and let the buttermilk run off.
Work it gently with the paddle, with cut
ting, gentle pressure, but not to mash IL;
or, better, put into the butter worker.
Salt it about an ounce to the pound, or to
the taste OF good customers, only with the
best salt and free from Jumps and coarseness.
WORK the butter only so much as to eXpel
the buttermilk, but not to work it too dry,
This can be done by the use of weak brine
prepared for the purpose. Put the bowl
away in cool place. After standing - or "a
hours. gently press out with ladle or ma
chine the remaining buttermilk, and any
brine that will flow out with it, care being
used not to work it too much. If this is
done the butter has lost its grain and be-
come salvey, and its keeping qualities are
greatly injured.
PACKING.
Pack in vessels which will impart no i'm
purities to the butter. Fill within half an
inch of the top. Place thin cloth wholly
over the butter. Over that pour cold brine
as strong as can be made of hot water and
the purest salt, or cover with layer of fine
salt. The whole process of making the but
ter, from dra wing the milk to the placing of
the butter in packages, should be hurried, as
milk, cream and butter are going to decay
every moment when exposed to the air,
however pure it may be. Such butter is
ready to keep or to sell. IF to be kept long
before selling. surround every package with
coarse salt, by placing them in boxes pre-
pared for the purpose. This process keeps
the butter cool and hard and free from sudden
changes of air. When all these things are
attended to promptly, and with as much uni
formitv as is under the power of man to con-
troll, there will be near approach to uni
formity in color, richness and purity. If the
beginner follows these rules, and keeps doing
so, he will command the highest figures.