Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-06-07


of the Land League. The occasion was
4 very pleasant and successful one. and
a very large crowd was in attendance.
The exercises consisted Of vocal and
band music. recitations and Grafton.
Mr.. Cleary reports being highly pleased
with GAINESVILLE and its people
THE PLATTEVELLE CREAMERY,
Thursday we visited the Plattevine
creamery, of which Mr. II. H. Roun-
tree is the proprietor. Mr. Rountree
was in and kindly showed us through
the establishment and answered the
many questions that were asked in re-
gard TO the process of butter-making.
In the winter of 1881 company was
organized as the Platteville Creamery
Company, with John p. Huntington as
president, o. T. Griswold treasurer. H.
IL. Rountree, secretary and business
manager. The company continued in
control of the business until 1888, when
Mr.. Rountree bought the others out and
has since had sole control. The build
ing was erected and all the first-class
machinery necessary for butter making
was put in and in operation before the
lst of June, 1881. The building as
originally built was a neat and COM
modious structure, 50x28 feet, two
stories high, with an engine house addi-
ton 18x12 feet. Last winter an ice
house 30x20 feet was built on the north
end, in which is stored now over 250
tons of ice. The refrigerator room oc-
cupieS space of 20x10 in the ice-house
and opens into the churning-room.
But to the process of butter-making;
Mr.. Rountree has the Fairlamb can,
which he rents to the farmers The
cans are placed in cold water, in q
Spring-house, or a tank that is being
continually supplied with fresh water.
The farmer strains the milk into the
can and also attends to the skimming
of the cream. The cream is gathered
every second day by the gatherer sen
out by the creamery. The gatherer
first measures the cream by pouring it
into 12-lnch pail. The number of
inches is ascertained by means of a
rule. After measuring, sample of
the cream is poured into glass tube
about nine inches long, ana the rest of
the cream is poured into large cans
holding about thirty gallons each and
is taken to the creamery. The wagons
are covered with canvas usually,
and plenty of ice is kept close to the
cans in order to keep the cream cool.
On arriving at the creamery the cans
are hoisted into the receiving room in
the second story by means of crane.
The cream is then turned into large
funnel filled with ice and which COM
municates with the cream watts in the
churning-room below. As soon as
emptied the cans are washed and steam
ed and returned to the gatherer, Just as
clean as clean can be- The vats in
which the cream is deposited after it
leaves the funnel are eight feet long,
four feet wide and Is inches deep, and
are lined with zinc. The watts rest in
tanks. or perhaps more plainly to put
it, the watts have false sides and bottoms
and are surrounded by pure, fresh
spring water. The cream is kept in
these watts and churned next morning.
From the watts the cream is conveyed IN
tin spouts to the churns. The churns
are OF the square, revolving pattern,
and run at the rate of sixty revolutions
per minute. One of them holds 400
gallons and the other 800. 1t usually
takes about an hour to do the churning.
When the butter comes the butter milk
is drawn off and conveyed in spouts
through the building and down about
twenty rods to the pig-pen, where it re-
ceives the attention of some of the
finest Poland Chinas we ever saw. The
butter-milk all drawn off, the churns
are filled with water, that in turn is
drawn off aud more water is put in and
drawn off, after which the butter is
ready for the worker 1t is taken out
of the churn by wooden ladies and laid
on the table of the worker. The worker
used is the Mason Power Worker. The