The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-12-28
Butter Salt.

An inquirer asking what is the best
salt for butter reminds me of expert
ments made in this line by a relative of
mine who for seventeen years, was the
chief butter.maker at the noted Smiths
and PowelPs stock farm where from
fifty-fve to seventy-five COWS were
MIXED and all of it used in making
fancy butter. He took the varieties Of
salt known as "Genesee," "Ashton"
Qoreign), and "Onondsga," and COM
pared them by using each in separate
quantity of butter and then testing the
butter from time to time as to quality.
The "Genesee" sailed butter proved to
be of the best quality every time. Then
to learn the reason for it, he weighed
out the same quantity of each variety
OF salt, placed each in 81 ss jar and
added water enough to make satur-
ated solution-that is, just enough pure
water to dissolve all the salt and no
more. He placed the covers on the jars
and set them away, returning to them
daily for week and shaking the jars.
Then, after standing couple of days,
he compared them. The liquid in the
jar marked "Genesee" was clear as
crystal, and there was not a particle OF
sediment. The one marked ashton"
had considerable of a whitish sediment
and the "Onondaga" much more. Now
this whitish sediment is lime, and of
course the best quality of butter cannot
be made if lime is an ingredient. Up to
this time the Smiths and Powell COM
pany had not used the "Genesee" salt
but this test convinced them, and they
entirely discarded the "Onandaga"
salt, Notwithstanding it was manufac-
tured within half a mile of their dairy
house. How does lime get into salt?
This query is of easy solution. Salt
water comes from subterranean beds or
accumulatiOns of salt. Underground
streams of water find their way to the
salt. At Onondaga the rocks are large
ly composed of lime and the earth is of
limestone formation, hence lime gets
into the water, is conveyed to the bed
of salt and then pumped out and evap-
Grated, leaving a certain admixture of
lime in the manufactured article. 1t
may be noticed at the Onondaga salt
block" factory where evaporated by
heaO, or at the side of it, are two large
cisterns.
Salt water is let into these for the
lime to settle to the bottom. While
they are using water from one tank,
the lime is settling in the other; but
this process does not take out all the
lime. 1t is understood that at Genesee
the rocks and ground are not of lime
stone formation, hence the water is
soft and there is no lime in it to be
conveyed to the salt bed. Onondaga
well water is hard, that know of, be-
cause of the lime in it. The inside OF
family teakettle will soon scale over
with lime there if we'll water is used.
Another comparison of "Genesee" and
"Onondaga" salt is very important
The latter, after standing in sacks OF
open barrels awhile, becomes hard, and
the Jumps have to be crushed before
they can be used. The Genesee sail
does not get in this condition. 1t han.
dlesIlike cornmeal. My informant says
that butter salt should not be ground
into fine powder; if 80, when sailing
the butter the salt gets 'pasty," and
the butter cannot be sailed so uniform
ly. He prefers the quality which il
very much in tie form of granulatet
sugar. hope this article will be {
revelation to many readers who make
butter. They cannot make the bes
butter when lime is a constituent, an(
they can now tell whether there is lint
in the salt they are using or not.-Prac
teal Farmer.