The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1905-11-21
BIGGEST CREAMERY.
BUTTER PROCESS IN WORLDS
LARGEST PLANT.
Averages $4,000 Pounds of Butter a
Day-Twenty Thousand farmers
Send Cream - Cream Alone
Nets S25o,ooo a Month.


Topeka, Kahn what Is reputed
the worlds largest creamery, enough
butter Is made daily to provide pat
OF 1t for 100000 people. Fifty-fve
thousand pounds is the average daily
output of the Continental creamery
here. This quantity. in one-pound
rolls laid end to end, would make a
string five miles long. In one 24-hour
run the concern turned out $4,000
pounds.
Five years ago the Continental was
built and put into operation on an en-
tirely new plan. Instead OF receiving
the whole milk It gets only the cream.
The farmer patron has a hand sep
arator. AS soon as the milk is drawn
from the cows 1t is run through this
machine.
The skim milk is fed at once to
pigs and calves, warm and sweet,
worth almost as much for feed as be-
fore the cream was removed, The
cream is gathered by the representa-
tive OF the creamery, and hauled or
shipped to the factory
Under the old system, the farmers
wife drudged at the entire process Of
butter making Now the men do the
milking and separating factory
does the rest.
The farmer used to market his but
fer at the country store at low pricce
for groceries and calicoes at a high
price Now the cream is made into
a high-class article worth twice as
much in the market as country but
ter, and brings the farmer nearly twice
as much money as he used to get from
his cows
The Continental creamery plan is
very popular among farmers. 1t has
pushed out along all railroads, even
to the western border of the state
Some cream is hauled 400 miles. The
company has It's own refrigerator cars
for handling cream and butter.
II has 500 cream-receiving stations.
It's patrons number 10000 Kansas
farmers, who receive an aggregate of
$2b0,O0O per month, although as in
dividuals few keep more than a half
dozen cows. Farmers are pleased with
the system and are gradually increas-
ing their milk production. They find
the semimonthly check convenient to
have, especially during dull seasons.
In the factory everything is done
accurately. An expert examines each
can of cream as it comes in grades
Il into frst and second class, or re-
iects 1t entirely From the receiving
vat the cream goes to the Pasteurizer,
where 1t IS heated to 1870 degrees. then
cooled to 10 degrees for ripening.
Ripening is important. 1t controls
the favor of the butter Flavor Is
caused by bacteria and starter CON
tanning bacteria that gives desirable
flavor is added to the cream at the
beginning of the ripening period.
A record is kept at every step and
feature in the operation-the hour the
cream is received, the amount of but
ter fat 1t contains, its acidity and grade
During the ripening process frequent
chemical tests are made for acidity
and when sour enough 1t is cooled to
the proper temperature and cburned.
These records are all handed to the
butter maker and he knows just how
much and what kind of butter he will
get; also how much salt and color to
add.
The buttermilk is drawn off and the
casein extracted, dried and sold to pa
per manufacturers to be used as
sizing material. The butter is cooled
down, printed. wrapped in sealed pack
ages by neatly dressed girls, and
placed in storage to await shipment.