Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1916-12-12
Care In Butter Making.

One of the first things that came te
my attention when, ut very early age,
took up the life Of dairy farmers wife
was the fact that there was always {
market for good butter. l was such {
slip of . girl that 1t almost makes me
laugh now when think Of 1t, but I did
know how to make good butter. II ont
Of my four girls had ventured to suggest
getting married at the age that I val
when began to make butter for tbs
market, / should have dealt with her II
what David Harum calls . livery sum
merry manner"
But when took my Hrst butter to tht
town. nv dear mother.in.law was will
me, and she was always just like another
mother to me. Imagine her astonish
meut when my butter brought cent
pound more than her own, and the land
lady of the hotel offered to take all tha
would bring to her.
That was my first real lesson In the
importance of attention to detail
Mothers butter was of a. good quality
as mine,-up TO certain point. Hel
pans 1--WE set our milk 10 pans snG
crooks iu that antediluvian time) wer'
washed and scalded as carefully az my
crooks; her pals were always perfect II
their cleanliness, but when she got read!
tn churp, she went to On immense cup
board in her cellar, where innumerabl'
pans OF milk had been accommodating
from time immemorisl, and beginning
with the oldest milk, she skinned unit
she had oil skinned that was sour. Th'
cream was poured into fhe big barre
churn, and churned at oncr.
Ny mother came of Q long line OF Eng
lish dairy women, and her first abiding
place after she came to America was iI
the dairy district of Wisconsin, copse
quently I looked with wide.eyed amaze
ment upon the methods of mother-iu
law. supposed that It would be I'm
possible to churn until the cream had
been mixed and ripened for q certain
length of time, and as for leaving my
milk setting for days at q time, | shoulc
have thought It was ruined.
When the butter was churned, there
was still decided difference 10 the way
we handled our product. ! divided my
butter into convenient pats, nodded u
into nice rolls of two or three pound'
each, marked 1t neatly with the butter
paddle, and wrapped each roll 10 a damI
cloth. Mother put hers right into bic
jar, and sold It at the store right out o.
the jar. The result was that when but
ter was plentiful, her butter went into
the keg, while mine was put 10 the ic'
box for special customers. shall never
forget the thrill of pride with which
heard little girl say to the merchant
mamma wants three pounds II she car
have Mrs. Wortman's butter"
In all the years since then, thu
principle of dairying has never changed
Methods change, but principles do not
and ip spite of my boast of being up-to
date, l still make butter In the same ole
way. use different utensils, and do tht
work in larger figures, but the same at
tention to detail, the same observation
of underlying principle, makes 1t possible
for me to feel still that thrill of pride
when city people tell me that my butter
is first class.
And why should I not take pride ir
itp Is 1t not just as scientific, just q,
artistic, just as esthetic, II you please, tc
make roll of good butter 80 attractive
that customers will buy 1t all instead oi
buying only pound as they intended, o.
1t is to write q story, paint picture, ol
solve Q difficult theory? maintain tha,
it Is, besides being far more useful ane
salsbie. Ada Carroll Workman, Nebrss
ka, In Hoard's Dairyman.