Part 4

The size, shape and style of package for butter makers to use, must depend largely upon the demands of the market to which the butter is shipped. A few years ago large quantities of roll butter were marketed in Chicago during the colder months; now you may travel from one end of the market to the other and not see a hundred rolls. It is but a short time ago that earthen crocks and jars were extensively used; now you scarcely ever see them. The cause for this is, that earthen vessels, of any kind, are not only liable to break, but are also more difficult to handle in large quantities, and weigh much more than wooden packages. The great bulk of butter that comes to Chicago now, is packed in white ash tubs and bale boxes. Occasionally we see a tin package with wood veneer, but they have never come into general use for the reason that the acid gets under the tin and causes rust. Wooden packages are just now most popular, and as the manufacturers have reduced the cost of manufacturing them to a point where earthenware and tin cannot compete in price, we may look to see them in use for years to come. The ordinary white ash tubs can be had of every dairy supply dealer and nearly all of the general stores; they may be had in 20 lb., 25 lb., 30 lb., 40 lb. and 60 lb. sizes. An illustration of the nine-pound bale boxes in crate is also given. During the last two years these bale boxes have become very popular. They can be shipped in crates of six and are convenient to handle; they can be had for about twelve cents apiece.

In packing butter in wooden vessels we must guard against "woody taste," and there is but one way to do this, that is, to soak the packages from 24 to 48 hours in strong brine and then thoroughly scald them out. Even this method sometimes fails to accomplish the work. A capital way to prevent woody taste, is to line the package with parchment paper, which not only prevents the butter from taking on a woody flavor, but also prevents soakage and excludes the air. This parchment paper may now be had of all dairy implement dealers, in sheets and circles of any size. It costs about thirty cents a pound, and a pound is sufficient to pack several hundred pounds of butter.

There is still quite a trade in print butter, and when nicely packed in one or two-pound prints and of good quality it sells quickly, on account of its convenient shape for family use. For print butter there has been invented a machine which stamps out one-half and one-pound blocks very quickly and quite artistically. When butter is shipped in this form it should be first carefully wrapped in cloth or parchment paper and packed in boxes in crates. Each box should contain but one block of butter, as piling one block upon another would be likely to press out the delicate figures moulded or stamped on the block. The blocks for these patent printing machines are sometimes artistically carved, so that the blocks of butter show sheaves of wheat, acorns, etc., and sometimes with the maker's initials or monogram. For home use the old fashioned round mould holding from a quarter of a pound to two pounds is still extensively used, and when properly soaked in cold water before moulding, makes a very nice print of butter. These patent printers and moulds save much time and are a great convenience over the old way of forming the butter into rolls.

In packing it is always better to pack each churning in a separate tub or box, as the tub that contains different churnings will not be of uniform solidity or color throughout, and will therefore not sell for as much as a tub perfectly uniform.

Remember to soak the covers of the packages, and before fastening them on sprinkle salt to a depth of a quarter of an inch over the top of the butter cloth or paper. Never leave the cover off the packages for any length of time, for the reason that it will not only cause the top of the butter to become discolored, but it will also admit the air and spoil the top of the butter for several inches.

The moment you have packed your butter get it into a cool place--the cooler the better--and thereafter keep it as cool as possible, until you have disposed of it.

THERMOMETERS IN THE DAIRY.

Frederic Sumner says "There is no more use in trying to run a dairy without a good tested thermometer than there would be to attempt sailing a vessel without a rudder," and I heartily agree with him. A good thermometer can be purchased for from fifty cents to a dollar, and at these prices is certainly within the reach of every dairyman. Too much depends upon the temperature of the water in which we cool our milk, the room we ripen our cream in, do our churning in, and the temperature of the milk, cream, and the butter itself, to attempt any guess work. Our grandmothers used thumb and finger to ascertain the temperature of milk and cream, but in these days of fifty cents, seventy-five cents, and a dollar a pound butter we find "thumb-rule" will not work. An illustration of a thermometer made expressly for dairy use, is given; they are made of glass and float upright in the milk or cream. The churning and cheese points are marked for the convenience of new beginners; they retail at about fifty cents, and can be purchased from any dealer in dairy goods.

MAXIMS

For A B C Butter Makers.

Test your cows.

Never fill the churn over half full.

Never touch the butter with your hands.

Cream rises best in a falling temperature.

Never churn fresh unripened cream with ripened cream.

After cream becomes sour, the more ripening the more it depreciates.

The best time for churning is just before the acidity becomes apparent.

Never let your butter get warm; when once warmed through it will lose its flavor.

Excessive working makes crumbly butter, spoils the grain and injures the flavor.

Never mix night's with morning's milk, as the warmth of the new and the coldness of the old, hastens change and decomposition.

All kinds of disagreeable odors are easily absorbed by salt. Keep it, therefore, in a clean, dry place, in linen sacks, if it is to be used for butter making.

The best butter has the least competition to contend against, while the worst dairy products have the most. The better anything is, the more rare is it and the greater its value.

A butter maker that uses his fingers instead of a thermometer, to find out the temperature of milk or cream will never make a success.

Cleanliness should be the Alpha and Omega of butter making. Absolute cleanliness as regards person, stable, utensils and package.

Faults--The quickest way to find out the faulty points in your butter, is to send a sample of it to some reliable butter buyer and ask him to score it.

The difference between the dairyman who makes $50.00 a year, per cow, and one who makes $30.00, is that the first works intelligently, the second mechanically.

Details--The price of success in butter making, as in all other classes of business, is strict attention to the little details; it's the sum of all these little things that determines whether your butter is to be sold for ten cents a pound or as a high priced luxury.

The disadvantages of the system of setting milk in shallow pans or crocks, for raising cream, are that a long period elapses before the skimming is completed, too much space is required, and in Summer the milk becomes sour before the whole of the cream is raised.