The Dairy.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 993, 13 March 1891, Page 23

The Dairy.

PRIZE-TAKING BUTTER-MAKERS AND THE SYSTEMS THEY PRACTISEIn. connection with the awards for dairy produce at the winter show of the Royal Dublin Society at Ball s Bridge,* the Farmers’ Gazette says it lias occurred to it that interest in them mi«ht be made much more general if, in addition to the usual criticism of the compai-ative merits of the exhibits, a little information was furnished as to how the prize-winning samples were made. With this object our contemporary has been making casual inquiries from exhibitors or their representatives, and through thencourtesy it is enabled to append a few details as to conditions under which some of the butter shown was pro-

duced. , Special interest will naturally be attached to any details forthcoming in this connection regarding the exhibit of Lieut.-Colonel VilßSts Stuart, which carried off the championship of the show, and won such unstinted praise from the judges. As many great men have been, born into the world under very humble conditions, so the butter which won such well-merited admiration at Ball’s Bridge during the week made its appearance on the show-bench under very common-place circumstances. Mo elaborate milking machines were employed in withdrawing the lacteal fluid from which it was produced from the udders of the cows whose produce it was; none of these triumphs of dairy engineering, now well known as separators, nor of those still, greater achievements in the same direction, known as butter-extractors, were employed in its production. In this respect its origin was, indeed, lowly. No ‘professional’ or .‘expert’ buttermakers cast the magic of their prestige over its manipulation) it was in the hands of a ‘ plain woman ’ (so Colonel Smart’s representative put it) from the moment the cows were milked until it was packed for carriage to the show. The milk, which was drawn with that most accommodating of machines., the hand was set in pans in the ordinary way ; it was skimmed after standing for twenty-four hours, and the cream was churned after being allowed an additional sixteen or eighteen hours to ripen. The dairy in which if was made is, as far as possible, kept at a temperatuie of 58 deg Fah. all the year round. At this season the cream is raised to a temperature of 60 deg before churning. The latter operation is carefully conducted, and immediately the orthodox ‘ granular stage ’ is reached the buttermilk is removed and cold water introduced and withdrawn repeatedly, until all traces of the buttermilk has disappeared. JK is then put upon a small butter-worker and worked into the necessary shapes. The cows from which the milk is obtained are mostly pure bred Shorthorns. The land is of a light, gravelly nature, and the herbage contains a goodly percentage of white clover. In winter the cows are fed on hay, mangels, and a mixture, of Indian meal and bran, the meal being boiled into a porridge and the bran then mixed with it. Mr Mahony, of Kenmare, who won

several first prizes, owns a farm of 70 acres, and on that maintains a herd of 84 dairy cows. A. heavy stock, it will be said; but it is even heavier than would appear from this statement, for the land is undergoing a course of reclamation, and the crop-producing capabilities of a great portion of the farm ai-e very meagre. The explanation of his being able to manage with such a large stock is that he, practises the soiling or house-feeding system. But a very limited portion of the farm is under grass. Green and root crops are extensively grown, and these are cut and carried to the animals in the house in winter, while in summer the green stuff is given on the grass. At the present time a crop of cabbage is being consumed. When this is finished the mangel clamp will be resorted to; and by the time the latter is got through a forward crop of rape will be coming to the rescue. This will be followed by a crop of rye-grass, which, in turn, will be followed by others in due order as in season. The only artificial food which the animals receive is palm-nut meal. Of this they get varying quantities, according to thenindividual requirements. Mr Mahony uses a separator for dealing with the milk immediately it is taken from the cows. The cream is allowed to stand for forty-eight hours (more or less) before being churned. It does not take such a long time in summer, and, perhaps, takes a little more during very cold weather. The churn used is a Thomas and Taylor eccentric. The butter is then thoroughly washed in the churn, and is then transferred to the butter-table, where it is salted. Only a very small quantity of salt is used, as the butter is always sold fresh.

Lieut.-Colonel Alexander, of Acton, Poyntzpass, has of late years made a speciality of dairying, and has had a very successful record in the showyards both of Ireland and England. At the London Dairy Show a few years ago, with three exhibits he won first and second prizes, a highly commended card, and the silver medal. This year he had an enviable record of successes at local shows in the north. A few words as to his system cannot, therefore, fail to be of interest. His dairy stock is composed chiefly of crossbred country cows, the only pure-breds being a few Devons. During the summer they are managed in the usual way on grass. In winter they also have a run out for a short time every day, when the weather permits. Tnside they are fed on turnips, hay, and a liberal allowance of artificial foods. The quantity of turnips given is limited to from 21b to 3 stone per head per day. Of hay there is an ad lib allowance, while the ai-tificial food mixture is made up of 21b to 31b oats, 21b cotton cake, and lib of bean meal. Questioned as to his experience with turnips as tainting the milk or butter, he replied that by feeding the animals immediately after each milking he never had any complaints on this score. ‘ By adopting this plan,’ lie said, ‘ I have never had occasion to resort to saltpetre or any other material for preventing the objectionable taint so often complained of.’ The milk is set in shallow tins in the ordinary way. It

is skimmed the day after being set, and churned the following day. Thus, Monday morning’s milk is skimmed on Tuesday, the cream is then set apart and churned on Wednesday—the condition of the weather, of course, regulating the particular hour at which it is fit for being dealt with ; but the souring process is nob allowed to go very far until it is considered ready for churning. The ordinary barrel churn is used, and the details of the churning process is the same as those generally followed. The butter is partly washed in the churn and partly on the butter-worker. After being taken from the churn it is placed on the worker, and a strong brine is poured over it as it passes under the rollers. The brine used is of the ordinary strength, and it is found to keep the butter pure and sweet for any reasonable length of time. Mr Watts, of tho Bonmahon Dairy Factory, county Waterford, who won first in the class for fresh butter in 21b rolls, and a card of commendation for his only other exhibit, besides winning several distinctions in the recent London Dairy Show, keeps an extensive dairy herd of about fifty cows, and has been very successful with the productions of his establishment a few years ago. His stock is composed of the common dairy cow r s of the country, which are crossed with a burc-bred Shorthorn bull. The cows are grazed in summer, and in winter (when the weather permits) they have a daily run on the grass. Their feeding while housed consists of roots, hay, and artificials. Of the former, mangolds only are used, and only one feed is given in the day. The morning allowance consists of a mix ture of Indian meal, porridge, and bran, 31b (more or less) being given to each animal. At midday they get a feed consisting of 31b of a mixture of crushed oats and bran; and in the evening they get the only feed of roots given, this being composed of pulped mangolds sprinkled with a little bran. In the intervals between meals they are allowed plenty of hay. The milk is all passed through a separator daily, and the cream is allowed to stand (on an average) about twenty four hours before being churned. The Llewellyn factory churn is used, it being so' accommodating that any quantity from 51b to 3001 b of butter can be dealt with at a time. The cream is churned at a temperature of 58 deg in summer and 60 deg in winter. The usual precautions are taken to ensure stoppage of the churning process directly the butter begins to form in ‘ pin-head ’ grains. When this stage is reached the butter-milk is withdrawn and a quantity of clear cold water introduced. TVhen the water comes away perfectly clear the butter is taken out and immersed in a strong brine the strength depending on the market for which the butter is intended. After bein'* allowed to remain in this solution for about an hour it is taken out and placed on the butter-worker, and there shaped and pressed into any form desired. For some markets, where comparatively heavy salting is required, a little dry salt is added when the butter is being worked. No colour is ever used : indeed, Mr Watts finds that in the spring months his butter is actually too high-coloured for some of the North

of England markets, in which he disposes of a large quantity of his produce. For the London market it is, however, the ideal of perfection, a very decided tint being necessary for that great centre of consumption. Mr Watts disposes largely of his butter to private individuals and public institutions in England, the large quantities being sent daily in a perfectly fresh condition to these customers. —Agricultural Gazette.

DEVONSHIRE CREAM. From time immemorial a system of making butter has prevailed in Devonshire and Cornwall entirely distinct from any that obtains elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Strange to say, an identical method exists amongst the coast families of Palestine, and it is surmised that the ancient Phoenician intercourse with Britain was the means of introducing the clotted cream of Cornwall and Devon. The simplicity of the pro cess has much to recommend it. The morning and evening milkings are immediately stood in flat and shallow tin dishes over a fire, and brought slowly to a temperature just approaching the boil, sufficiently hot to scald, yet, should an actual boil take place, the operation will have been carried too far, and end in failure. It will be noticed that a yellow skin forms on the surface, and when the cooling dishes of scalded milk arc stood on the shelves of the dairy the globules of butter fat float to the top, entangled with coagulated casein of the milk, and amalgamate together into a thick cream. The flavour developed by the partial cooking adds a characteristic pleasantness to tho cream, unattainable by any other method, and when once tasted will be appreciated to the detriment of all other creams.

The process of butter making is equally simple, for no churn is required for small quantities, all that is necessary being a few turns of a spoon in a basin when the butter comes. The sweet buttermilk is drained away, and no drink can be pleasanter than it, and after washing the butter is made into pats for the table. Some l-ecent experiments in Devonshire have shown completely and to the surprise of most people that this method of extracting butter vies in economy with that of the separator. Of course, ordinary care is needed, else loss will occur. In warm countries air additional advantage accrues, in that tho heat employed to raise the fresh milk in temperature tends to sterilise the germs of decay that may be present, and so preserve the milk against premature sourness. When, however, is taken into consideration the excessive exposure the creamy heads undei’go in an atmosphere more charged with the minute elements of decay in warm countries, it can be a matter of no wonder that butter of any description rapidly turns. The fault of separator butters is the aromatic flavour frequently engendered on keeping, due, perhaps, to an unwise diminution of the cheesy matter and the presence of purer oil in the butter. On the other hand, butter made from clotted cream possesses more curd, and is, therefore,

more liable to become cheesy in

flavour. If butter proper does not keep so long as might be expected in warm climates, Devonshire cream has a less chance from another cause, in that no household accustomed to its use can forego so pleasant an article of diet. It adds to tea a delicious finish that brings out the palate flavour as no other addition can secure. With every class of fruit the presence of cream adds a new delight. When the fresh milk is curdled with rennet and allowed to set solid, a few lumps of cream floating on the surface, grated over with nutmeg and flavoured with a trace of brandy, produce a dish that stands unrivalled for its digestive properties. Devonshire junket is too little known in our colony, and needs but to be introduced in order to become a prime favourite with all households. It is a wonder that some enterprising restaurant-keeper has not made a venture with it as a specialty, only there must be the quality and no niggardness in its quality in order to win success. An attempt has, we believe, been made in an Australian city to introduce clotted cream for sale in small jars, but the price demanded is scarcely proportionate to the minute quantity supplied. When it is taken into consideration that a gallon of milk makes a quart of cream, valued at Bd, and that one quart will produce eight 6d jars, selling at 4s, the margin of profit would indicate a short cut to fortune. Too greedy spoils many a venture, and people must be won over as customers by quality as well as quantity in matters concerning the appetite. HARVEST OPERATIONS. (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Bulls, March 9. It is beautiful weather, and tho farmers are all busy saving their corn, most of which is sadly damaged by the long con* tinusd wet. Both yield and quality must turnout very disappointing. Manaia, March 9. Tho first bush fir 63 of the season started to-day, but the prospects of good “ burns” are not hopeful.