ON DAIRY FARMING.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3493, 22 July 1880, Page 3

ON DAIRY FARMING.

No 6.— ON DAIRY UTENSILS.

BY W. K. HULKE, ESQ.

Having so lately remarked on the different variety of milk pans, I will, in this letter, notice churns and other utensils used for butter-making. Foremost amongst these is the churn. The earliest record we can find of any churn, is that the skin of a goat was used to churn milk in. This was suspended by the feet to a branch of a tree, and swung backward and forward ; and even now this primitive system of butter-making is used in Barbary and Caffaria. In the Levant, the milk or cream is placed in goat-skin bags, and churned by treading the bag with the feet. Who first discovered the manufacture of butter is unknown, and most probably will remain so, but it is more than probable that it was an accidental discovery, made on opening a skin bag containing milk ; for in the very early days the milk of cows, goats, and sheep was used for food, and skins filled with milk were carried suspended over horses' backs and otherwise, and so taken from one locality to another. The milk being thus constantly agitated during the journey, butter was formed, which was used first as an ointment to annoint the hair with, and afterwards for food. The earliest record of butter and cheese we find in the Bible. It is there stated that Jesse commanded his son David to " carry ten cheeses unto the captive of their thousand and see how thy brethren fare" ; and again, '• They brought honey and butter and sheep, and cheese of lane for David and the people that were with him to eat." It will thus be seen that cheese and butter were articles of commerce in the very earliest days. Since that time improvements have gradually been made in churns. The ancient goat skin churn has been superseded by barrel churns, box churns, upright churns, and many other varieties of churns, wood and block tin being mostly used in their construction. Churns as now used are made either with fixed or removable dashers and some without any. The two latter being preferable, as they allow of cleaning the inside better. The number and make of prize churn is legion. Every other churn is either a prize, or champion and guaranteed to be easier to work, and to make more butter, and of better quality than any of its rivals, and to effect this in a few minutes. In fact, there are any amount of Bogus chums in the market ifor sale, and those requiring a churn Ishould therefore carefully avoid purchasing one thus advertised. A good churn of whatever material it may be made of should be well put together, without outside ornament, and if of wood, the wood should be well seasoned. It should have a large man hole or lid, so as to enable the inside to be well cleansed. The lid should especially fit close to prevent leakage during churning. I cannot be too particular on this point. If the churn is fitted with removable dashers they should be easy to remove. The simpler the better, and it should be easy to turn, and to keep clean. This |is absolutely necessary. The best temperature for churning has been found, after a series of carefully conducted experiments, made in Scotland, Sweden, and America, to be from 55 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature the butter was rich, firm, and well-tasted ; from 62 degrees to 70 degrees the butter was found soft and spongey. The agitation of the cream in churning should be regular, neither too quick nor too slow. If too quick the butter •will make and unmake itself before the churner is aware of it, as a too rapid motion induces fermentation, which on reaching a certain point entirely prevents making even moderately good or even butter. If, on the other hand, the motion is too slow, the churner, after spending much labour and time, ■will fiud himself as far from his butter us ho was at the commencement of his labour. Sometimes, however, the cream is refractory in churning on account of the bad condition of water with which the cows were supplied. This often occurs in hot weather when water is scarce, and cows are compelled to drink from stagnant pools or mud holes. At other times it niay happen in hot weather if the cows have been raced home from the pasture by the use of dogs. At such times the milk is apt to become heated, and the cream undergoes a change prejudicial to the making of butter in time. If the cream goes to the churn at the right temperature the butter ought to come in from 29 to 40 minutes in summer, and not exceeding one hour in winter. Under the new process the butter is never touched by the hands, or as little as possible, jmd even then the hands

are preveuted from contact "with the butter by having a butter cloth (previously wrung out in cold water) wrapped round them. On removal from the churn the butter is lifted, either by the hand or by a. wooden ladle, on to the butter-worker. Of these there are several varieties ; circular ones, with fixed or revolving beds, worked by gear-wheels. These are expensive, and are best adapted for large dairies. A good butter-worker in general use and much liked is an inclined slab standing on legs, with bevelled sides about three inches high. The slab is about 4 feet long by 2 feet wide at the upper end, and tapering down to four inches at the lower end, where there is a crosspiece with a slit for the reception at the end of the lever. There is also an opening at this end for the butter-milk to run into a pail below. The lever is made either with four or eight sides, and the end fits loosely into the slit so as to work in any direction. In working the butter great care should be taken not to injure the grain of the butter by over working it or subjecting it to a grinding motion, like working mortar, as this spoils the grain, and renders the butter of a greasy texture, instead of being firm and waxy. It is only in this state that butter possessing that rich, nutty flavour and smell, which not only gives pleasure to the palate in eating it, but which also greatly increases its commercial value. As all cream should be passed through a seive previous to being run into the churn, I will now describe those in general use. First and foremost is our old friend the hair seive, a good serviceable article, but apt soon to come to grief if used roughly or not properly taken care of. It also requires much washing to keep it sweet, and is now gradually being thrust aside for tin seives with wire bottom — easier to clean, and not so liable to damage. The best kind of tin sieve is that known as Baker's Excelsior Cream Separater, as it reduces the cream to an uniorm consistency in all its parts, so that in churning the butter will come more evenly. It is made coneshape, with a revolving crusher, and answers for both cream and milk. This strainer is spoken well of by both English and foreign dairymen. Wooden pails for dairy work are a nuisance in all dairies, on account of the time and difficulty it takes to clean them and keep them sweet. On this account milk-pails and all other dairy utensils of a like nature should be of strong tin, it being easier to keep clean — not being an absorbant. Having exhausted dairy utensils, I purpose in my next to comment upon cleanliness in the dairy.