UNITED STATES.

Western Star, Issue 374, 21 August 1880, Page 4 (Supplement)

UNITED STATES.

AMERICAN BUTTER CHURNS. Easthampton, Massachusetts: May 10.— In a recent issue of the Agricultural Gazette there appeared (p. 297) a short description, with illustrations, of one of the best' American butter churns of the dasherless class, now so rapidly coming into use. The number of different churns found in this country is wonderful, and that all are not yet satisfied is proved by the fact that ten or fifteen new patterns appear every year. Many add no value to the variety already existing, but more or less find friends and secure a place in the market. These many articles; all intended for one object, differ not only in general . form, but in the material of which they are made, the principles of their action upon the cream, the mode of giving motion, and the numerous details of their mechanism. For general purposes, however, at least nine-tenths of the whole long list may be divided into three classes.

The oldest of these is the vertical dash churn. It has usually bean made of wood, but often of stone or earthenware, and sometimes of tin. The shape may be an upright cylinder, or the frustrum of a cone, or either of these varied by bulging the sides, barrel-Uke. The dasher has various forms, too. In all cases the action is the same, the dasher being moved by a rod passing through the cover, and operated vertically by hand or mechanical power. The objections to these churns are the great labor required to work them, and the adhesion of more or less partly-churned cream to cover and sides, which, unless frequently scraped down, is lost, or appears as white streaks in the butter. For these, and other reasons, this form of churn has been generally given up in America, although in some conservative localities it is still the favorite. This is so much the case in the famous old butter-making county of New York, that the upright pattern is now usually known as the Orange County churn. The old vertical dasher was in most cases first replaced by a horizontal cylinder, with or without a support or frame, through the axis of which ran a shaft, with some sort of dasher attached, the latter being revolved in the body of the cylinder bv a crank and handle at the end. This general description is applicable to a large variety of patterns, and the. churns of this class still in the market, differing in detail only, are very numerous. More of this class than any other may be found in use in America. Some of the modifications of the body are these': making the axis of the cylinder greater in length than the diameter, reversing these proportions, and bulging the sides to a barrel shape. They are sometimes called, in general, barrel churns. The shape of the dasher, the mode of attaching it, and the different devices for operating, have been carried to an extreme, causing complexity', nnd a re-action toward simpler forms has lately taken place. The best example of tnis class is the far-famed Blanchard churn,

which, as made for many years, was a horizontal semi-cylinder, with ratio of axis to diameter as 3 to 2, set in a permanent frame with four lees, so as to be the right height for a parson to operate sitting, and the crank handle of the dasher at one end ; a spigot, at the other end, by which to draw off buttermilk and to help in cleaning, The dasher itself was an_ arrangements of floats and valves, which, upon revolution, was designed to give increased action to the cream. The top was horizontal, with a flat cover, tightly fitting, and a vent in the middle. This shape prevented the dasher or paddle from coming near the inner surface of the upper part of the body and cover, and resulted in a good deal of “ dead cream” collecting, which had to be often scraped down from the cover. &c., while churning. The floats and valves of the dasher also necessitated considerable objectionable metal within the churn, and increased the labor of keeping it, all clean. Despite the objections., the Blanchard has for a long time been one of the most popular churns in the States, if not the most so. But the advent of simpler forms of efficient churns (of the third class, about to be described)/ had its effect upon even this strongly-established implement, and within a year the new Blanchard has aopeared—a decided modification of the old pattern. The body is now a perfect cylinder, the dasher so closely fitted as to permit the whole interior surface, including cover, to be perfectly scraped by a reverse movement, at any moment while churning, and the dasher itself, freed from all movable parts, is in the simplest form, two narrow wings revolving about the axis, all plain wood. These changes greatly simplify the whole implement, at the same time increasing its efficiency, and as the former thoroughness of manufacture is continued (long a characteristic of this firm) end the old and excellent device for and detaching crank and dash is retained. The Blanchard will be likely to hold its place for years to come, in the estimation of thousands of American dairymen as “ the very best;” The claim of this churn, with several others of its class, to be a good butter-worker also, amounts to nothing ; by drawing off the buttermilk and reversing the crank, pressure can be brought upon the newly gathered butter, it is true, but it is a sliding motion, sure to injure the grain, and does'more harm than good. The remaining class of American churns are those without dashers, empty vessels of different shapes, acting upon the principle ot concussion, shaking the cream, after the primeval fashion of the goat skin, instead of beating it with a dasher of any kind. Churns of this sort began to appear soon after the era of d*ep and cold setting of milk opened in this country about ten years ago, and the extension in their use now largely coincides with adoption of that method of milk management. Both are rapidly coming in use to the exclusion of all others. Dasherless churns seem specially adapted to the bulky and thin cream of the deep-set system, which appears to require a less violent action in churning, although perhaps a little longer time than the thick leathery cream from open shallow pans. All churns of this class possess the great advantage of clearing every part of their interior by their own action, so all the particles of cream are churned alike, and at the same time they present a much less liability than others to injuring the butter by overchurning. Of this class of churns, one of the first was Bullard’s oscillator, still considered the best by many of the leading dairymen of New York and New England. This rectangular, empty box, which oscillates endwise upon a frame, its action aided and regulated by heavy fly-wheels, was mentioned in Agricultural Gazette (p. 297) as exhibited in Philadelphia in 1876, and it has been shown in England, The chief objections to it are its cost, weight, and the angles and corners of the box. All these are avoided in the construction of the Davis swing churn, and it was upon those grounds that the latter received the prize for the best churn shown at the first International Dairy at New York. The judges said in their report: “ It is correct in principle, well made, simple, easily worked and cleaned.’* Mr John Oliver wrote me after last October’s London dairy show that the Davis “ was the favorite American churn with the visitors, and was operated during the show with great satisfaction.” The pendulum churn, which is older than the Davis, and based upon the same principles, is even cheaper than that, because made of tin. It is also very light and handy. When in use it is suspended with cords from the ceiling, or brackets from a side wall, and may be thus hung at any height. To some the material of which it is made is an objection; but, on the other hand, there are those who prefer a tin churn, for numerous reasons. The action of this chum is wellnigh perfect. From its pecular shape it has received the name of the monitor. Another of the same class which has become very popular in the new buttermaking regiofi of the North-west is the rectangular churn, made in Wisconsin,

This is an empty cube, and is furnished hung upon diagonal corners, or at the middle points of opposite sides. These two forms are similar in general appearance, but the action of the cream differs considerably in them. Opinion is divided upon their merits. The former is known as the Whipple and the latter as the Curtis. It is a mistake to suppose that any of these churns can be operated by a child. Although there is no dasher, with the resistence to it offered by the cream the weight of churn and contents must be moved in some way, and most of the churns of this class require about as much power or strength as those, with crank dashers. There are several other forms of dasherless churns upon the market, new ones appear almost every month, and many others still which cannot be placed in the class described, but should be grouped by themselves, as a novelty and oddity division. As I think of no one of these which has come into extensive use, this article, already too long, had butter not be lengthened on their account, although there are numerous points of interest among them. Perhaps the Philadelphia churn ought to be specially named as a favorite in many large dairies and creameries in Pennsylvania and other States. It is an adaptation of an old English style—a well-made oaken barrel of any desired size, large opening on its side, and three ribs or flanges fixed upon its interior, running from head to head, equi-distant, and projecting a few inches from the staves towards the axis. The barrel is set horizontally on bearings at; the centres of the heads, and may have a crank handle at one end and a band wheel for attaching power at the other. Upon being revolved, the cream is thrown upon the fixed dashers by its own motion, and concussion is thus caused. The churn is, therefore, a combination of the two classes last named, but comes nearer the no-dasher sizes.' . Of the churns described, the Blanchard, the Davis, the Pendulum, and the Whipple were in the American collection of dairy appliances which I had the honor to send over to the'last show of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association, and which, I suppose, will be again exhibited in London next Oct ber.—Henry E. Alvord, Easthampton, Massachusets, U.S.A.