Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/435

BUT h^Ik must be suffered to remain in the udder, as by this neglect the cow will give less every meal, till st length she becomes dry before her proper time, and, the next season, will scarcely give suffi- cient to repay the expences of keeping her. It' a cow's teats are scratched, or wounded, her milk will be foul, and should not be niixed with that of other cows, but given to pigs. Jn warm weather, the milk should remain in the pail till it is nearly cool, before it is strained ; but, in frosty weather, this should be done immediately, and a small quantity of boiling water mixed with it ; which will produce cream in abun- dance, especially in pans, or vats, of a large surface. During the hot summer-months, the milk should stand only 24 hours, and the cream be skimmed from it, either early in the morn- ing, before the dairy becomes warm ; or in the evening, after sun-set. In winter, the milk may remain unskimmed for 36, or even 4S hours : the cream ought to be preserved in a deep pan, kept, dur- ing summer, in the coolest part of the dairy, or in a cool cellar where a free air is admitted. Dr. An- derson (whose aphorisms on this subject we shall qnote at the con- clusion of the present article), is of opinion, that the temperature of a dairy should, if possible, be kept between 50 and 55° of Fahrenheit; which is nearly about the average temperature of a building secured from the external air, in the man- ner lie has proposed; and a deli- neation of which the reader will rind under the article Milk- house. Those, who have not an oppor- tunity of churning every other day, should shift the cream daily into clean pans, in order to keep it cool ; but they should regularly churn twice a week in hot wea- ther, and this in the morning be- fore sun-rise, taking care to fix the churn in a free draught of air. Nor should this vessel be exposed to a fire so near as to heat the wood in cold seasons, as by this means the butter will acquire a strong rancid flavour. A correspondent in the Papers Of the Bath and West-of-England Society observes, that the opera- tion of churning may be much facilitated, by adding a table- spoonful or two of distilled vinegar to a gallon of cream, but not till after the latter has undergone consi- derable agitation. When the butter is churned, it should immediately be washed in several waters, till it be perfectly cleansed from the milk ; but a warm hand will soften it, and make it appear greasy. Hence it is advisable to employ two pieces of wood, such as are used by cheese-mongers ; an expedient by which those who have naturally a very warm hand, might render their butter more saleable. See Churning. In many parts of England, but- ter is artificially coloured in win- ter; though this process adds no- thing to its goodness. The far- mers in and near Epping, take sound carrots, the juice of which they express through a sieve, and mix with the cream, when it enters the churn; which makes it appear like May-butter. There is very little salt used in the best Epping baiter ; but it is a fait, that a cer- tain proportion of acid, either na- tural or artificial, must be used in the cream, in order to ensure a successful churning : some keep a D d 2 small