Butter & butter-making : a lecture delivered to the Bath and West of England and Southern Counties Society in connection with the establishment of a Dairy School at Oxford, April 6th, 1889

BUTTER & BUTTER-MAKIM.

A. LECTURE

Delivered to the Bath and West of England and Southern Counties
Society, in connection with the establishment of a Dairy School
at Oxford, April 6tli, 1889.

BY

Dr, J. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER, B.A., B.Se., F.C.S., &e.

BUTTER & BUTTER-MAKING.

A. LECTURE

Delivered to the Bath and West of England and Southern Counties Society,
in connection with the establishment of a Dairy School at Oxford,
April 6th, 1889.

BY

Dr. J. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER, B.A., B.Se., F.C.S., &e.

M Y subject is one that needs no apology for its introduction ; for
reading as I did the other day, that in 1887 no less than 12
millions of money were spent in this country on butter and butter-
substitutes imported from abroad, this vast sum accordingly .going
altogether out of the country where it ought to have been spent, it
behoves us surely to ask ourselves the reason why, and what are the
means of stopping this exodus of capital in the future. At the risk
even of offending my hearers, I do not hesitate to say that the
principal reason is that we are behindhand, and that other countries
are pushing on ahead while we are lagging in the rear. Denmark,
Holland, and Germany, are all steadily advancing by the light which
scientific investigation brings to bear upon practical experience. We,
however, foster neither the one nor the other, but are behindhand in
our practical and behindhand in our scientific knowledge, and
consequently in that union of the two by which successful progress
can alone be achieved and maintained.

What do we see as we look around ? In every country district a
different kind of butter ; in every village even, is to be found almost
every variety — good, bad, and' indifferent ; no approach whatever to
uniformity either of manipulation or of product, a rigid adherence to
old fashions and notions, everyone thinking that he knows all about
butter-making, and that there is nothing more to learn ; and so they
go on too often, churning away each in his own particular way,
sometimes half an hour, sometimes an hour and a half or even longer,

4

until by soid8 cbance, lucky or otherwise, the butter conies, but they
know not how or why. Meanwhile the trade is fast slipping away
into the hands of foreigners. Then too, what do we find in the
towns ? The town consumer, tired of getting one day one kind of
butter and another day another, and possessed with the natural idea
that if one kind be good, all the others, so different from it, must be
bad, clamours to be supplied with an article that does not vary. The
butter-merchant knowing he cannot depend upon a regular and
adequate supply of a uniform article from home sources, turns to
foreign ones, where he knows he can find butter manufactured upon
one system, and that the best. In countries such as Denmark for
example, not only are there travelling Teachers, but also scientific men
continuously engaged in investigation on dairy matters, and travelling
Inspectors appointed, by whom the trade interests of the country are
carefully watched. At the present time the Danish Government
have, resident in our own country, a chemist for this express purpose ;
and their Agricultural Society has, in addition to its general Consulting
Chemist, another who is separately and specially devoted to the dairy
industry. How different all this is from what we find in England !
Again, if we turn to our Agricultural Journals and papers, we find
that the prominent writers on the scientific aspects of dairying are

Germans ; whilst among

our own

countrymen there are but few

names of note. Is it strange, therefore, that combination succeeds
while our independent and isolated action fails ?

Beyond our Shows with their butter-making contests, themselves
(it must be said) of somewhat doubtful value, our agricultural societies
do comparatively little for, and give but little encouragement to, the
progress of dairying. Under the name of butter — for people will still
have butter, however indifferently it may be made — we continue to
purchase at a high price what is not nearly so well manufactured as
many of those butter-substitutes which we so loudly condemn and
legislate about. Certain it is that farmers do not as a class take the
pride in butter-making that they should, but are content to blunder
on so long as they can find a market for what they can produce.
Now comes the question, — How is an improvement to be effected ?
There is need, I think, of two things, better practice and truer science.
The first of these the Bath and West of England Society are
endeavouring to supply, and to carry into the country homes the
principles of sound practice. From other parts of the country already
visited by the Society we hear of good that has been done, notably in
the West of England and perhaps especially in Devonshire, where the
well-known zeal of Sir Thomas Acland has supplemented the ordinary
course of instruction given, by a series of demonstrations in the homes

5

of the people themselves. May equal benefit follow the Society’s
attempts in Oxford ! I spoke of a second need, the aid of Science, but I
will not now enlarge further than by saying how necessary is the culti-
vation of those methods of exactness and accuracy, and of those habits
of observation and investigation which a scientific training affords.

One thing more is essential both for successful learning and success-
ful teaching, and that is, that we must not forget there is still
something to learn. The best teacher is he who is ever ready to learn,
not to dogmatise but to test; the best learner, he who comes with a
mind prepared to learn, conscious that he does not know everything.
I may next be allowed to give a caution. It is only one part
of the work which a Dairy School such as this can accomplish,
and it may even be doubtful if, after all, it is proceeding in the
best way ; but still it is a step in the right direction. You
must not however expect too much from it ; butter-making is not
learnt in a day, and anyone who thinks that he may attend a single
course and then know all aboirt butter-making will find he has made
a great mistake. One can at best only learn those principles which
have been enjoined by good practice, and the exercise of that careful
attention which leads to the simplification of work and the better
understanding of the processes which take place ; in short how to act
under special and varying circumstances. This much the Bath and
West of England Society can lay claim to, and the Oxford Local
Committee, it seems to me, has done well in co-operating, and so
stirring up local interest in this subject, one truly of national
importance and closely affecting the prosperity of the whole agri-
cultural community.

It would be wide of my purpose to give a chemical lecture on
the constituents of milk and their different properties, so I will
merely state in brief that these consist of water, fat, nitrogenous
matters, viz., casein and albumen ; milk-sugar, and lastly mineral
matters or “ash” of the milk, as it is termed, consisting largely
of phosphate of lime. The proportions in which these exist are on
an average as follows : —

Water - - -

87-0

Fat -

3-5

Casein and Albumen

3-8

Milk-Sugar -

5-0

Mineral Matter

0-7

The fat is that with which we have principally here to deal,
and I may say that, roughly speaking, a gallon of milk weighing
about lOlbs. will contain about 5^ ozs. Butter Eat. Milk is not a
homogeneous substance, but the fat occurs in it in the form of

6

globules which float about in the solution of other substances. From
these it is easily separated, and in the simple process of setting the
milk, the fat rises as cream, and may be removed, leaving the skim
milk which contains the casein, milk-sugar, and the mineral salts,
together with a small and varying proportion of unremoved fat. The
cream, which contains more or less of the skim milk entangled with
it, may, after removal, be churned into butter.

It is not my intenton to go here into the question of the nature of
the globules, nor to enquire whether the theory of their being sur-
rounded by envelopes be correct or not.

The specific gravity of whole milk is on an average T032, water
at the same normal temperature being taken as 1. The fat globules,
whilst separable, have a lesser specific gravity than the other
constituents, and consequently when allowed to do so, rise. They
are of different sizes and have different rates of rising, the larger
ones rising quickest, the smaller ones slowest. Accordingly the cream
obtained at different periods of setting will differ in composition
and character. Further, the globules may vary in size according
to the breed of the cow from which the milk is drawn. Their
rising is also affected by external circumstances, such as the influence
of heat and cold. Fat, chemically speaking, is a compound of
Glycerine with certain fatty acids, some of them soluble, some in-
soluble ; and the investigation of these and the proportions in which
they severally occur in genuine butter, is a matter of extreme interest,
while their identification and separation from animal fats still presents
considerable difficulty to the analytical chemist. The variations which
occur, there is reason to know, are very much more marked than was
previously supposed to be the case, and the occurrence of abnormal
results in butters known to be genuine is engaging at present the
active attention of many scientific men. As the richness of a milk in
butter-.fat determines the amount of butter which can be produced from
it, it is frequently sought to distinguish between one milk and another,
as to their relative richness, by some ready method such as putting a
certain quantity of milk into a tube and allowing the cream to rise,
and then reading off the quantity. All such methods, however, are
at best but indications, and often fallacious ones, for so much depends
upon the size and number of the globules, and whether they are
closely aggregated or loosely packed. This will vary according to
the breed of the cow, and .even in individual cows, as also from
external circumstances, such as heat and cold.

If we want to get good butter, of course we must start with good
milk. The general composition of milk I have already given ; the
variations which it exhibits are dependent more upon the amount of

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fat contained than upon anything else. The main causes for the
variations are — the breed of the cows, their age, the time

that has lapsed since calving, the time of day at which the milk is
taken, and lastly the food of the animals. Into these points I do not
intend to enter further than to say that the food of dairy animals is a
most important matter, and one that has an intimate relation to the
profitable production of butter. Of late much more attention has
been given to this, one of the scientific aspects of dairying, than

formerly ; though here again it is from abroad that the advance has
come. Mr. Lloyd, the chemist of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association
a short time ago, in a lecture delivered at a similar gathering to this,
viz. at the Exeter Dairy School of the Bath and West of England
Society, took up this special subject in an interesting and useful way,
and therefore I would not go over the ground again. In a table in-
cluded in the paper, the following is given as a suitable daily diet for
a cow-in-milk weighing, say, 1,000 lbs. : —

Dry Matter - 24’0 lbs.

Albuminoids - - - 2 - 5 lbs.

Carbo-hydrates - - 12-5 lbs.

Fat - 0-4 lb.

the Nutritive Ratio of such a diet being 1 : 5-4. It is to be regretted
that so little opportunity is given in this country to the scientific man,
as compared with what has been done abroad, to determine by actual
experiment these questions of remunerative feeding, and to compare
them with, and check them by, the actual practice of well-known
stock-keepers. Much is said as to the influence of particular foods
upon the quality of the milk and of the butter produced. Linseed
cake, for instance, it is known, is not, at all events if used to any
great extent, productive of a good, but rather of an oily butter ; whilst
turnips or swedes, given in too great excess, impart their flavour to
butter. Brewers’ grains whilst increasing the flow of milk, are not so
suitable for butter purposes. Against silage there is still a prejudice
with many as to its making butter taste, but this I believe to be due
more to want of care and cleanliness, than to the silage itself as a
feeding material.

Cleanliness with respect to milk, butter, or anything in the
dairy, is an absolute necessity, and unless insisted upon no amount
of teaching or training will succeed. It should begin, I think with
the cow-sheds, where everything should be kept as sweet and clean
as possible and the buildings be properly ventilated for the healthiness
and well-being of the animals. I have been in many cow-sheds which
almost turn one against the idea of drinking the milk given by
the cows in them. Too many people chance what may happen in

8

stuffy and ill-ventilated cow-sheds ; and if anything goes wrong it
will quickly travel through the whole herd. I do not say that a cow-
shed should be merely or mainly a show place, but I do like to see it
well littered and clean — the animals as well as the stalls. When one
sees, as is frequently the case, the quantity of manure which is wasted
in cow-sheds, and especially the quantity of liquid manure allowed to
pass away, sinking more frequently into the surrounding earth than
into anything else, one cannot help feeling that much might be effected
in the way of better economy here, to say nothing of the prevention
of the bad smells produced through imperfect littering. Sometimes a
goat is another adjunct, though I am rather sceptical as to what pur-
pose its presence may serve beyond contributing still further to the
already powerful smell ! The next direction in which cleanliness must
be exercised is in the thorough purification of all pails and dairy uten-
sils. Impurities may arise from mechanical and chemical sources,
which may cause milk rapidly to change, and also impart to it and to
the butter tastes and smells which will injure the quality. The air
contains, it is known, an infinite number of ferments which float
about in it like fine dust, and which though we cannot see them, are
capable of producing changes in milk and similar substances. To
show that this is the case we may take a flask of milk, and after
boiling it, close the mouth with cotton-wool, so that all air entering in
would be as it were filtered. The ferments would in this way be
arrested and the milk will keep fresh ; but if the plug of cotton-wool
be removed, souring will soon set in. It is impossible of course to keep
these ferments altogether out of milk, and hence milk will not keep
indefinitely ; but all visible dirt and all ferments such as those
proceeding from the presence of manure-heaps, of silage, and of
other odorous matters, should, and can be got rid of by thorough
washing. The activity of most of these ferments proceeds favourably
at a temperature of about 95 deg. Tahr. ; but a heat much higher and
more nearly approaching that of boiling water will, as a rule destroy
them, so, similarly, will much lower temperatures. On this account
the best plan is to wash all pails and utensils first with cold water,
in order to remove everything adhering mechanically, then by scalding
them with hot water to assist the destruction spoken of, finally
rinsing again with cold water. If the utensils must be clean, so
surely must be the hands of the milkers, and the teats of the cows.
If a man, for instance, goes straight away from feeding cows with
silage to milking them, without taking the trouble to wash his hands,
no amount of after-care in making the butter will be of any avail.

The milk when drawn from the cow being warm, viz. about 90 deg.
Fahr. the first thing is to strain it and refrigerate it, whereby all mechan-

ical impurities are removed and the lowering of the milk to a temperature
of about 60 deg. Fahr. is effected ; thus the animal odours are removed
and the action of ferments checked. Seeing it is at a temperature such
as that of the freshly drawn milk that ferments are most active, their
removal or the checking of their growth at this stage is most essential.
The milk is next removed to the dairy and there set or separated.
The position of the dairy is very important. It should be cool, well
ventilated, the dust kept out, and plenty of fresh air allowed to enter.
It should not be near anything of a strong-smelling nature, such as
manure-heaps or silage, nor should it be allowed to serve the purposes
of a general larder, or have meat or such things hung in it. A dairy
must be scrupulously clean ; a tiled, stone, or cemented floor is the
best, and there should be no cracks in the flooring, nor boards, nor
anything which is likely to harbour smells or which cannot be got at
easily and cleaned. Some people make the mistake of supposing
that it is requisite to have the floor always wet, thinking that in warm
weather it keeps the dairy cool by means of the evaporation of the
water. Now this is altogether wrong ; what is needed is thorough
ventilation with a plentiful inflow of fresh air, and a dry, not a moist,
atmosphere. It is under conditions of dampness that the harbouring
of ferments is encouraged. There is no necessity whatever to have
a dairy heated.

When milk is set, the cream, as explained, owing to its lesser
specific gravity, rises to the surface. Anything which increases the
difference of densities of the cream and the skim milk hastens the
process of separation. Thus cooling will effect this, and in a measure
heating does so likewise ; as a matter of fact cream is found to rise
best under the influence of a falling temperature. It is on this
principle that mechanical devices such as the “ Jersey ” and other
“ Creamers ” are constructed, the milk being first heated up, and then
suddenly cooled. A different plan is the mechanical separator, the
separation being the result of centrifugal action. Here again it is
found that by warming the milk before passing it through the machine,
the separation is more complete. When we come to compare the
different methods, what a mass of conflicting ideas we meet with !
We have the shallow pan and the deep setting, the “ Cooley,” the
“Jersey Creamer,” and numerous other candidates for recognition.
Then there are a number of mechanical separators, differing somewhat
in their working, but all based on the same principle ; while lastly
there are the advocates of the Devonshire scalding system. In this
latter, about the details and practice of which Sir Thos. Acland can
tell you very much more than I can, the milk after setting is warmed
in pans put on hot plates raised nearly to boiling point, and the cream

10

subsequently removed. In this way is obtained a cream thicker than
any other and held in high favour. For production of Devonshire
cream and its sale as such, the system is an admirable one, and this I
think is the best purpose to put it to. The butter produced from the
cream in this method, though held in local favour, I cannot say I
think compares favourably with that of other systems. The boiling
causes the small amount of albumen to coagulate, the fat is not so
fully separated, and consequently the skim milk is as a rule richer.
Through the kindness of Sir Thos. Aclaiid I have had the opportunity
of trying some experiments in connection with the working of this
system as compared with others, and I hope I shall shortly be able to
speak more definitely about them. We might spend a whole day
in discussing the merits of each of the different systems ; but I
would rather point out to you the need there is of more absolute and
careful enquiry than has yet been made. What, for instance, is the
value of estimating the results merely by the weight of the produce
alone, when we do not know whether one sample of butter contains
more water than another, and the keeping qualities, the flavour, the
grain and other points are not taken as well into consideration ? In
general, we may say that, on the large scale, mechanical separating
will be mainly used, and on a small scale, setting of some kind or
other. The mechanical separators certainly remove from the milk a
larger quantity of fat than any other system. Dr. Yieth of the
Aylesbury Dairy Company gives, as the result of a years’ working,
an average of less than 03 per cent, of fat remaining in the skim milk
obtained from the Separator. But it is by no means certain that all
that is removed is equally good for butter-making. Might not better
butter be made by less perfect separation ? And is all the fat which is
capable of being removed alike valuable for churning purposes ?
These are suggestions which may be thrown out for further investi-
gation. The difficulty of disposing of skim milk to some extent stands
in the way of the more extended use of mechanical separators, but
prejudice, I am sure, has had much to do with this, for skim milk I
believe to be a thoroughly good food which ought, considering its low
price, to be utilised very much more than it is. The fat certainly has
been removed, but it contains all the nitrogenous and the bone-
forming matters of the original milk, and must therefore form a very
nutritious food. For stock purposes where fattening is required,
doubtless less perfect separation would leave a skim milk more
valuable for the purpose, and it may be a question still whether the
most profitable end will not be reached by a less perfect separation,
resulting in the production of a better quality of butter and the
leaving of a skim milk richer and more fattening for stock. I do not

11

say this is the case, but it is a question still to be decided by careful
enquiry. The cream, after separation by one or other of the methods
enumerated, is ready to be churned, and according to the quantity or
the circumstances, it is either churned at once or set aside until
the butter-making day comes round. And here in considering
churning I must introduce another caution, and it is one against the
rule-of-thumb practice too frequently found not only in our dairies
but also, I fear, in our dairy schools and institutions, and that is, to
suppose that all milk will behave alike. The butter-maker can make
no greater mistake than to suppose that all the milk he has to deal
with is alike and contains one and the same percentage of cream,
or that it is even every day alike, or that it does not alter with
the differences of temperature and weather. Consequently his
practice must not be always the same, but he must study all these
points and according to them modify his practice. It is by attention
to these points that success is gained, and here it is that judgment is
most needed. The skill of the butter-maker consists in the knowledge
of the conditions under which he works, and the character of the
cream with which he has to deal, and on his being able to vary his
action accordingly. The cream from the milk of certain cows will
vary greatly, and even that from one cow may alter the nature of
the whole lot. Thus it is well known that the cream from the milk
of a fresh cow will churn more easily than that from one going dry.
Then again it must make all the difference whether the cream is
entirely fresh, or whether it is fresh cream and ripened cream mixed,
or the whole ripened, and to what extent. But how comparatively
little attention is paid to this, everything being made subservient to
the general convenience of the moment ! This is, I think, a great fault
of our shows -and, I must add, of our dairy schools. Cream is given
to the candidates or pupils, of the previous history of which they
know nothing, nor are they likely to learn from what bleed or breeds
of cows it has come, when it was set or separated, how much of it is
fresh and how much has been ripened, and under what surroundings ;
all these are points of immense importance in the thorough instruction
of butter-makers, and as long as cream is simply given out and con-
sidered as being all alike, we shall not make that progress which we
ought. When further, we come to examine the theories as to whether
butter should be made from fresh cream or ripened cream, and as to
what ripening consists of, and to what extent it should proceed, we
touch on matters upon which there is comparatively little sound
knowledge, for the simple reason that there has been too much
theorising by those who merely profess, but who have not the-
necessary qualifications for putting the question to a thorough test.

C

12

It is generally held that when made from ripened cream the butter
comes more readily, but there are equally those who maintain that to
produce a keeping butter ripened cream must be used, and those who
say that fresh cream is the better. What exactly the process of
ripiening is, is also in debate. By some it is spoken of as being a
process of oxidation, by others as one of acidification — but these are
really one and the same ; others again tell us that cream should be
ripened but without any souring taking place, and that the process '»

should be stopped short of this ; but oxidation, acidification, or souring JL

are but different ways of expressing one and the same action, viz. that
of the external air, with all its various ferments, upon the constituents
of the milk or cream. Bipening of cream is indeed most frequently
effected by the addition of a little sour cream to the fresh. On these
points there is a large field for definite and careful enquiry, and this
so far has not been fully done, nor the many theories put to ex-
haustive tests. As to the kinds of churns, I do not think that there
is much practical difference ; a greater desideratum is that they should
be thoroughly cleaned and scalded with hot water and kept sweet and
fresh. And now comes in that valuable and inexpensive instrument
the thermometer, upon the use of which the scientist has for so long
insisted, and which at last is begining to get some slight recognition
in the homes of our practical dairy-farmers, though it is still in too
many cases an absent friend. The empirical method which so many
of our practical people adopt, and the way in which they assert that they
know all about the temperature and whether the cream is too warm
or too cold, is what no scientific man, though trained in habits of
accuracy and observation, would think of adopting, nor would he for
a moment support the judgment of his senses when so ready a means
of absolutely determining the exact point was at his disposal and could
be afforded by this simple instrument the thermometer. Is it not a
fact that one may go into many a dairy and upon asking the question,
how long the butter takes to come, the answer given will be that it
takes sometimes half-an-hour, sometimes an hour and a half, or two ^

hours or even longer, and is it not true that one may see people
turning away vainly at the churn when a little regard to the matter
of temperature and to warming or cooling the cream, according to
circumstances, would have obviated any difficulty? Sometimes indeed
a thermometer has been purchased, but it hangs covered with dust in
some out-of-the-way or forgotten corner; at all events it is not in
daily and constant use. The precise temperature at which cream
should be churned cannot be fixed to a degree ; but we may put
it, within near limits, at 56 deg. to 58 deg. Fahr. in summer, and
60 deg. in winter. The temperature of the churn and of the ^

cream should be ascertained before churning, by means of the
thermometer, and in the case of both should be either raised
or lowered to the required temperature before churning is com-
menced. This is easily accomplished by pouring warm or cold water
into the churn and inserting into the cream-pail a tin in which hot or
cold water, whichever is requisite, can be put, and then stirring the
cream about. In warm weather the temperature is apt to rise a little
during churning and in cold weather to fall ; hence a rather higher
temperature is desirable in winter than in summer. The temperature
of the cream during churning should be noted from time to time, and
if above or below what is proper, it may be warmed or cooled by
adding a little hot or cold water. Much is said as to the rate of
churning, and great diversity of practice is shown by the different
candidates at our butter-making competitions. There are some who
say that churning quickly is absolutely destructive of good butter and
that violent agitation of the cream spoils the grain. Others will
say just the reverse. Indeed there appear to be no very clear notions
as to the rate of revolutions, and when the personal element has to
enter into consideration as it must in a matter of this kind, it is
manifestly hard to regulate exactly the rate, or to insist upon the
continued maintaining of a particular speed. It would appear from
experience that 40 to 45 revolutions per minute is about a good speed
and certainly there should be as much regularity as possible. During
the churning the ventilating peg should be frequently removed in
order to allow the exit of the vapours which are formed whilst
churning. The churn should be frequently examined, either by
opening it, or through the glass plate with which many churns are
provided, in order to see when the butter commences to come ; this is
also to some extent indicated by the sound. One thing, however, is
very clear, viz., that the instant the butter comes, churning should
be stopped; for nothing is so productive of what is termed “ soft ”
butter as over-churning. The butter at this stage should exhibit a
grained appearance. The next process, that of washing the butter is
commenced by withdrawing the plug and drawing off the butter-milk,
placing over the plug-hole a piece of muslin or a strainer of some
kind to catch any bits of butter which may be carried along with
the butter-milk. The plug is now replaced and a plentiful supply of
cold water is added to the churn, which is then revolved gently a few
times. The water is drawn off again, more added, and the process
repeated until no more butter milk comes off and the water remains
quite clear. The result of not thoroughly removing the butter-milk
would be that some quantity of curd would be left, which would
produce decomposition and a butter that would not keep well. This

14

is the best time for salting the butter, and the salting should be done
by making a brine and adding it to the contents of the churn, filtering
it through a hair sieve and so retaining any visible impurities. When
salting is done, it should be done uniformly and not casually, in
order that the butter produced may be always of the same degree
of saltness. Thus the quantity of cream taken should always be
noted, and a proportionate amount of salt added — so much salt for so
much cream — the brine not being merely added haphazard, one day of
one strength and another of another. The butter has next to be trans-
ferred from the churn, and this, it cannot be too strongly urged,
should never be done by the hand ; the hands indeed should not be
allowed to touch the butter at all from beginning to end. We still
hear, and formerly we heard very much more, of people having cool
hands for butter-making ; but it is much better not to use the hand at
all, but to employ instead what are called butter or “ Scotch ” hands.
The butter after removal from the churn is to be thoroughly worked
in the “butter-worker” until all the extraneous water is pressed
out of it. It is well then that it should be placed in the hardening
box, after which it is ready for making up for sale, an art in which
considerable skill can be shown, and in which again the hands should
never be allowed to come in contact with the butter. Much depends
from the popular point of view on the appearance of butter offered for
sale, and care in this should not be neglected. The colouring of butter
is, I think, an altogether needless operation, which good, well-made
butter does not require. As I have said before, in comparing different
butters and ways of butter-making, there are many points to consider
besides the actual weight produced, and it is right that attention
should be paid to the grain of butter, the flavour, and the keeping
qualities as well. It is, however, only by a rigid adherence to such
jDoints as I have indicated, and by this attention backed up by con-
tinual practice and observation, that one can hope to become a
successful butter-maker and capable of dealing with those variations
which are sure to occur from time to time. These points, though well
known to many, cannot be too often repeated and impressed.

Now I trust that no one who has attended the course of in-
struction given here, or who is thinking of doing so, will go away
with the idea that after attending such a course all has been done
that is needed, and that they can thereby become perfect, or even
nearly so, in the art of butter-making. The present is perhaps one
of the easiest times of the year for butter-making ; at others, especially
in the hot summer months — if we are favoured with any — a very
different set of circumstances may be prevalent, and the student may
find himself or herself at a loss. In a few months both the quality

15

and the quantity of milk yielded by dairy cattle will alter, and the
modifications in practice which I have hinted at will have to be
brought to bear on the altered circumstances. But the principles
remain the same throughout. In conclusion, I must urge again the
need of definite experiment in place of theorising, and the advantage
of scientific investigation into the principles which regulate sound
practice. It is a regret to me to think that there is, at the present
time, in this country, no Kesearch Dairy where experiments can be
conducted scientifically with the accuracy and observation so essential
to successful enquiry. A knowledge of chemistry, I am aware,
cannot, and is not meant to, take the place of practical knowledge ;
it will not by itself teach butter-making, but it will teach the why
and the wherefore of our best methods, and any advance that is to
take place in our practice will, I think, proceed from this side. To
this and to co-operation in the practical direction we must look, as
our foreign competitors have done, for advance in the dairy industry —
an industry so naturally belonging to this, our native country.

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