THE BUTTER INDUSTRY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1880, 29 June 1888, Page 3

THE BUTTER INDUSTRY.

_ + (" Apokland Bell.") Few things afford more Interest to the ordinary cltlzsn than does a visit to a dairy. The knowledge that pastoral life with its beauty and healthfulness la somehow oantred here — -he augge^lon which It gives of fields of fragrant herbs, roamed over by oattle la well-fed and la sjy contontnient, carries with it a holiday feellug ( whfph makes most olty-bred folk instinctively desire a life amid suoh Eoenes, And then comes the myutery of the affair — the wondee that aqoh apparently Inadequate meana Bhoald result In the prod.uo tton of article so d ffjreut from that < from which it Is produced. It was with this feeling of Interest that ooj? repor^sr accepted an Invitation to visit the n«w dairy which has boon established at the Freeing Company's Workß, Hallway Wharf, It is true that the herds from which the milk is taken are a hundred miles away, bat one soui becomes aware that under the system adopted they are 8B available as If they trora depastured on the reclamation ;jißt oi;<elde tho building. Being dUsatlened with tho old system of dairying, the Freeß"n-» Company decided to themselves undertake the careful and cleanly extraction of cream from milk, and to become reipotmlo'.o for tho manufacture of tho buttor In which, thoy will m future d.ea.l, ' Ffyo oife&ijnerfes now working In connection with the central dairy In Auckland have been established at Pukekohe, Tuakau, ftgarua>vahl«, Hamilton and Paterangl respectively. To thepe the newiy-obtalned uullk Is taken, n many oases within an hour of the time when It Is milked. By moans of a number of Laval separators, the cream la at onoo extracted and falls Into cans supplied for the purpose of collecting it, and tho swoot skim milk Is oonveyod by a system of pipes to the outside oj the building, where It is again oaeght In the milk supplier's oan, and Is carried baok to tho farm to food calves and plgn. When m full work this le-delivery takes plaoe aa speedily aa the milk Is rooolved. At one of the creameries, for lna^ahce, the oontrifugal oice e^ual to dealing with over fire hnndrod gallons per hoar, Tho other oreamoriea are fitted up w^li proportionate ap'plianoci) so aa to en^le tho work of separating to b.c. done oxpedltloqsly. Jt will be Been at a glanae the Immense advantage whloh th{q qystem of extraotlng orearo hai over the old method of setting the milk lo shallow pans where It is exposed to all the rurroundlng Impurities, and where often during hq^ weatt.er It roaches a oenii-pqtrld aQnqHioa before the c«e»tn Is qklmmtd eft. Tq those wbbsp Weaa of milk are restricted tq the email quantity which 18 mysteriously lett m their jugs some t}mo during tho early moraio^ tho i^-

tnenee va(3 (u'l |of the fluid to be seen evory day at iho creameries is a revelation and the wonder to them is where it a 1 conns from. Tin one creanie'y already in'icaUd nlonericeiveßov r two thousand Kalloas daily, or H-iy m weight ton toue. An eslimto of the fiizo and importance of tliis industry nv.y be fonr.od wlv nit ifl ' known that no lobs a nainber thnn two thousand five hundred cows are m const., rt. milk for the purpose of supplying them. All ih r ß!i cows »re tho property < f (ho soitlera m the various neighborhoods. The Compi»ny oily find an outlet for tho produce of ihose eettlorß, and m no Wty enter into competition with them. Tho crea-u alone m retained, the sweet ekim milk bein^ returned free. TheJirnportaccQ of the return of milk for stock raising purposes may be seen m the la'go number at henlt y caves whfch surroond eettlors, holdings and which will m time come on to increase the dsiry or to supply beef for the muri<et. The cream alone ia sent to Auckland. This is done daily m Btrong cana of special construction, which are capable of containg 1601 b each. In thia manner the dairy m Auckland receives from tie Company's outlying creameries six hundred gallons of cream or about three tons weight dai'y. When received at the Works the cream !b at once placed m the department's chilling room The enormous expense involved m producing butter on the lines adopted by the Company may be guessed when it is known that it wa3 found uooasaary to erect a separata refrigerator for tho S >le obo of thla one department bo that the air napplied to it might be of the utmost purity. The cream held m this manner being reduced t) a temperature of about 53, dr-crecs Fahrenheit so aa tn allow for tho Influence of trjo atmo'phorlo 'eraporatnre whilo it la being churned, la then removed by the 1 ft to the dairy on the first 11 tor. Thla place was selected on account of its being removed from the influence of dust and dirt, and also because of itti sheltered poaltlon. It is » lar^e space, fl >orcd and channelled iike the deck of a vessel, and with its walls and coiling of snowy whiteness and Its motat sweet fiSor is the perfection of oleanlluoss. Here are erected reot ptsoles for crosm, an immeneo wooden vat for tho preparation of Iced brine, and the steam Vita for the production of bolling water. This place is alao fitted throughout with steam and water pipes, no th.it steam coilo for scalding out mails and jsta of cold water are available everywhere. Down the centre of the room four largo Danish churns are placed, each capable of turning out 1801 b of butter at a churning, the line boing extended by a large rotating table. The churns and batter worker are set In motion by atoam power, the speed having been ad j dated with great nfoc ty^ It appears to be needful to have the oipaoit? of the vessel, the temperature of Its contents, and velocity of ita revolutions all exactly balanced to produce tho beat resulla. The oroam, until omverted Into butter, is entrusted to tho ore of an experienced Banish dairyman and three assistants, and the operations of the establishment move as by clockwork. Ab ionn as tho cream has boeu ohurned until tho batter granules have beon formed, the churns are immediately thrown out of gear, as an unnecessary revolution of tho beatero would destroy the oharaoter of the butter. The butter milk is then run off, and the iced brine, before mentioned, Is added to tt. This l hardens the granules of butter, and assists m tho removal of any remaining buttermilk, co that whon the butter is removed, by means of a hair sieve, to a oloihcovered draining tray, it has the beautifal appoaranoe of hoar frost with a golden ' sheen over it. The icing process appears \o be a necessary bub expensive portion of the work, a day's make of butter after the manner described oonsuuilog no less a quantity than from eight to ten hundredweight of Ice. This, m addition to the cost of working the already-mentioned refrigerator making a current expeneo of formidable proportions From the draining tray the butter is removed to the rotary worker, where any remaining moisture is expressed and a proper proportion of fine white table Bait is added After again standing m the trays until the salt partides are dissolved, tha butter is again subjected to a slight kneading 1 process, which thoroughly amalgamates it, and the making is oompletod, the result beiog, m ( ur opinion, perfection m butter. From the dairy the butter, descending by means of tho lift, ia taken to what ia known as the {i butter room." This is a light, spacious apartment, deoked with sloping floor for dualnage purposes and Burrounded by wide tables or trays, upon whioh tho butter is placed. This room is occupied by a dozen young women who convert tho butter from its lump form to tho well- known and destined to be still better knowo "Sholl" brand-pat of the Company. The patted butter is arranged, m two dozens upon light trays, and is covered with butter oloth to prevent any possible dust from affecting it. ft is next carried to the chilling room, mentioned at the boginoing of this article, and is placed m rnoka for exposure to tho sweet cold air of the chamber, when it Boon sets firm At present tho daily output of butter is about 20001 b, which is m all probability the largest quantity made by any ono dairy south of tho Equator. One ton per day i« by no moans tiio limit of thq Company's ability to manufacture. Indeed a remunerative niarkot is nlono neod,ed to pnable them to ha,ndlo treble or quadruple that amount. It may be mentioned that on and after to-day (Friday) butter made aa before described by the Company, and this buttor alone, will bo^r Iho <« Sholl " trade mark and name of tho Oompiny upon it, so I hat by ordering this brand householders may n.ot o^ly know wha^ it is they nxe eating but may depond upon a delicacy fai their table (2*o cc continued )