weather, especially of that character which produces thunder storms. For this reason it is a common supposition that thunder or lightning sours milk. The thunder and lightning, however, have nothing to do with this process. The condition of the atmosphere which produces an environment favorable to electrical disturbances of this kind also favors in the highest degree the growth of the organisms which produce the lactic ferments. Hence thunder storms and the rapid souring of milk are frequently coincident leading to the popular impression as above mentioned. Inasmuch as the souring of milk usually takes place after the cream has risen the composition of clabber is practically that of skimmed milk modified by the lactic fermentation which has taken place.
BUTTER.
When cream, especially cream in which incipient lactic fermentation has been set up, is subjected to agitation in a churn under proper conditions of temperature the particles of butter therein contained are collected into masses so that the butter can be separated from the residual liquid. This process is technically called churning. The domestic churn in its simplest form is perhaps well known to almost everyone, especially those who have lived in the country. In the domestic manufacture of butter the cream is collected and set aside until sour, that is, until lactic fermentation has set up. When this is sufficiently advanced the cream is placed in a churn, the simplest form of which is a wooden, cylindrical vessel of appropriate size, being much longer than its horizontal diameter. The churn is provided with a dasher, namely a perforated wooden disk with a handle which passes through a hole in the cover. When the churn is charged the butter is produced by agitation with the dasher. In winter time warm water is added to the mixture in order to raise the temperature to the proper gathering point of butter, namely 65 to 70 degrees F. For the same reason cold water is added in the summer time. The art of the dairy maid is shown in the proper regulation of the temperature to secure the best results. When the cream is properly ripened and the temperature is suitable the gathering of butter will be accomplished in from twelve to thirty minutes. In unfavorable conditions the duration of churning may be for a much longer period.
In dairies and large establishments churning is accomplished by machinery with very different mechanical appliances, but the principle which underlies the process is the same as those outlined above. The accompanying figures illustrate the process of churning by mechanical means in a modern dairy (Figs. 20 and 21).
Treatment of Butter.—The crude butter secured by churning is subjected to washing and seasoning processes in order to prepare it for the market. The washing or working of butter is accomplished by means of water. The
