largely populated by Scandinavian immigrants many of whom were skilled butter-makers, educated in the old countries. Even up to this day it is noticeable that the list of prize winning buttermakers at the National Dairy Shows and other exhibitions is largely made up of Scandinavian names. In Minnesota, for instance, as fine butter is now made as anywhere in the world.
Dairy Butter.—In the early days of the industry
butter was made at home on the farm. The milk was
set in shallow vessels,—in the Holstein and Danish
dairies in wooden tubs 24 inches in diameter placed
on the stone or concrete floor in the milk-vault, a cool
cellar partly underground,—or in tin pans on the
pantry shelf. After 36 to 48 hours the cream was
skimmed off with a flat scoop, often both cream and
skim milk being sour.
About 1860 the deep tin can was introduced, set in cold running water or, where ice was available, in ice water. This was a great improvement over the shallow setting system. It was now possible to raise most of the cream in 24 hours leaving not to exceed 1/2% butter-fat in the skim milk, and to have both cream and skim milk sweet.
Centrifugal Creaming.—But the climax of perfection
was not reached until the separator (see under Cream)
was invented about 1879 and cream was raised instantaneously.
For a long time it was the object of
the manufacturers to produce power separators of larger
and larger capacity, handling from 6,000 to 10,000
lbs. of milk an hour.
Co-operative Creameries were established, taking in
20,000 lbs. of milk and more a day. But in thinly
settled sections where the roads were poor it was ex-
