The Rural Voice, 1983-12, Page 40DETONATOR DAN
Agricultural Commission 1881
Butter making
by Detonator Dan
During the late 1870's, Canada ex-
ported over eighteen million pounds
of butter valued at three million
dollars. Ontario was fast becoming a
producer and exporter of very high
class butter. However, the product
had inherited some of the
characteristic problems of the cheese
business — inconsistent quality (due,
in part, to the many manufacturers)
and no definitive production guide-
lines.
Butter was exported in wooden
kegs, planed both inside and out, so
that, when inverted on a marble slic-
ing slab, the butter came out easily
and in one piece.
Canadian butter was not manufac-
tured yet at central creameries and
this in part led to the problems of
Canadian butter not being number
one in world trade. The best butter
during the 1870's came from the state
of Illinois.
English fine salt was preferred over
Canadian and American salt and pro-
per packaging became very impor-
tant. Ontario -packed butter kegs were
identified with the short form
"ONT", which of course led to
some disparaging remarks as to the
point of origin (I believe that the Pro-
vince of Ontario still exists and is
more locally known as the "Kingdom
of Bill").
During the 1880's, butter traded at
the wholesale level of twelve to eigh-
teen cents per pound. Mr. Inglis, the
originator of the Teeswater Cream-
ery, said farmers' wives, who did
most of the churning, did not look
after their churning equipment pro-
perly, did not use a thermometer and
did not allow the cream to ripen
before beginning to churn. Edward
Cash, a butter dealer from Seaforth,
said poor butter resulted from too
many people trying to make butter
from too few cows.
Butter buyers and inspectors of the
day had great moral courage and in-
testinal fortitude as they accepted or
rejected each farm wife's butter (Can
you imagine the wrath of the farm
wife when she found that her butter
was rejected?).
Rapidly, cleanliness and honesty
were taking over in the butter in-
dustry. With the use of the ther-
mometer, proper salt, ideal water
content and excellent packaging,
Canadian butter was destined to
become number one in world trade.
The Danish people were experts at
the butter business and 'established
schools for the training of dairy-
maids. The training course was for six
months and upon completion of the
course, the dairymaid became a profi-
cient butter maker. She was employed
by the larger dairies to churn the but-
ter and prepare it for sale.
Creamery co-ops were starting to
take over the making of butter,
similar to the cheese industry. Again,
Inglis, of the Teeswater Creamery in-
dicated his factory had started with
the promise of milk from one hun-
dred and eighty cows. 1n a very few
years the Creamery received milk
from seven hundred cows and was
selling butter at twenty-five cents per
pound. The Teeswater Creamery to-
day produces some of the finest but-
ter in Canada.
During the 1880's the township of
Culross could ship milk from up to
two thousand cows and, by selling to
the creamery, gave the farmer a
greater return. Milk was collected
from the farm and bought at seven
cents per gallon. From thirty-five
pounds of milk, one pound of butter
and 21/2 pounds of cheese resulted.
Innovative ideas are the norm for
the dairy industry and necessary for
the survival of agriculture. The
newest to hit the dairy business was
the "Fairlamb Process". The
Fairlamb milk can was 171/2" high,
12 inches in diameter at the top and
10'/2" inches at the bottom, and was
provided with a tube in the centre to
help speed the cooling of the milk.
The cover was of tin, with a rubber
band seal to make the can airtight.
The can held 71/2 gallons with a glass
sight gauge to measure the depth of
cream. The can stood on three knobs
about two inches high and the tube
running up the centre was four inches
in diameter and came within three in-
ches of the top of the can. The full
milk can was cooled in water and the
cream rose to the top. The cream was
gathered and taken to the creamery.
The whole purpose of this Fairlamb
process was to cut down on the
volume of milk going to the
creamery, enabling the creamery to
reduce equipment size and staff.
The De Laval cream separator was
a very new innovation and was destin-
ed to revolutionize the dairy industry.
Next month we shall consider horse
breeding and trading. We will
discover the "True Grit."❑
Detonator Dan (a pseudonym as you
may have guessed) is a practising
farmer in the boondocks of Colborne
Township, Huron County.
Reach
for the Stars
with
Channel
Mast'6 -
Sate to
Reception
Equipment
Tower Sales and Installation.
We have a hill line o1 Boosters
and Rotors In stock to suit your
needs.
B & T
ANTENNA
Sales and Service
Brian McAsh
Varna 482-7129
2 Way FM Communication Equipment
for farm and commercial businesses
THE RURAL VOICE,
DECEMBER 1983 PG. 39