Preparation of Butter for Parcel-Post Shipping
The methods used in preparing butter for parcel-post shipping depend largely upon the local conditions and the style of package used. To insure delivery in the best possible condition, butter, after being packed or printed and placed in cartons, should be chilled or hardened thoroughly before it is shipped.
One of the most satisfactory ways of preparing butter for shipment is in the form of regular 1-pound prints. The standard print measures 21⁄2 by 21⁄2 by 45⁄8 inches. A hand butter printer or mold should be used in forming the prints. The printer shown in [figure 1] is so made that it can be taken apart readily and thoroughly cleaned. The print of butter is easily removed from the mold by the false bottom. Another style is made with the sides and ends hinged to the bottom and held in place by hooks across the ends. After the butter is packed in the mold the sides are unhooked, so that the butter can be removed from the printer. One-pound hand printers similar to these styles may be secured from dairy-supply companies or they may be made on the farm.
Each pound print should be neatly wrapped in regular butter parchment or paper. A second thickness of such paper has been found to add materially to the carrying possibility of the butter. Waxed paper may be used for the second wrapping. As a further protection to the print, it should be placed in heavy manila paraffined cartons, which may be obtained from folding paper-box companies for about one-half cent each when unprinted or at a slightly additional cost when printed as a stock carton or with a special private brand.
Fig. 3.—Actual parcel-post shipment of 3 pounds of butter wrapped in parchment paper, several thicknesses of newspaper, corrugated paper-board carton, and finally an outside wrapper of heavy wrapping paper.