We tried to procure information on the subject, and asked several
farmer's wives in the neighborhood "how long butter ought to be in
coming." We always received the same answer:--

"Why, you see, ma'am, that depends."

"Well," we asked, "what does it depend on?"

"Oh, on lots of things."

"Well, tell us some of the things on which it depends."

"Why, you see it's longer coming in hot weather, and it's longer
coming in cold weather; and it depends on how long the cow has calved,
and how you churn, and on lots beside."

We found we must endeavor to discover for ourselves the reason why we
were half an hour in getting it one day, and the next, perhaps, two or
three hours.

As the weather became colder we found it more troublesome, and one
frosty day we churned four hours without success. We put in cold
water, we put in hot we put in salt, we talked of adding vinegar, but
did not; we churned as fast as we could turn the handle, and then as
slowly as possible, but still no butter. At the end of more than four
hours our labors were rewarded. The butter came; strong, rank stuff it
was.

We determined before the next churning day to try and find out the
reason of all this trouble. We once more took to our books, but were