ron], apparently connected with
[Greek: bous], cow, and [Greek: turos], cheese, but, according to the _New
English Dictionary_, perhaps of Scythian origin), the fatty portion of the
milk of mammalian animals. The milk of all mammals contains such fatty
constituents, and butter from the milk of goats, sheep and other animals
has been and may be used; but that yielded by cow's milk is the most
savoury, and it alone really constitutes the butter of commerce. The milk
of the various breeds of cattle varies widely in the proportion of fatty
matter it contains; its richness in this respect being greatly influenced
by season, nature of food, state of the animals' health and other
considerations. Usually the cream is skimmed off the surface of the milk
for making butter, but by some the churning is performed on the milk itself
without waiting for the [v.04 p.0890] separation of the cream. The
operation of churning causes the rupture of the oil sacs, and by the
coalescence of the fat so liberated butter is formed. Details regarding
churning and the preparation of butter generally will be found under DAIRY
AND DAIRY FARMING.

BUTTERCUP, a name applied to several species of the genus _Ranunculus_
(_q.v._), characterized by their deeply-cut leaves and yellow, broadly
cup-shaped flowers. _Ranunculus acris_ and _R. bulbosus_ are erect, hairy
meadow plants, the latter having the stem swollen at the base, and
distinguished also by the furrowed flower-stalks and the often smaller
flowers with reflexed, not spreading, sepals. _R. repens_, common on waste
ground, produces long runners by means of which it rapidly covers the
ground. The plants are native in the north temperate to arctic zones of the
Old World, and have been introduced in America.

BUTTERFIELD, DANIEL (1831-1901), American soldier, was born in Utica, New
York. He graduated at Union College in 1849, and when the Civil War broke
out he became colonel of the 12th New York militia regiment. On the 14th of
May 1861 he was transferred to the regular army as a lieutenant-colonel,
and in September he was made a brigadier-general U.S.V. He served in
Virginia in 1861 and in the Peninsular campaign of 1862, and was wounded at
Games' Mill. He took part in the campaign of second Bull Run (August 1862),
and in November became major-general U.S.V. and in July 1863 colonel U.S.A.
At Fredericksburg he commanded the V. corps, in which he had served since
its formation. After General Hooker s