56 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 



milling by-products has been determined — there being a great demand on the part of 

 dairymen and farmers for information on this subject. The number of such feeds 

 upon the market is constantly on the increase — some are valuable, and again others are 

 worthless. The chief difficulty lies in that a mere inspection very frequently can give 

 no indication of their value. 



The action of smut preventives, chiefly solutions of copper sulphate and formalin, 

 on the vitality of wheat has been investigated. This is a matter of great interest and 

 importance to the farmer in the Northwest, who is very anxious to have his seed grain 

 clean and free from smut without having its vitality to any extent impaired. It would 

 seem that of the many solutions, of varying strength, experimented with, the two 

 following are best worthy of recommendation: Copper sulphate 1 lb. to 8 gallons, and 

 formalin 4| ozs. to 10 gallons, the treatment being thorough sprinkling or immersion 

 for five minutes, drying the grain and sowing as soon as possible. 



INVESTIGATIONS EELATING TO DAIRYING. 



These have included chiefly examinations of butter-making processes, of apparatus 

 for the testing of milk and butter, and the analysis of Canadian cheese and creamei^y 

 butter. 



Illustrations of the application of chemistry to dairying are given in the follow- 

 ing recent bulletins by this Division and issued from the Dairy Commissioner's Branch: 

 Bulletin No. 4, giving the analysis of 105 samples of Canadian creamery butter .and 

 furnishing evidence that as regards percentage of water such butters are well within 

 the limit allowed by English and Canadian law. 



Bulletin No. 6, containing the results of investigations as follows : The examina- 

 tion of milk preserved by hydrogen peroxide; a critical study of the butter-making 

 process of James Estep ; the composition of ' milk powder ' from the evaporation of 

 whey; the volatile acid content of fat from 2-year old cheese, and the testing of 

 recently devised apparatus for the determination of water in butter. 



Bulletin No. 8, in which are given the data from a series of experiments under- 

 taken to determine the principal factors that control the water-content of butter. 



The enumeration of these titles may serve to make clear the character of this 

 work and the many and important ways in which chemistry has assisted Canadian 

 dairying. 



THE CHARACTEK AND CAUSES OF SOFT PORK. 



Of the qualities necessary for first class export bacon, firmness is the highest in 

 importance. A tendency to softness seriously reduces the price in the English market, 

 and if pronounced may altogether make the bacon unsaleable at a profit. As a certain 

 proportion of the pigs received at the Canadian packing houses produced ' soft ' 

 bacon, it became highly desirable some years ago to investigate the cause and, if pos- 

 sible, suggest a remedy. An investigation was, therefore, undertaken which lasted 

 three years. It was made as comprehensive as possible, and included a large 

 number of feeding tests. The bacon from these pigs (in all, over 300) was criti- 

 cally examined and subsequently submitted to analysis— it having been shown at an 

 early stage in the research that chemical analysis furnished data of a very satisfactory 

 nature as to the character of the fat. The softer the bacon the larger proportion of 

 olein in its fat. Bulletin No. 38 (Experimental Farm Series) gives an exhaustive 

 account of these experiments and the results obtained, and it will, therefore, only be 

 necessary here to say that it was found that the one great controlling factor in the 

 quality of the finished pork lies in the character of the food employed; that Indian 

 corn meal and bean meal cannot be fed in large proportions without injuring the 

 quality of the pork, i.e., increasing the softness of the fat; and thirdly, no better* 



