Vol. IX Xo. 203. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NKWS. 



causing the acid fermentation i.s of kinds that produce 

 undesirable subtances, the flavour of tlje butter will be 

 injured in proportion to the number of these forms as 

 compared with the kinds that produce only desirable 

 .substances. The more the butter-maker is able to control 

 the kind of acid-forming bacteria that is to grow in the 

 cream, the greater control he will have over the flavour of 

 the product. JTodern methods of butter-making seek to 

 give the maker this control, through the use of fre.«h, sweet 

 cream; the pasteurization of cream, an<l through the u.se of 

 pure culture starters. 



In the propagation of starters, dailj- crops of bacteria 

 are grown. The crop itself is invisible, but the changes 

 which it produces in the .soil — the milk in which it is grow- 

 ing — are very evident. The starter-maker is not handling 

 so much milk — so much non-living material --but something 

 in which there are living things — the bacteria — and unless 

 proper conditions are provided for tlieir growth, successful 

 results cannot be expected. Good seed, favourable soil, 

 temperature and moisture conditions are essential in growing 

 ■my of our ordinary plants. Favourable conditions are just 

 as essential in growing successful crops of bacteria, which 

 are plants so sniall that they are invisible to the naked eye. 



The starters prepared by the various commercial labora- 

 tories are known as 'commercial' or ' pure culture' starters 

 They contain, as a rule, but a single kind of acid-producing 

 organism. The starter-manufacturer has separated this form 

 from all other kinds by methods that are easily carried out 

 iu the bacteriological laboratory'. The bacteria isolated have 

 been tested under practical conditions and found to possess 

 the qualities that an acid-forming organism must have in 

 order to make it a desirable one to use under practical 

 conditions. 



The package of starter which is ]iurchased by the 

 butter-maker is the pure seed. If the butter-maker considers 

 it advisable to go to the e.xpense of purchasing goorl, pure 

 seed, it is surely advisable to devote the necessary time and 

 labour in keeping the seed pure and in good condition. In 

 order to do this the maker mu.st jiay attention to the follow- 

 ing points : — 



1. He must keep all other kinds of bacteria out of his 

 starters, especially all other acid-forming bacteria; in other 

 words, he must prevent the contanunalion of the starters. 



'2. He must pay attention to the soil in which his 

 crops of bacteria are to be grown; that is to the selection of 

 the milk to be used for starter-making purposes. 



3. He must pay attention to the weather conditions, or 

 to the temperature at which the .starters are to be kept. 



4. He must pay attention to the harvestiag of the crop, 

 that is to the time at which the starter is in the best con- 

 dition for use. 



By the term ' mother starter' is meant the small amount 

 of starter that is to be added to the milk in the starter can, 

 so as to prepare the quantity needed for addition to the 

 cream, or to the milk for cheese-making. 



In the past, the mother starter was usually a small 

 amount that had been saved when the starter can was 

 emptied. After the can had been cleaned, and filled with 

 skim milk, which was then heated and cooled, the quantity 

 of the starter saved was added to the milk in the starter can. 

 More recently, many butter-makers have propagated their 

 mother starters in a small way, entirely separate from the 

 large starter prepared in the starter can. There are so many 

 advantages in this method that it should be adopted by every 

 maker. It enables him to meet the conditions necessary 

 to keep his starters in a good stivte, with the least work 

 and trouble. 



A glass vessel should be used for the propagation of the 

 mother starters, as such a vessel is smooth and impervious. 

 One can easily see whether it is clean, and can note the 

 condition of the starter as a whole much better than in 

 a vessel with opaque walls, such as a jug. Gas bubbles are 

 visible; it can be seen whether the starter is curdled, and 

 whether whey is present; all of which give the maker informa- 

 tion as to the quality of the starter. The vessel should be 

 provided with a cover in order to prevent contamination from 

 the air. The milk to be used for the mother starters should 

 be of the best quality— as sweet and fresh, and free from all 

 objectionable odours and tastes as it is possible to secure. 



The milk selected will contain acid-forming bacteria, and 

 unless the.'-e are destroyed they will grow along with tliose in 

 the starter purchased, and the result will be a mixed or 

 impure starter. In order to avoid this, milk is placed in the 

 bottles in which the starters are to be made, the tumbler 

 covers are placed in position, and the whole is heated, in 

 order to destroy the acid-forming bacteria in the milk. 'The 

 bottles should have been perfectly cleaned. 



The following is a summary of a day's work in the 

 preparation of a starter: — 



(1) Clean the bottles, tumblers and .spoons. 



(2) Fill bottles with selected whole milk. 



(3) Place a spoon in each bottle and cover each bottle 

 with a tumbler. 



(4) Heat long enough, .so that the milk shall be heated 

 to 180° to 19.5° F., for 1.5 minutes. 



(5) Cool at once to the temperature at which starters 

 are to be kept. 



(6) As soon as cooled, inoculate. If the inoculation is 

 to be made from a commercial starter, add the entire contents 

 of the package. If the inoculation is to be made from a pre- 

 viously prepared starter, add an amount that experience has 

 shown will ripen the starter in the desired time at the 

 temperature to be used. 



(7) Keep inoculated starters at constant temperature 

 until ripe. If they are not to be used at once, when ripe, 

 cool as much as possible and keep cold until they are u.5ed. 



(S) Pour a small amount of the ripened starter into 

 a cup. Examine by tasting, smelling, and determining the 

 acidity. 



(9) If the starter is satisfactory, inoculate a fresh 

 bottle of milk from it, not from the cup. 



(10) Xever place a pipette, a thermometer, or any 

 other object in a bottle of starter. 



(11) Do not examine the bottle of starter directly. 

 Always pour some into a separate vessel. 



(12) Alwaj's keep the bottles of starters covered. 



(13) Piemember that you are attempting to grow 

 crops of lactic acid bacteria, and that unless favourable 

 conditions are maintained, the crop will not be a success. 



(1-t) Remember that every effort must be used to 

 keep all other kinds of bacteria out of the starters. (From 

 Jiullethi 181 of the L^niversity of Wisconsin Agricultural 

 Experiment Station.) 



Yield of Cocoa-nuts. — A good cocoa-nut tree should 

 yield an average of one hundred nuts per year, and under 

 favourable conditions two hundred have been obtained. 

 Taking the whole island of Porto Rico, however, a return of 

 sixty-tive nuts per tree is probably about the average figure 

 obtained, and no doubt conditions are very similar in the 

 British West Indian islands. This low return indicates the 

 general want of care and attention from which the industry 

 is suffering. (The Porto Rko Horticultural News.) 



