DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 3II 



milk is excessive, that cream is wasted through careless handling, 

 that insufficient operating and sales records are kept and that 

 there is a general lack of system in the plant. Losses through 

 any of these items will reduce the efficiency of the creamery. 

 In plants that are properly managed such conditions are not 

 permitted. I am convinced that a creamery manager ought to 

 have his work so organized that the entire transactions of the 

 day will be recorded in a report ready for the examination the 

 following morning. This report should show the amount of 

 milk and cream received, the amount of butter made, the amount 

 of butter fat sold in the form of milk and cream and the amount 

 made into butter. It should also show the water and salt content 

 of the butter and the over-run. If butter of average fat content 

 is made, an over-run of 21 per cent should be secured. If the 

 over-run is materially less than this figure, there is good evi- 

 dence that some of the butter fat has been lost and immediate 

 steps should be taken to determine where it went. It is plain 

 that a creamery cannot increase the quantity of butter fat during 

 any of the manufacturing processes and it is well known that 

 certain mechanical losses are bound to occur. Consequently 

 the butter fat which finally finds its way into the finished product 

 will be somewhat less than the amount received. The amount 

 of this loss, however, should be kept to a minimum. On a basis 

 of 21 per cent over-run the necessary mechanical losses have 

 been allowed for, if the butter contains 14 per cent water and 4 

 per cent salt and curd. Therefore the manager will know at a 

 glance at this report whether or not the losses have been too 

 great. If, instead of checking the amount of over-run every 

 day, it is not determined until the end of the month, it would 

 not only be difficult to find the cause of the excessive loss, but 

 the amount of the loss, if any, would be thirty times as great 

 as it would be for one day. There are many creameries scat- 

 tered throughout the country that are not keeping proper records 

 and checking their daily operations and in consequence are 

 losing hundreds of dollars per month. 



Having had an opportunity to study these conditions and 

 knowing that such losses are real, I cannot refrain from calling 

 special attention to the importance of giving careful considera- 

 tion to this subject. I know of several creameries that have 



