No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 219 



When a patron's milk shows a low test, let him make a careful ex- 

 amination of conditions at homo before he lays the blame on the 

 butter-maker or the test." 



THE CREAMING DEVICES. 



Actual variations in the management of th<2 creaming devices, 

 kjiown or unknown to the operator, account to quite an extent for 

 variations in the cream output. For the sake of convenience and 

 clearness, let us consider the possibilities of variation in the deep 

 setting and centrifugal methods each by itself. No pretense is 

 made that all possible causes of variation are covered. 



DEEP SETTING. 



Temperature. — Completeness of deep-setting creaming is largely 

 dependent upon the proper temperature of the water. The density 

 of the cream is also ali'ected by this factor. A warm water (45 de- 

 grees and upwards) means poorer creaming and less of a richer 

 cream. Colder water means better creaming and a less dense cream. 



Length of Setting. — The shorter the time, as a rule, the thinner the 

 cream. 



Delays in Setting. — Delays in setting are apt injuriously to affect 

 creaming, and, perhaps, to modify the fat percentage. 



Deep-setting creams from different sources may vary over quite a 

 wide range, containing seldom, if ever, more than 25 per cent, fat, 

 or less than 12 per cent. I have seen quite wide differences from day 

 to day in the same herd with the same milk for which no adequate 

 cause could be assigned. 



SEPARATOR. 



A good separator properly and uniformly run ought to turn out 

 from milk of essentially even quality a cream of a practically unal- 

 tered character. But milks from day to day do change in their fat 

 percentage, even though herds be of considerable size; and, conse- 

 quently, creams vary accordingly. As a rule, however, one week 

 with another, if no change occurs in the setting or the running of 

 the mechanism, and barring the extreme changes of the latter part 

 of the lactation, there should be only minor changes in fat per- 

 centages. 



Changes in device for regulating thickness of cream. — All sepa- 

 rators have means of controlling the proportions of the milk taken 

 as cream and as skim milk. If in any way, accidental or intentional, 

 the setting is changed, the quality of the cream is affected. Acci- 

 dental changes often occur. The outlet becomes clogged, a hair 

 lodges {here, a chip or filing of steel, or a bit of curd or some speck of 

 dirt gets in, the cream flow is retarded and its richness affected. 



