No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 2S> 



the Babcock test; calculations are then made to find out how much 

 skim milk and how much cream containing a definite amount of fat 

 it will take when mixed together to produce milk containing a defi- 

 nite percentage of fat; or it may be done by adding cream to the 

 whole milk without skimming it, provided the required percentage 

 of fat is not below the test of the whole milk. This latter method 

 is not advisable for the following reasons: 



1st. The cream and milk will not mix as if both were of the same 

 age and of the same kind. 



2d. Such cream also is likely to inoculate the milk with bad germs 

 and cause it to sour or otherwise develop undesirable flavors. 



3d, This method would also be more laborious, as it would neces- 

 sitate testing the milk as well as the cream for fat, and a more 

 complex method of calculation is necessary. 



4th. This method could not be made use of at all if the required 

 standard percentage of fat was below the test of the whole milk. 



The amount of care which may be given the milk will depend of 

 cours e upon its ultimate use. The farmer who is selling milk to the 

 creamery or cheese factory at 2 cents a quart would hardly be war- 

 ranted in bestowing that amount of care on the milk which would be 

 required of the man who is selling a sanitary milk at 8 cents a quart. 

 Although creamery and cheese factory patrons may not be war- 

 ranted in devoting that attention to the keeping quality of their 

 milk which the condenseries or milk dealers must use, there is no 

 excuse for the careless and filthy manner in which milk is often 

 handled. There is no excuse for the cows not being reasonably clean 

 and the stable well-bedded and lighted. The saving in feed and in 

 the health and comfort of the animal more than balances the extra 

 labor required. Much that has been written and said on this subject 

 has been impracticable, and for that reason the farmer has been sus- 

 picious of it all. Too much has been written from the standpoint 

 of the physician and not enough from the standpoint of the dairyman. 

 The physician of course knows that the milk is impaired, but is un- 

 able to locate the cause. Some boards of health have gone so far as 

 to condemn all milk from ensilage-fed cows. This of course is an 

 exaggeration, as ensilage may be fed without in the least injuring 

 the quality of the milk. Ensilage must not be fed, it is true, imme- 

 diately before milking. If fed immediately after, the taste is very 

 difiicult to detect. This will apply to a great many other feeds. 



Whatever its ultimate use, the milk should be handled as little as 

 possible after it is drawn, and the place where it is stored should be 

 little disturbed, A separate room for storing the milk and butter is 

 quite desirable, but cannot always be had. This room must be 

 kept scrupulously clean, as any milk which is infected will at once 

 set up fermentation and cause trouble. The walls and floors of all 



