202 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



milk and its appearance resembles a very fine granular and frothy curd. 

 It is manufactured in this country by Dr. Dadirrian of New York, and is 

 highly recommended by professional people. The analysis given and com- 

 pared with kumyss is as follows: 



Matzoon. Kumyss. 



* Water 87.69 90.99 



Proteids 3.98 2.04 



Fat 4.01 1.91 



Milk sugar 2.03 3.26 



Alcohol 07 .62 



Ash or mineral salts 78 .44 



Carbon dioxide .04 .44 



Lactic acid .50 .00 



Aceticacid .00 .30 



Matzoon is certainly very palatable and I understand that it is used 

 almost exclusively in Armenia. The milk as it conies from the cows is 

 scarcely ever used, but in place of it matzoon is commonly employed. 



In its prepartion, the milk is Pasteurized at a high temperature and 

 some matzoon is added to it as a ferment. The milk is then placed away 

 until fermentation takes place. The longer it stands the sourer it 

 becomes. It is therefore used when fresh or is kept in a cold place to 

 allay fermentation. 



Dr. Dadirrian, of New York, and Mr. Caramanian, of this College, 

 have kindly furnished me with samples of matzoon and the desired 

 information. 



BUTYRIC ACID FERMENTATION. 



The importance of butyric acid fermentation is not so great to the 

 dairyman as the one preceding (lactic acid fermentation), but it has its 

 significance in the various changes which occur in milk, butter, and 

 cheese. Its presence may be detected by the rancid butter odor. Usually 

 in milk treated by the ordinary methods, this fermentation seldom 

 obtains a perceptible start. In butter exposed to favored conditions for 

 decomposition assisted by certain micro-organisms, it is of very common 

 occurrence, and is recognized by the butter's rancidity. A distinct 

 butyric acid fermentation is often noticed in cheese. 



As in lactic acid fermentation so in butyric acid fermentation, Pasteur 

 was the first to demonstrate its relation to micro-organisms. It was he 

 who was first able to combine certain chemical compounds in a solution 

 and by the introduction of an almost pure culture of a single species 

 of bacteria establish the fact that a certain component of this solution, a 

 lactate, a form of lactic acid, was changed into a butyrate, a form of 

 butyric acid. Although Pasteur did not work with an absolutely pure 

 culture of a. single species of bacteria, his culture was nevertheless 

 sufficiently pure to prove the action of this single species. In this con- 

 nection, it is interesting to note that the micro-organisms with which he 

 was dealing, was one that would not grow in the presence of the free 

 oxygen of the air; in short, it was an anaerobic bacillus, the first that 

 was ever considered. It is also interesting to note that many of the 

 anaerobic bacteria are in some way associated with the formation of 



♦Prof. Win. H. Porter, M. D., Merck's Bulletin, Vol. VI., Nos. 1 and 2. 



