280 EXPERIMENT STATION REC^ORD. 



The inforiiKition coiiceniin.i: tlic dairy cimdit ions was oblaiiUHl by sending out 

 circular letters and l)y a field agent wlio visited over 100 farms in different 

 parts of the State. Dairying seemed to l)e increasing in some sections, decreas- 

 ing in others. A large quantity of bultcr is made on farms because of poor 

 transportation facilities, a widely scattered population, small herds of dairy 

 cows, and a special demand for good dairy butter. 



The amount of butter made on farms varied from 7 to HOO lbs. i)er week and 

 averaged about 5S.5 lbs. The majority of farmers churned only once or twice 

 a week and sold to private trade in jirints. The price of butter ranged from 

 20 to 40 cts. per pound. 



The more common defects found in the farm butter were rancidity, jioor 

 flavors, and a mottled condition, and were due to i)oor equipment, lack of cleanli- 

 ness, and indiffei-ence or ignorance of modern sanitary methods in handling 

 milk and making butter. The overrun vai-ied from 4.7 to ID per cent. :Much of 

 the cream was old and sour and was often churned at too high a temperature. 

 Overchurning and overworking are also common faults. 



Details are given of the equipment required for making farm butter by mod- 

 ern sanitary methods on a farm carrying about 20 cows. 



On the staining of cheese by iron and copper salts and the analytical 

 proof of this metal in cheese curd, A. Schaeffeb (Milclnr. Zrntbl., o (190!)), 

 No. 10, pp. .'i2-')--'iS0). — Attention is called to the frequent discoloration of cheese 

 due to contact with the different metals of which dairy utensils are made. It 

 was found that 0.0005 per cent of ferric oxid in the curd may cause enough 

 discoloration to affect the market value of the cheese, although a cheese 

 may contain as nnich as 0.0002 per cent when ripened quickly with soda and 

 show no discoloration for about S days. When stored for a longer period the 

 cheese is discolored. Staining occurs less frequently with copper, and 0.001 

 per cent of cupric oxid is necessary to cause it. Methods of analysis are given 

 on page 212 of this issue. 



" Kokkelin " a Finnish cheese food ( A . Y. rroduce Rer. and Amer. Cream., 

 29 (1909), No. 2, p. 63). — A note on an article by (Jrotenfelt. ccmcerning a daii-y 

 dish used in Finland whereby the skim milk is utilized and preserved for 

 winter use. 



" When the cream has been removed the milk, which at that time genei-ally 

 is more or less coagulated (shallow setting), is placed near the bake oven or 

 other warm place so that the milk coagulates firmly and the whey separates. 

 When firm, the whey is removed and the 'kokkelin' (curd) is placed in a 

 wooden vessel and covered with bark pieces (birch bark). On top of this is 

 poured cold water wliich. now and then, is removed and replaced so as to get 

 rid of the last sour whey. The whey is used mixed with water or milk as a 

 drink for man and beast and the curd thus treated may be kept under water 

 for months and constitutes an important item in the wanter food." 



Cheese milk pasnnents, G. A. Olson (N. Y. Produce Rev. and Amer. Cream., 

 29 (1909), No. 2. pii. 7'/, 7(>'. 77). — The disadvantages of various methods of cal- 

 culating the yield of cheese are pointed out. The author submits a table for 

 computing the yield based on the percentages of both fat and total solids; 



rHydrostatic cream balance] (Hoard's Dairyman, J/O (1909), No. -'lO. p. 1185. 

 fig. 1). — A simple and sensitive hydrostatic cream balance for weighing cream 

 in testing the percentage of fat is illustrated and described. 



This apparatus, known as the Wisconsin hydrostatic cream balance, was de- 

 vised at the Wisconsin Experiment Station. It consists of a brass float similar 

 to a hydrometer, which is placed in a cylinder of water. The float supports a 

 platform on which are placed a cream bottle and a 9 gm. weight. Small (0.1 



