DAIRY FARMING — DAIRYING. 433 



ripening would be a failure. Ko little difficulty has been experienced 

 in preparing the pure cultures on a large scale without their becoming 

 contaminated and in recognizing contaminated cultures quickly. Many 

 of these dilticulties have, however, been overcome. 



The cultures had been in the hands of dairymen about a year at the 

 time of writing, and the article reviews the successes and failures. 



"The great majority of the testimony that has reached me as the result of the 

 year's experiments has been of a highly satisfactory character. In some cases, indeed, 

 an improvement is seen from the first, in others the first inoculation has produced 

 no eflect, but a second one has followed and has been successful. Nearly all who 

 have persevered in their use of the organism have obtained satisfactory results. . . . 



"In the great majority of cases creameries have been able to command a price vary- 

 ing from a half a cent to 2 cents a pound more for the ' culture ' butter than for the 

 butter made at the same time without the culture; and while this is certainly not a 

 universal verdict, it has been obtained in so many cases as to show the possibility 

 that lies in this line of butter making. . . . 



"Something over 200 creameries have, during the past year of experimenting, 

 used this Bacillus No. 41 with success. The success has, it is true, l>een varied; 

 Bome reaping a considerable financial ])rofit therefrom, while others have been less 

 fortunate. These creameries are most of them still continuing the use of the cul- 

 ture — over 200 using it at the present time. They are distributed all over the dairy 

 section of our country, among no less than 13 States. Some of them have used the 

 organism now for 8 or 9 months, others for 6 months, others for 2 or 3 months, while 

 some have only used it for a few weeks, at the time of writing. It is the most con- 

 clusive evidence of the value of Bacillus No. 41 that those creameries which have 

 used the culture the longest are the most confident of its value. Creameries which 

 have used the culture for 6 or 8 months, until they have become thoroughly familiar 

 with its action and with the proper method of its use, are the most certain that they 

 are reaping a decided and a constant advantage from it. Those that have used it in 

 a single experiment, or only a very short time, are the ones that are the most doubt- 

 ful as to its advantage to them." 



Aside from the improved flavor, the indications presented appear to 

 be that the culture improves the keeping quality of the butter. This 

 is based on the testimony of commission merchants. 



"The peculiar, delicate flavor which appears at first does not disappear at once, 

 and commission merchants in New York and Boston have stated that ' culture' but- 

 ter 2 weeks old still retains its fresh, quick flavor, and can be sold at the top of the 

 market, whereas ordinary butter will in that time have lost a little of its delicate 

 flavor and must Ije sold a little under the top price.'' 



Although the data upon the subject are yet meager, in some instances 

 it has appeared that '^ 'culture' butter after being 2 mouths in cold 

 storage has been actually of a better flavor than when lirst put in.'" In 

 a number of cases bad flavors and tastes in the cream and the result- 

 ing butter have been eliminated by using the culture. 



As was expected, the use of the culture has not proved of any 

 advantage in some cases. These failures have, so far as the author 

 knows, been confined almost exclusively to trials of short duration. A 

 common method of testing the culture is to divide the cream into two 

 parts, using the culture in one part and allowing the other i)art to 

 ripen normally. The author objects to this kind of test, and states 



