DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING, 



595 



Composition of buffalo milk. 



Total solids, per cent 



I-Ht (Gerber), per cent 



Fat (Liebermann and Szekelj |,percent. 



Ash, per cent 



Specific gravity of milk 



Specific gravity of serum 



Number 01 

 determi- 

 nations. 



64 



Averages. 



Morning's Evening's 

 milk. milk. 



20. 12 

 9.20 

 9. 34 



.775 



l. 03ior> 

 1.0319 



18.83 

 7.69 

 7.87 

 .831 

 L 03265 

 1.0325 



Minima. 



14.47 



4.90 

 . 705 

 .0229 



. 0290 



Maxima. 



21 . 86 



10.63 

 1.041 

 . 0398 

 . 0351 



-P. W. WOLL. 



The acidity of cows' milk, R. Hanne (Milch Ztg., 33 (1904), Nos. 42, pp. 659, 660; 

 43, p. 679; 44, pp- 709-7 11; 45, pp. 725-727). —The author gives an historical sketch 

 of the subject and of methods for the determination of the acidity of milk. An 

 addition of formaldehyde to the milk caused an increase in acidity beyond that 

 accounted for by the acid reaction of the formaldehyde. 



A large number of determinations of the acidity of milk of 19 cows of differ- 

 ent breeds were made throughout a lactation period, the results of which are given 

 in the article. Fresh milk from the same cows was found to vary considerably in 

 acidity from day to day; in most cases a maximum acidity occurred at the beginning 

 of the lactation, and a minimum acidity toward the end. Some cows gave highest 

 results one or more months after calving, however, and others again did not show 

 any regular change in the results obtained one way or the other. No parallelism 

 was found between the acidity of the milk of different cows or of the same cows at 

 different stages of the lactation, and the total solids, the fat, or the ash contents of 

 the milk, while the percentage of phosphoric acid in the ash, in the majority of 

 cases, rose or fell with the degree of acidity of the milk. 



A smaller phosphoric-acid content has been found in the milk at the end than at 

 the beginning of the lactation period by various authors (Andouard, Schrott, and 

 Hansen) . By deducting the phosphoric acid combined with casein from the total 

 phosphoric acid in the ash of the milk, the difference was found to correspond closely 

 to the degree of acidity in the milk. Of the other acids in the milk, carbonic acid 

 exerts only a slight influence on the acidity, while citric acid (as sodium citrate) is 

 of more importance. 



The acidity of milk and of serum obtained therefrom (as well as that of the casein 

 determined by difference) was studied, and considerable variations were found in 

 either case for milk of the same cows. The acidity of fresh milk, according to the 

 author's findings, is due to the acid phosphates, most likely first of all to calcium 

 phosphate, and stands in close relation to the albuminoids of the milk, mainly casein. 

 The influence of the feed, breed, age of cows, oestrum, sickness, etc., upon the acidity 

 was also studied by the author, and the results briefly discussed in the article. The 

 average acidity in fresh milk found by the author was 8.75° Soxhlet (average of 

 1,671 determinations). — v. w. woll. 



Report of the dairy inspector, 8. J. Benterud (Aarsber. Offent. Foranstalt. 

 Landbr. Fremme, 1903, I, StatsforanstaU., pp. 321-331). — The author continued the 

 investigations of Ramstad (E. S. R., 12, p. 590) concerning the composition and 

 yield of milk from cows in Norwegian mountain dairies (Satre). Examinations 

 were made of the milk produced by 99 cows in 11 different dairies. The results 

 obtained by the author do not indicate that cows fed best during the winter give the 

 richest milk, but rather that they give an even and regular flow of milk of a more 

 uniform fat content than is the case witli cows fed poorly during the winter months. — 

 p. w. W T OLL. 



