12 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ship fees of |139.00 and contributions from various dairy supply com- 

 panies to the prize fund of |185.00. Payments amouunting to |149.83 

 were made as premiums on the butter and cheese exhibited last 3^ear. 

 He also reported $200.00 available for the payment of premiums awarded 

 at this meeting. 



The afternoon session was devoted to topics relating to butter 

 making. The first speaker was J. F. Powers of Quincy, upon ''Qualifica- 

 tions of a Buttermaker." 



There is no secret in butter making; all that is required is skilled 

 hands, hard work and patience. The success of the creamer}' depends 

 largely upon the butter maker. He s'hould be well posted in bacteriol- 

 ogy and should be able to discriminate between valuable and useless 

 inventions. He should be free from bad habits and in love with his 

 business. There is today a good opportunity for young men, who are 

 willing to work, to take up this calling, and the demand for skilled but- 

 termakers is increasing each year." 



Mr. C. D. Martin of Concord urged the importance of personal neat- 

 ness in the buttermaker. Several other speakers urged the importance 

 of cleanliness in the factory as well as upon the farm. 



The topics discussed at the evening session related to the pasteurizing 

 of milk and the making of cheese. Prof. John Michel s, of the Agricul- 

 tural College, claimed that the leaders in the making of butter are those 

 who are pasteurizing the cream. Pasteurized butter has a mild flavor 

 and is not alwaj^s liked at first but good judges place it at the top. 

 The pasteurizing of butter makes it more plastic, adds to its flavor 

 and helps to preserve it. Several of these points were disputed by 

 Major Henry E. Alvord, Chief of the Dairy Bureau of the U. vS. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, who claimed that pasteurizing instead of improving 

 the flavor takes away the character from butter. It was used in Den- 

 mark to check the spread of contagious diseases and the Danish butter 

 cannot be sold in the markets against the best products of American 

 creameries. 



Mr. E. Switger favored the thorough aeration of milk in order to 

 rid it of objectionable odors and he also claimed that milk would keep 

 longer without being cooled down. This was denied by Prof. John 

 Michels of the Agricultural College who also claimed that if cold milk 

 is added to warm milk, it will sour quicker than if it were kept separate. 

 He also stated that milk exposed to pure air will develop more bacteria 

 than if exposed to the air of the stable, not because there are more 

 bacteria in pure air, but because their growth is more rapid when in 

 milk exposed to pure air. The Michigan creameries are beginning to 

 pasteurize their cream and we are now on the verge of a new develop- 

 ment. 



Prof. Michels at this time named the winners in the contest for the 

 Bliss medals as follows: 



Helmer Rabild, of Chesterfield and L. J. Heaton of Dorr, gold medals 

 for creamery butter. Mrs. James Harris of Traverse City^ gold medal 

 for dairy butter. Fred M. Warner of Farmington, and C. L, Davis of 

 Addison were awarded respectively gold and silver medals for cheese. 

 In the absence of Gov. Bliss, owing to whose generosity the giving of 

 the medals was possible, the presentation was made by his secretary. 

 Major H. E. Johnson. 



