SEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK-PART VII. 295 



Member: Would it not naturally follow that if they get some 

 accurate way of measuring water content in butter, that this butter 

 with low water content will sell at a higher price than that with 

 a higher moisture content? 



Prof. Webster: If what Mr. Smarzo says is correct that will 

 be true. 



Mr. Bouske : I have worked at the experiment station and 

 published a bulletin a year ago in which we gave the analysis on 

 several hundred samples of butter, and along w4th this we gave 

 the keeping qualities of the butter. The butter was scored at 

 various times and the analysis of it does not show that the butter 

 having the highest percentage of moisture scored the least nor 

 that they do not keep the best, and it seems to me that I would 

 wait a little before I would come to any very radical conclusion 

 about this thing. If several hundred analyses are not enough I 

 would wait for more. 



Moreover in regard to having discovered what percentage of 

 water the Iowa butter contains today, the experiment station is 

 making analysis of butter right now for the purpose of showing 

 how much water the butter contains, and the man who has charge 

 of this work is coming here this afternoon. He may be in town 

 now and one of the men who is helping him is here and I think 

 can give some figures on moisture content of Iowa butter today. 

 I think we would like to hear from Mr. Larsen. 



]Mr. Larsen : I have no figures here today to show analysis, 

 but we are receiving samples every day and find that the water 

 content of butter averages about 2 per cent higher than it did two 

 or three years ago, running about 14 per cent now. We are 

 analyzing them completely and sending the report to the creamer- 

 ies and the buttermakers. I think Professor McKay will speak on 

 this subject and he has more figures to give on this. He will also 

 speak about the keeping quality. As far as the water content is 

 concerned, we believe that butter that contains 16 per cent can 

 still be extra butter. 



Prof. AVebster : Would you not make some modification of that 

 as to how the 16 per cent was put in there ? One of the difficulties 

 I think we are finding is that most of this 16 per cent moisture 

 butter has been made by overworking and has destroyed the 

 body of the butter, and then you have an awfully poor piece of 

 butter. 



