FIFTH 'ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART IV. 233 



starter I would call that comes from the separator, or that 

 is set away and allowed to become thick in order to use it to 

 sour your cream, regardless of what sort of bacteria there is in 

 it. Let us have this clear, that by the homemade starter we 

 mean a starter that a man took some part in it to control it, and 

 •that it is a starter that he uses in connection with pasteurized 

 milk and cream. I would like to hear any suggestions as I 

 would like to have the boys thoroughly understand this, 



Mr. Slappe: What would be the object then of using the 

 milk for all the starters that you would select to use as a mother 

 starter for your pasteurized milk? 



Mr. Kieffer: I said one quart, but I should have said five 

 or six quarts or samples. You take five or six samples from 

 five or six different men, hold at a temperature of seventy-five 

 degrees in glass jars until it becomes thick, and then you select 

 from those five or six jars that you have for starter that which 

 has the most pleasant flavor, that which has a nice acid flavor, 

 that is free from any pinheads, that has a solid curd; you take 

 part of that and use as a mother starter. I have taken fifteen 

 samples and selected from them, and in that way you are pretty 

 ■apt to get one good starter with good bacteria that you can add 

 to your skim milk; but if you trust to one man's milk to come 

 in you may be disappointed. If the bacteria in the milk is the 

 right kind of bacteria or the milk has not been carelessly exposed 

 to unfavorable surroundings, then the starter will be all right; 

 but the chances are at this time of year that one chance out of 

 ten you will strike a natural starter of that kind that will be as 

 good as you can select out of eight or ten jars yourself. 



The President : I am sorry, but we shall have to cut this dis- 

 cussion off. We should have an hour or two on this subject, 

 but it is past time when we are to adjourn, but I wish to make 

 one statement before we do so. I have in my posession the 

 original gold medal that was awarded to John Stewart in 1876, 

 and it is rather unique so far as our medals are concerned today. 

 We are favored by the presence at this convention of the widow 

 of John Stewart; we are honored by her presence. She brought 

 this medal along and if any of the buttermakers would like to 

 see a medal of the brand of 1876 we would be pleased to have 

 them look at it. 



