MILK AND CHK\M 



DAIRY FARMING 

 Cream 



After the buffalo and the cow, the goat is the most important milk- 

 _ animal, hut its milk is poor in butter fat and thus not of much value 

 in the manufacture of yhi. The sheep, while not much employed in the 

 supply of milk, is so used in some districts of the Pan jab, as for example 

 Mont'^omei-v and in many parts of Rajputana, and the butter is made into 

 ijhi which fetches the same price as cow's butter. It is said that in Rajpu- 

 tana a Hock of 1<H) sheep can be maintained at the same cost as ten buffa- 



d vet the yield of milk and butter is nearly treble. 

 A fair amount of information has hem published in recent years on 

 ie composition of Indian as compared with European milk. Leather 

 li/ri. Ledg., 1900, No. 19, 195) says " the composition of cow's milk has 

 en found in Kngland to be very regular for different breeds, and to possess 

 relationship between the several component parts of all breeds. It is of 

 iportanco to know whether these relationships hold good for Indian 

 reeds of cows and to what extent they vary in the case of the buffalo." 

 " It has been found in England that (a) there exists a relationship be- 

 ween the solids-not fat, the fat and the specific gravity, and (b) between 

 the proportions of proteids, lactose and mineral matter (ash), and that 

 relationships are constant, within certain limits, for all the several 

 reeds." The proportions of proteids, lactose and mineral matter were 

 jund to be as 9 : 13 : 2 in English, and the same with Indian milk. " In 

 ie case of the buffalo milk, however, the relationship is different, that 

 )f the proteids being distinctly higher and that of lactose lower, than in 

 >w's milk." Leather gives numerous tables showing the analyses of 

 >w's and buffalo's milk (and these should be consulted) ; he then con- 

 sludes by observing that generally it may be said : 



(a) The milk of the Indian cow contains a high proportion of butter- 

 it, varying from 4 up to 6 per cent. Buffalo's milk contains usually much 

 lore, varying from 5 or 6 per cent, up to as much as 10 per cent ; 



(6) The percentage of proteids (albumen and casein) usually varies in 

 :ow's milk from 3*1 up to 3*5 ; in buffalo's milk from 3*5 up to 4'3 ; 



(c) The percentage of milk sugar (lactose) in the cow's milk varies from 

 to 5*0, and in buffalo's it is present in about the same proportion ; 



(d) The percentage of mineral matter in cow's and buffalo's milk 

 varies from about 0'7 to 0*8, as it does in the English cow's milk. 



Mollison (Agri. Ledg., 1895, No. 5, 53) observes : The quantity and 

 ]uality of the milk varies greatly by the nature of the food given. 

 " The morning's milk is usually not so concentrated as the evening's 

 milk, but on the other hand the morning yield is greater." But so 

 constant is the composition and sp. gr. of milk that extreme variation 

 from the standard must be accepted as denoting adulteration. The 

 milk-sugar present in Indian milk to the extent of from 4'6 to 5*05 exists 

 in a state of solution, and hence it very easily undergoes decomposition 

 and is in consequence converted into lactic acid and the milk is then spoken 

 of as sour. This fermentation at once becomes active when milk rises in 

 temperature above 15 C. (59 F.). To ensure the preservation of milk it 

 must therefore either be cooled below that temperature or retained at 50 C. 

 The curdling of milk is the result of lactic fermentation, but this may be 

 accomplished by means of organic or mineral acids or is simulated in cheese- 

 making by the precipitation of casein by means of rennet. But rennet 

 (the digestive agent of the stomach of a calf) has induced other changes 

 than the mere precipitation of the casein, and its action is far greater than 



471 



Indian IVTJUJ 



I European 

 Milk. 



Cow rcrsui 

 Buffalo. 



Relative 

 Composition. 



Quality in 

 Relation to 

 Food. 



Sp. Or. 

 Milk-sugar. 



Milk- 

 preservation. 



Cur l!in:r. 



