BACTERIA IN BUTTER- MAKING. 1 91 
THE GENERAL VALUE OF STARTERS. ; 
The fact that starters, with or without pasteurization, have 
become almost universally used among the better class of cream- 
eries is in itself sufficient proof that they are of practical value. 
Their advantage lies in four directions: i. They enable the butter- 
maker to handle his cream more easily and uniformly. He can 
regulate the ripening in such a way that his cream will always be of 
a certain grade of ripeness at a certain time of day; for a little 
experience tells him how much of his culture, under proper condi- 
tions, should be added to the cream to produce the proper grade of 
ripening at the particular time when he desires to churn. 2. The 
use of starters has produced a greater uniformity in the grade of 
butter. The butter-maker can depend more certainly upon pro- 
ducing butter of a high grade, month after month, than he can with- 
out starters. There is a general belief also among those who have 
tested the butter in countries where starters are widely used, that 
there is an improvement in the average quality of the butter, as well 
as in its uniformity. 3. It has become pretty definitely agreed that 
the flavor of butter is improved by the use of such cultures. It is 
somewhat difficult to obtain definite proof of this, owing to the un- 
certainty of scores in butter tests. But the fact that all good dairies 
now use them is sufficient testimony to their value in improving the 
general quality of the butter. 4. They are the best means of 
remedying butter "faults." Every creamery has experiences of 
deterioration in the flavor of the butter without any visible cause. 
Such troubles are known to be due commonly to the growth of 
unusual and undesirable bacteria in the cream. When they are 
discovered, the sterilizing of the dairy utensils and the use of a large 
quantity of a vigorous starter will generally remedy the trouble at 
once. Moreover, the constant use of a starter goes a long way 
toward preventing these "faults." 
It is doubtful whether the use of starters produces butter of a 
character superior to the best butter made without them. Indeed, 
some think that it is not quite equal to the best butter made without 
starters. But the uniformly high grade of culture butter is admitted, 
