CREAM OF TARTAR 



1628 



CREDIT 



CREAM OF TARTAR, or POTASSIUM 

 BITARTRATE, potas'ium bitar'tratc, a 

 white, crystalline compound of tartaric acid 

 and potassium, which exists in grapes, tama- 

 rinds and other fruits. It is used in making 

 that necessary household article, baking pow- 

 der. It is prepared from the sediment in wine 

 barrels called argol. This argol is dissolved 

 in hot water, and the coloring matter is re- 

 moved by means of clay or egg albumen. 

 After purifying by crystallization, it is ready 

 for the market. If cream of tartar could be 

 made direct from the juice of the grape, with- 

 out undergoing the above process, it would 

 increase the value of grape crops, and a Cali- 

 fornia association has offered a prize of $25,000 

 for the discovery of a method of doing this. 



Cream of tartar is also used in medicine as 

 a purgative, in dyeing to fix colors, in the 

 making of candies, and combined with sodium 

 bicarbonate it is the common substitute for 

 yeast in baking. See BAKING POWDER. S.LJV. 



CREAM SEP'ARATOR, a machine for sep- 

 arating cream from milk. There are numerous 

 patterns of this machine, but all operate on the 



-FAUCET 



MILK CAN 



BOWL- 



CRANKSHAFT^ 



GEAR 



WHEEL 



ILCUP 

 SKIM MILK 



5POUT 



CRANK-"- 



CREAM SEPARATOR 



same principle. The cream is lighter than the 

 other parts of the milk. We all know that 

 when a body is whirled rapidly it has a 

 tendency to fly off in a straight line, and that 



the heavier the body the stronger is the 

 tendency. If a boy hurls a paper ball and a 

 stone from a sling the stone will be thrown 

 much farther than the ball. The cream sepa- 

 rator operates on this principle. The milk 

 flows into a bowl or drum, which is made to 

 revolve at a high rate of speed, from 5,000 to 

 8,000 revolutions per minute. The heavier 

 parts are thrown to the outer rim of the bowl 

 and the cream collects at the center. There 

 are two spouts, one for the cream and the 

 other for the milk. The best results are ob- 

 tained when the milk has a temperature of 

 about 85 F. With a good machine practically 

 all the cream is obtained. 



Cream separators may be operated by hand 

 power, electric power, water or steam power 

 or animal power. Good small separators for 

 use on a farm can be purchased for about $35. 

 The capacity of these separators is about 200 

 pounds of milk per hour. Butter factories and 

 large dairies use larger machines. An even 

 rate of speed is necessary to the most suc- 

 cessful work ; therefore a motor is more desirable 

 than man power. The cream separator requires 

 care in operating and handling, and the parts 

 must be kept scrupulously clean. The illustra- 

 tion shows the principal parts of the machine. 



See the references following the article CREAM- 

 ERY, for related subjects. 



CREASY, EDWARD SHEPHERD. See FIFTEEN 

 DECISIVE BATTLES. 



CRECY, /erase', a town in France, near 

 which, in 1346, was fought the first important 

 battle of the Hundred Years' War (which see). 

 There the English forces of Edward III, num- 

 bering 19,000, totally routed a French army of 

 60,000, commanded by Philip VI. About half 

 of the French army perished, and among the 

 slain were over a thousand knights, the flower 

 of the chivalry of France. The aged King 

 John of Bohemia, who had fought for Philip, 

 was .also slain; his crest of three ostrich 

 plumes and motto Ich dien, meaning I serve, 

 were adopted by Edward's son, the Black 

 Prince, the hero of the day. The Battle of 

 Crecy is especially notable in that it proved 

 the superiority of the common soldier to the 

 armor-clad knight, and so contributed to the 

 fall of feudalism and chivalry. It was also one 

 of the first battles at which the English soldiers 

 used gunpowder. 



CREDIT, kred'it. The gigantic structure of 

 modern industry and commerce is based on 

 credit. Credit is the life-blood that nourishes 

 all the great as well as the small undertakings 



