166 



CANADIAN FARM YEAR BOOK. 



value of the cow at the beginning of 

 the year. All Items represent actual 

 expenditures on the farms, excepting 

 the charges of shelter and deprecia- 

 tion which are based on averages of 

 all the farms for the entire period." 

 From Bui. No. 124 Minnesota Ex- 

 periment Station. 



The hand power cream separator is 

 the most reliable and best method of 

 skimming milk at the farm. 



Some of the advantages over the 

 other methods are: (1) less loss of 

 fat in the skim milk, (2) a better 

 and more uniform quality of cream, 

 and (3) the skim milk is in the best 

 possible condition for feeding young 

 stock. All the separators on the 

 market will do eflacient skimming if 

 properly handled. 



Handling and care of the Separa- 

 tor. — It is important that the separa- 

 tor run smoothly. Any trembling or 

 shaking of the separator while skim- 

 ming, will cause a loss of butter fat 

 in the skim milk. Only special sep- 

 arator oil should be used, and it is 

 well to make a run about once in 

 three weeks, using kerosene oil on 

 all the bearings. 



In skimming, three things must be 

 observed : ( 1 ) The speed of the separ- 

 ator must be maintained according 

 to the directions sent with it. The 

 only reliable way to do this, is to 

 count the number of revolutions of 

 the crank by the watch. A low 

 speed means loss of fat in the skim 

 milk. (2) The flow of the milk into 

 the separator should be uniform. (3) 

 The temperature of the milk should 

 not be under 90 degrees and for that 

 reason the best time to separate the 

 milk is immediately after milking. 

 A low temperature is also liable to 

 cause loss of fat in the skim milk. 

 The faster the milk passes through 

 the separator, the less complete is the 

 separation, and a thinner cream is 

 given. Every separator has some de- 

 vice for changing the test of the 

 cream. In most cases the adjust- 

 ment is at the cream outlet. If so, 

 by turning the cream screw in, the 

 cream will be richer, and by turning 

 it out, the cream will be thinner. 



All the parts of the separator 

 which come in contact with the milk 

 or cream should be washed in luke- 

 warm water, to which has been added 

 a smaU quantity of sal soda or other 



cleansing powder, and then thorough- 

 ly scalded with boiling water, each 

 time the separator is used. 



Location of Separator. — In some 

 cases the separators are placed in the 

 cow stables. This may be a conveni- 

 ent arrangement, but it is not by any 

 means a proper place for separating 

 milk, unless a special room, well ven- 

 tilated and lighted, is partitioned off, 

 to exclude the stable odours and dust. 



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ex. 



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From left to right: Graduated Bottle, 



Acid Measure and Pipette, used 



in Babcock Test. 



This room should have a smooth ce- 

 ment floor, which can be easily 

 cleaned. 



Proper Temperature for Churning 



Depends on — 



Richness of the cream. 

 Length of time cows have been 

 milking. 



