86 . FIRST LESSONS IN DAIRYING 



The development of the factory system brought 

 an appreciation of the variation in value of different 

 milks both for butter and cheese making. This, to- 

 gether with the ease and prevalence of adulteration 

 by skimming and watering, made the need of a 

 test for butter fat imperative. 



The establishment of the experiment stations in 

 each State and the research work made possible by 

 the passage of the Hatch Act in 1887 stimulated ex- 

 perimental workers to devise a test that would show 

 accurately the percentage of fat in milk, a test that 

 was sufficiently inexpensive to permit its regular use 

 in the factory and simple enough that the average 

 butter maker could use it. With the chemists of 

 several experiment stations working on the problem, 

 it fell to the lot of Dr. S. M. Babcock, of the Wis- 

 consin Experiment Station, in 1890, to perfect a 

 test that met the requirements. So thoroughly was 

 his work done that no modification in the essential 

 features have been made since. Its accuracy has 

 been confirmed by many chemists in America and 

 Europe. So simple and accurate is it that it is 

 almost universally used for the determination of the 

 per cent, of fat in milk, and milk and cream are now 

 commonly paid for on the basis of their fat content 

 by creameries and cheese factories. 



According to J. D. Frederiksen the first sugges- 

 tion to employ centrifugal force for the separation of 

 cream rom the skim milk was made in Germany by 

 Professor Fuchs, and was for the purpose of testing 

 its richness. 



About 1870 Rev. H. F. Bond, of Massachusetts, 



