the latter a time-consuming procedure requiring skill and timing. The 1880 

 narrative continues: 



From [the 130-gallon vat] it is drawn off into strainer 

 pails which hold five gallons each, and which have a 

 large scoop shaped nozzle, from which it is poured 

 into the pans. It will thus be seen that the milk 

 passes through three strainers before it is panned. 

 The pans are made of pressed tin and hold twelve 

 quarts each, and are placed in racks, one above the 

 other, before the milk is poured into them .... In 

 the center of each room, there is a skimming 

 apparatus which consists of a table about five feet 

 long and two feet wide, placed upon a square pedestal, 

 in either end of which there is a semi-circular notch, 

 under each of which there is placed a can and holding 

 ten gallons for the reception of the cream. In the 

 center of the table is a hopper for the reception of the 

 sour milk, from which it is carried off through pipes. 

 Skimming is performed twice a day, morning and 

 evening, and milk is ordinarily allowed to stand thirty- 

 six hours before it is skimmed, but in very warm 

 weather it is only kept twenty-four hours. This work 

 is begun at three o'clock in the morning, and usually 

 requires an hour and a half to complete it. Two men 

 work at a table, one at each end. The skimmer 

 consists of a wooden knife with a thin blade shaped 

 much like a butters or farrier's knife. This is 

 dexterously and rapidly passed around the rim of the 

 pan, leaving the cream floating free upon the surface 

 of the milk. The pan is then tilted slightly and the 

 cream glides quickly over the rim into the can below. 

 The milk is then emptied into the hopper and 

 conducted to the hog-pen. This arrangement is so 

 compete and compact that the pan is scarcely moved 

 from the time it is placed upon the skimming table 

 till the milk is emptied from it and no time is lost 

 except in passing the pans from the rack to the table. 

 An expert skimmer can handle two hundred pans an 

 hour. In some dairies where the rooms are larger the 

 skimming table is placed upon castors and can be 

 trundled from place to place as convenience requires, 

 and a hose is attached to the hopper leading to the 

 waste pipes. 



55 



