4 Testing Milk and Its Products. 



tested, and can not therefore be done except in com- 

 paratively few cases, with cows of great excellence or 

 by farmers having abundant hired help. 



5. Introduction of milk tests. The first method 

 which fulfilled all reasonable demands of a practical 

 and reliable milk and cream test was the Babcock test, 

 invented by Dr. S. M. Babcock, of the Wisconsin agri- 

 cultural experiment station. A description of the test 

 was first published in July, 1890, as bulletin No. 24 of 

 that Station, entitled: A new method for the estimation 

 of fat in milk f especially adapted to creameries and 

 cheese factories. This test, which is now known and 

 adopted in all parts of the world where dairying is an 

 important industry, was not, however, the first method 

 proposed for this purpose which could be successfully 

 operated outside of chemical laboratories. It was pre- 

 ceded by a number of different methods, the first one 

 published in this country being Short's method, in- 

 vented by Mr. F. G.' Short and described in bulletin 

 No. 16 of Wisconsin experiment station (July 1888). 



6. Short's test. In this ingenious method, a certain quan- 

 tity of milk (20 cc. 1 ) was boiled with an alkali solution and 

 afterwards with a mixture of sulfuric and acetic acids; a layer 

 of insoluble fatty acids separated on top of the liquid and was 

 brought into the graduated neck of the test bottles by. addition 

 of hot water; the reading gave the per cent, of fat in the sam- 

 ple of milk tested. 



Short's method did not find very wide application, both be- 

 cause it was rather lengthy and its manipulations somewhat dif- 

 ficult for non-chemists, and because several other methods were 

 published shortly after it had been given to the public. 



7. Other milk tests. Of these may be mentioned, besides 

 the Babcock test already spoken of, the Failyer and Willard 



i See 48, footnote. 



