Babcock Test for other Milk Products. 95 



ture of water, curd, and salt, with butter-fat; and the 

 water or brine is so easily pressed out that great care 

 must be taken to get the same amount of water in the 

 small portion to be tested as exists in the lot of butter 

 sampled. 



Sampling butter. Small portions of butter are taken 

 with a butter trier or a knife from different parts of 

 the tub, package, or churning of butter to be tested. 

 These small portions (preferably about 200 grams in 

 all) are placed in a wide-necked bottle or jar which is 

 securely stoppered and placed in warm water until the 

 butter melts. The jar is then shaken vigorously in order 

 to obtain a thorough mixing of the various components 

 of the butter, and placed in cold water. As the butter 

 cools, the jar must be shaken repeatedly until the butter 

 either solidifies or becomes of a thick creamy consist- 

 ency. From this sample small portions may be taken 

 for testing. 



It is not always necessary to prepare a sample of 

 butter for testing in the manner described. If the but- 

 ter contains no loose drops of brine on the freshly-cut 

 surface, a sample for testing can be taken directly from 

 the package. The operator must use his judgment in 

 regard to the necessity of preparing a special sample in 

 each case. 



Scales for weighing butter. In testing butter it is 

 necessary to weigh the amount taken for a test very 

 accurately. Scales sensitive to less than .05 gram should 

 be used, as a difference of .1 gram in weight has a value 

 of 1.0 per cent, in the result when 10 grams of butter 

 are tested. Slow-working scales with rusted bearings 

 are worthless for testing butter. The scales should 



