The Lactometer and Its Application. Ill 



corresponding to different lactometer readings and fat 

 contents, or the percentage of fat from total solids and 

 lactometer readings. 1 



ADULTERATION OF MILK. 



J2i. Methods of adulteration. The problem of de- 

 termining whether or not a sample of milk is adulter- 

 ated becomes an important one in the work of milk in- 

 spectors and food chemists. Managers of creameries 

 and cheese factories are also sometimes interested in 

 ascertaining possible adulterations in the case of some 

 patron's milk, although since the general introduction of 

 the Babcock test in factories and the payment for the 

 milk on the basis of the amount of butter fat delivered, 

 the temptation to water or skim the milk has been 

 largely removed. In the city milk trade, especially in 

 our larger cities, wateied or skimmed milk is occasion- 

 ally met with, in spite of the vigilance of their milk in- 

 spectors or the officers of the city boards of health. 



When the origin of a suspected sample of milk is 

 known, a second sample should always be taken on the 

 premises, if possible, by or in the presence of the in- 

 spector, and the composition of the two samples com- 

 pared. If the suspected sample is considerably lower 

 in fat content than the second, so-called control-sample, 

 and has a normal per cent, of solids not fat, it is 

 skimmed; if the solids not fat are below normal, it is 

 watered; and if both these percentages are abnormally 

 low, the sample is most likely both watered and 

 skimmed (126). 



1 Dairy Chemistry, p. 61. 



