172 MODERtf DAIRY PRACTICE. 



The main objection to this method is that the skim- 

 milk sours at the same time as the cream. This is a seri- 

 ous objection from one point of view, but many farmers 

 accustomed to the wholesome and refreshing sour milk 

 obtained in the old method often complain that they 

 cannot get as good, delicious sour milk when this is made 

 from sweet skim-milk. It is doubtless a fact that the 

 two kinds of sour milk taste entirely different. It is also 

 natural that such should be the case, for in one instance 

 the milk is allowed to sour slowly in a relatively shallow 

 layer, while in the other it sours rapidly in deep ripening 

 cans. I have also found that the layer of cream on the 

 milk in the shallow pans has a special influence on the 

 acidity and taste of the underlying skim-milk, evidently 

 because this condition favors the growth and develop- 

 ment of special bacteria. 



A weak point in this method is the fact that the skim- 

 milk can only be boiled with difficulty. Farmers prefera- 

 bly use their skim-milk as sour milk, however, and only 

 rarely consume boiled milk, so that this point is not very 

 important. Another question on which I dare not express 

 an opinion is, whether it would be right from a hygienic 

 point of view to agitate against the abundant consumption 

 of sour milk by the people. In passing I will add that 



and cooled by ice from .20 to .50 per cent of fat. Fleischmann 

 gives the following number of pounds of milk as required for 

 making one pound of butter : creaming in high pans at 15 C., 

 33 Ibs.; in shallow pans at 15 C., 31 Ibs.; in the Gussander method 

 (see second division of the present chapter), 29.5 Ibs.; in cold- 

 water setting, the Holstein method, and Schwartz's method, 29 Ibs. 

 of milk. The results of Fjord's experiments (17th Dairy Report, 

 1882) go in the same direction. W. 



