EFFECT OP TEMPERATURE ON DAIRY PRODUCE. 



185 



EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON DAIRY PRODUCE. 



The daily practice in this locality is directed to 

 the sale of new milk and of butter aud of skimmed 

 milk. Tlie price of new milk is nearly uniform, be- 

 ing 2d. per quart, that of butter is sometimes as low 

 as Is. per roll of 24 oz., and sometimes nearly double 

 this. The price of skimmed milk is likewise steady, 

 being generally Id. per quart. The cause of the 

 fluctuation iu the price of butter, with steadiness of 

 price in that of milk, will be found in the compara- 

 tive ease of the transport of the one as compared 

 with the other ; the former is liable to damage by 

 moving, whilst the latter is regularly brought to mar- 

 ket by .-^ea and land, hundreds of miles. Butter is 

 brought from Mecklenburg and from the west of 

 Ireland to London. It will then be obvious that the 

 supply of new milk is limited to populous districts, 

 or to such as have gained easy access to them by 

 the introdactiou of raihvays. It is in some measure 

 optional in what state my dairy produce is disposed 

 of — iu new milk, or in butter and skimmed milk. In 

 giving attention to this branch of farm economy, I 

 was led at an early period to inquire at what price 

 the two processes afibrded a like return. Alter sev- 

 eral trials made during warm weather, my cows be- 

 ing on (irass, I found 16 quarts of milk yielded 20 

 ounces of butter ; the Cjuantity of cream varies with 

 the skill or taste of the dairy-maid in skimming the 

 mill;, aud in proportion as she mi.xes milk with the 

 cream. I ha'\'e frequently found a quart of cream to 

 give l-i to 16 oz. of butter, and this is about the ave- 

 rage from the cream used for the trial cheeses at the 

 Royal Agricultural Shows. I have, however, latter- 

 ly, since l)ecember, ISM, found my cream much rich- 

 er, and am obtaining 22 to 24 ozs. of butter from 

 each quart of cream. I 'can only attribute this to 

 the quality of the food in which Rape-cake and Bran, 

 materials rich in oil, are components ; the produc- 

 tion of butter is, however, Little influenced, being 

 about 26 to 27 ozs. from 16 quarts of milk. The 

 comparison will be — 



16 qu.irt3 of new milk, at 2d. per quart, 

 16 quarts of milk give a roU of butter of 



- Is. 6d, ' ( 



- Is. 2\i\. ) 



14^i quarts skimmed milk, at Id., 



(The butter milk covers cost of churuing.) 



Butter is sold here by the roll of 24 ounces ; it is 

 customary to make up the roll to weigh 25 ounce.s, 

 the odd one being in favor of the purchaser. I thus 

 find an equal gain from new milk sold at 2d. per 

 quart, as from butter at Is. 6d. per roll, and skimmed 

 milk at Id. per quart. It will scarcely be necessary 

 to observe that with a rise in price above Is. 6d. per 

 roll, it is my interest to direct my dairy produce more 

 to butter, whilst with a lower price new milk pays 

 better. In the course of a season or two, and to- 

 wards the close of a year (late in November,) I re- 

 marked a considerable falling off in my receipts 

 for the dairy ; and as no change had occurred in 

 the number or circumstances of my cows, nor in 

 their food, I was led to inquire into its cause. 

 I found an equal quantity of milk had been brought 

 down to the dairy-maid, a like sum received for new 

 milk, and that the deficiency arose solely from a 

 less quantity of butter. With this change there 



• My eiperimentfl show 26 ounces. 



had occurred a great change in the weather, it 

 having become very cold and frosty. I again tes- 

 ted the quantity of milk, and found the yield of 

 butter 16 ounces from 16 quarts, instead of 26 

 ounces, as on the former trials : up to this time I 

 had used an under-ground cellar in summer, and ii 

 room on the ground floor in winter, during which 

 time this deficiency in my butter occurred. This 

 room is situated on the north side of the house, the 

 in-door opening into my kitchen, where the culinary 

 operations are carried on, and which door was usu- 

 ally kept close by day as well as by night ; the room 

 is lighted and ventilated by a trellis window, which 

 gave free access to the fresh and cold air. On trying 

 the temperature I found it something below 40 ° ; it 

 then occurred to me that the deficiency of butter 

 must arise from the too low temperature of my dairy, 

 and an easy means of remedy at once suggested it- 

 self, namely : — to introduce with a supply of fresh or 

 cold water a supply of hot water, by an apparatus for 

 that purpose. It so happened that the pipes for both 

 hot and cold water passed through my dairy, imma- 

 diately under the trellis window, and over the stone 

 table on which my milk bowls are placed. This 

 table is about 2 feet in width, and occupies one side 

 and the end of the dairy in which is the treUis win- 

 dow. I ordered a shallow open cistern to be made 

 of wood, with a room about 3 inches along each side, 

 and lined with thin sheet lead ; this cistern thus con- 

 tained water of 3 inches in depth. At its extremity, 

 and near the window, is a hollow plug, having perfo- 

 rated holes near 3 inches above the bottom, and 

 through which the water escapes as it rises into the 

 common sewer. At the same end of the table, and 

 inside the rim, is a pipe which, being inserted into 

 the one from the hot water apparatus, conducts this 

 to a tap at the other e.xtremity, and then returns 

 along the other side of the table again to the hot 

 water pipe ; when the new milk is brought in it is 

 set up warm, and immediately the hot water tap is 

 turned, when the water flows from it and along the 

 cistern, in which the full milk bowls are standing, till 

 it rises to the height of the holes perforated in the 

 tube, and then flows through the same. The tap is 

 is open so long as the supply of hot water lasts ; 

 when this is exhausted, and the water in the cistern 

 has cooled, the plug is drawn, and the whole of the 

 water escapes, leaving the cistern empty. At this 

 season the trellis window is closed by a wooden shut- 

 ter, and the in-door communicating with my kitchen 

 is kept open. By these contrivances my dairy at- 

 tains a temperature in winter of 53 ° to 55 ° . I 

 superintended the experiment when first tried one 

 evening. The next morning my dairy-maid thus 

 accosted me : — " Master, it is quite wonderful this 

 morning ; I have more cream from standing one 

 meal (12 hours) than before from three." When the 

 churning day came the result was a yield of butter of 

 26 ouces from 16 quarts of new milk, being equal to 

 what I had found in summer. Thus from a change 

 of temperature solely, and without any change of 

 cows, or in their food, my quantity of butter was in- 

 creased 50 per cent. But this is not the only advan- 

 tage of the plan : I have already remarked that along 

 with the hot water pipe, one with cold water passed 

 through my daily. At the approach of summer a 

 pipe inserted into this with a tap close by that of hot 



