14 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



for itself, and will make dairy-work a source of profit and satisfaction instead of 

 drudgery. 



Other advantages are: A richer and more uniform quality of cream may be 

 obtained; the skim-milk is in the very best possible condition for feeding young 

 stock ; and the cream being always fresh and sweet, its care and ripening is under 

 a more direct control of the butter-maker. 



Which is the best separator at the present time it is impossible to say, since no 

 one separator comprises w r ithin itself all the points of merit that the ideal separator 

 might possess. All the separators on the market will do efficient skimming if properly 

 handled. 



The chief points of merit that should be looked for in a separator are: (1) 

 Strength and simplicity of construction ; (2) cheapness and durability ; (3) minimum 

 need of power and maximum capacity; (4) thoroughness or closeness of skimming; 

 (5) strength of foundation and steadiness of motion; (6) freedom of defects in its 

 mechanism; and (7) ease of cleaning and general convenience of detail. 



Select a separator with a capacity of not less than 50 to 75 Ib. per hour for each 

 cow milked. A ten-cow herd would then require a machine having a capacity of 

 500 to 750 Ib. per hour. Larger herds at same ratio. It is a great mistake to pur- 

 chase a machine that is too small, as it will take too much valuable time to skim 

 the milk. 



LOCATION OF CREAM SEPARATOR. 



When a separate milk-house is available, the cream-separator should always be 

 found there, and never operated in the stable or any other place where the air is 

 impure or the surroundings bad. A simple, clean room with a solid floor and screened 

 doors and windows can be made to answer very well as a place to separate cream. 



CARE OF THE SEPARATOR. 



To give a separator the necessary stability it should be fastened to a solid floor 

 or foundation. Care should be taken to have the top of the separator stand level in 

 all directions, and to have it securely fastened to the floor or foundation by means 

 of screws or bolts. A small square of ^-inch rubber-sheet packing placed under the 

 outside edge of the base, or under each leg, before fastening improves the running 

 of any separator. 



Before the separator is started all parts should be thoroughly cleaned and all 

 bearings well oiled, and oil-cups and oil-holes free and in working condition. Special 

 attention should be given to the oil that is used. With each machine that is sent 

 out by the makers there is sent a can of oil of a quality that has been found by 

 experience to answer the purpose best. Such oil can be obtained from the selling 

 agents of the machine, and no other should be used. 



Two or three minutes should be taken to get the speed up to the required rate, 

 which is stated on the crank of the machine. The speed of the machine must then 

 be maintained according to the directions. The only reliable way to do this is to 

 count the number of revolutions of the crank by the watch. 



A small quantity of water at a temperature of 110 to 120 Fahr. should be used 

 to warm and wet the bowl, and after speed has been acquired the flow of milk may 

 be turned on. In turning a separator by hand we should take care to have the 

 motion as steady as possible. The pressure on the crank should be the same all 

 the way around. 



In skimming, three things must be carefully observed viz., the speed of the 

 bowl, the temperature of the milk, and the feed of the milk to the machine. With 

 the same machine and all other conditions the same, a greater loss of butter-fat 

 must be expected when the separator is not run up to the required speed, when the 

 milk is below a certain temperature, or when more than a certain amount of milk 

 is run through in a given length of time. 



