FROM FARM TO CONSUMER 269 



fact that cream is now sold in the large markets at prices 

 varying with its fat content. Thus we have twenty per 

 cent, thirty per cent, or forty per cent cream. A forty per 

 cent cream is evidently thicker and richer than a thirty or 

 twenty per cent cream, and the householder is satisfied 

 to pay a correspondingly higher price. Cream may be 

 thickened in a number of ways : by partial souring, by the 

 addition of lime or other substances, or by homogenizing 

 it. These processes, when used to deceive, are simply 

 frauds. 



When cream is agitated or beaten the fine bubbles 

 formed do not break readily, so that it may be whipped 

 until it is stiff almost like the white of egg. If whipped too 

 long or when warm, butter forms. Just why cream will 

 whip into a froth is not well understood. This property 

 has been studied in the Wisconsin Agricultural Station and 

 found to be favored by the addition of lime solution, and 

 is probably due in the first case to the calcium compounds 

 in the milk. 



Ice cream. Ice creams are artificially frozen dishes of 

 comparatively recent origin. The term "ice cream" is used 

 in this country to cover a large variety of products contain- 

 ing either milk or cream with sundry flavoring substances. 

 It is often made from the very poorest quality of cream or 

 milk to be found upon the market. It is crowded with 

 bacteria. Investigations in Washington, Boston, and 

 other cities have shown that the ice cream as it is sold to 

 the consumer often contains millions of bacteria per cubic 

 centimetre. Further, the ice cream is frequently made in 

 cellars or other unsanitary places and is handled and trans- 

 ported with a plentiful lack of cleanliness. 



Freezing does not kill the bacteria in milk or cream. 

 Ice cream has been proven to convey infections, such as 

 typhoid fever, and there is good reason to believe that it 

 may also be responsible for scarlet fever and diphtheria at 

 times. If tubercle bacilli are in the ice cream they are prob- 



