22 DAIRYING. 



cows themselves. "Weighing the milk of each cow and testing a 

 sample with the Babcock test as described later is now taking the 

 place of farmer churn tests. 



56. Churn tests are now out-of-date, as it has been shown that 

 butter can be made to contain an abnormal amount of water by 

 artful manipulation. The fraudulent compounds thus obtained are 

 no longer accepted as butter. Legal butter according to recently 

 adopted United States standards, must contain at least 82.5 per cent, 

 fat, and since the amount of fat in butter is necessarily a variable 

 quantity on account of the method of manufacture, the butter record 

 of a cow is now based on, the weight of butter fat in her milk instead 

 of the butter that is reported to have been made from it. 



57. The Babcock test and a pair of scales are the means now 

 employed for making permanent and valuable records of dairy 

 cows. They measure the milk by an absolute standard which is not 

 subject to variations when honestly used. The test takes the place 

 of the churn, because the same accuracy cannot be obtained with 

 scales and churn as with the scales and test. The most expert dairy- 

 man is not able to divide 100 pounds of cream into four or more 

 equal parts and make exactly the same weight of butter from each 

 part, but the Babcock test will show the same percentage of butter 

 fat in the different lots. 



a. Average Milk Producers. 



58. The statistics already quoted indicate that the average cow 

 in the United States produces about 4,000 pounds of milk ; and if this 

 tests 3.5 per cent, fat, and an overrun of 16 per cent, is assumed, the 

 average butter production per cow is 162 pounds. The average 

 farm value of the 21,801,000 cows is reported as $35.79 per cow in 

 the 1909 year book of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



59. Taking these figures as a basis, the value of cows producing 

 more or less than this amount can be estimated. If a cow producing 

 162 pounds of butter is valued at $35, a cow producing 200 pounds is 

 worth more than the value of the increase in butter. Assuming both 

 cows to be an equal expense to the owner, then the one producing 38 



*The increase of the churn over the test or the difference be- 

 tween butter and butter fat. 



