246 WHAT IS CREAM? 



want of uniformity in herds which can lead us to ask, 

 Why is it that such good average results are as sel- 

 dom obtained from the milk of a large herd as from 

 a smaller one, except this matter of difference in the 

 quality of milk, which in the larger herd has not 

 been so readily perceived? 



Coming back to our subject, we will again inquire, 



WHAT IS CREAM? 



It is the lighter portion of the milk, which is col- 

 lected from the surface after standing. What more ? 

 It contains butter, some caseous matter, a little sugar 

 of milk, some few salts, etc. We can give no pro- 

 portional or more exact definition, on account of the 

 great variations which may and do occur. This 

 cream is affected differently by the souring changes 

 which occur in it before it is placed in the churn. 

 The cream from one class of cows may have its 

 " churning time " hastened more by twenty- four 

 hours' standing than another specimen of cream, 

 from other cows, after having stood thirty-six hours, 

 or even forty-eight. One cream will leave more 

 waste in the buttermilk than will another cream. In 

 other words, the analysis of the churn is not as com- 

 plete, in every case, apart from the fat in the cream. 

 One cream may churn w all in a lump." That is, the 

 butter seems to " come " at about the same time 

 throughout the whole mass of the cream. On the 

 other hand, another cream will show specks of butter 

 long before the general mass is churned. The expla- 



