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BULLETIN OF 

 MASSACHUSETTS BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE BABCOCK MILK TESTER; ITS VALUE AND 

 IMPORTANCE TO THE PRODUCER OF AND DEALER 

 IN SALE MILK. 



By Geo. M. Whitaker, Assistant Executive Officer of the Dairy Bureau, 



The dairy literature which the Babcock milk tester has suggested 

 has been almost entirely in the interests of the butter maker. Dif- 

 ferences in the butter product of different cows have been empha- 

 sized, and many cows have been shown to be unprofitable ; this 

 has enabled the dairyman to weed out inferior animals and secure 

 a greater production of butter at less cost and, in some cases, with 

 fewer animals. This test has also made possible a more careful 

 study of the by-products of the dairy (skim-milk and buttermilk), 

 and this has helped the butter producer to prevent waste and to 

 carry on his work with greater profit. 



But this valuable process can be of much service in the sale milk 

 business, especially where large cities have made the production of 

 sale milk an industry of great magnitude. Though the farmer who 

 produces milk for market may not find the Babcock tester of as 

 much vnlue as does his butter-making brother, yet it can be of more 

 importance on the milk farm than has been commonly supposed. 

 These milk testers are now so cheap that they are within the means 

 of any one who has considerable interests at stake in the producing, 

 selling or buying of milk. They can be of great service to the milk 

 seller, and even to the purchaser, as well as to the producer. The 

 hotel, restaurant, public institution and other users of milk can, 

 by the use of the Babcock tester, be assured of the quality of 

 the milk they buy. With the Babcock tester the retail peddler 

 can keep track of the quality of the milk he sells, and thus ward off 

 all fears of inspectors ; he can, if he wishes, guarantee a certain 

 specific quality. If he can secure supplies of extra quality, and 



