31 



the statute standard of 13 per cent of total solids. Milk tbat tests 

 3.50 per cent of fat is on the danger line, but so near all right that 

 under ordinary circumstances it would probably pass muster and 

 would not get the seller into trouble, as a certain amount of leniency 

 is necessarily allowed in all statutes of this kind. If a milk has 3 

 per cent of fat it will be satisfactory during the five months of the 

 year in which the standard is 12 per cent of total solids. A man 

 with a herd of Jerseys or Guernseys whose milk tests from 4.50 to 

 5 per cent of fat would be safe in guaranteeing milk of 14 per cent 

 of total solids ; if his milk has over 5 per cent of fat it has 15 per 

 cent of total solids. If he lives where there are people who are 

 willing to pay an extra price for an article of extra quality, he will 

 run no risk in guaranteeing his milk to have 13, 14 or 15 per cent 

 of total solids, as the case may be, and he can be assured that he 

 is keeping up to the required quality by using his tester. 



In the actual use of the Babcock tester it will not be necessary 

 to go to the trouble and labor of testing milk every day. Where 

 the herd remains unchanged and without any variation in condi- 

 tions, and the milk of the different animals is thoroughly mixed, a 

 test every three or four weeks will usually be sufficient to keep an 

 accurate knowledge of the situation. On purchasing a new cow 

 or on having any considerable number come in fresh, more frequent 

 tests for a short time would be desirable. In case of trouble a 

 daily test of each animal might be necessary for a short time, but 

 this would be an exceptional condition of affairs. An intelligent 

 and experienced milk producer, having substantially the same cows 

 month after month will very soon get such an acquaintance with 

 the quality of the milk of his herd as will enable him to keep close 

 track of it with only occasional tests. 



Farmers shipping milk to Boston occasionally receive notifica- 

 tions that the milk is below the required quality. When the farmer 

 is testing the milk at regular intervals, and watching the condi- 

 tions of his cows and their feed, he will know what quality of milk 

 he is furnishing as well as the contractors, and when a complaint 

 is received he will know that it is either a just complaint, or else 

 that some one has been tampering with the milk or that there has 

 been improper sampling at the other end of the line. 



It is now generally understood by those who have studied the 

 question of milk production the most exhaustively and the most 

 accurately, that quality in milk is due more to the animal than the 

 feed (assuming of course that under all circumstances the animal 

 has enough to eat). Hence, if milk is deficient in total solids 

 under ordinary conditions it is because there are poor cows in the 

 berd. These must be found out and their places filled with better 



