FARM BUTTER-MAKING 459 



of the fertilizer material in the skim milk and the profit in having 

 healthy, rapid-growing calves. 



It will readily be seen that the side on which the profit will appear 

 will depend wholly on the prices received for milk and butter. If the 

 milk is sold at the farm at four cents per quart and the butter must be 

 sold at 30 cents per pound, then the margin of profit would amount 

 to $2.88 per 1000 pounds of milk, in favor of selling by the quart, 

 provided the milk tests 4 per cent as in the first case. 



If, however, the herd in question consisted of well-bred Jerseys, 

 giving milk testing 5 per cent on the average, the result would be some- 

 what different : 



1000 lb. milk 465 quarts 



465 quarts ©4^- $18.60 



1000 lb. milk testing 5% 50 lb. fat 



50 lb. fat 57 lbs. butter 



57 lb. butter @ 30j? $17.10 



950 lb. skim milk and buttermilk @ 25^- per ewt 2.37 



Total $19.47 



This leaves a balance of 87 cents per 1000 pounds of milk, in favor of 

 making butter. 



Bitter milk and cream. 



Milk may have an acrid, bitter taste, caused by the cows eating 

 ragweed, an herb which is common in pastures late in the summer. 

 Flavors produced by what the cows eat are most noticeable when the 

 milk is first drawn from the udder, while flavors produced by the growth 

 of bacteria get worse as the milk gets older. The only remedy for rag- 

 weed flavor is to remove the cows from the pasture containing the weed. 



Bitter milk is sometimes given by cows that are advanced in their 

 period of lactation and giving a small quantity of milk. Such cows 

 should be dried up at once. 



Certain bacteria that develop at low temperatures may produce 

 bitter flavors in the ripening cream. In this case the cream is all right 

 when fresh but gradually develops the bitter flavor. This can be 

 stopped by using plenty of steam or boiling water to sterilize thor- 

 oughly all utensils, and by using a good active starter to hasten the 

 development of lactic acid. The cream should not be allowed to get 

 old and the temperature should be kept up to 70° F. or 75° F. during 

 ripening. 



