24 HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



of fresh butter." Referring to another lot, Mr. Eckles says : 

 *'The same difference in consistency was observed, and in 

 about the same degree, and the difference in flavor was the 

 same, but more marked." 



The writer lays no claim to being an expert judge of l)ut- 

 ter, but his observations, made at the time, were as follows : 

 Butters from normal ration were hard and firm at 15^ C, 

 and those from excess oil ration of a softer, lardy nature. 

 It required some effort to force a glass rod into normal 

 ration butter, but the same rod slipped much easier into 

 excess oil butter. One could distinguish the two butters 

 almost with the eye, and easily with the touch. Samples of 

 the two butters were placed in crystallization dishes upon a 

 hot-water radiator. Normal ration butter remained firmer 

 for a time than excess oil butter, but resolved itself into oil 

 more quickly. When normal ration butter was nearly all 

 oil, excess oil butter was soft enough to spread out over the 

 bottom of the dish, but had melted but little. This laiiter 

 observation is very interesting, and shows, at least in case 

 of this experiment, that the melting point of the butter fat 

 did not govern the frmness or body of the butter. Does this 

 hold true in all cases ? The average melting point of normal 

 oil butter fat was 32.89 and of excess oil butter fat 36.93. 

 While the excess oil butter fat showed a melting point 4° 

 higher than the normal oil ftit, yet the normal oil butter was 

 firmer at ordinary temperature, and kept its body better 

 when a gentle heat was applied. When, hoNvever, the heat 

 was increased, the firmer normal oil butter actually resolved 

 itself into oil more quickly than did the salvy excess oil but- 

 ter. The reason for this cannot be discussed at this time. 



It is clear, from the foregoing observations, that the but- 

 ters from l)oth herds were of quite inferior flavor. It was 

 unfortunate that our facilities for l)uttcr making at fhe time 

 were not better. Just why the flavor of both lots was so 

 poor is not quite clear, as they were made by an experienced 

 butter maker, the stable was clean and the milk carefully 

 handled. How much of this is to be attributed to poor 

 facilities, how much to inferior bacteria and how much to 

 influence of food, cannot be ascertained. The butters Avere 



