CHAPTER XII. 



FARM SEPARATORS. 



THE conditions affecting the efficiency of skimming and 

 the relative amount of cream and skim-milk described under 

 " Creamery Separation " apply to farm separators as well. The 

 conditions under which the farm separators are operated war- 

 rant a few separate remarks on this subject. 



Introduction of Farm Separators. Small, or hand, separa- 

 tors, have been manufactured for a good many years. It is, 

 however, not until comparatively recent years that they have 

 been numerous enough to be of commercial importance. The 

 people in the Central West (Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, 

 Minnesota, and Illinois) have been most prominent in intro- 

 ducing farm separators. In the 'year 1894 hand separators 

 were introduced in Iowa, but it was not until 1898 that they 

 gained sufficient foothold to be of commercial importance. 

 According to the Iowa Dairy Commissioner's report of 1898, 

 there were then only 904 farm separators in the state of Iowa. 

 Now, in 1904, there are more than 17,000 separators. Glancing 

 over the statistics it will be seen that the rate of increase in 

 hand separators during the years intervening between 1898 

 and 1904 has been uniform and rapid. This proves that the 

 dairy business is still in a transitional period, and the intro- 

 duction of hand separators still on the increase. Such a time 

 in any industry is always accompanied by more or less incon- 

 venience, difficulty, and dissatisfaction. To receive a part of 

 the :butter-fat in the form of cream, and the other part in the 

 form of milk, is undesirable. Under such a system it is always 

 difficult to get milk or cream routes organized; proper sampling 



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