DAIRY CATTLE 



467 



are familiar to all milk consumers. A 

 considerable number of weeds, as well as 

 other plants which are used for forage 

 purposes, are known to affect the flavor 

 of milk unfavorably. Thus, as already 

 mentioned, turnips and certain other 

 roots, if fed in too large quantities just 

 before milking, may lend their specific 

 flavor to the milk. Chicory, if fed to 

 milch cows, makes the milk bitter. A 

 number of wild plants and weeds which 

 are sometimes found in pastures may be 

 instrumental in injuring the flavor of 

 the milk. Thus, if cows eat large quan- 

 tities of elderberry leaves, or bitterweed, 

 the characteristic flavor of these plants 



Common cooking soda was also given foi 

 the same purpose without avail. When 

 mixed with water at the rate of twc 

 parts to one before running through the 

 separator, it was found that the bad fla- 

 vor was removed from the cream when 

 the water was used at a temperature of 

 150° F. and contained one ounce of salt- 

 peter to 2 gallons. The flavor of the 

 cream, however, was not good after this 

 treatment, although the bitterness was 

 removed. The same treatment without 

 the addition of saltpeter gave practically 

 the same result. A much better flavor 

 in cream was obtained when the water 

 was added at a temperature of 160° F., 



Fig. 296 — MODERN TYPE OF MILKING MACHINE AT WORK 



may be transmitted to the milk. Per- 

 haps the most disagreeable of all the 

 weed flavors commonly observed in milk 

 is that produced by the wild onion or 

 garlic. This flavor when strongest makes 

 the milk almost unfit for food. 



The best way of getting rid of these 

 weed flavors consists in a proper system 

 of rotation by which the pastures will 

 be plowed at not too long intervals and 

 planted to some crop so that the weeds 

 are kept down. In Alabama, Clark tried 

 a number of experiments to get rid of 

 the odor and flavor of the wild onion 

 and bitterweed. A proprietary remedy 

 recommended for an addition to the ra- 

 tion proved to be absolutely useless. 



and when used at this heat the addition 

 of saltpeter influenced the flavor of the 

 cream unfavorably. It was found in 

 further experiments that bitterweed 

 taste was removed entirely from the 

 cream by thoroughly mixing it with two 

 or more parts of water at any tempera- 

 ture above 70° F. 



If the milk or cream is heated to high 

 temperatures to drive off bad odors and 

 flavors, the bitterness is not entirely re- 

 moved, and the milk may acquire a 

 cooked flavor. While this method of 

 washing cream is effective in removing 

 the flavor of bitterweed so that it does 

 not appear in the butter, it was found 

 practically impossible to remove the 



