DAIRY CATTLE 



483 



starter is added to ripen the cream in 

 the proper manner. 



A long series of observations by the 

 dairy experts in Wisconsin indicate that 

 by the ordinary methods of setting miiK 

 on the farm, about 20 per cent of the 

 total butter product is lost in the skim 

 milk. This means that in the milk of 

 cows which yield enough butter fat to 

 make 300 pounds of butter fat annually, 

 about 60 pounds of butter is lost. At an 

 average price of 20 cents a pound, this 

 gives a loss of $12 a cow, or $120 for a 

 herd of 10 cows. The latter sum is suf- 

 ficient to pay for a good separator. 



Quality op farm butter — As already 

 indicated, the quality of cream obtained 



Commercial starters — A number of 

 firms dealing in dairy apparatus and 

 supplies have put on the market pure 

 cultures of bacteria known as commer- 

 cial starters, and these have given ex- 

 cellent results in the production of but- 

 ter of a fine flavor. The increased price 

 obtained for butter made by their use, 

 will far more than offset their cost and 

 the slight extra time required in pre- 

 paring the starters. Under ordinary 

 conditions from 10 to 30 per cent of 

 starter is sufficient to bring the best 

 results. 



Churning — It is commonly recom- 

 mended that cream be at a temperature 

 of 58 to 62° F. when placed in the 



Fig. 310 — THE OLD WAY ANCIENT TYPE OF CHURN 



from the ordinary farm dairy and the 

 quality of butter made on the farm is 

 generally inferior to standard creamery 

 butter or cream obtained under proper 

 conditions. It should be obvious, with- 

 out further argument, that the energy 

 and thought expended in giving proper 

 attention to the cream and butter largely 

 determine whether dairy cows are kept 

 at a profit or at an actual loss. Poor 

 farm butter often cannot be sold for 

 more than 10 cents a pound, whereas, 

 with the same amount of physical labor 

 and a little more head work, butter 

 might be produced which will bring 30 

 cents a pound. This means a multi- 

 plication of the profits by three. 



churn. This is an important matter 

 and the farmer should provide himself 

 with a good dairy thermometer to deter- 

 mine the temperature and not merely 

 guess at it. A high temperature makes 

 the butter come more quickly but there 

 is more loss of butter in the buttermilk. 

 A low temperature increases the time 

 required for churning, but yields a 

 firmer butter with less loss in the butter- 

 milk. At temperatures between 50 and 

 60° F. most cream can be churned in 

 from 20 to 40 minutes. The time re- 

 quired and the results obtained depend 

 on the cows, the season of the year, the 

 stage of lactation and other factors. It 

 is well known that the churnability of 



