FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



state with great certainty whether or not the milk has been watered. 

 J; however, foreign matter has been added, jt is difficult to arrive at 

 a definite calculation. The fat or oil in milk is determined by dis- 

 solving it by means of ether out of the total solids. The residue re- 

 maining after the operation being termed "solids not fat." 



Prior to the introduction of the Babcock system of milk testing, 

 much of the dissatisfaction was caused by the great difficulty of ob- 

 taining an even sample of milk irom a can or a tank, as the ca,se 

 may be, of milk delivered at the skimmery. With the DC Laval lacto- 

 crite the milk measurer was so small that it was with great difficulty 

 that an even sample could be obtained from the average condition of 

 the milk supplied from day to day. The comparative largeness of 

 the Babcock pipette or milk measurer removed to a great extent this 

 difficulty, hence it was quickly adopted throughout the dairy world. 



Since the introduction o-f the home separator, milk testing has 

 gradually decreased and cream testing has become the all-absorbing 

 topic among our creamery and factory men. Approximately there is 

 but one-tenth of the raw product milk sent off the farms nowadays 

 to a creamery or butter factory. But this tenth part contains nearly 

 the whole value of the original product. It is, therefore, patent to all 

 commercial minds that this tenth part requires to be more carefully 

 weighed and sampled than the whole milk was subjected to in 'former 

 days. This subject, the importance of which soon made itself a stumb- 

 ling block with creamery and factory managers whenever they at- 

 tempted to make their cream tests tally at the end of a week's work- 

 ing with the results obtained from the churn. The result was that 

 the dishonest tester only gave such tests as were sure to come out 

 under the churn results, and allowed the creamery and factory pro- 

 prietors to pocket the value of the surplus butter, or distributed it 

 himself pro rata amongst those suppliers whom he thought most de- 

 serving of a little assistance. The difference between the milk or 

 cream tests and the actual churn results is termed, a.s the case may be, 

 whether under or over the tester's estimate the " over" or " under- 

 run." It matters not how accurate or simple a testing machine may 

 be of itself; unless those who are in charge of the business part of the 

 weighing and sampling, and whose duty is also to conduct the testing 

 of each sample, be strictly speaking honest to the suppliers, there is 

 room ifor much dishonest dealing, especially in factories and cream- 

 eries, where the over-run or under-run is not recorded every day for 

 the guidance of the management, whose duty it is to see that justice 

 is done to all suppliers alike. 



Dr. Babcock clearly understood before he placed his machine before 

 the factorymen of the dairy world that any method which would be 

 suitable to the demands of analysts and dairymen had to meet a- 

 least -four requirements, namely : First, it must be rapid in its work 

 and in giving results ; second, it must be comparatively easy of 

 manipulation ; third, it must not be expensive ; fourth, it must be ac- 

 curate under varying conditions as regards the quality of the cream. 



In order to base one's calculations with a view of ascertaining the 

 amount of commercial butter in any given quantity of milk or cream, 

 we must assume that in every loolb. of commercial butter there is : 

 Butter -fat, 85 per cent.; moisture, 13 per cent.; salt, caseins, &c., 2 

 per cent. Therefore, working on this basis, loolb. of butter fat should 

 produce 117 n-i7lb. of commercial butter. But in practical working 1 

 I7*lb. will be found to work out satisfactorily, when added to every 

 zoolb. of butter >fat as shown by the Babcock tester. For example : 

 Jones supplies 2Q7lb. of cream to a factory, which tests 40 per cent, 

 butter fat. He should be credited with I4345lb. of commercial butter, 

 and for which he ought to be paid according to the price of butt IT 

 the day it was sold, loss the mamnactiirinj* charges and other inci- 

 dental expenses which may amount to i.ld. per Ib. 



260. 



