THE EFFECT OF FOOD ON THE HARDNESS OF 

 BUTTER AND COMPOSITION OF BUTTER FAT. 



J. M. Bartlett. 



The primary object of the experiments presented in the fol- 

 lowing pages was to study the effect of gluten meals, varying 

 greatly in fat content, on the texture of butter and composition 

 of butter fat produced by cows receiving quite liberal quantities 

 ■of these materials. Eight different meals which contained from 

 1% to 19% fat were used in as many different feeding trials, 

 also Buffalo gluten feeds and flax meal were each fed during 

 one experiment and cottonseed meal during three. 



A total of eleven cows were used in the experiments, and in 

 all, twelve tests w'ere made. The work was begun in the winter 

 of 1896-97 and again taken up during the winters of 1897-98 

 and 1898-99. 



In the third or last experiment the effect of the fat of the 

 food on the fat content of the milk was given some attention. 

 A detailed account of the work is given in the pages which 

 follow. 



Considerable work has already been done by investigators 

 toth in this country and Europe, showing that the texture or 

 "hardness of butter and composition of the butter fat is influenced 

 very markedly by the food of the animal. 



Some years ago quite extensive experiments were made at 

 the Texas Experiment Station in feeding cottonseed and its 

 meals to learn their effect on the fat of the milk produced. The 

 results showed that large rations of these materials produced 

 very hard butters, the fats of some of them having a melting 

 point above 40° C. with very low volatile acids and iodine num- 

 "bers. At the New Hampshire Experiment Station* some work 

 was done showing that the gluten meals produced softer butters 



* BuUetin No. 13. 



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