MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



BULLETIN No. 3. 



SECOND SERIES. 



THE BABCOCK MILK TEST ADAPTED TO TESTING 



CREAM. 



J. M. BARTLETT. 



During the past few years several simple and accurate methods 

 for estimating fat in milk, adapted to the use of creameries and 

 cheese factories, have been devised by different chemists. Most 

 of these methods are very useful in testing milk and can be used 

 for testing cream, but none of them seem to be especially adapted 

 to the latter purpose and consequently are of no great value to 

 creameries that collect cream only. The need of some method for 

 determining the value of each patron's cream is now acknowl- 

 edged by every one that has had much experience with creameries. 



Even if the patrons of a creamery all use the cold deep setting 

 process and are careful to keep the water at about 40° at all times, 

 the cream from different animals or herds may vary several per 

 cent. 



Fifty samples of cream raised by this process, collected by 

 creameries, were tested at the Conn. Exp't. Station and showed a 

 variation of six per cent, of butter fat. One sample contained 

 23.8 per cent, another 17.78 per cent. 



The temperature at which the milk is kept makes a very great 

 difference in the quality of the cream. If the water in which the 

 cans are submerged is allowed to become warm the cream will be 

 much richer than when it is kept cold. The percentage of fat in 

 cream from the same cows may be increased ten per cent, or more 

 by keeping the water at 70° instead of 40°. Several samples col- 

 lected by a creamery agent were tested. The lowest yield of fat 

 was 12 per cent, and the highest 30 per cent. 



The most of the samples gave from 17 per cent, to 22 percent. 



If this creamery had allowed equal amounts of butter for every 

 inch of cream a great injustice would have been done to some of 

 the patrons. 



