TESTING DAIRY PRODUCTS BY THE BABCOCK TEST. 75 



Fig. 7. 



Scale for Weighing. As has already been stated, sweet cream 

 that is not frothing and does not contain over 25 per cent of but- 

 ter fat can be accurately measured with a pipette. If, however, 

 the cream is sour and thick, as will sometimes happen, it can- 

 not be tested without considerable trouble. It can be gotten 

 into condition by means of caustic soda and heat, as recom- 

 mended on page 66, but if it is simply broken up by shaking, 

 it will contain many air bubbles and cannot be measured cor- 

 rectly. Thick separator cream is seldom in condition to meas- 

 ure with any degree of accuracy, and if it is very rich, an error 

 as great as 10 to 15 per cent of the total fat may be made. 



The only accurate method to pursue in such cases is to weigh 

 the cream, and this can be very easily done by any one who has 

 skill enough to make the test. The balance or scale recom- 

 mended is shown in the above cut, and was designed by 

 the Springer Torsion Balance Company especially for this pur- 

 pose from suggestions made by the writer. The peculiar 

 feature of the Torsion Balance is, that it has no knife edges, the 



