"XKUTRALIZATIOX" OF CREAM p-OR BUTTi;R-M,\KL\(, IS? 



has been conwrterl into acid at the hrst s()urin,ij:. A great deal 

 of cream arri\'es at the factories in too sour a cnndition to make 

 good butter unless the acidity is reduced. Hence, we can see the 

 necessit\- of using a harmless alkali for reducing the acidit\-. 



The introduction of the farm (jr hand sejiarator has re\-olu- 

 tionized the creamery business in America. While no relial)le 

 statistics are a\'ailable as to the number of separators used among 

 the dairymen of the country, it is estimated that 90 per cent (jf the 

 butter produced in the creameries of the country is manufactured 

 from hand separator cream. The princij)al reason for the gen- 

 eral adoj)tion of the hand separator on the famis b\' American 

 dair}Tncn was that they were always able to get sweet, warm 

 skim-milk for feeding the young stock. When milk was sent to 

 the creameries under the whole-milk SA'stem, it frecjuentl_\' hap- 

 pened through delays and other causes that the skim-milk would 

 be in a ^■er^• bad omclition for feeding purposes upon its return 

 to the farm. In addition to this, the lower cost of getting butter- 

 fat to the creamer\' in the form of cream greath- reduced the 

 expense. A can of cream has concentrated in it the fat of pos- 

 sibly ten or more cans of milk, and the cost per pound of lat ior 

 shipj)ing a considerable distance is small. Consequently, there 

 ha\'e been established large creameries ecjuip})ed with the most 

 modern machiner^', not only for the manufacturing of butter 

 but for utilizing the b)'-products as well. In addition to this, 

 many such concerns have cut out the middleman and thus 

 reduced the expenses of selling. Aloreover, when a large \-olume 

 of business is conducted at one place, more skilled labor can be 

 employed. These are some of the reasons why the large or 

 centralized creamery has developed so rapidly. 



It has been estimated that 80 to 85 i)er cent of our butter is 

 made from cream produced by farmers who are not dairymen 

 in the full sense of that term. Dairying with them is a side line. 

 Hence, the \'olume of cream produced is not suthcient to war- 

 rant its delivery to the creamery or buying stati(jn daily or cA'en 

 every other dux. This means that a large volunre of the cream 

 received at the central plant is sour to a greater or less degree, 

 although its flavor may be quite clean. When such cream has 



