COMPOSITION OF MILK. 19 



ent processes of which are now in use in this country) these 

 gases can, to a large extent, be eliminated. The amount and 

 kind of taints existing in milk, immediately after it has been 

 drawn, largely depend upon the food which the cow has been 

 fed. Turnips, onions, and garhc, when fed to cows a short 

 time before milking, cause undesirable gases or taints to exist 

 in the milk. Good sweet hay, bran, and good grass are said 

 to produce milk of superior quality, and containing no bad 

 taints, except the cowy or animal taste, which is natural to 

 all milk when first drawn. 



The milk yielded by cows pasturing in the Alps of Switzer- 

 land is said by tourists to possess a peculiar, not undesirable, 

 spicy odor and flavor. It is maintained by the native people 

 in Switzerland that the peculiar flavor of the Emmanthaler 

 cheese cannot be developed anywhere else in the world. This 

 flavor they believe to be due to the kind of vegetation the 

 cows feed upon in the Alpine pastures. In Denmark, the 

 poor people who do not own much land, graze their cows along 

 the roads where weeds of different kinds grow. Milk from 

 such cows has a peculiar characteristic odor or taint. In this 

 country it is a common occurrence to find that milk delivered 

 by patrons who keep their cows on timber-land pastures has 

 a peculiar weedy odor. Especially is this true in the fall or 

 late summer. These flavors are somewhat difficult to remove 

 by the ordinary process of aeration. By heating such milk 

 to 160° or 180° F., and stirring occasionally, most of these 

 taints pass off. An addition of a small amount of saltpeter 

 also improves it. 



Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the food that 

 the cows receive. While it is true that much of the desirable 

 aroma and flavor in butter are due to bacterial growth, the 

 kind of food fed to cows is not without significance. It is 

 a well known fact that districts such as Normandy and 

 Denmark, which have become famous for their high quality 

 of dairy products, have the best of pasture and winter 

 feeds. 



