STARTERS. 219 



rode, and in that way retain unnoticeable dirt. Mason jars 

 and sampling bottles are suitable. The kind of bottle which 

 is used for marketing milk gives very good results. 



The second step consists in selecting suitable milk. The 

 milk must be in as pure and sweet a condition as possible. A 

 good starter can be produced from either whole or skim-milk. 

 Skim-milk, however, is preferable to whole milk. The mis- 

 take of selecting whole milk for starters has often been made. 

 The mother-starter prepared from whole milk usually has a 

 more pleasant, mild, rich taste, due to the fact that it contains 

 more fat than the starter made from skim-milk. The mother 

 starter prepared from good skim-milk is preferable, and safer 

 to rely upon. Efforts should be made towards separating the 

 starter milk before the rest of the milk has been run through. 

 If not separated till late during the run of the day, the separator 

 is filled with slime and bowl-slush, which are hkely to con- 

 taminate the starter milk. At some creameries, the separation 

 of the starter milk is accomphshed with a small hand sepa- 

 rator. This, however, is not convenient or practicable at most 

 creameries. The milk for the starter can be selected and run 

 through the power separator during the beginning of the run. 

 It is well not to use the very first milk which passes through 

 the separator, as it would be likely to contain a greater number 

 of undesirable germs. 



The milk which has been selected for the mother-starter, 

 or starterline, is then pasteurized. The pasteurization is best 

 accomplished by the intermittent method. If considerable 

 milk is to be pasteurized it is best to make use of a clean, 

 sterihzed can. If only a small portion is to be pasteurized, 

 just enough for the mother-starter, the milk can be put di- 

 rectly into the jars. The jar half full is about the proper amount 

 of milk to use. The directions sent with some pure cultures 

 recommend as much as half a gallon or a whole gallon of milk. 

 As a rule better results are obtained if only about a pint of 

 milk is taken. If the milk for the mother-starter is pasteurized 

 in the glass bottles or jars, then it is advisable to set the bottles 



