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. 
Tf not separated till late during the run of the day, the separator 
is filled with slime and bowl-slush, which are likely to con- 
taminate the starter milk. At some creameries, the separation 
of the starter milk is accomplished 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, asit 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, 
sterilized 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 
