PREFACE 



The annual value of dairy products in the United States is 

 more than six hundred million dollars. The handling of these 

 products makes an industry of great commercial and economic 

 importance. The time is rapidly passing when people regard 

 milk, butter, cheese, and ice cream as luxuries to be used chiefly 

 to please the taste. Rather, they are now used because they 

 furnish valuable food nutrients in desirable form. As the prob- 

 lem of feeding the cities becomes more acute and the food 

 value of dairy products is more generally recognized, they will 

 form a more important item in the human diet. The methods 

 by which these products are handled influence decidedly their 

 food value. It is, therefore, important that, in the handling of 

 these products, the best practices should be employed. During 

 recent years much has been added to our knowledge in this field 

 and much has been written, but it is widely scattered through 

 agricultural literature and is not easily accessible. This 

 "Manual" has been prepared for the purpose of bringing to- 

 gether the work of the best authors into such form as to meet 

 the needs of busy persons, both students and men in commercial 

 work. The book is made up largely of quotations, credit being 

 given in each case. No claim is made to originality, my task 

 being rather that of selection and arrangement. If the book 

 meets a need, an effort will be made to keep it up to date. 



W. A. STOCKING. 

 Ithaca, N. Y., March, 1917. 



