ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 175 



My simple work points unmistakably to the conclu- 

 sion that the ferment is inherent in the milk, and 

 should not be derived from the air. I have some ideas 

 on the subject of flavor in butter that I presume will 

 call up a flood of opposition, but careful observation 

 and attention in my own dairy afford me no other sat- 

 isfactory explanation. I believe the aromatic flavor in 

 butter is perceptible to only one of our senses, that is 

 the sense of smell, and is in no way attributed to the food 

 or water consumed by the cow. Not all the food in 

 the State of Illinois is capable of producing the delicate 

 aromatic flavor valued so highly by the consumer. 

 Other flavors perceptible to the sense of taste or smell 

 come from the food and water consumed and the 

 healthful condition of the cow. For we know that if 

 we feed cabbages, onions, musty clover, some kinds of 

 ensilage, barley sprouts, rye and many other kinds of 

 food, they have a decided effect on the butter and can 

 be detected very readily in butter unless eliminated from 

 the milk. It makes a vast difference, however, in this 

 respect whether the food so consumed is simply a veg- 

 etable or fermented food. So also the flavors can be 

 greatly improved by a selection of suitable foods and 

 pure water, but in no case can the flavors so produced 

 stand as a substitute for the fine volatile aromatic 

 flavor or rather perfume so delightful to the expert's 

 keen scent. The second prime object in ripening 

 cream, that of the recovery of the butter, is very im- 

 portant to the manufacturers, being a plain question of 

 profit or loss. In this State the losses from this source 

 alone, if recovered, would be sufficient to cover the 

 entire cost of churning and working every pound of 

 butter made in the State, and leave a large margin for 

 other expenses besides. The average loss of butter in 

 buttermilk is stated by a standard authority to be from 



