21 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN^S ASSOCIATION. 



hastened by adding it to the milk in small quantities 

 so that the lye is dissolved. If one-half a teaspoonful 

 of the lye is thrown into the milk at once, it collects 

 together in a hard lump which is dissolved with diffi- 

 culty. The whole process of thinning the thick, sour 

 milk with lye is aided b\ T warming the milk at a tem- 

 perature of 100° to 150° F, and by letting it stand for 

 an hour or more. Time and heat both help the solvent 

 action. Pouring from one jar to another is also an 

 important factor in getting the milk thoroughly mixed. 

 This way of collecting a composite sample and the use 

 of the "powdered lye" gave entirely satisfactory 

 results. The following illustration may serve to show 

 the practical application at a creamery, and how nearly 

 one test of a "composite" sample corresponds to the 

 average of seven daily tests. The milk brought by 

 each patron is weighed every da} r , and after a thor- 

 ough mixing a small quantity is taken out and tested 

 for butter fat. Multiplying the pounds of milk by the 

 per cent, this test shows gives the pounds of butter 

 fat in the milk brought. 



A "test" of a composite sample together with the 

 weight of the milk given by each cow during the time 

 the sample was accumulating will furnish very accu- 

 rate data for calculating the amount of butter fat pro- 

 duced by each cow during the time covered by the 

 test. 



It seems hardly necessary to say that the longer 

 such testing as this is carried on the more intimately 

 acquainted the owner becomes with his cows. 



