64 ILLINOIS dairymen's association. 



by which I conduct the business of running a creamery. We use what is com- 

 monly called the shot-gun can, for the most part; I do not know that any of my 

 patrons have the Cooley cans, although I think they might as well, and I wish 

 they all had, principally for the reason that it keeps the cream in a uniform 

 condition, as to temperature and general quality. We measure our cream in a 

 pail, an exact foot in diameter, and the test churns are adjusted to that unit. 

 We keep a record, of course, of the measures in the pail a foot in diameter, 

 calling an inch in depth the unit. We then, from the cream, take samples of 

 every man's cream each day, which samples, in a given quantity are adjusted 

 in quantity to the unit measure, of which I have already spoken. We churn 

 these samples. I formerly used a glass jar churn, and the actual yield of butter 

 the test quantity was what determined the value of the cream which had been 

 measured in this unit measure. The record of the gross units is made by the 

 driver. After the test is made, the man who runs the test churn makes a cor- 

 rection of the quantity of cream gathered on the opposite page of the book to 

 get the actual yield in butter, and the patron is paid according to the yield in 

 butter, as determined by this test. This test is run every day. We find it differs 

 considerably from day to day, and the variations of different patrons' cream is 

 considerable. 



Mr. Curtis : Do you ever make experiments of taking two tests of the 



same cream 



Answer. Yes, frequently; and there will be but very slight variations— no 

 more than would be explained by the accidents of the test. 



Mr. Dexter : How much does this unit measure give you ? 



Answer. I think 113 inches. 



Mr. Dexter : And would you say, in a general way, that 113 inches of 

 cream would make a pound of butter, as determined by your repeated tests ? 



Answer. Yes; near enough for practical work as a basis. But we have 

 cream that will run 120 to 150, and even as high as 160 or 170 per cent. I will 

 remark that when we used to gather by the gauge plan, it took nearly one-fourth | 

 more bulk of cream to make a given quantity of butter than now, when they { 

 skim their milk, being aware that it is going to be bought by the test. The 

 temptation then was to put in lots of milk to increase the gauge. Now, it is to 

 save the milk for their own pigs. 



Question. Is it not a fair inference that under the old form, without testing, 

 there was the strongest possible temptation for a portion of your patrons to 

 make a greater bulk of cream which would not give the proper amount of 

 butter ? 



Answer. That is according to every man's experience, I guess. 



Mr. Boyd : I understand you to say that 113 cubic inches will make a 

 pound of butter ? 



Answer. It is a good average standard. 



Mr. Boyd : Do you find any difference in summer and winter in that 



respect ? 



Answer. The same bulk of cream from fresh cows will yield butter better 

 than the cream from strippers, and, as a rule, in summer there are more fresh 

 cows than in winter. When it is very cold, the same bulk of cream does not 

 yield as much as in summer. The difference depends on circumstances. 



