Effect of Wild Garlic on Milk. 



73 



although the establishment owns excellent water power, 

 is too heavy to bear the strain of a fall in prices. 

 [Foreign Office Report \ Annual Series^ No. 1,855. Price 2\d.~\ 



Effect of Wild Garlic on Milk. 



The wild garlic [Allium vineale) is a weed which, though 

 not frequent, is found in pastures and waste dry places 

 throughout Britain from the Clyde and Aberdeen southward. 

 Its distribution appears to be general throughout Europe,, 

 excluding Greece, and it is also found in the Canaries. 

 Although the plant w T as not originally a native of North. 

 America, it is a most injurious weed in the Mid- Atlantic 

 States at the present time. The consequences of the presence 

 of this herb in dairy districts is of such importance that the 

 United States Department of Agriculture has recently issued 

 information on the subject, and pointed out that the milk of 

 cows eating wild garlic in the pasture has the strong, 

 unwholesome flavour of garlic, and any food containing the 

 garlic-flavoured milk is unpalatable. Cream rising from the 

 milk has the flavour apparently intensified, butter made from 

 the cream is worthless, the skimmed milk, clabber, and 

 smearcase, or cottage cheese, are also spoiled. Garlic- 

 flavoured milk cannot be used for making standard cheese — 

 in fact, there is no way of disposing of it except feeding it to 

 stock, and selling it to the few people who do not object to 

 the flavour. 



The following information has been issued as regards 

 deodorising milk, and avoiding the injurious effects of garlic 

 upon dairy products : — 



Many efforts have been made to avoid the tainting of 

 dairy products by wild garlic, or to remove or disguise the 

 odour. In some localities small pieces of saltpetre (nitrate 

 of potassium) are placed in the pail during milking. While 

 saltpetre does not produce any immediate harmful effects 

 when thus diluted and taken in small quantities, its con- 

 tinued use is very likely to result in injury. 



Simple aeration by pouring the milk from pail to pail 

 while it is still warm from the cow improves it to some 



