1891 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
533 
Business. 
FAT IN THE BUTTERMILK. 
How Much Slips Through the Churn? 
The whole-milk creamery system Is increasing so won¬ 
derfully in this country that but a few years can e’apse 
before most of the milk produced on our farms will find 
its way into the butter tub and the skim-milk vat via 
some form or other of the centrifugal cream separator. 
So many statements have been going the rounds of the 
papers lately as to the goodness or badcessof the separator 
as compared with the older methods, that it seems advis¬ 
able to publish some figures we obtained not long ago on 
the work of a separator creamery for nearly a month. The 
machine used was a Danish Weston, of small size and In¬ 
creased capacity. Most of the time it was run to separate 
1,000 pounds of milk an hour, though on the fourth day 
the quantity was increased to 1,500 pounds per hour. The 
cream was cooled in an open vat, surrounded by ice water, 
and in the hottest days ice was put into it. The next 
morning it was hauled seven miles to the main factory, 
held there the rest of the day, and churned the following 
day. As is well known, it is difficult to get as complete a 
churning from cream that has been carried as from cream 
that is ripened and churned in the same place where sepa¬ 
rated. Why this is so is foreign to my present subject, 
but it accounts in large measure for the high per cent of 
fat in the buttermilk in these trials. The true test of the 
excellence of the work of a creamery, so far as the me¬ 
chanical part is concerned, is the amount of fat saved in 
the butter for each 100 pounds of fat brought in the whole 
milk. This will be found to vary largely from one cream¬ 
ery to another, and in the same creamery from day to day. 
In our work we found out by analysis the amount of fat 
in the whole milk, and by analyzing the skim-milk and 
buttermilk, we were enabled to know how much of the 
fat was lost in the process of manufacture. The calcula¬ 
tions were made as follows, taking, for example, the first 
day : Pounds of fat in the whole milk, 241.16; per cent of 
fat in the skim-milk, 0.15, and in the buttermilk, 0.45; 
pounds of fat lost in the skim-milk, 7.12, and in butter¬ 
milk. 5.87. Total fat lost 12.99 pounds; 241.16 minus 12.99 
leaves 228.17 pounds saved in the butter ; 228.17 divided by 
241.16 gives .95 as the per cent of churnability. 
Skim- 
Bui ter- 
Skim- 
Blitter 
No. of 
Fat 
milk 
milk 
milk 
milk 
Churna- 
(lays. 
lbs. 
per ct. 
per ct. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
billty. 
1 
2U.16 
0.15 
0.45 
7.12 
5.87 
95 
2 
241.11 
0.13 
0.45 
7.23 
6.0.5 
95 
8 
248.08 
0.20 
0.65 
10.22 
9.23 
92 
4 
252.46 
0.25 
0.75 
12.93 
10.85 
91 
5 
2 “>0.92 
0.13 
0.75 
6.53 
9.45 
94 
6 
2 9.21 
0.15 
0.50 
8.00 
7.43 
94 
7 
2<M7 
0.20 
0.44 
10.32 
7.12 
91 
H 
291.25 
0.14 
0.60 
10.03 
9.47 
93 
9 
292.73 
0.15 
0.63 
8.-6 
10.30 
93 
11) 
308.55 
0.2' 
0.9=) 
11.96 
15.69 
91 
n 
423.13 
0.23 
0.75 
14.(9 
13. 19 
91 
12 
812.16 
0.13 
0.63 
7.96 
10.64 
94 
IS 
8<3.9( 
0.11 
0.35 
6.26 
5.92 
96 
14 
329.54 
0.25 
1.03 
15.69 
13.13 
90 
15 
826.07 
0.23 
0.70 
15.07 
12.76 
92 
16 
315.51 
0.25 
0.60 
16.40 
10.89 
91 
17 
827.08 
0.18 
0.75 
11.85 
13.72 
92 
18 
311.18 
0. -'8 
0.83 
14.24 
15.27 
91 
19 
322.24 
0.13 
0.75 
11.31 
13.43 
92 
20 
8:8.26 
0.20 
0.50 
13.47 
9.32 
93 
21 
817.94 
0.23 
0.63 
13.37 
12.59 
90 
22 
359.35 
0.20 
0.78 
13.66 
11.36 
92 
Average. 
... 0.19 
0.60 
11.60 
10.30 
92.5 
The working of 
the separator 
was on 
the 
whole satis 
factory. The average fat in the skim milk was 0 19 per 
cent and amounted to 11.6 pounds per day, or 3 64 per cent 
of the fat In the whole milk. This is probably less than 
one-third of the average amount of waste in this country 
from shallow setting, and considerably better than the 
average of deep setting. 
The average amount of fat lost each day in the bntter- 
milk was 0.60 per cent, equaling 10.3 pounds per day or 3 23 
per cent of the total fat in the cream. As has been already 
noticed, this is higher than it ought to be and higher than 
we found in testing some creameries where all the opera¬ 
tions were performed in the building. Nevertheless, even 
this high per cent is much less than our grandmothers 
used to lose in the old dash-chum, and is less than is now 
lost by churniDg the cream from shallow setting, and is 
probably a little less than the average results obtained by 
our best dairymen from tho cream raised by deep cold 
setting. A well-known writer on dairy topics has made 
the statement that, on the average, in private dairies not 
more than 75 per cent of the fat in the whole milk is re¬ 
covered in the butter. As compared with this the average 
of 92 5 per cent shows that this creamery did creditable 
work. On its best day only four pounds were lost out of 
100, and if it is possible to do this once, it should be equally 
possible by taking sufficient care to do it every day and it 
is probable that before many years we shall have learned 
the principles and the practice so thoroughly that we shall 
be able to save in the butter tub nearly all the butter fat 
yielded by our herds. w. w. cooke. 
Vermont Experiment Station. 
A BUTTER “ACCUMULATOR:” THE LATEST. 
Proposed Attachment for the Separator. 
A few days since the writer witnessed the operation of a 
new device for quick butter making. It is now but a few 
months since dairymen were startled by the announce¬ 
ment of the successful working of the batter extractor 
which took the butter fat directly from the milk without 
the need of ripening pans or churn. As first brought out 
the extractor was a complicated machine demanding con¬ 
stant supervision and frequent repairs or alterations. It 
is also an expensive device and its work is such that per¬ 
sons who now own separators would have little or no use 
for their machines if they bought extractors. The new 
“accumulator” is simply an attachment to the separator. 
It was invented by Mr. A. Wahlin, of Stockholm, Sweden, 
known in dairy circles in connection with the separator 
and the Lactoserin products. Below we give Mr. Wahlin’s 
description of his device. It is hard to describe the peculiar 
yet simple operation of this ingenious little attachment. 
We saw the milk let into a separator and the grains of but¬ 
ter drop out of the top after passing through the “ accumu¬ 
lator.” It is possible that scientific men may find flaws in 
this system of separating butter, that will condemn it; but 
from a practical point of view it seems like a great step in 
advance in economical dairying. The device is not yet on the 
market. The patents are owned by Mr. R. Duncan Harris, 
a former director in the DeLaval Separator Company. This 
is the first public description of the “ accumulator.” It is 
now being run every day in a dairy in the upper part of 
this city. It will be noticed that the “ churning” is done 
on the same principle as that employed in the separator— 
centrifugal force—there are no dashers or “ inside fixt¬ 
ures.” In fact the separation of the fat from the milk 
seems to be done more gently by this process than In the 
box or barrel churn. Accurate analyses of the buttermilk 
show that practically all the butter fat is accumulated. 
The object of this new dairy apparatus, is to separate 
the butter fat in a granulated form, by the aid of centri¬ 
fugal force directly from the sweet milk, in exactly the 
same automatic manner as cream is now separated from 
milk in a centrifugal cream separator, without using any 
so-called “ trundle-wheels ” or *' butter knives,” as in the 
Johansson butter extractor, of which so much has been 
said in the American press during the last two years. 
Its construction is simplicity Itself. The whole appar¬ 
atus does not weigh more than seven or eight pounds. It 
is placed on the top of a separator and revolves, with the 
separator bowl, inside the common cream lid of the sep¬ 
arator. Not the slightest change or alteration is made in 
the separator. The apparatus has a groove into which 
the top of the separator bowl fits exactly, and although 
the apparatus is provided with two screws to keep it in 
place, it is mostly run without them, as there is no possi¬ 
bility of danger. It is made from the best Swedish steel 
and quite burst-proof. 
The apparatus, as used both upon the usual sized separ¬ 
ator and also upon the “ Baby ” separator, is in appearance 
something like a steel ring, about two inches high and nine 
inches in diameter. It Is placed upon the “ neck ” of the 
separator bowl and extends out beyond the “ cream slot,” 
or the place where the cream is delivered from the separ¬ 
ator bowl, thus intensifying the centrifugal separating ac¬ 
tion considerably. The apparatus is made conical and pro¬ 
vided with three annular grooves and corresponding ledges. 
As the cream leaves the separator bowl, it accumulates in 
the first annular groove and passes from there, in a very 
thin surface, over the ledge Into the next groove, and so 
forth until it reaches the last one. 
The invention has grown out of the fact that in a com¬ 
mon cream separator, where the milk is separated into 
“cream” and “skim-milk,” the cream is not a new factor, 
but still only a composition of butter fat particles and 
skim-mllk particles, only that the former are here so su- 
pernumerous that the centrifugal power is not able to 
force the heavier milk particles through the crowded fat 
particles. In making the cream flow over a ledge outward, 
and spreading it in thin surfaces under an increased cen¬ 
trifugal force, the skim-mllk particles, being so much 
heavier, will naturally travel much faster than the lighter 
fat particles, and cause a number of these latter to meet 
one another with clean, dry surfaces, when they of course 
will stick together and accumulate into larger-sized par¬ 
ticles. Besides this, in consequence of the tendency in 
fat to adhere to any surface it touches, the fat particles are 
Inclined to linger behind as they pass over the ledge be¬ 
tween two grooves, a fact that renders great assistance to 
a thorough separation and has been duly calculated upon 
by the inventor. This spreading in thin surfaces and re¬ 
separating the cream are continued until the particles, 
which at each step become larger and larger, have accum¬ 
ulated into suitable granules of about the size of a pin’s 
head. Through a small channel, which leads from the 
last annular groove into a small, surrounding chamber, 
these granules pass together with the skim milk. In this 
chamber, by means of a final separation, the fat particles 
are divided from the skim-milk particles into two distinct 
layers. The skim-milk is then thrown out first, through a 
separate opening, into the receiving vessel (in this case 
the ordinary separator cream lid) so as to lubricate the lat¬ 
ter and thus soften the blow, which the butter particles 
would otherwise receive, when being thrown out from the 
revolving accumulator. The butter granules pass through 
a small tube into the receiving vessel and flow out, on the 
surface of the escaping skim-milk, into a tub, placed be¬ 
neath the spout of the cream lid, where they are gathered up 
and treated in the same manner as is common in an ordi¬ 
nary churn. 
The apparatus, as here described, is constructed special¬ 
ly to be used by those who already have cream separators, 
so as to make it unnecessary for them to buy an expensive 
machine, should they desire at any time to manufacture 
sweet butter, but a complete machine is being built under 
the same patents. This, however, contains certain new 
features, such as a new separating method ten-folding 
the capacity of present separators, and a pefectly new idea 
in the running gear. The patents for these new features 
not having yet been issued, the machine will not be ex¬ 
hibited before a few months’ time. It Is a small hand 
machine for household purposes and able to deliver butter 
or cream at will, while runn ng, so that families can in one 
short running, take out of their morning’s milk what but¬ 
ter they need for the table and cream for coffee and tea for 
the day, and still leave all the rest of the milk just as 
sweet and fresh for the children or for household purposes 
as new milk. This “accumulator” is very simple. No 
trundle wheels here, which have to be constantly watched, 
so that differences in speed or in supply, or in quality of 
the milk do not play havoc with the cream layer and cause 
reemulsions or non-manipulations. There Is no butter- 
knife to slash and whip the butter into a greasy oil. Nor 
Is a constant inflow of water needed. When the tap of the 
inflow is turned on the attendant can go about his other 
work feeling secure that the apparatus will itself do the 
rest, just like clock-work, and with the same automatic 
precision that has specially been the means of making the 
separator so famous. Not a single fat particle in the milk, 
let Into the separator can escape being acted upon by the 
accumulator. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
The importance of pure salt for the dairy cannot be 
over-estimated. Many a churning of butter has been 
ruined by the impurities put into it with poor salt. At¬ 
tention is called to the Ashton salt sold by F. D. Moulton 
& Co., New York. It is a good article. 
Hat Loaders and Slings.— “ We want to know if the 
Keystone hay loader cannot be used to load hay where 
slings are used.”—R. N.-Y., page 501. CeitaiDly. I used 
the slings with my Keystone last year. The main value 
of the sling Is to clean up the rack, and one on the bottom 
is all that is necessary. I prefer the harpoon fork for the 
top and middle of the load. henry c. WALLACE. 
Adrian Co., Iowa. 
Small Thrashing Machines. —We spoke last week of 
a small one-horse-power thrasher made by the St. Albans 
Foundry Company. We have since learned new facts 
about it. Most of these little thrashers are used in the 
New England States, though some are found on New York 
and Ohio farms. They are built just like the larger ma¬ 
chines, and will thrash all sorts of grain. They are gen¬ 
erally used by farmers who want to thrash only their own 
grain. They have been used for thrashing or crushing 
corn stalks. For preparing stalks, however, the company 
makes a shredder which cuts or tears the stalks like a 
large circular saw. With a one-horse power one can in a 
day “shred ” up enough fodder to keep 25 head of cattle a 
week. 
The “combined header and harvester” is used on many 
large California farms. This implement takes off the 
heads and about six inches of the grain stalks and passes 
them to a regular thrasher which operates as it moves 
through the field. What an advance since Col. Sutter, the 
discoverer of California gold, paid his debt to the Russian 
Government In wheat. His great crop was cut by Indians 
with knives and swords, thrashed by driving wild mus¬ 
tangs over the sheaves and cleaned by tossing the grain 
into the air on windy days. 
Another Potato Harvester.— A patent has ju 3 t been 
issued for that Newberry potato harvester which is sup¬ 
posed to dig, sort and bag the tubers at almost one opera¬ 
tion. The specifications, which cover two pages of the 
Patent Office Gazette, call for a plow to lift the tubers and 
carry them up over a series of shaking grates and roll 
them back over sieves with suitable meshes for sorting. 
The machine is not yet manufactured for the trade, we 
believe. 
In an English report of an implement exhibit we find 
mention of “ the ‘ Plant Joy’ hoe of American manufac¬ 
ture.” Every student of hoes knows that “ Planet Jr.” is 
meant, but why isn’t It a good name ? The “ Planet Jr.” 
is a joy for all useful plants, and a misery for useless ones. 
Some New English Implements. 
At the late English Royal Agricultural Show we are told 
that 86 implements and machines were entered as new de¬ 
vices. One was a “ weighbridge,” as they call scales for 
weighing cattle. This one is automatic and registers the 
exact weight in figures three Inches high. By dropping a 
“ticket in the slot” the weight is printed on a piece of 
paper and dropped out of a hole Into your hand. A port¬ 
able apparatus for dipping sheep and a French machine 
for spraying Bordeaux Mixture were well spoken of. 
Among other devices were the following: A milking-pail 
with loop-like handles that fit over the knees while milk¬ 
ing. An egg case lined with felt in which eggs “ cannot be 
broken.” A centrifugal milk tester to fit at the top of the 
separator and test 32 different samples of milk at one time; 
a “milk pump” for raising milk to the separator; butter 
boxes made of thick parchment and tipped with metal 
chips. These are designed for sending butter by “ parcel 
post” now quite popular in England. The Pasteuriser is 
a device for purifying milk. It consists of two portions. 
In the upper one hot water circulates—heating the milk to 
160 degrees. In the lower part cold water is placed. The 
milk runs slowly through both hot and cold water and is 
thus scalded and then cooled as when it is sterilized. The 
Atmospheric churn is described as follows: 
In the operation of this apparatus the process of churn¬ 
ing Is effected upon an entirely new principle—butter be¬ 
ing produced by atmospheric action—the air being forced 
in intermittent or continuous currents into the midst of 
the milk or cream contained in the cylinder. This is ac¬ 
complished by working the tube or plunger up and down 
within the cylinder, keeping its disc or flange always be¬ 
low the surface of the milk or cream. When the plunger 
is raised, a partial vacuum is cr eated beneath the surface of 
the flaid, wnich causes the air to rush down through the 
hollow stem with great force. When the plunger is forced 
downward, the air below the plunger will be expelled 
rapidly through the fluid, by means of which the globules 
containing the butter will be expanded, opened, and the 
butter liberated. 
The Devel disintegrator is a powerful mill for grinding 
grain, “ oil cake,” fertilizers, bones, etc. Many English 
farmers grind bones, slag and chemicals and a powerful 
portable mill is a great help to them. In haying tools 
there was a great display of tedders—or as they are called 
in England, “ haymakers.” The moist English climate 
makes a tedder a very necessary tool. Powerful hay 
presses for forcing hay and straw into small, hard cubes, 
were shown. These would be useful for those who burn 
straw in Dakota. A steel horse collar is described as “a 
hollow pair of hames” fitting the horse’s shoulders like 
an ordinary collar. It is opened by pressing a spring catch 
at the throat. 
