Farm Butter Making. 7 
the end of which time the skim milk is drawn off through a faucet 
at the bottom, leaving the cream in the bottom of the can. Often 
the can is not provided with a faucet and the cream is removed 
from the surface with a saucer or hand skimmer. Generally, the 
deep setting system produces a better grade of cream than either 
the shallow pan or water dilution systems. The cream is usually 
removed in a sweet condition, less surface is exposed to the drying 
action of the air and the skim milk is in better condition for feed¬ 
ing, although it is cold and sometimes sour. The cream is not of 
uniform richness and is often not rich enough to churn well. 
Shallow Pan .—The milk is strained into pans or crocks and 
is set - in a cool place to cream out. It is sometimes set in cold 
water. It requires about 36 hours setting and is then skimmed from 
the surface. Usually the cream and skim milk is sour. The cream 
is not of uniform richness, and is often leathery and of a poor 
quality. 
Water Dilution .—The milk is strained into a special can and 
is usually diluted with equal parts of cold water. It is set for 12 
hours and then skimmed by drawing off through a faucet at the 
bottom. This method is poorest of all. Often as high as one-fourth 
of all the butter fat is lost. The skim milk is very poor. The 
calf has to drink two gallons to get one gallon of milk. The 
cream is thin, it has a watery flavor and is often very much con¬ 
taminated with the impurities of the water.. 
The water dilution separator must be considered as a failure. 
The farmer who handles the milk from 10 cows which pro¬ 
duce 80,000 pounds of milk per year, should not lose over 30 
pounds of butter fat in hand separator skim milk. By good use of 
the gravity methods he would lose from 275 to 600 pounds of 
butter fat in the skim milk. To be sure this is not all lost, espec¬ 
ially when fed to calves or hogs, but the same food element can be 
much more cheaply supplied, in corn, kafir, or milo. 
SELECTING THE SEPARATOR. 
There are many makes of good separators now found on the 
market which are sold as cheaply as many of the poorer makes. 
Select a “Standard” machine, one that has a good recommen¬ 
dation and is known to be durable and reliable. Buy a well known 
machine, one that is guaranteed in construction, material and clean 
skimming. 
Size of Separator .—Hand separators may be procured in sizes 
varying in capacity from 150 pounds of milk per hour (18 gallons), 
to 1,200 pounds per hour (144 gallons). The prices vary from 
about $35.00 for the smaller size to $165.00 for the larger size. 
Select a separator with a capacity of not less than 50 pounds 
per hour for each cow milked. A io-cow herd would then require 
