130 Report oF THE BacTERIOLOGIST OF THE 
that during at least a portion of the year it is impossible to buy 
first-class butter in many of the moderate-sized cities in this, the 
greatest dairy State in the Union. 
These facts show that there is abundant room for improvement, 
and anything that will raise the average quality of the product 
will be gladly welcomed, both by the dairyman and the consumer. 
After the Danish success became an established fact, Ameri- 
cans attempted to copy their methods, but thus far the results 
have not been up to their expectations. Tests carried on by the 
Agricultural Experiment Stations of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, 
as well as by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, failed 
to show that there is any financial gain to be derived from the 
process when practiced as usually recommended. | 
Believing that the above failures are due to some of the modi- 
fications that the system has undergone in being brought from 
Denmark to America, this Station has undertaken to follow the 
process step by step, hoping to find the proper American condi- 
tions under which we can not only make a more uniform product, 
but one that will be sufficiently improved to justify the additional 
expense in preparation. 
The solution of this problem calls for the co-operation of a 
number of the departments of the Station and will require con- 
siderable time; hence, it is proposed to issue the results in a series 
of bulletins, of which this is the first. While the Bacteriological 
Department assumes the responsibility for the statements contained 
in this bulletin, much credit is due our Dairy Expert, Mr. Geo. A. 
Smith, whose wide experience in dairy matters has materially con- 
tributed to the success of the practical side of the work. 
WHAT IS MEANT BY PASTEURIZATION. 
As long ago as 1782, a Swedish chemist, Scheele,’ found that 
after immersing bottles of vinegar in boiling water for a time, the 

- 1 Hansen, Emil. Chr. Practical Studies in Fermentation, p. 158. 
