Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-08-05
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THE DAIRY.

to the dairy literature OF the country is
the valuable report of Prof. Goessman of
the Massachusetts, Agricultural College.
It appears in the State Board of Agri-
culture
MILK.-The milk of COWS is consider
ed, by general consent, the most congeni
al food for man. Investigations in re-
gard to its proximate constituents and
their chemical composition, have taught
us, probably more than anything else,
what are the requisites of really good
diet. The relative nutritiye value of the
long list of substances which make up
our choice articles of food, has frequent.
ly been decided by comparison of their
chemical composition and their physical
condition with that milk. A liberal use
of milk promises to benefit both the
dealer and the consumer, and deserves
hearty encouragement. 1t is the utmost
Importance to obtain it in pure, normal
condition, The main components of
milk are partly of an inorganic charac-
ter. They consist of butter, casein
Cheese stuff sugar of milk, the phos-
pilates of lime, magnesia and iron, the
chlorides of potassium and sodium, be-
sides some soda in combination with
casein. All these compounds, with the
exceptions of butter, are present in solu-
tion the latter substance is merely
suspended in the liquid in countless
small globules, and causes the peculiar
color and the opacity of the milk. Each
fat globule is surrounded by very thin
coating of heterogeneous substance, which
disappears soon after exposure to the air
at favorable temperature. A slight
alkaline reaction of the fresh, normal
milk, causes the solubility of the casein,
and the low-speciic gravity of the sus-
pended fat globules favors their rising
to the surface, where they form cream.
The milk from healthy cow always
contains all the previously enumerated
constituents, yet it is somewhat varying
proportions. The quantity of milk which
can be obtained from cow, and also the
quality which each individual COW of
any particular breed furnishes, depends,
as is we'll known, on a number of cir
cumstances, the most important of which
are-the constitution, the condition and
the age of the animal, the amount and
the kink of food, and the time and man.
ner of milking. | do not propose to
treat on these important points here III
detail, but intend to confne myself to a
short discussion on those qualities Of
milk which effect its commercial
value, and to describe few of the meth
DDS for testing it. The constituents o.
normal milk have been found to vary
usually, within the following figures:
! Water, eagssre $50 ss.
Butter, so 4.
Casein, 80 f.
Sugar, 34 5.
Saline compounds, O.6 0.
It's solid matter has been noticed t.
vary, in extreme cases, even from III
to 1873 per cent, and its specific gravit,
from l.O25 to l.O34 at6O' F., takin.
water of that temperature equal to lowe
: the specific gravity, and the presence o
casein, sugar and saline matter react
5 in the opposite direction, and as all thes
) various constituents are liable to vary il
; percentage, it is plain that no reliabl
: deduction can be drawn in regard to tn
total amount of solid matter in milk
| from mere test of its specific gravity
Skinned milk of high specific gravit
i. O33S to 9347-contains ordinari
, ly but from 10 to Ill per cent of soil
matter, while unusually rich in cream c
e a specific gravity equal to 1.026 ha
q been shown to contain not less than 16.
per cent of solid matter. A common
good, unadulterated milk has a specif
gravity from 1.029 to 1O33, and cor
e tains from II to IA per cent of soil
: matter. These facts in regard to til
= composition of milk render it certai
that the common practice of decidin
the question "What is genuine mil
q and what is watered milk ?" is open
}. serious objection, unless supported by
It supplemental test, since it is liable
) awaken an unjust suspicion of fraud1
!. lent practices on the part of the deale
q while it does not efficiently protect Il
+ consumer against serious imposition.
h protect the dealer against unjust accu
!, ations of dishonesty, the scale of spcii
% gravity had to be lowered to degr
. (1.O25) which would leave it possib
, for him to add at least one-fourth
3 water to ordinarily good milk, witho
rendering himself open to the suspicit
:. of fraud. There is little reason with
l. to fear the adulteration of milk wi
chalk, -four, starch, sleeps brains, al
other auxiliaries and denominations
te which our books tell US, as long as wat
e. will answer all practical purposes sin
g it is abundant, and upon which 100 d
grees refers to a specific gravity of skin