Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1881-12-14
FIecks or "White Caps" in Cream.

Flecks are generally supposed to b.
pieces eff dried cream, ana possibly some
times they may be, hut usually they are
not. for occasionally they exist in the milk
before any cream rises. and sometimes ar
mingled with butter male by processes OF
cold setting in which the or am remain,
soft, no part of it being dried at all. The,
seldom appear, however, in butter mad,
by cold set ing; they are mostly found il
burt made in dairirs where the muk i
SCI without any Other cooling than that of
the air in the room where the nj stand,
For the most part they are developed in
the milk after it comes from the COW. B,
quickly enoling mIk to n low degree
ch ,nge is so much arrested that they can
not Gevelop. they can only form WI hin
certain limits of temperature. and when
they do. are likely to appear as plrniIuIN
in the mix as in the cream. and oftel
more so, which is evidence averse to thpIr
being originated from dried cream. II
milk which is IN II perfectly norm con
dnIon, they never appear they away
occur in milk which IS more or less faulty
They are very apt tn accompany an in
h.ned state OF the ud'ler, and seldom o,
never appear without it. When milk is
al right, the surface of the cream NAV b,
exposed tn currents OF dry air, until il be-
comes quite dry and rd. wi bout showing
any indication of white caps" as they
are sometimes ca lri. he drIed crealn
VIII mixed with the rest and W. II stree
up, soon becomes soft, and chuI ms like tn.
rest. But when milk is little feveri>h.
or in some other way faulty, is thus rx
posed to the air without being fl st WEI,
cooled fl cks will be- pretty sure to show
Themselves in numbers prOpOrtioned to the
ex, osure. Whenever h'cks are liable tt
be- Developed, there can, with the aid Of Il
microscope, be seen in the milk SINAI
spccks of solid mttler, with iragmentary
shapes which form the nucleus of tn,
Il ckS. When such milk Is sci in glas,
vessel and kept without much coollug
these specEs Can be seen to narge ny th'
cuagulalon and adhesion of the milk II
contact with them Sooner or later they
swell f. ON gas forming within mem, and
becoming lighter than the milk, rise To-
ward the surface and more Ol less of thea
become imb dded IN the soft cream. Whel
they form in the nnlk, they are almos
wholly composed of curd; but when fpl m
ell IN the cream they are very rich il
cream, having as much, and perhaps
more, cream in their composition as curd
Il. b -Arn0Id, IN american Agr cuttU' Isl
We think Mr.. Arnold mistakes in on
respect. Cream which is dried on tn
edges OF small pans, set 10 high temper
ure or "A draft of air, will not, whe
mixed with the remainder of the cream
become soft and churn TO butter at tn
same ,me with the rest. We have watch
ed such portions of cream 10 my times AN
seen dried misses wnlrled about, irmer i
cOnsistence than the rest, is not suhjecte,
to the same action in the churn, and re
mains cream TO he end, though the attrl
modify the shape. We have taken thes
specks gathered from the "wa,hing" t
the butter, ant working them down wit
spatua or thin case knife, obtained t,
good butter, apparently, and more in pro
portion than that obtained from the rest Il
the cream. We think the white sperk
are so generally from dried cream ms t
need very little attention toward othe
causes. Of course unhealthy milk, Il
milk that stands till it sours "wheys off
and is already purifying, may have whit
sp3cks OF curd among its other wor HESS
ness; but we assume that this condition {
things is much rarer among daryme
than cream getting too dry from hig
temperature not readily controlled. q
course these specks must be got out of lh
butter or It's quality be much lowered.