The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-12-14
The Dairy School.

Agricultural Editor.-Another ses-
sion of our Dairy School has closed,
and the work has been to our entire
satisfaction. AS before, the most promi-
nence was given to the creamery side
of the subject and the students were
taught the use of wide range of inn
plements. We had the four sizes of
the De Laval separators, all of the
Alpha pattern-the Baby No. 2, Baby
No. 3, the Acme Belt and the Standard
Steam Turbine. The Sharpless Sep
arator Company was represented by
the Dairy Russian Steam Separator
and the Imperial Belt Machine. The
Vermont Farm Machine Company
showed hand separator made by the
United States Butter Extractor Com
pany, and there was the Jumbo Sepa-
rator, made by Davis & Rankin. In
addition there was the usual outfit of
churns, butter workers, ETC., including
the Fargo Centrifugal Worker, which
is becoming we'll known and liked in
New England creameries.
Particular attention was given during
the school TO the mechanical losses in
butter-making. The students tested
the whole milk and all of the products,
keeping records of weights. So care
fully did they handle the milk and so
accurately make the analyses that the
difference between the fat in the whole
milk and that in the products seldom
exceeded one per cent. The students
were given a good deal of drill in the
principles and practice of handling the
machines, running them with milk and
water, starting, stopping, and also TAX
ing them all to pieces and putting them
together, so as to be sure that they I'M
derstood the construction and operation.
A new feature of the laboratory his
proved quite an important addition.
This is steam Babcock testing
machine. We have two kinds-made
by MJseley & Stoddard and by the Yer
mont Farm Machine Company-but
both agree in the essential idea, that
the bottles are whirled by the direct
action of the steam without requiring
an engine, and in both this steam also
heats the bottles and keeps the con-
tents hot during the whrling. This
does away with all adding of hot water
to the machine and allows the work to
be done in a cold room as easily as in
warm one, to be done slowly as
well as rapidly, and even allows the
completing of the analysis when the
acid has been added so long before
that the bottles have become cold.
This steam machine is easier to use
than the hand machine and will be
found to give more accurate results,
especially on thin skim milk and on
butter milk containing less than 30
per cent fat If the Bsbcock method
has any wrong tendency it is toward
giving low results, and the fuidity of
the fat in the steam machine will be
found to largely overbalance this ten
dency.
A valuable point brought out in the
handling of cream is the fact that
cream churned sweet needs less careful
handling than cream that is to be
ripened. 1t is acknowledged by all that
the uniform ripening of cream so far as
to have it churn thoroughly is one of
the most difficult problems of the butter
maker, and the determining of the
proper degree of ripeness for churning
almost as difficult. Neither of these
difficulties are encountered in making
sweet-cream butter. Instead of unit
ing all the cream in single vat and
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at certain temperatures, with frequent
and thorough STRINGS, it was found
possible to take cream from different
sources of different temperatures, and
from twelve to forty-eignt hours old,
that had never been together until they
were in the churn, and by churning
them cold, to have the butter come in
reasonable time and have almost no fat
left in the butter-milk. AS regards the
taste of butter from sweet cream and
ripened cream, few of the students
could distinguish any difference, and
still fewer, if any, could certainly tell
which was which. The winter time
seems especially favorable for the
manufacture of sweet-cream butter.
The attendance at the school was
good, the interest much more than last
year, and we feel that the time and
money expended was well repaid.
NJ my of the states are planning similar
schools this winter. The more the bet
ter; there is room for all and need of
all these and many more. These dairy
schools are hopeful sign of the future
prosperity of dairying, and we are hop
ing in the near future to make ours con-
]