The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1895-09-05

MIX l1C IN ECaI lQ1ul COWS may vary
in per cent. Of total solids from 10 to
1G, but the great mass of 1t will have
from II TO 135. The fat may vary from
% to : Fer cent, but somewhere
between 3 and per cent. is
found il most milk. The soliGs
other than fat somewhat rarely
fall below So per cent. or so above 95
FER cent. The cascin varies more than
does the milk sugar or Tie ash.
While fat is the one element to te
considered so far as buttcr-malling is
concerned. and is very important in
chcese-mallIng. the cascin has great
value. 1t is the 'muscle-forming" cie-
ment. The value OF skim-nilli as hu-
man food is often greatly underesti-
milk sugar is mainly lost either in but
ter or chcescnaking. 1t i; somewhat
uu :ortunate that III most Americcn n
tests the percentage or quantity of fat
is made almost the only point con-
sidcred. The standard Of the British
Dairy Farmers' association has much
to commend it. In this, point is al
lowed for each pound Of milk, 20 for
each pound of fat. 4 for each pound of
solids not fat. and IN allowance is
made of Lilo of Il point for each day
after calviag, after 30, up to 200. If
in addition to these points the cost OF
food could be determined, this would
be an excellent standard for Judging.
The Babcocll test is by far the most
convenient method by which to deter
mine the per cent. of lat. The i'm
portancc, Of course. in securing fair
sample Of ali the milk given by the
COW ut one milking under as nearly
usual conditions as possible, Is Obvious.
There arc serious objections to show
yard" tests. while. unfortunately, pri-
vate test have fallen into some disre-
pute because OF the pheaODlenally
large Yields sometimes reported. A
single test may be very misleading.
Without apparent cause the per cent.
of fat or the quantity of milk. in two
successive days, may vary greatly.
The large yic.Cs reported. when ac-
curatc, are usually the result of
high feeding Th, cost as well
as the quantity of product must
be considered. In tie large ma
jority of cases of extraordinarily
large yields have been secured at a
cost greater than their value.
Under good system of butter-lnak-
ing the product of butter will lie larger
than the quantity of fat in the milk. as
aside from the fat butter contains
water and little salt. Good butter
will have from 50 to ST per cent. of fit.
the average being Ssh per cent. In
the Worlds fair butter tests at Chicago
the standard YVES unfortunately fixed
at 50 per cent of fat Well worked
butter should contain more than this.
When the best methods are used, Is or
16 per cent. may safely be added to the
quantity OF lat in estimating yield of
butter. There is always some loss of
fat. When separator is used to Sc
cure the cream this loss should not eX
ceed onc-f:ti of one per cent, and is
often not more than one-tenth of one
per cent. Where thc cream rises by
gravity methods the loss is often great
or. in many cases SO much that the
butter product is not greater tian the
weight OF the fat in the milk. 1t is
usual ii this country TO adj salt at the
rate of an ounce to the pound, or over
six per cent. but much OF this is re-
moved in washing and working,
While milk with very small per-
centagc of fat is not desirab BILE unless it
can be purchased at a corrcspondingly
low price. milk with an excessively
large fat percentage is not most
desirable as food for either man or
farm animals, although its value for
butter and cheese making is great. 1t
is coming to be believed that the fat
content of milk is, practically, the best
test Cf value for cheese making, as it
clearly is for butter making. The
percentage of case;n usually increases
with an increase in percentage of fat,
and the loss of fat need not be relative
ly greater in making cheese from rich
milk than where that with lower per-
centagc of fat is used.
The value to dairy men, farmers
generally. ant even the owners OF 4
family cow" of determining not only
the quantity of milk given but the per-
, centaGe OF tat It contains and an ap-
proxiinatc estimate of the cost of the
food eaten, is not easily overstated.
{ In many cases experienced butter-mak-
inm dairymen have learned to their
great surprise that part of their herd
was kept ut loss, and that cows
which gave large quantity of milk
| produced much less fat than those Civ
irg q more moderate quantity of milk.
" the use Of composite samples, "
that is. 10y saving an equal small guam
tity of milk each day, tests can be
made once Il week or even at longer in
tervals Tests of the milk given at
weekly. even monthly intervals, often
give nearly the same average results rs
wheE the tests are made daily.