The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-08-23
THE ROSS BUTTER BACILLUS.

hear more from him than we are yet ac-
quainted with.
Cream comes from milk and butter
comes from cream. At least that Is the
popular supposition, il it is not univer-
sally true. Anything that improves and |
enriches milk, viii, supposedly, improve
and enrich cream and so any butter that
is fortunate enough to be made from
cream.
One day last summer Professor HER
BERT W. Conn, of Wesleyan University,
became possessed OF can OF milk from
Uruguay. The milk had, presumably,
been sterilized before being sent on its
Journey half around the world to Pro-
fessor CONN, but, as II appeared, sterili-
zation had not been complete. The milk
had peculiar, bitter taste, and, what Is
more TO the point, it contained the long
sought butter bacillus-for it must be
known that Professor CONN had long
sought the butter bacillus and found IL
not, prior to its accidental discovery In the
| can OF Uruguay milk. In his researches,
the professor had already discovered full
forty different bacillii in milk, but none
OF them was the particular bacillus that
he had patiently sought. No. Al, now
ever, from the Uruguay milk filled the
bill. and though Professor Conn has IN
vestigated diligently to find a bacillus
that coud outclass No. Al, the latter still
holds the throne and can give cards and
spades to any other milk bacteria yet
known, and beat them all.
Professor Conn is a graduate Of Boston
University and subsequently took the
degree OF Phi. ID. at Johns Hopkins.
For II years he has been professor OF
biology at Wesleyan, and for five years he
has had charge OF the Biological Labora'
tory OF the Brooklyn Institute at Cold
Spring, Long Island, where summer
school is carried on during July and
| August. For the last seven years Dr.
| Conn has been making special study ol
the bacteriology of milk. In this specially
his researches have carried him far be-
yond any other work done in that line In
this country, and it may be doubted
whether any scientist in Europe has ad
yanced as far i'm the study of this inter
esting subject. At all events, 1t is GER
tain that no one abroad has accomplished
the same practical results and no one has
discovered anything to outstyle CoNN''
. Bacillus No. Al. No. Al cultivated
with care, Is found to dis
tinctly contribute to the flavor, pur
ity and qualityiof butter. Every time tn
culture was sent to the creamery ther
8 was an Improvement In the quality OF th
e butter. This Improvement was noted nc
t only by the buttermaker and the superb
l. tendent of the creamery, but by expert
: to whom the butter was sent for rating
and also at exhibits OF dairy products
In the first public test, made In February
1894, the butter made from inocula
cream rated eighteen points higher tha
that made from the same cream unino
ulated. The judges were two well-kno"
experts. neither OF whom had any kno'
!. ledge OF the experiments. In order
make the test as thorough as possible,
these experiments the culture was inter
tionalIy allowed to run out in the cream
cry. and then a new inoculation W
made. Invariably the butter deteriorat
in quality when the culture ran out, Al
at once improved in quality as soon as
fresh culture was sent to the creamer
During more than a year and q half the
has not been one exception TO the rule.
In the preliminary experiments the c.
ture was also sent to several other crea
cries in New England, and in every
stance an Improvement in the flavor
the butter was reported, and the same
suit was found in a number OF priv
dairies where IL was used under DIR. CON-
direction. In one case, DIR. CONN sa
the culture was put into the cream wi
:. out the knowledge OF anyone except
butter maker, and the first time this
ter was used, although there had been
-, hint of any experiment, the question '
:. asked by those at the table as to what
been done to make it so much better.
II is SAID that the artificially cultiva
butter bacillus No. Al has been used
more than $50 creameriss in dozen
ferent states with great success. II is
claimed that No. Al can make hrst-c