Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-02-18
THE RIPENING OF CREAM.

Since the discovery OF the special
germs which so much affect the va
rious operations OF the dairy by reason
Of their action upon the milk, rhe
cream and butter after 1t Is churned, it
is to be feared that too much slgnlfi-
canoe Is given to these, or rather it may
be said that not enough attention Is
paid to the effect of other causes, most
especially the influence of the food in
this way. 1t Is the fashion just now
among some scientists to ignore the
influence of the foods in every way, in
regard to the quality of the milk, the
quantity and quality of the fat In il,
a~i also as to the flavor of the butter
made from it.
Now we know, taking one extreme
view Of this case, that without food we
would get no butter at all, and tina.
unless the food has In 1t all the elc-
ments Of perfect milk the butter can
not be looked for. Another extreme
view Is that offensive kinds Of food,
such as turnips, cabbages, sour silage,
as well as strongly favored weeds, GER
tanly do give special fiavors to the but
ter, and these being due to an oily mat
ter in the plants, the butter fat Is apt
to infuse with itself other oily mat
tiers that may exist in the food of
COW. This is well proved by the known
effect of cottonseed meal on the but
ter, which has been found to be so
much influenced by the oil in this food
that on analysis the butter shows
precisely the same reaction as the cot
ton oil itself does, while it Is well
known to practical experts that The
butter made from either this oilmeal or
of linseedmeal has n distinct flavor OF
these oils, and hence these foods are
used with great caution by the fine
buttermakers, or are wholly discarded
from their list of foods. If this is all
true, then to say that the degree Of
acidity which is the result Of certain
germs, determines the flavor of the but
ter, is too strong n statement, and Ia
calculated to lead buttermakers astray
feeding, the i'll results of which may be
laid wrongly to the action of some
kinds of germs which the dairyman
has no effective means Of controlling
under the great majority of cases.
Doubtless the right degree of acidty
does govern the flavor Of butter, for II
the cream is mismanaged in this re.
spect, whether it be too little or too
much acid, in spite of the best feeding,
the flavor will be defective. or this
there is no doubt, and there never has
been; for this Is one of the oldest prfn-
ciples Of dairy work, and the ripening
Of the cream for the churn has always
been the most important part of the
mere buttermaklng. But 1t is only SO
of one part OF Ii, and 1t alone win not
remove the results of mistakes in the
feeding. Indeed, 1t should always be
insisted upon that feeding comes first
in regard to the character OF the butter,
as being the basis Of 1t in every way.
Then the feeling being right, the ripen-
ing of the cream Is one Of the simplest
of matters possible, consisting wholly
in keeping the cream In pure air, for
thirty-six hours, at temperature OF
sixty degrees. Then the special germs
will have had time and opportunity to
put in their fine work, with nothing to
disturb or prevent the due results Of
1t. And these germs are abundantly
existing in the atmosphere and re-
quire no special care of the butter
maker to procure them. There is MOTH
ing new or novel about them, but our
better acquaintance with them than
heretofore. They only explain the
cause Of facts always known 10 cx-
pert ermakers.-American Agri
culturist.