Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-09-01
UNIFORM MILK TEST.
Iowa Regulation of Standard Required
From separators and Test Bottles.

Iowa Regulation of Standard Required
From SeparatOrs and Test Bottles
A new law for the regulation of
creameries and uniformity in milk test
ing throughout the state is being put in
operation by the state dairy commission
er, assisted by the dairy department Of
the experiment station at the college at
Ames. Considerable trouble has been ex-
perienced in the past in arriving at the
exact butter value of the milk sold to
such creameries as were operated upon
what is known as the separator plan.
There are many kinds of machines in
tended to determine the amount of but
ter fat in milk, and these have been IN
use, but it came to be believed by patrons
and state officials that there was little
accuracy or equity by reason of the
manner in which they were used, and
that, furthermore, the benefit of all
doubts were too largely i'll favor of the
proprietor, in whose hands and under
whose directions the tests were made
This led to the passage of a law requir-
ing that the machine for testing milk,
and by the use of which the price to be
paid for the same was to be fixed,
should be sent by the proprietor of such
creamery to the experiment station at
Ames, there to be thoroughly examined,
and if found accurate and correct in its
workings the officers of the experiment
station would issue a certificate to that
effect. No machine should be so used
in any creamery that had not been ex-
amined and approved by these officers.
The new law also requires that cream
cry men secure from the office of the
state dairy commissioner one standard
milk measure and one standard test bot
tie to be used i'll connection with the
particular machine that has been ap-
proved by the officers at Ames.
This milk measure has graduated or
tabulated rule along one side much after
the style of the indicator ON thermom-
eter. Once the operator has thoroughly
stirred the milk, so that fair sample
can be secured, he draws into this milk
measure certain amount of the fluid.
The milk is then turned into test bot
tie, together with a certain amount of
sulphuric acid, and the bottle is then
placed in the machine that has been
licensed by the station at Ames, where
it is kept for certain length of time at
a given speed on the part Of the ma
chine. Ali the work of testing is done
by rule. There is no guesswork AS
result, there is equity not only as be-
tween the proprietor of the creamery
and the patron, but between the patrons
themselves, as the price that any cream
cry can pay for milk depends upon the
quality of all the milk purchased.
These milk measures and test bottles
are sold by the state at 20 and so cents,
respectively, being their actual cost.
The whole aim of the state is to compel
such course of procedure on the part
of creamery men as will give to the pa
tron that which is his due. The office of
the state dairy commissioner is receiv-
ing hundreds of applications for these
measures and bottles. Every measure
and bottle is numbered and the number
is entered i'll the books of the dairy COM
missioner so that he can tell instantly
in what creamery the same is in use.
He also issues a certificate to every
creamery man who purchases these sup
plies. Omaha Bee,