Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1898-08-19
DAIRY AND POULTRY.
INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR
OUR RURAL READERS.
How Successful Farmers Operate This
Department of the Farm -A Few
Hints as to the Care of Live Stock
and Poultry.
Another Butter Fraud.

From time to time various nostrums
nave been offered to dairymen and
creamerymen designed to increase the
yield Of butter from milk or cream,
says New York Produce Review and
American Creamery. Old dairymen
Will remember one of these which went
by the name "black pepsin" and which
was used to some extent before it's eff
fects upon the butter were generally
known and understood. Only a few
months ago an article was exhibited in
this market, which according to the
claims of its promoters was to increase
the yield of butter by large percent
age. The principle upon which most
OF these nostrums have been supposed
to work lies in causing the casein of the
milk to be retained and mixed with the
butterfat instead of allowing it to be
separated in the buttermilk as in ordi-
nary churning.
The effect of such treatment upon
the butter thus produced is not only
unfavorable to its quality, but it is evil
dent that the use of such substances is
directly in violation of the laws which
guard the purity of our dairy products.
According to newspaper reports re-
ceived here we note that inspectors of
the pennsylvania pure food department
have recently unearthed the fact that
number of creameries in that state
have been using an article known as
Cream Refiner" the object of which
is the same as that of the nostrums
alluded to above. According to the
Binghamton IN. " Herald, the sub
stance is added in small quantities to
unchurned cream and it's addition in
the ratio Of a single ounce to three
pints of cream will increase the but
ter yield rs per cent. The preparation
is described as of syrupy consistency
OF deep yellow color, containing cot
tonseed oil in which has been left
some other ingredients
1t appears that the Pennsylvania food
inspectors were compelled to pose as
purveyors of similar supplies in order
to detect the use of this fraud. and
that they were successful in obtaining
evidence against several Pennsylvania
,creamerymen who were using it, suf1-
Gent to cause their arrest on charges
OF criminal adulteration. The mixture
used and the butter produced with 1t
were both analysed by the Pennsyl-
vania state chemist. At a hearing of
one of the cases in Reading recently
Prof. G. B. Cochran testified that the
sample of butter submitted to him by
the state inspector contained about
per cent. of cottonseed oil. Undoubted-
ly the Pennsylvania authorities will be
able to suppress this fraud in their
state; few convictions with full
penalty of the law" attached would do
as much as anything to give a check
to the growth of nefarious business
which, if carried on to any extent
would damage our dairy industry more
than the unrestrained use of oleo it.
self. Fortunately our laws are ample
to meet the case, but it is discourag-
ing to think that there are farmers and
creamerymen who have so little respect
for their profession as to resort to such
tricks in the effort to increase their
product. There are plenty Of honor
able, legal and praiseworthy methods
of increasing the yield of milk and but
ter by selection and breeding of dairy
cattle, success in which will make
man instead of contemplate fraud.