The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1902-07-18

milk: LII the first place. good many
germs are living in the milk while it
is vet iii the udder of the COW and, in
the next place, a good many more fall
into the milk pail from those floating in
the air being caught in the streams of
descending milk Still others are in
troduced clinging to the particles of
dust, dirt hair, c.-aff, etc, that become
loosened from TIC udder and adjacent
surface Of the G. Y and from the hands,
arms, etc, of the mixer, and in fly
time from the N-..isking tail Of the pes
tered animal. 1t is the presence of
numerous particles CT this sort which
is responsible for the general practice
Of straining milk, but no strainer is
fine enough to retain the smallest par
ticles and, least of all, the germs that
have been washed out of the particles.
In those dairies where the practice Of
keeping COWS and stalls thoroughly
clean has not been adopted the dirt
that most frequently gets into milk
consists Of particles of manure. The
presence Of even a little manure i'm
parts to the milk the peculiar flavor
called "cowy," as though it were the
distinctive odor Of this domestic spe
cies, but this flavor is quite distinct
from the odor of new pure milk (also
found in the cows breath, over which
poets have raved in ecstasy. In these
days of modern dairy progress the
production of "cowy" milk is both in
excusable and reprehensible. Milk has
a strong attraction for odors and read
lily absorbs any predominant odor Of
the air, etc, it is in contact with; hence
it is not strange that it extracts the
Odor of the dirt that falls into it, In
fact, if the milk cows food has any
peculiar flavor it affects the milk.
These various disagreeable 1avOrs in
milk are of less consequence than the
fact that milk receives the germs that
inhabit the dirt which gets into it. Of
all dirt, manure is the richest in germ
content, and, what is even more i'm
portant, ii contains germs that are par
asitic in the intestines and hence are
liable to produce disease.
South Dakota's plan of licensing dai-
rymen and requiring creamery opera
tors to pass a state examination is ap
proved by Dairy Commissioner Nc
Cornell of Minnesota. He says:
"Co-operative creameries, hiring in
experienced butter makers, are one OF
the greatest existing evils which have
crept into the dairy system and the
cause of more dissatisfac tion and ruin
alton than all others combined. It is
one Of the encoura ging features Of the
creamery trust One years experience
perhaps was enough five Or ten years
ago, but is altogether too short now, as
a man can only learn a few of the fun
damental principles Of the business in
one year, and the second should be de-
voted to practice and study. then d turn
at a dairy school to learn something of
the science. After such experience and
training a man may be in position to
take charge of a creamery, and if he is
an adept scholar, ambitious, industri-
Gus and willing to work and learn, he
may make a good man with few
years experience ana study.
The Milk Cows Day.
Butter will be butter unless all signs
fail, says Breeders Gazette. The dai-
ryman has been envious of his beef
making neighbor, but the tide is now
turning in the direction Of the milk
COW. 1t could not be otherwise. Some
weeks ago we drew attention to the
fact that the fall contract price for
milk afforded to makers no margin Of
profit and that prices must be ad-
vanced to city consumers of both milk
and butter. That advance has come
and seems still to come. Joined with
the shortage of grain and forage is the
unfortunate cold, dry and backward
spring, and the lateness of the grass
and its weakness on the parched and
exhausted pastures of last summer have
added materially to the expense at
which milk has been made.
Alfalfa Instead of Bran.
A Texas dairyman has found he can
use alfalfa as a substitute for bran
with good results in feeding milk cows
AS test he submitted for three weeks
an equal quantity by weight of cut al
falfa hay for the bran he had been
feeding The cows gave an Increased
yield of both milk and butter as re-
suit of the change to alfalfa. The al
falfa was cut to half inch lengths.
The analyses of bran and alfalfa
show a composition almost identical,
and it is not to be wondered that the
feeding trial should show the same re-
suits. The dairyman who has a few
acres of alfalfa can be very independ
ent of all kinds of combinations that
tend to raise the cost of feed unduly.
Always FINDS a Market.
With proper facilities any one who
understands the principle of butter
making can make a grade Of butter
that will command the highest price.
When you have a really fine grade of
butter, it is not difficult to sell it for
good price. If you are close enough to
a good town, private customers can
easily be secured that will take all you