The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1905-01-04
HANDLING CREAM.


How to Hold and to Deliver 1t.
Generally speaking, there is almost
an entire lack of facilities for holding
cream on the western farm. The ma
tority of farms have wind pumps at or
near the house. The pump furnishes
an excellent location for an IDEAL milk
house. On many farms visited the
owner had built around the windmill
tower or at one side of it a building,
usually 6 by feet, in which was
placed tank deep enough to set the
milk cans and have water come up to
their necks. All of the water pumped
for stock and other purposes Of the
out into the stock tank. This room Of
ten contains the separator and work
table. In fact, here is done the dairy
work of the farm. With an arrange
ment Of this kind and good thermom-
eter the cream should be kept without
difficulty from forty eight to seventy
two hours in the hottest weather
Such building costs but little, and
the convenience Of having place for
the milk, cream and dairy utensils is in
itself enough to justify the expense of
building it. AS matter of fact, the
farmer who is going to get the best
price for his cream will have to pro-
vide himself with place to keep it
cool until it can be delivered to the
station. Keep it just as cool as is pos
sible without freezing up to the time it
is delivered
There are some points besides the
immediate cooling and holding at a
cool temperature that must be OBJ
served in order to insure good cream
The different skimmings Of cream
should never be mixed until both are
of the same temperature. The cream
when cooled down keeps fairly well,
but if some warm cream should be
mixed with it the temperature will be
raised. At once the germ life becomes
more active, and souring takes place
very quickly. No vegetables or other
produce having strong odors should be
kept in the same room with the cream.
1t takes such odors very readily and
retains them tenaciously. In fact, keep
the milk room for milk and nothing
else and, above all, have plenty of win
dows to admit sunshine when wanted
and use plenty of "elbow grease" in
keeping it sweet and clean.
In many Instances all the good work
done is entirely spoiled because the
cream is not cared for in delivery.
The writer has observed many thou
sand cans in process of delivery, and
in nearly 80 per cent of them the work
was done in such manner as to dam
age the cream. For some reason, prob
ably through lack of better informa-
ton on the part of the person deliver
ing the cream and also on the part of
the man receiving it, the cream was
handled as though no damage could
come to it after it was taken away
from the farm 1t mattered not wheth-
er the heat of the summers sun or the
cold blast of the winters storm was
on, the can of cream was exposed to it
all. Withdraw the lid of a can of
cream that has been exposed to the
heat for one or more hours, and the
first whiff is sour one. The cream
will be found to be several degrees
warmer than when taken from the wa
ter tank at the farm
It is simple thing to cover the
cream can with wet sack or blanket
and throw over this dry one, which
will effectually stop the mischief. With
this precaution the cream will arrive
at the station as cool as when taken
from the farm. The same precaution,
except that the blanket should be kept
dry, is sure protection against freez-
Ing in winter.