The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-17

benefit to the advancement of the
dairy and creamery industries are the
centrifugal cream separator and the
Babcock test. De Laval perfected the
cream separator in 1879 and exhibited
one of these machines at the London
dairy show. The committee on awards
commenting on the device, reported
that 1t was very interesting inven-
ton but that it was not thought that
1t would be of practical use in large
dairies.>
The first use of the separator was
made by creameries. The dairyman
took his milk to the creamery and
there 1t was put through the machine.
The cream was kept by the creamery
and the SKINNED milk returned to the
dairyman.
Now there are thousands OF hand
separators used on the western farms
and the farmer sends only the cream
to the creamery. BY its use the house,
wife Is relieved of the work of caring
for the milk. and the farmer imme-
diately after the milking, separates the
cream and milk and feeds the still
warm fresh milk to calves and swine.
How Cream Ia Separated.
In the separator the cream is Sep
arated from the milk by centrifugal
force. The milk flows into a bowl
which is revolved at the speed of 1000
revolutions a minute. The serum of
the milk, being heavier than the cream
Is thrown against the walls OF the
bowl and the cream forms on the inner
surface. The cream flows out through
one small opening and the skim milk
passes through another.
An ordinary sized separator will
handle $50 gallons of milk an hour
The machine does the work far better
and with little or no waste of cream
than it can be done under the old
process of skimming the cream from
pans of milk.
DR.. s. NJ. Babcock. chemist and
dairy investigator of the Wisconsin
experiment station. in 1890 invented
the test for determining the amount of
butter fat in milk or cream known as
the Babcock test, centrifugal force
and the chemical action of sulphuric
acid are applied. From the cream to be
tested. a small sample, carefully
weighed, Is placed in a graduated glass
test bottle with a given amount of
acid. The acid mixes with the casein
ash and water and frees the butter
fat. The bottle is placed in a centri-
fugal machine and 2whirled rapidly
The neck of the bottle is toward the
axis. The butter fat, being lighter, is
forced into the graduated neck of the
bottle and the percentage of butter
fat is determined by reading the grad
uated scale.
Cream is bought on the basis of
the amount of butter fat contained
In it. Western creameries pay for but
ter fat 214 to 3h cents per pound
less than the prevailing price on the
New York market for creamery but
ter. Under this system it behooves
the farmer to produce 'ich milk and
he gains nothing by mixing skim milk
with cream.
DR.. Babcock's invention is equal in
Importance to the cream separator as
factor in the advancement of the
industry as it eliminates all guess
work. DR.. Babcock did not patent his
invention, but gave it free to the
dairymen.
The Measuring System.
Before the adoption of the Babcock
test cream was bought by measuring
1t in pans ~ inches in diameter and
an inch in depth, which measurement
of cream was supposed to equal a
pound of butter. The cream was often
skinned deep and the creameries paid
for large amount of milk at cream
prices.
Dr. Pasteur's discovery of Pasteuri-
zation is the third important feature