The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-08-18
Or. BtBCOCRS GREAT WORK.
How One Man HAS Changed the Dairy I'm
dustry Of the World.

J.@A' - 80 - We
chemist Of the Wisconsin College Of Agri-
culture. announced through a small bulletin
"a new method for the determination OF fat
in milk adapted to creameries and cheese
factories"
h bulletin was sent TO a few hundreds OF
people. says The World To-day. 1t gave no
hint OF the enormous economic influence Of
the discovery 30 simply set forth. But this
discovery has increased the wealth OF ma
tons by many millions Of dollars. and will
continue 30 to do to the end Of time.
II Is the basis Of transactions around the
globe, running into many thousands OF
dollars a day; it has been adopted by the
butter and cheese makers Of every nation in
the world; without IL the present advanced
position OF this important feature OF modern
industrial life would nave been impossible.
Still more. IL was given TO the world by the
discoverer absolutely without restrictions,
with no return to him In any way save the
appreciation OF those who are directly inter-
ested.
DR.. Babcock, who is not only a man Of
large scientific training but a man OF prac-
teal affairs as we'll, had long seen the in
justice Of buying and selling milk by guam
tity. 1t was unfair to the producer. the con-
sumner, the seller.
Prolonged study led the chemist to the
conclusion that any determination OF the
real value Of milk must rest upon chemical
action and mechanical force. He knew. for
example. hat sulphuric acid would dissolve
all the solids in milk save the fat, the actual
richness Of the milk.
He knew that a rapidly revolving recep-
tacle would tend. by centrifugal force. to
throw forward a liquid onfine in a bottle
in the receptacle. He combined the two and
made the Babcock milk test. He con-
structed a machine to put the test in practi-
cal operation, primitive in it's fashion but
covering all the essential points.
saw this machine not long since. a simple
looking affair which has travelled tens Of
thousands Of miles and has been seen by
tens Of thousands Of people at great expo
sitions in America and abroad. In brief
the scheme of the invention 10 this:
The sample OF milk to be tested Is placed
in a small bottle, perhaps an inch in diam
eter by six inches long. with a slender
neck upon which Ia a graduated scale. To
this ia added an equal volume OF concen-
trated sulphuric acid which is thoroughly
mixed with the milk by shaking.
The bottle is then placed in a centrifugal
machine and whlrIed for three or four
minutes at a rate Of 500 to 1000 revolutions
q minute to separate the fat from the other
constituents. Sufficient hot water lie added
to bring the fat into the neck of the bottle.
and after wnirling again for a moment the
amount Of fat, in per centages, is read of
upon the graduated scale.
The test is accurate and supplies a practi-
cal means for determining the actual value
Of the milk from which the sample was taken.
the basis OF the transactions OF one OF the
great industries of the world. Before it's in-
PRODUCTION milk was sold the world over by
measure. The poor milk and the rich, the
honest and the adulterated, stood on an
equal footing. Now the world over each
stands on its own merits.
DIR. Babcock, in conjunction with Prof.
Russell, also OF the University OF Wisconsin,
next set about an investigation OF tainted
milk and evolved a test which has already
proved OF great Importance; sui working
discovered a new factor in milk which they |
called g~alactase.
IL was a factor whose secret function. it
was believed. was to ripen cheese. Close
study was compelling the opinion that the
old theory that the ripening or curing OF
cheese was due TO bacterial action was
unsound. but that il is caused by the galac-
tase and other engines added to the milk
with the renne extract used.
In addition to this il was shown that the
long accepted theory that cheese must be
ripened at ordinary summer temperature
was unsound. Since cheesemaking began
ripening had been one OF It's most diff
ficult steps. Here were encountered many
obstacles, here greater loss was sustained
than in any other period in the course Of
the cheese from the milk to the market.
The ideal temperature was held to be
about 10 degrees Fahrenheit. but frequently
at this temperature the losses from spoiled
cheeses were heavy. Again practical
science, eager to do a service to man. en-
tered and put theory to flight.
On a hot summer day l went into a room
i'm the cheese curing department OF the
Wisconsin station, where cheese il manu-
featured both for the actual market and
for the demonstration OF methods to
students and dairy farmers. The room
marked change from the outside air. Here
cheeses Of all kinds were ripening at a
temperature which before the discovery
that bacteria have nothing to do with the
ripening Of cheese would have been con-
sidered fatal to good results.
In company with DR.. Babcock | went
on into another and inner room where the
temperature was still lower, about 81 de-
grees Fahrenheit. down nearly TO the freez-
ing point. Here were stored choice Ched-
dar cheeses slowly ripening against all the
canons OF the past and taking on a flavor
and richness as well as a FOOD quality
unknown in cheeses cured in the ordinary
way. More than that, each OF the
cold cured cheeses would yield a higher
market price than cheese made under the
old method.
In some cases the cheese was taken to
the cooling room directly from the press
and the temperature run down to Is degrees
Fahrenheit, hard by the zero mark. 1t was
kept at this temperature for a while and
then the temperature was slowly raised
until it reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit,
and with the very best results.
Not only are the cheeses cured under
the low temperatures free from bitter
ness, once supposed to be inevitable, if the
temperature for any reason fell while the
cheese was being made; not only are they
finer in flavor and texture and with better
keeping qualities, but they are more
economically made, as there is practically
no danger OF spelling and very little shrink
age, this latter a serious handicap in
the average cheese factory under old con-
ditions
The Wisconsin station, under DIR. Bah
rock and Dr.. Russell's direction, made
a series Of five experiments upon "a much
larger scale, covering a period Of two years.
Thirty thousand pounds OF milk were used,
1873 cheeses being manufactured The aim
was to carry on the test upon a fair COM
marcial acale in order to relieve IL OF the I