Imperial Valley press., 1912-09-23
MRS. SHERMAN DISCUSSES
CALIFORNIA DAIRY COWS


varied as ever. The preacher in Ec-
clesiastes laments: There is no new
thing under the sun. Is there any
thing whereof it may be said, See,
this is new?' 1t has been already
of old time, which was before US"
Yes? The COW was there and the
butter was made by shaking it up in
skins, using whole milk. Indeed, but
ter was said to have been discovered
by the Arabs in transporting camers
milk in skins on their travels. Did
you ever ride on camel? 1t is GER
tainly a shaking up experience that
might well make whole milk into but
ter. We have not anything in litera
ture to tell us of this early butter,
as we have Charles Lambs witty de-
scription of the first roast pork.
The development of the dairy COW
and the manufacture of products from
her milk has developed many new
things Notwithstanding the preacher.
We are yet in the infancy of our
understanding of what a COW may do
in the way of profit When I began
dairying, only 26 years ago, COW
was considered a COW. The dairymaa,
that did not know his best cows was
not a dairyman at all. He knew them
by the fact that the one that gave
the yellowest milk was making the
most butter. Why, of course she was.
Did not any idiot know that butter
was yellow and, therefore, the yellow
milk had the most butter in it? GRAD
ually a dim idea came glimm ering in
to the mind that the dairyman was
not always certain as to the profits
of his herd, that in many cases as
the farm went back in its growth
poverty came, something was wrong.
1t is wonderful truth that to the
seekers for light light is given. Twen-
ty-two years ago, last July, DR.. Bah
cock perfected the test that has made
dairying an exact business. The dairy
man who today does not know what
his cattle are doing is simply behind
the times. The test as given out by
DR.. Babcock was perfect in every way,
the mechanical means of driving the
centrifuge has been improved to Sc
cure steadiness. Did you ever think
of the Importance of this test in
building up the great creamery bus1-
ness? The separator was a wonderful
invention, but it alone would not have
built up the creamery. The cheapness
of the Babcock test and the ease with
which it can be taught even to child
rem, makes it valuable.
Professor Kent of the Oregon ag-
ricultural college suggests that in ru
raj schools the teachers should use
the Babcock test to instruct in per-
centage. He remarks, "A farmer sees
more sense in study that has evi-
dent bearing on farming, and il will
often, too. stir up rivalry among farm
ers. One will be unwilling that his
favorite COW should be outdone by a
neighbor's. Thus, the teaching of the
Babcock test and its use in the arith-
metic class may not only interest the
boys and keep them in sch ool longer
but may benefit the whole community
by raising the dairy standard" Now
when we consider all that DR.. Babcock
has done for us it seems very little to
give him simply a medal 1t seems
that a man who makes an invention
of great importance to the people
should be rewarded by the people.
4
anything while in the public employ
ment gives ii to the public without
further thought of reward than his
small salary. We often think the pro-
fessions are overcrowded and say the
boys should turn to the more practi-
cal things of life. In talking to young
men l find ii is the high ideals Of
the professions that attract them rath
er than the desire for clean hands ana
white collars. Thank God it is 50!
A man like Burbank is an appeal to
the best in the youth of the land.
The day 1 was leaving the beach
while waiting for the electric car, 1
listened to two women talking. One
said to her fried, 1--WE are going home
next week. shall be glad, for at the
seashore the butter is always fishy."
Now, in hot weather fshy butter Is
not confined to the seashore, but is
rather more general than it should be
all over the country. The fishy flavor
is developed by keeping the cream
too long at a high temperature. The
butter maker does his best with the
cream that is overripe. The cream
haulers often take the cream around
in open wagons without even a wet
canvas over it. The dairymen uSu-
ally try to cool the cream somewhat
before shipping it away. The state
dairy inspector is after all these mat
valiant Sam Watson is up in the north
at present, and if not misrepresented ed
by the press, is using the axe to
destroy all rusted cans in the dairies.
The need of cleanliness has been
talked over so often that today it is
only in the foreign dairies, among men
who do not understand the language,
that the dirt is still found. The fines
that many of these men have had to
pay have been burdensome; I often
think, too, little unjust. They were
trained in a different school and we
should be patient with them. The
bacterial count will always be a sub
ject of suspicion until some genius
finds a simple way of doing it, some
thing like the Babcock test. The old
way of making chemical test with
ethera for the butter fat was fully as
mysterious a process to the average
person as the bacterial counts today.
The formation of a new dairy asso-
citation now pending, is going to do
much for the state. The first meeting
was called for September 90 at the
horse pavilion at the fair grounds in
Sacramento. We have been without
protection in the dairy industry be-
cause of our own carelessness in allow
ing the former dairy association to
lapse in its meetings
The new butter bill that will COR
rect some of the present errors has
been offered. The name "adulterated
butter" has been stretched in mean
ing to cover pure butter containing an
excess of moisture. The seller of but
ter containing more than 16 per cent
of water is fined heavily. Now, the
word knowingly" has been inserted.
This seems just, for a man should have
chance to prove that he was not
wilfull fraud. The great defect in
all the control of food and of health
authority work has been in the atti-
tude that the officers and courts have