This method is fallacious, because there would be no account of the fat left in the skim milk and buttermilk, nor would it be known what amount of fat would be contained in the butter, inasmuch as 100 pounds of butter only contains some 80 odd pounds of fat.

The question, "How much does a hundred pounds of milk bring?" is rather impertinent and should be substituted by "How many dollars does the cow earn?", which can only be determined by ascertaining her yearly fat production.

Relation of Food to Fat in the Milk.

Some farmers have an idea that milk can be made much richer by certain methods of feeding, and I would suggest that if it were possible to do that, one might purchase one of those Holstein COWS that give about 80 pounds of thin milk daily and apply that method of feeding for several years; perhaps by that time the cow would give 8.0 per cent milk, which would make her monthly fat production nearly 200 pounds. That would solve the question of cheap production, but the cow refuses to make that change, as the character of the food really has but little bearing on the per cent of fat in the milk. If the cow that had been receiving a perfect ration were fed straw only, her milk would probably be as rich as before, but she would give a very small quantity and it would figure out but very little fat. The quality of the milk is influenced by the individuality of the cows, some naturally giving rich milk, while others give comparatively poor milk. It is also influenced by the stage of lactation. When the flow of milk shrinks rapidly, the watery portion thereof shrinks quickest, leaving a higher per cent of solids. That explains why cows in the stripper stage give richer milk than when fresh.

While we cannot, as a rule, feed fat into milk, I do not wish to infer that it does not pay to feed liberally. For instance, if a true dairy cow (a big eater that never grows fat) has been indifferently fed, it would be possible to increase her fat production by more liberal feeding, and, perhaps, by increasing the grain ration. Such a change should result in a greater milk

If a dairyman desires to make a handsome profit, he must keep an account of the individual production of each cow, not by guessing at it, but by weighing and testing. Some Irishman said: "Many a man would enjoy a high standing amongst his fellowmen if it wasn't for getting acquainted with him"; likewise some cows in nearly every herd enjoy a high standing until their keeper gets acquainted with them. The average herd is composed of some fairly good cows and some poor ones, and they are improperly housed and fed. There are thousands of herds whose average yearly earnings do not exceed $35.00 per cow. With such a herd, it is easily possible, by selling from one-fourth to one-third of the poorest end of it and handling and feeding the remainder better, to increase the average production in one year from $10.00 to $20.00.

Mr. H. Whittemore, of Brandon, writes me that the first year he tested and became acquainted with his cows, the yearly receipts averaged $34.00 per COW. He sold the poorest ones and the next year the receipts were $51.00 per COW. He made two cows do what three had been doing. Mr. M. Michels, a creamery man in Fond du Lac county, has been doing some good missionary work with some of his. patrons along the same line. Under his direction the earnings per cow in one herd were raised from $19.00 to $63.00. In another herd the earnings were increased (with butter 1.2 cents lower) from $40.00 to $49.00, simply by feeding less corn and substituting gluten feed. Mr. A. J. Glover, who has worked several years among dairies in Illinois, reports the following results with one herd:

Average Yearly Record for Three Years. Year's Work.

First Second

Third

Lbs. Milk. Lbs. Butter.

When milking a cow, we get very thin milk in the start, the first few ounces perhaps testing less than two per cent. As we proceed, the milk grows richer and the last few ounces of strippings are liable to test 10 per cent or more. For the good of the cow, as well as for the sake of obtaining more butter fat, the udder should be well emptied at each milking.

DISCUSSION.

A Member-Where did this man get his good cows to replace the poor ones?

Mr. Aderhold In this herd mentioned by Glover some cows were purchased after the poor ones had been sold, and they proved to be fairly good cows, better than the ones that they had sold.

Question-Have you any process of testing the acid that you test with?

Mr. Aderhold-Yes, it can be tested with a sort of lactometer, but it is not necessary to have that.

Mr. Foster-You can buy acid that is all right.

Mr. Convey Is it fair to sell the cream on the same basis as butter fat, and the skim milk?

- Where

Mr. Adernoid they take both milk and cream at a creamery, they should ne a difference. A man furnishes, for us.ance, 400 pounds of cream, testing 25 per cent, that will figure out 100 pounds of fat, all that fat goes into the churn. Another man brings 2,500 pounds of milk, testing four per cent, that figures out 100 pounds of fat also, but it does not all go into the churn, there is a loss in the skim milk. The separator doesn't take quite all the fat out. The cream patron has sustained that loss at home. The other fellow takes back that amount in his skim milk, and it amounts to from two to three per cent of the total fat there is in it. For instance, for every 100 pounds of fat the milk patron brings he takes back from two to three pounds in the skim milk. So for each 100 pounds of fat the cream patron delivers, they add from two to three pounds; it makes up for the amount of fat that the other fellow takes home in the skim milk.

Mr. Scribner-I think it is possible to do your own testing. You can tell

by the looks of your acid whether it is too strong or too weak; if it is very dark, it is too strong, you should use less of it. If it is too light a color, you should use a little more. A bright chocolate color is about right.

Mr. Aderhold When you get through testing, the color of the fat should be yellow, it should be neither white nor black. Now, the temperature of the acid and the milk as you pour them together, is just as important as the strength of the acid, because the warmer they are, the stronger the acid action will be. You may have the acid just exactly the right strength, but if both the acid and the milk have been standing in a warm room, there will be too much acid action and it will be black. On the other hand, if the room is cold, there will not be acid action enough. The right temperature is somewhere from 60 to 70 degrees.

Question-How long should the acid be poured into the cream before it is tested?

Mr. Aderhold-It should be mixed at once and tested. I think it is possible to let it stand after mixing and then warm it up.

A Member-In our factory, they have a habit of leaving it 12 to 24 hours.

Mr. Aderhold-Then they will have to warm it up again,

Mr. Imrie-That won't hurt it. You can let it stand as long as you have a mind to. It is good practice with some factories to do that after you have added your acid, it won't hurt it to let it stand. The fact of the matter is the tests are too hot in most factories. At what temperature should the test be read?

Mr. Aderhold-I should say about 120.

A Member-Between 120 and 140. The difference will not be so great as to interfere with the reading.

Mr. Aderhold-You should have the bottle so you can hold the bulb in your hand while reading it without being too hot. If the temperature of the water that you add to the bottle is anywhere from 120 to 140 it is all right.

Mr. Convey - In regard to the amount of butter fat per cow for the quantity of milk produced, you said

that the cow producing the largest amount of butter fat would be the most profitable cow to have. Now, tests would not seem to indicate that

that is the case. I scarcely know of any test where the food is taken into consideration where the low-testing cow will at all compare with the cow that would make a fair and high test. For instance, at the World's Fair, Mr. Scribner's cow was not the cow that produced the largest amount of butter fat. Another cow produced one-third more of a pound of butter fat than his cow did, but his cow produced butter fat at a cost for the 120 days of about $10.00 less, so that the tests would all seem to indicate that the low-producing cow is not an economical producer of butter fat.

Mr. Aderhold If you owned that other cow that made just a little bit more fat than Scribner's cow did, you Iwould not sell her because she used a little more feed.

A Member-Farmers, very frequently, in testing milk, have the temperature of the room below what it should be and it becomes so expanded in the bottle neck that the reading is not, perfect. Explain what they should do in that case.

Mr. Aderhold Suppose you have finished your last whirling and have a correct test in there. Now, if you allow that bottle to cool, the contents of the bulb will contract and the column will settle, and of course it will leave a string of fat along where it has been, so you should keep that warm until you read it. If it is already cool, you should warm it up again.

Mr. Convey-I do not consider Mr. Aderhold has answered the question

at all. If I have two cows and one will produce one-third of a pound more butter fat for 10 cents and the other will produce one-third of a pound of fat at 92 cents, it is of some importance; the amount of feed the cow gets should be taken into consideration.

Mr. Aderhold-I want a big production to start with. When we have that, we can consider other matters.

A Member-Have you any way of telling us how to mix our milk on the farm so that we can stand by it when the creamery man kicks and says we took the test too high?

Mr. Aderhold-If you will take care of the milk according to the old established rules, not let it become sour, or let the cream dry in any way, they can get a perfectly accurate sample at the creamery which may test one-tenth lower at the factory than at the home.

Question-Would you prefer testing your milk as soon after milking as possible?

Mr. Aderhold-I do not think that makes any difference, if you do not let the cream get dry cr lumpy.

A Member-What effect will it have on the reading of the test if the acid is too strong?

Mr. Aderhold-If it burns the fat, you would have to throw it out entirely.

Mr. Moore-Farmers in testing on the farm, frequently use a hand machine, while the creamery man uses the steam machine, and there will be a difference of two-tenths.

Supt. McKerrow-Then the farmer's test would be lower than the creamery man's, but it is generally the other

way.

Mr. Baer.

Wisconsin takes a high rank among the foremost dairy states of the union. She is conspicuous for the production of both butter and cheese. She contains the greatest number of creameries and cheese factories combined of any state in the union, has the largest number of cheese factories, ranks second in the number of creameries and second in the quantity of cheese produced. Wisconsin today produces more than one-fourth of all the cheese made in the United States. Our nearly 1800 cheese factories made over 100,000,000 pounds of cheese last year, of which about 70,000,000 was American Cheddar and 30,000,000 of the Swiss, brick, Limburger and other varieties.

The total butter production of our nearly 1200 creameries, together with the farm dairy butter, has been estimated to be 125,000,000 pounds for the season of 1904. Including the value of the by-products returned to the farms, the total revenue from the

dairy industry of the state must be estimated at not less than $55,000,000 annually.

A very large proportion of our actory make of butter and cheese is not of a true clean flavor and it is safe to assert that over 75 per cent of all the imperfections in our dairy products are caused by bacterial ferments, the source of which is traceable directly to carelessness and unclean practices in the stabling, handling and milking of the cows and in using unclean milking utensils.

A large proportion of the faulty milk is mixed with the better milk at the factory and thereby all of it is contaminated, making it impossible to turn out a perfect product. It is clear that the patron who delivers clean milk needs protection against his neighbors whose dirty milk goes into the same cream or cheese vat, and the consuming public needs protection against contaminated dairy products.

The Financial Side of the Question.

The patrons of the factories of this state have a direct financial interest in supplying only good, pure milk, free from taints or bad flavors. The greatest amount of care and skill with which the factory operator may do his work will not enable him to make a superior quality of butter or cheese, or to secure the largest yield of it from milk which is not in good condition. Whenever a patron delivers tainted or sour milk to the factory, it means a direct loss of dollars and cents to him and his neighbors associated with him, and is an imposition upon the consuming public. If a factory of 10,000 pounds of milk per day accepts three or four cans of sour, tainted or gassy milk, at the very lowest estimate it will take one pound more milk to make a pound of cheese than if all the milk had been sweet, clean and well flavored. Suppose cheese to be worth 10 cents per pound, the loss to the patrons in this case would be $8.00. In 30 days the loss