TREATMENT OF CREAM

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 7, Issue 431, 3 December 1918, Page 1

TREATMENT OF CREAM

By J. J. Bicketta, Dairy Supervisor.

The quality of batter depends on the clan of cream from which it is made. No farmer ever considers his oream inferior to that of his neighbour, and very often the remark is made, " I got only 35 per cent, and my neighbour got 45 or 50 per cent, butter.'' This difference may usually be traced to the running of the home separator. In a new separator the cream screw is adjusted so that if the regulated revolutions per minute are maintained a oream containing between 45 and 50 percent, of butter will be obtained. Not once, but scons of times, I hate witnessed a separator in action, and on enquiry been told that the handle, was, making 45 revolutions per minute yet on timing them with a watch have found that the number was only forty, and sometimes it has been as low as thirty-seven. The operator of a separator shonld always have a watch hanging in front of him, so as to be able to check the speed of the separator. Some machines are geared to forty-five and some sixty revolutions per minute, and, if satisfactory results are to follow, the correct speed should always be maintained. Too often the farmer says "I received 45 per cent, last week and only 38 per cent, this week," and, without trying to find out the reason, blames the factory manager. If the separator is geared to forty-five revolutions per minute, and only forty are turned, it means that the driving wheel makes five hundred less revolutions of the bowl. The farmer, inconsequence, gets a much larger yield of cream, but of a poorer quality in fat. The float in the separator regu lates the supply of milk from the receiving vat. If thd stem on the float has been broken off and resoldered the additional weight may be sufficient to sink the float down in the top cover and allow a larger supply of milk into the machine than it can deal with, so that a proportion is going through the separator and leaving it only partly skimmed. At a dairy farm recently 1 looked into the skim-milk tank, and noticed that the contents had a thick coating of cream on it from the morning's separating. Another cause of the variation in the results is that occasionally the cream screw may work loose and almost fall out. Within the last few months I met with a case of this kind, but it is not common. Where a large quantity of milk is dealt with by means of a hand separator, the oream at first is of a good consistency, but as the operator tires the turning becames slower, and though the return of oream increases in volume, there is a corresponding falling off in quality. The worth of cows on a dairy farm are too often gauged by the number of cans of creamnot by the quantity of butter which the oream will produce. Another very common complaint of the farmer is the classification of his oream as second grade. There are many factors which affect the quality of cream, such as insanitary cow sheds, badly ventilated dairies, keeping small quantities of cream too long, water supply, fodder, etc Water for cows should, if possible be provided from a trough supplied by a windmill and ball tap. This insures the trough always being full. Water coming from black puggy soil often carries an organism which causes ropy milk and cream. Such places should be fenced off, so as to prevent the access of dairy cows. A cowshed should have fairly high walls-at least eight feet—and it should be seen to that there is plenty of light and ventilation. The floor should be impervious to moisture, and have a fall from the front to the back of the cow, and a brick or concrete drain. The skins of sheep, rabbits, foxes, or any other animals, should not be taken into a cowshed to dry. They attract flies, and exude a most offensive odour, which quickly taints milk and cream. The,dairy should not be used as a storeroom—it should contain nothing but the separator and oream. The building should be of a fair height, large enough for the convenient handling of the milk, aud plenty of light and ventilation, is, of course, essential Fodder for cows should be of the best quality. Too often is it said, " This chaff is not good enough for the horses; give it to the cows." The quality of the oream depends on the quality of the feed given to the cows Keeping cream too long is one of the many oversights found on small holdings where from one to three cows are milked. A can is placed under the separator on Monday morning;, and it remains there perhaps until Friday, or until it is full. The oream from each separuing goes into the one can—the hot cream twice a day running in on top of the cold eream, and sometimes it is the practice not to wash the separator at night. When a can of such sort of cream is delivered at the factory it is fermenting, and '' boiling " over the top of the can, and then is heard the cry, "I got only second quality to-day." The separator should be washed as soon after use as possible, and the various parts scalded by being put into a trough or tub and a cau of boiling water poured over them. They should then be placed in the sun to dry.

A separate vessel should be used to catch the yield of each separation, and the morning's cream should not be added to the general can until evening, and the evening's cream until the following morning. I have for years noted that when this method of handling cream is followed there is usually no complaint about second quality. The stirring of the oream twice a day at least is a good preventive against the growth of bacteria, and makes the cream of a more uniform quality. Recently I made enquiries regarding the quality of butter produced on a farm where only a few cows were milked, and where the precautions suggested above were observed, and the cream churned twice a week. I was told that the butter was considered the best made in the district, and was much sought after by residents. The proves the advisability of making butter while the cream is reasonably fresh, or if the cream be sold to a factory the desirableness of sending it as frequently as possible. The pasturing of dairy cows on rape or any rank green stuff immediately prior to milking also has a marked detrimental effect on the quality of cream. While the food is undergoing the process of digestion some of its gases passes into the blood, and as the milk is secreted from the blood some of them are given off with the milk. If the cows are pastured on the fodder immediately after milking and taken off several hours before milking, the gases will have in the meantime been consumed by the digestive system. Unclean cans also have a detrimental effect on the quality of cream stored in them, and those in a rusty condition should not be used. Rust slightly " honeycombs " the iron, and the crevices thus formed make good breeding places for different kinds of bacteria. If cream be kept for a few hears in a rusty can with the lid on, it will give off a strong unsavoury smell, and this is often the cause of second quality cream. Sometimes when a can is patched the hole is not first soldered, and consequently there are small cavities, which cannot be thoroughly cleansed, with the result that cream put into the can is contaminated. When cans are returned from the factory they should always be washed, steamed, or put in boiling water before being again used, and it should not be overlooked that the outside of the cans requires as much attention as the inside, for the same hands handle both cans and cream. Oream is often carted to the roadside, and left standing there perhaps hours for the cream-cart to come along. When treated thus on a hot summer day, and afforded no protection from the sun, is it any wonder that it is marked second quality? A farmer knows that if he kills a sheep at night he must be up in the morning and bring the carcass in before the warm sun gets on it, but he does not think of the sensitiveness of cream to the heat. It would not take long to provide a small shed for the cream to stand in while it remains at the roadside waiting for the carrier. Many a can of good cream has been ruined by permitting it to stand in the sun, and farmers have admitted to me that the only time they have second quality cream was when they neglected it thus. From the observations made, it is plain that the farmer possesses the power to regulate his cream returns and to improve the quality of his cream. If he would but exorcise this power he would have less abuse for the butter-factory manager for no butter-maker can manufacture first-class butter out of second quality cream. The aim of the Dairy Supervision Act is to improve the quality of our dairy produce If, in order to comply with the provisions of the Act, the farmer has to build better sheds and dairies, he should not forget that these tasks will bring him larger profits, and will also increase the value of his holding.— "Journal of Agriculture of Victoria.'

The "NZ. Dairyman" says: Owing to the abnormal season - the prolonged continuation of cold, wet weather—it is likely that our output of both butter and cheese will show a marked tailing off in quantity. Even up to the time of writing there has been no summer weather, but instead we have a long continuation of cold, biting winds, with a superabundance of rain. To give an idea of the terrible severity of the weather we may state that hide buyers of Taranaki alone have purchased over five thousand hides of cows that have died as the result of the severe winter. Both the quantity and quality of the milk yield have been seriously affected-the test as well as the quantity have both been seriously reduced, which means that the receipts of the dairy men will be very materially affected. Surely this is another reason why there should be unnecessary official irritation of the milk producers. If you in bed, lie sick and sad, Because you've influenza bad Or if a wheezy, chesty cold Upon your lunga h.is taken hold. To keep that cold from netting worse, You'll need but little from your purse: Relief with promptness you'll assure, By taking Woods' Great Peppermint Cure.