THE FARM.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 16, 2 July 1920, Page 13

THE FARM.

WHY CREAM TESTS YARY. Patrons register kicks oocasionally at the creajneries that the test of their cream is not holding up. Some people, and very good people, think that they should receive exa-ctly the same test each time they deliver. Variations are bound to occur. Often a ehange in a test is looked upon as dishonesty on the part of the buyer. There are several factors that cause variation in / the richness of liand-separator cream — variations over which the buyer has no direct control and for which he is sometimes put at fault. The cbief factors are : — (1) Speed of turning. (2) Levelness of the machine. (3) Position of the cream screw. (4) Rate of inflow. (5) Temperature pf the milk. (6) Cleanliness of the machine. Different persons may do the turning. One individual often speeds along a little faster than the one who did it the previoos skimming. It is a fact that the faster the machine is turned, the less the cream and the thieker it will he. Even the same individual will vary in his turning. The chance for "human error" certainly applies in turning a separator and the test of richness of the cream will vary accordingly.' A machine that is not properly leveled cannot do the con.s Ls tent work of one that is set level and solidly. The howl will not turn evenly ; in some bad cases it will wobble, a thing that will vary not only the richness of the cream, but wear out the machine and cause it to skim inefficiently. Naturally, if the position of the cream screw is changed, the richness of -the cream will vary. The other day a patron informed the writer that his son had tightened up the screw while playing .about the milk-house. Scarcely any cream would come out, and what did appear was very rich. Ordinary running has been kncwn to loosen up the screw. These little things that the patron does not take into eonsideration oftentimes when he sees his test go down a per cenl. or two. Regulation of the infiow is a factor that causes variation in the tset. If the milk is not turned on full, the test will vary beoause the same pressure is not placed upon the bowl and the same volume ' is not paising through. This factor is not a very important one, as most machines are provided with a floa-t that is virtuallv self-regulating. Some investigators have shown . that cold milk is not skimmed as effic-iently as warm milk. Most dairymen are a-greed that the temperature of the milk shculd b,e between 70 and 90 deg. Fahr. to insure best skimming. A clean separator will always do a better and more consistent job of skimming than one that is dirty and begrimed. At this time of the season no machine ought to he left unwashed over night and' eleaned up but once daily. Parts will become gummy. This causes the fat to vary in the cream; and some may escape into the buttermilk. Economy of the simplest' sort teaches that feeding fat valued at ls 6d per pound to calves and pigs is not a paying proposition. It, therefore, behoves a man to get all of the fat out of the milk. To do this requires a clean separator on. the start. From the foregoing it can be seen that several factors should be taken into eonsideration in the del ormination of causes of variation in cream tests. The laws of ©ach State make the Luyers give an honest test. Many times if the patrons would study their separator,;, run them according to the manufacturer's directions, and, above all, keep them clean, the little variations could be accounted for and in most instances overlooked. SOME POTASH FERTILISERS. The supply of artificial potash fertilisers is so limited, and natural sources of this indispensable plant food so abundant, that one is surprised that farmers and gardners do not more extensively make use of the Matter. At this season there is always a quantity of -vege'table material, such as hedge-brushings, potato, bean and pea haulms, weeds, bramble, and scrub from rocky knolls or otherwise waste areas, ditch cleanings, and other rubbish heaped up in a spare corner (literally tlarown away), or it is burned with the sole object of getting rid of it. Now it has often been pointed out that such material, if converted into ash by fire, becomes a most valuable potash f&rtiliser. The argument that a farmer has no time for such work will not do these days. That plea may he justified in a few instances, but in so f ir as my observation. igoes it is the man who "makes" time for such details who is the most successful cultivator.