A CASEIN TEST

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6490, 9 April 1908, Page 3

A CASEIN TEST

IS IT NECESSARY ? Tlioro has jur.t boon i.ssnetl from the WUtoomun IJxiiemmnt Station a bulletin announcing the discovery ol a nioiiod of determining the c.Lseia percentage in milk, by means oi which it is claimca the true value of milk lor ohecec-raakinß TiurrxAses mav be ascertained. In stating TCo tho inventor, Mr E. B- iiarl, u jnoinber of the- station stall, makes till* adiniißsion: “However, it ib pretty well established that herd milks rich m hh a.ro alto richer in casein, and further that cheoso made from the richer milk results in a product of finer quality, fo that in tho absence of a simpler caecm test there is consequently no question but that the most equitable basis for tho valuation of milk ior choose production has been on its fat content.” This statement, lo our mind, entirely discounts the value of the rather intricate casein tost. It is generally regarded that tho casein percentage in a fairly constant ratio with tho increase in buLtcr-fat till tho latter has reached tho four per con. •mark or a little over; and that beyond this tho casein docs not increase at the same rate as tho fat. How many cows, 'however, yield much over four per eent£ Mr Kart suggests that by the iwe of hie test it would be possible to breed rows giving a milk high in casein content as well as in butlor-fat. This if a pretty proposition. It is a disheartening enough process persuading the farmer to breed according to the annual yield ol butter-fat without complicating tho process. Tho casein test is an interesting theory, but it will be many a year before it extends beyond tho walls of the laboratory.