PRODUCTION OF PURE MILK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3201, 21 July 1915, Page 19

PRODUCTION OF PURE MILK.

The enterprising dairy-farmer is deeply interested in the production of good milk and cream. The success, of bis business | depends more or less upon the quality of hia products. A brisk and permanent demand can seldom be obtained for goods which are of inferior quality, lienee tno importance of giving the best of attention to the production, in a clean and sanitary manner, of materials which are recognised for their quality. To produce good dairy products clean food should always be provided for the cows. Any food which is in a process of decomposition or fermentation, or possesses foul or objectionable odours, will, if it is fed within two hours before milking, taint tho milk. Such foods, if fed at all, should bo fed immediately after milikng. 'ibis ;a true of silage, turnips, etc. \vhcn these goods arc in a process of fermentation gases are taken into the lungs of the cow, and there paea into corpuscles of the blood, which goes to manufacture the milk in the udder, '’if milking follows immediately after the eating of such food by the cow, the milk is sure to acquire the tainted odours from such food. A Iso, these foods continue tho fermentation process in_ tho digest!va organa of the cow, and the odours there are also absorbed into tho blood circulation, and , there taint tho milk produced. —Clean Water Important. r - Tho importance of clean water is also a i factor in producin gelean milk (says J. 15, ; H. in Farm, Stock, and Home). A cow producing l£gal of milk per day will require at least sgal of water. Hence we can readily understand that when cows are compelled to drink the water of sloughs, muddy •ponds, or sluggish streams and ditches, ifl , which there is decaying matter, j there is a constant menace to their health, | and unless the cows are in good health they ! cannot give first-class milk. Moreover, tin i mud, often full of germs, collects on the legs, hanks, and udders, and subsequently i may find its way into the milk paii. | Free access to salt will also have an inf fluential bearing upon the health of the cows, and consequently upon the production of good milk. Cows which receive all the salt that they desire will keep in belter health, will give more milk, and the cream from this milk will have a better flavour. —Clean Cowshed.— Cleanliness in the cowshed is desirable at all times. It should be clean and free from cobwebs -and dost. The gutters should bo 1 kept clean eo as to furnish reasonably pure ' air, and ventilation should be provided for the removal of all dampness and odours. Tire udders, teats, and flanks of the cow should be brushed before milking. There is little chance of marketing pure, wellflavoured milk and cream where dirt and foulness have every opportunity of falling into the milk poail during milking. Only j bright, clean tin pails should bo need to milk in. Galvanised pails are difficult to keep clean, and bad flavours have been j traced to their use. —Caro of Separator.— Tho separator has an important bearing on tho quality of tho cream produced. { Trembling or Staking of the separator dut>

Ing skimming will cause a loss of butter-fat in the skim milk. The speed of the separator must be maintained according to the directions sent w it ii it. A low speed means loss of fat in the skim-milk. The flow of

milk into the separator should bo uniform. The temperature of the milk be about 90dcg. A low temperature is liable to cause lose of fat in the skim-milk. The faster the milk passes through the separator the less complete is the separation, and a thinner cleam is given. All parts of the separator which come in contace with the milk or cream should be washed in lukewarm water, to which has been added a small quantity of sal soda, or other cleaning powder, and then thoroughly scalded with boiling water each time the separator is used. The separator should never be placed in a cowshed, as it is almost impossible to prevent the introduction of flavours into the milk and cream. The floor on which the machine stands should be cement, and it should bo kept strictly clean. We must bear in mind, then, that cream of a high quality can only be produced from clean milk. Often the dairymen do not.give this factor the consideration they should. The quality of the butter depends upon the quality of the cream from which it is made. The price or value of the butter depends upon its quality; hence, the price the producer receives for his cream depends largely upon the quality of the cream he produces.