PRIZE ESSAY.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8842, 19 June 1907, Page 3

PRIZE ESSAY.

On Butter Making»*Tlic following essay won the prize at Mauawatu Sliow : Butter making in New Zealand is very much similar to butter making in other countries in one respect, namely, if the butter maker is going , to turn out a first-class article he ,■ must have first-class material to make it from.' If a milk supplier to butter factory takes any pride iu : ),is calling Hie will see that everything connected witli his dairy is absolutely clean.' The cow shed should ho floored with concrete and have a concrete drain at the back I of the cows as they stand iu the bail, for drainage. The shed should ho situated on a piece of rising ground, if possible, and tho maiu drain should he carried well away from the buildmg. If the shed is closed iu it is necessary that there should he plenty of light and ventilation. If it is"au open shed it should face towards the sun, if possible. The shed and yards should be thoroughly cleaned out after every milking, and should bo w'ashed down with water jt least ones a week. Tho milk cooling shed (a building which ou army farms is conspicuous by its absence) should be situated at least (l)i't. from the cow shed, aud should also ho provided witli a concrete floor. Adjoining tho oooliug shed there should bo a tank -for holding tvator for the purpose of cooling the milk', as it has boeu proved by experiments that milk that lias been cooled as soon as it has been drawn from the cow is far loss liable to contamination than milk that has been placed in the can at a high temperature and left —to take its chance. This system of cooling milk bv passing it over a cooler through whioli water is circulating-is much to bo preferred to aeration, as iu tho latter case tho milk comes more iu contact with the air, aud is therefore more liable to absorb the.germs ■ \ritli which the air abounds. The ■ cooling shed, as well as tho milking ■ shed, "should be all white washed ■ inside, aud a fresh coat of white I wash should bo, put on every mouth. I Tho cows’ udders should be all

Trashed and dried with a coars< doth before milking, and the milker’s bands should bo washoc ! after every cow. If this systen Aero adopted it would do away wild the dirty grit which one too oftei sees in the bottom of milk cans whei the milk is'dolivered at the factory, Ilie milk bucket?, coolers, etc., should ho thoroughly scalded anc cleaned immediately the milking is fiaished, because if the milk is allowed to dry on a deal more labour is required to got them sweet and clc.au. If milking machines are used the cups, tube:?, oct., should he carefully cleaned so as not to allow any coutamiuons matter to collect, or’the quality of the milk is sure to suffer in consequence. It, is also important that tho skim milk should be emptied out of tho cans as soon as possible, and the cans washed and set to air before they arc again required for use. It is also advisable that tho night’s milk should ho stirred occasionally, and on no occasion should any air tight lid be left on a can of milk overnight. CONDITION ON MILK AT FACTORY. As the quality of the butter depends so much on tho condition ct the milk when it is received at the factory it is absolutely necessary that every precaution should be taken, and' any milk that would give su objectionable flavour to the butter 'should be rejected. A competent man should always be in charge of the receiving stages, and rlio should have power to reject any milk that is not up to the desired standard. He should see that the supplier’s cart is clean, both inside aad ouside. When tho can is drawn up lie will see at a glance if there is any foreign substance, or clots of cream, etc., floating on the milk. Then the sense of smell w T iil tell him

if the milk is sweet or sour, or if

tthere is an objectionable smell about f (t. Tiiis smell may .mot be noticed Until the milk has* been disturbed, or until the can has been emptied. As the man -who is taking delivery of the milk is emptying each can he should watch closely that no dirt that may have gathered in the bottom of the milk can is emptied in tho weigh can. As soon as the can is empty, and before it is returned to the snnplier, it; should bo looked into to see that no'foreign substance or yellow matter is adhering to the sides Or bottom. If there is anything objectionable about the milk, or the cans appear to be dirty, the supDlior should always ho informed, or ■if it is a lad case the milk should be returned, as it is impossible to make good butter from inferior milk. This unpleaseaut duty requires a certain amount of tact, and it is the dntv of the butter maker to aoc that anyfault is explained to the supplier, and that it is in his own interest to remedy it as soon as possible. TAKING THE SAMPLE FOE TESTING.

I : The svstem geuerrally adopted in ■ Kew Zealand for .paying for milk ■•. supplied to a butter facotry is to ■'take a small sample from eachweighI iua- of milk and to keep it in a H sample bottle for a week or ten days, ■ a;>d" then to ascertain by means of i; the Babcock test * the amount of I. butter fat contained therein. PayII incur is then made accordingly. This ■‘system has proved to bo much more ■ satisfactory than tho old style of Hpaving for'milk by weight. At one If time it was thought by taking a ■ small quantity of milk from each ■•" weighing and mixing them together ■ for "a number of days and then testI ing them that the correct amount of I butter fat supplied could [be arrived i' IU. Investigations go to show that I this is not always the ease. For cx--8 amide, a supplier may have two weighings of milk, a largo one testing 8,0 per cent of fat and a small one testing 4 per cent. When those two samples of equal quantity arc mixed and then tested the result would -be a test of 3.8 per cent. Now, it is clearly seen that if the supplier gets paid for a 3.8 test over the whole of his milk he is receiving more than he is entitled* to. To overcome this difficulty an apparatus has been invented which will take a small sample from a small weighing and a large one from a largo weihgiug. It consists of a hollow tube placed vertically inside the wcigh-can and reaching Tom the top to the bottom. The lower cud promdes though tho bottom of the can, and is litted with a small t: n. Tho upper end is fitted wiih a rod which closes or opens holes which are fitted at equal distances along tho tube. When the milk is weighed ■ the, operator opens the holes into ■ tlie' tube and the milk rushes in. The holes are thou closed, tho sample bottle placed under the tube, the tip is opened, and the sample is secured. This plan has already been tried, and has proved ,to be very satisfactory. The composite sample cm be kept sweet by adding a small • quantity of bichromate of potash to ■ o ich bottle. In making the tost close attention should bo paid to tho temperature of tho samples and tho acid to be used, also the strength of ■ tho acid and the speed of the tester. ' If these points .wore seen to and the simple taken as mentioned above ; the butter maker should have no trouble with this branch, of his busipess, i? * (To fao continued.)*3 r,