Quality of Butter as Determined by its Composition.

In making their awards at English dairy-shows it is now the custom among judges to test butter for moisture. They require the samples to be dry, and as free from foreign solid matter as possible. Various authorities, practical and scientific, have suggested limits showing that good butter should not contain more than from 12 to 20 per cent, of moisture, from 0.2 to 0.5 per cent, of curdy matter, and from 2.5 to 4.5 of salt—the actual butter-fat not being less than from 75 to 83 per cent.

Let us see from the actual experience of a large number of analyses what the actual composition of butter is.

There were only two samples in which the butter-fat reached 90 per cent., several samples containing but little moisture showing a high percentage of salt. Of 113 samples only thirty-five contained less than 12 per cent, other than butter-fat.

The percentage of curd varied between 0.11 and 5.32

The percentage of salt varied between 0.40 and 15.00

The largest quantity of water in any sample was 19.12.

Among chemists, Hassall, Fleischman, and Wanklyn have stated that in salt butters the amount of moisture should not exceed 12 per cent., although a large margin is given for fresh butters, for which some authorities permit from 18 to 20 per cent, of water. In the competition for the diplomas of the British Dairy-farmers' Association, the practical portion of which was conducted at my dairy in May, 1888, the competitors, all skilled hands, made first-rate butter I which was composed as follows :— page 88

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Water	15.21	12.47	12.93	12.83	15.53	12.85
Pure fat	83.75	86.41	86.29	86 .57	83.77	85.92
Casein	.44	.80	.58	.57	.66	.57
Ash (salt)	.60	.32	.20	.03	.04	.66

In the previous years the moistures in the butters made by other competitors varied between 12.8 and 14.7; but it must be remembered that the samples in each year were made by bribing, and were almost devoid of salt.

These were all first-prize butters, and made from fine Dutch, Jersey, and Shorthorn cattle. A tenth sample made from Hereford cattle, which was also a prize sample, contained 14.69 per cent, of water.

These figures suggest what is believed to be the case—that sweet ream butter contains less water than butter made from sour cream. I would suggest, as a subject worthy of thorough investigation, that, should facilities be afforded for practical tests in New Zealand, an attempt be made to ascertain how the dairyman may be able to insure his obtaining the maximum of butter from his milk. I have repeatedly found in churning both milk and cream that, although ripe (or sour) cream or milk will yield a much larger quantity of ¡fetter than sweet or partially-ripe cream or milk, yet that if sweet and ripe cream are mixed together, and churned immediately, there is still a loss, while in churning two lots of cream of the same degree of ripeness the recovery of butter in the churn varies sometimes as much as 5 per cent. In churning sweet cream Dr. Babcock recovered 80 per cent, of the butter the cream contained; but in churning sour cream, although he recovered 91½ per cent., his three churnings varied between 88? and 96 per cent. It is evident that, if by one process the buttermaker only obtains 79 per cent., while by other he can obtain 90 per cent., every attention should be given to that process which gives him an extra 17 per cent, of latter.

Colonial makers cannot be too careful in removing moisture from their butter and sending it in as dry a form as possible to the English market, for in this condition it will return a higher price, retaining it freshness, and being of higher quality. At some future time it is possible that a standard may be adopted below which the fat in latter must not fall, just as is the case at this moment with regard to milk. Milk-standards, however, especially in England, are proverbially low, and it is reserved for America to raise them, as Masmchusetts has done, to 13 per cent., below which the total solids must not fall.

Fortunately or unfortunately for cheesemakers, it is not so easy to formulate a standard of quality by analysis, but that full-milk cheese should contain a certain percentage of fat there can be no doubt. If we take water as a basis we find that it is of no value whatever, even when the age of the cheese is given, whereas, if fat is taken, it may happen that one cheese containing less fat than mother may be more valuable to the consumer, not only because it is better made, but because it is younger and mellower, and sometime because, containing more moisture, it is more agreeable to the Palate

A good Cheddar contains, according to age,— page 90

—	Water.	Fat.	Casein.	Ash.	Sugar.	Salt.
From	32.50	33	25	3.70	...	...
To	37	40	30	4.40	...	...
Bell	35.60	31.57	28.16	4.22	...	...
Johnson	36.04	30.40	28.98	4.58	...	...
Voelcker (cheese six months old)	30.32	35.53	28.18	4.31	1.06	1.35

Although the Americans are of opinion that the numerous analyses which they have obtained will enable them to formulate a standard for cheese, I believe that such a standard will not be appreciated by the public, and will not be of much assistance to that maker whose goods pass through the hands of expert salesmen, in is true that, if a full-milk cheese were entitled to a State brand, makers would be induced to make richer cheese, which might enable them to obtain higher prices; but it must not be supposed that this richness would be of much avail without a corresponding improvement in the manufacture.

I may add a remark to the effect that in an English cheese factory the whey has shown a return of £1 per cent, per annum when fed to pigs.