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.

Comparative Analyses of Condensed Milk.

It will be found valuable to manufacturers of condensed milk if some details are given showing the actual composition of concerned milk as it has been found by analyses in different countries.

Whitout addition of cane-sugar.

With addition of cane-sugar.

There is no doubt that there are brands in the market which are made from partially-skimmed milk; and it is difficult to suggest, now that prices are so low, how a high standard can be properly maintained, except in a country where milk is cheap, and where facilities are offered for an extension of the condensed-milk industry.

Rennet

The system of manufacture and management of rennet will be throughly understood by the majority of expert chesse-makers; but there two points of importance which may not be so well known, but which deserve the closest attention and study. At the London Exhibition of 1886 prizes were offered for the best samples of rennet, and there were six competitors. The awards were made by the Society's chemist after careful analysis and experiment. One sample was found to be spiced, and another to be turbid and swarming with ferment-growth other than rennet—a by no means uncommon occurrence in home-made samples. I believe it is not yet known positively what the basis of rennet-action actually is, although the page 92 late Professor Arnold stated in a most definite manner that rennet contains a living germ, which grows and multiplies, and which constitutes its active agency. He claimed to have proved this by filtration, after which the rennet became inert, and by counting the number and size of the germs, which corresponded with the strength of the liquid. This assertion has been combated, and cannot be accepted as a true solution of the question. The samples referred to above were of the following strength :—

• No. 1. Full wood's Liquid : one part by volume coagulates 8,000 parts of milk.
• No. 2. Blumenthal Powder: one part by weight coagulates 73,780; parts of milk.
• No. 3. Hansen's Tablets: one part by weight coagulates 173,640 parts of milk.
• No. 4. Hansen's Extract: one part by volume coagulates 9,400 parts of milk.
• No. 5. Hall's Liquid : one part by volume coagulates 1,000 parts of milk.
• No. 6. Van Hassclt's Dutch Liquid: one part by volume coagulates 12,500 parts of milk.

No. 5 was a home-made rennet of which 16oz. were required to coagulate 100 gallons of milk, while only 1oz. 2dr. were required of No. 6. It was then pointed out by the judge that, as cheese-makers do not measure with extreme accuracy, they might give 2dr. more or less, in which case the result would be that the curd would come in thirty-two minutes in the one instance, or in forty-eight minutes in the other, in place of forty minutes, at which all the above samples were estimated to coagulate milk at 85° Fahr. This is suggestive of the fact that the stronger the rennet the greater care should be exercised in its use, and the greater the liability to err. For this reason water is generally added with extreme care, to minimise the liability to err in point of time of coagulation. The judge remarked that in his experiments he found weak extracts of rennet were more difficult to keep than strong extracts. At the same time, he believes that the strong extracts fail in use not because they are strong, but because cheese-makers are not sufficiently accurate and careful in their use, and next because manufacturers do not definitely state their power upon milk at a given temperature. I can thoroughly indorse these remarks, having some hundreds of records of the use of rennet of different makes, the majority of which do not correspond in the results they show with the very loose statements of their power which are printed by the makers. Blum en that's powder, which I have repeatedly used and found to be of high value, was shown by the chemist to weigh 0.555 gramme, or about 8½ grains per carefully measured spoonful, the spoon being furnished with the box of rennet A spoonful is said by the makers to be sufficient to coagulate 100lb of milk at 95° Fahr., but it actually coagulates 961b. This was a good result; and, as the powder is dissolved in water, one spoonful page 93 per 10oz., it can be regulated with the greatest nicety. The same cannot be said of the tablets, which are now known wherever cheese-making is conducted; for, from their great strength and defined form, they cannot be so well controlled, and in fact they coagulated in the competition considerably more milk than they were stated to do. They are very convenient in the hands of a thoroughly-competent man, who is practised in their use; although, when dissolved, the solution from the large tablets would be far stronger than that obtained by the use of the powder, unless they were broken up and weighed upon a chemical balance with the greatest accuracy. The cost of the powder and of the tablets are in practice found to be very similar. The powder was selected for the Society's prize.

When a calculation is made to test the strength of a particular rennet, more especially on the Continent, where the litre is used, a standard of 1 in 10,000 is adopted : that is, one part of rennet is sufficiently powerful to coagulate 10,000 parts of milk at 95° in forty minutes, the French system of weights and measures enabling the experimenter to adopt this method with little trouble. Upon the basis of these figures, my friend Dr. Jacopo Rava, of the Scale Stazione Experimentale at Lodi, in Italy, has constructed an algebraical formula, which gives the golden number of 40,000 as a key to ascertain the strength of a rennet, the quantity of milk which can be coagulated, the quantity of rennet which must be used, and the time it will be employed under certain given conditions. These formulæ I have carefully worked out and amplified, and I believe they will be found to be of considerable service in the cheese-making industry. First, in order to find the strength of a given sample of rennet, the number of litres of milk to be used (a gallon is about 4½ litres) must be multiplied by 40,000, and the result divided by the number of centimètres of rennet and the minutes occupied in coagulation. Thus, supposing 48 gallons (216 litres) of milk is coagulated in sixty minutes by the use of 18 cubic centimètres of rennet, we can ascertain the strength of this rennet as follows :—

(40,000 x 216) ÷ (18 x 60) = 8,000.

In order to ascertain how much milk can be converted into curd with a given quantity of rennet of a known quantity, and in a fixed time, it is necessary to multiply together the quantity of rennet by the time to be occupied in coagulation and by the strength of the rennet, and afterwards to divide the sum obtained by 40,000. Let us suppose that we wish to ascertain how much milk can be coagulated in sixty minutes with 18 centimètres of rennet of a strength of 8,000. We get the following formula :—

(18 x 60 x 8,000) ÷ 40,000 = 216 litres, or 48 gallons.

When it is necessary to ascertain the quantity of rennet necessary for a given quantity of milk, the number 40,000 is multiplied by the number of litres of milk, and the result divided by the sum obtained page 94 by multiplying the number of minutes the curd is setting and the strength of the rennet. Thus,—

(40,000 x 216) ÷ (60 x 8,000) = 18 cubic centimètres.

To find the time which would be employed in coagulating a given quantity of milk with a given quantity of rennet of known strength, it is necessary to multiply the number of litres of milk (4½ to the gallon) by 40,000, and to divide the result by the strength of the rennet multiplied by the number of centimètres. Thus,—

(216 x 40,000) ÷ (8,000 x 18) = 60 minutes.

It must not be forgotten that in every case the temperature of the milk is alike 95° Fahr., but there is no greater difficulty in constructing similar formulae suitable to other temperatures now that the principle is shown. With regard to powdered rennet, a graining must be accurately weighed, and dissolved in 100 times its weigh. Each cubic centimètre of the solution must be multiplied by 10 to give the equivalent starting-point of the liquid rennet. Thus, taking Dr. Blumenthal's rennet of a strength of 78,780, which for simplicity's sake may be called 80,000, we have a rennet ten times as strong as that named above. The formula will therefore be as follows :—

(40,000 x 216) (80,000 x 60) = 1.8 cubic centimètres.

This multiplied by 10 = 18 cubic centimètres, the quantity necessary to use under the same circumstances as in the above case.

Dairy Conferences.

In the year 1884 Dr. Bond, M.D., F.R.S.E., of Gloucester, an enthusiastic and sound friend of dairying, organised the first conference which was held in England, and the success was so marked that the subject was brought before the council of the British Dairy farmers' Association, with the result that it was determined to hold annual conferences in different parts of the United Kingdom. As one who assisted in the establishment of this branch of dairy educational work, and who has attended every conference yet held I have been struck with the extraordinary success which it has achieved. The first conference was held in Cheshire, the dairy farmers of the county taking up the matter with great enthusiasm, although at head-quarters the movement was watched with some suspicion as to the results, many authorities who should have assisted evidently waiting until success had been assured. Then was, however, no doubt about it from the first; and in the following year I was authorised to invite four foreign authorities to attend the conference : Professor Arnold from America, Professor Lézé from France, Dr. Fleischman from Germany, and Professor Fjord from Denmark. The two former gentlemen came, and largely contributed to the information which was given to the dairy-farmers assembled in Derbyshire, where many were hospitably entertained by Lord page 95 Vernon. In the following year the association was invited to Ireland, and meetings were held in Dublin, Killamey, and Cork. In 1888 the eastern counties of Suffolk and Norfolk were selected, the meetings being held at Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds, Framlingham Norwich, and Sandringham. During this visit the conference party, to the number of several hundreds, was entertained by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, by the President the Marquis of Bristol, by the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton, Mr. J. J. Colman, M.P., Captain Berners, and the Corporations of Bury and Norwich. The plan of operations is as follows: A sub-committee is formed from the council of the association, which arranges the scheme of the tour and addresses, in concert with a local committee. Members from all parts of the country assemble at a given town, staying at the different hotels. The first meeting is held in the town-hall, or in some other public building, where an address of welcome is given by a leading local gentleman and responded to by the president, after which a paper is read upon a dairy subject, this being followed by discussion. The party then adjourns either to lunch or to visit some factory, farm, herd, or dairy, after which a second paper is read, followed by another discussion. The three or four days allotted are thus filled up by a succession of addresses, discussions, and inspections of the best farms and dairies in the county. Everything goes like clockwork; carriages and breaks being provided when necessary in large numbers, and, when travelling by train, saloon ears are provided, so that the whole party travels together at reduced fares. The conference has hitherto left behind it distinct marks of its work, and many persons are induced either to take up dairying, or to improve it if they have hitherto followed no thorough system. More butter and cheese are produced, the cattle are more cheaply fed, and greater profits are made. I believe such a system, however simply it may be carried out, would prove of the greatest possible benefit in a dairy country. Dr. Bond is this year organizing some conferences on behalf of the Bath and West of England Society, which are to be held in May at Gloucester, where the society is establishing another dairy-school. I am asked to open one of these conferences with a paper on "How to sell butter and beat the foreigner." I would call the attention of colonial farmers to the extraordinary work being done in America in this direction. Several hundred conferences called "Farmers' Institutes" are held in Wisconsin every year, and other States are following the example thus set. It is, however, the dairy leaders who are foremost in the work.

New Implements.

Since the introduction of the separator there have been few really new implements introduced for dairy work which are of any value. I have had the advantage of inspecting the exhibits at all the leading British agricultural and dairy shows for many years, and have on some occasions acted as judge in the implement classes, page 96 and have also paid visits to the national German, Danish, Italian Swiss, and French shows, but I can refer to nothing which I haw seen at any of these, other than what is known, which would be worthy of the attention of colonial dairymen. In England there have been a few improvements. Bradford and Co., of Manchester, now manufacture a hundred-gallon factory churn. It is an end-over-end barrel provided with a diaphragm or movable dasher It is a well-made valuable churn, calculated to do first-class work and costs forty guineas. A centrifugal pump for raising milk, either from a vat or from the separator in factory work, is also worthy of notice. It will lift to a height of 16ft., and is sent out at a small cost by the Dairy Supply Company, of London. There is also a simple and inexpensive pump or milk-raiser for delivering milk to an upper floor of a factory, made by Evans, of Birmingham. This I saw in use at the Otley factory, where it was much appreciated. Another lift is made by Hindley, the manufacturer of dairy steam engines. In this case, a churn holding 8 barn gallons (17 imperial gallons) is lifted to any height, the particular height being arranged in erection. It is then tipped, pouring the whole of the milk into the vat or receptacle above, when it is run down and refilled, or replaced by a full churn. The two leading separators, the Laval and the Danish, have been improved, both doing more work at lees cost. As I write I receive a circular describing a further improvement in the Danish machine, by means of which a much larger quantity of milk is skimmed per hour. In both machines there is greater capacity for obtaining thick cream and for working at high speed with greater safety. The Victoria machine, of British make, not long introduced, is also worthy of notice, both on account of price and capacity. It has one important advantage not possessed by the other separators : the drum having no bottom, it empties itself when, on account of the diminished speed as it runs down, the vertical column of milk falls and passes out of the machine. An improvement has been made by Gray, of Stranraer, the maker of cheese appliances. Wedges are placed beneath the feet of the cheese-vat to maintain its horizontal position when necessary. A new arched cylinder strainer is also provided, and there are four taps placed in different positions, so that the heat may be more easily regulated and the jacket filled to a particular height. The vat has only one pair of wheels, and these are in the centre; the grinding-mill fits across, and slides along its sides. The cost is £12, with knives and strainers complete, the size being adapted to a large farm. It is also made in factory sizes.

Experimenting-Stations.

I beg to call the attention of the dairying community to those portions of my annexed reports which describe the experiment stations and dairy-schools in different countries—the great majority of which are maintained at a very trifling cost, more especially the page 97 first-class station at Kiel, in Germany, which receives £375 from the Government; the new station at Fribourg, in Switzerland, costing £300 a year; and Lodi, in Italy, which costs £536 per annum, the building, an old barracks, being lent by the Government. Here three chemists and a cheesemaker are maintained, and the scientific work done is of a high order. In England dairy-schools are largely Increasing in number, but the majority are connected with butter-Inking alone—cheesemaking is taught in very few instances, and I believe there is only one school, the British Dairy Institute, at Aylesbury, at which it is possible to learn how to make more than one variety of cheese. This institute has received a grant of £100 from the Government. It costs about £350 a year, the receipts being in the form of subscriptions, of which the British Dairy-farmers' Association contribute £100, and fees from pupils, the produce made probably paying for the milk used.

I also beg to call attention to the following Danish dairy-school records, the principle of which cannot fail to prove valuable to colonial factory-managers and farmers. I extract it from my report on education on account of its special usefulness.

Comparison of the different years' dairy yield (taken from the 1st October to the 30th September, 1885-86) :—

1.	Number of cows	87
2.	Weight of milk per cow (English pounds)	5,934
3.	Weight of milk per cow at milking-trial (English pounds) 334
4.	Butter taken from churn, per cow (English pounds)	218
5.	Butter actually sold, per cow (English pounds)	209
6.	Butter, equivalent (value) of new milk used (English pounds)	17½
7.	Cheese made, per cow, new (English pounds)	64
8.	Cheese made, per cow, ripe (English pounds)	40
9.	Live weight of pigs sold, per cow (English pounds)	130
10.	New milk used per pound of butter taken from churn (English pounds)	27.70
11.	Shrinkage on butter (per cent.)	3.89
12.	New milk used per pound of butter sold (pounds)	28.74
13.	Skim-milk and butter-milk used per pound of cheese, new (pounds)	17.7
14.	Shrinkage on cheese (per cent.)	18.50
15.	Price obtained for butter sold— s. d. In summer, per pound Danish 1 0 In winter, per pound Danish 1 2 Average 1 1
16.	Price obtained for cheese sold, per pound (Danish)	0 11/3
17.	Price obtained for pigs sold, per pound (Danish)	0 3¾
18.	Value of cheese obtained from lib. (Dauish) skim-milk	0 0.07
	Value of whey obtained from 1lb.	0 0.09page 98
19.	Value of 1lb. skim-milk	0 0.16
20.	Value of butter obtained from 1lb. Danish (1.1lb. English) new milk	0 0.493
	Value of skim-milk from ditto	0 0.12
	Value of butter-milk from ditto	0 0.03
21.	Value of 1lb. (Danish) new milk	0 0.64
22.	1lb. whey and butter-milk equal	0 0.10
23.	Gross returns per cow	£14 6 3

(1.) During the last few years about thirty-five calves have been fattened per annum.

(2.) Separators have been used for the last four Years.

The profits per cow in 1882 were £17 2s. 9d.; in 1883, £15 19s. 5d.; and in 1884, £15 17s. 9d.

Butter.

Condensed Milk.