One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 59

Creamery Wastes for Irrigation.

Will the waste water from a creamery, pumped into a ditch and used for irrigating sandy loam orchard land, or nursery stack, in any way be injurious to the land or the trees?

It will depend upon the amounts of salt and alkaline was.h.i.+ng materials which it carries. This would be governed, of course, by the amount of fresh water used for dilution in the irrigation ditch. There are two ways to determine the question. One would be to make an a.n.a.lysis of a sample of the water taken when it contains the largest amount of these materials after the dilution with ditch water. Another way would be to plant some corn, squashes, barley and other plants, so that they would be freely irrigated by the water during one growing season. This would be rather better than an a.n.a.lysis, because everybody could see whether the plants grew well or not, and would be apt to be better convinced by what they see than by an opinion which a chemist might give on the basis of an a.n.a.lysis. The use of this water on a sandy loam would obviously be less injurious than upon a heavy retentive soil.

House Waste Water.

Is it feasible to use wash water, etc., for watering fruit trees and vegetables?

Kitchen sink water is not desirable because of its great content of grease, but wash-tub and bathtub water are good. Strong soapsuds should be mixed with considerable rinsing water to escape excessive content of alkali. Run the water in hoe-ditches, along the rows of vegetables, hoeing thoroughly as soon as the land hoes well, changing the runs of water so that the soil does not become compacted but is kept friable and lively.

Draining a Wet Spot.

I have a spot of about an acre that in a wet winter becomes very miry and as a rule is wet up to July. Can I put in a ditch two and one-half feet deep and fill in with small stones for a foot or a foot and a half, until I can afford to buy tiles?

Drains made of small stones are often quickly filled with soil and stop running. However, it will work for a time, and such drains were formerly largely employed in Eastern situations when cash was scant and stones abundant. Dig the ditch bottom to a depth of not less than 3 or 3 1/2 feet, then put in the stones deep enough not to be interfered with by plowing. If you have flat stones you can make quite a water-way with them and fill in with small stones above it.

Part V. Live Stock and Dairy

Legal Milk House.

What is a legal milk house in California?

The State dairy law says little concerning the construction or equipment of the milk house. It says that the house, or room, shall be properly screened to exclude flies and insects, and is to be used for the purpose of cooling, mixing, canning and keeping the milk. The milk room shall not be used for any other purpose than milk handling and storing, and must be 100 feet or more distant from hogpen, horse stable, cesspool or similar acc.u.mulation of filth, and must be over 50 feet from cow stalls or places where milking is done. In regard to the size of the milk room and equipment, nothing is said provided it is large enough for the milk to be handled conveniently. Concrete milk houses, however, had best have smooth-finished floors and walls. The interior of the milk house is also to be whitewashed once in two years or oftener. If milk from the dairy is to go to a city, the requirements will be more severe than provided in the State law, and must conform to the ordinances of the city to which the milk is to be sent.

Cure for a Self-Milker.

What shall I do for a young cow that milks herself?

Fit a harness consisting of two light side slats and a girth and neck strap in such a way that the cow cannot reach her udder. Unless she is particularly valuable for milk, it will save you a lot of worry to fix her up for beef.

Strong Milk.

How can I overcome strong milk in a three-quarter Jersey cow? I had been feeding alfalfa hay with two quarts alfalfa meal and one quart middlings twice a day. Thinking the strong milk came from the feed I changed to oat hay and alfalfa with a soft feed of bran and middlings.

There is nothing in either ration that could cause strong milk, nor will a change of feed likely benefit the trouble. If the cow is in good physical condition the trouble probably comes from the entrance of bacteria during or after milking. Thoroughly clean up around the milking stable, followed by a disinfection of the premises. Have the flanks, udder and teats of the cow thoroughly cleaned before milking and scald all utensils used for the milk. Harmful bacteria may have gotten well established on the premises and the entrance of a few is enough to seriously affect the flavor of the milk. Once the trouble is checked it can be kept down with the usual sanitary methods.

Separator as Milk Purifier.

I have a neighbor who contends that a cream separator purifies the milk that pa.s.ses through it. I say that it does not purify the milk. I agree that it does take out some of the heavy particles of dirt and filth, but that it cannot take out what is already in solution with the milk.

The purification naturally cannot be very great, and if milk is produced in unsanitary fas.h.i.+on, running through the separator will do little, if any, good. Nevertheless, the separator does remove more than just the solid particles of dirt. The purifying comes by leaving behind the separator slime, so called, the slimy material left behind after a good deal of milk has been run through. In fact, some creameries separate milk, only to mix milk and cream again, largely for the purpose of removing the impurities found in the slime. In this slime are not only the impurities that fall into the milk, but also some of the fibrous matter that is part of the milk, and this gathers, being pulled out by gravity as are the fat particles, it seems to gather with it a few more bacteria than remain in the milk itself. Material in real solution, as sugar is in solution in water, naturally is practically unaffected by separation. You are, therefore, right to the extent that you cannot produce unsanitary milk and clean it with the separator, but your neighbor is right to the extent that the separator does remove some impurities and is used just for that purpose. There is also in the dairy trade a centrifugal milk clarifier which is constructed in somewhat similar manner to a cream separator, but acts differently on the milk in not interfering with cream rising by gravity when separated cream and milk are mixed after cleaning.

b.u.t.ter Going White.

I bought some b.u.t.ter and during the warm weather it melted. About 40 or 50 per cent was white, while the balance was yellow and went to the top.

When the b.u.t.ter remelted, the yellow portion melted, leaving the white portion retaining its shape. The white portion did not taste like ordinary b.u.t.ter. The b.u.t.ter made from our cows' cream melted at a higher temperature, but did not have a white portion. Why did our b.u.t.ter not act like the creamery b.u.t.ter?

Samples of b.u.t.ter have occasionally been sent to this office that have turned white on the outside, and since the white part has a very disagreeable, tallowy flavor, people think that tallow or oleomargarine has been mixed with it, but we have never been able to find any foreign substance in any of the samples. We have found that some of the best brands of b.u.t.ter will turn white first on the outside and the white color will gradually go deeper if the b.u.t.ter is exposed to a current of air or if left in the sun a short time - F. W. Andreason, State Dairy Bureau.

What Is "b.u.t.ter-fat?"

I would like to know what "b.u.t.ter-fat" means. I have asked farmers this question and no one seems to know. I suppose all parties dealing with creameries understand what the standard of measure or weight of b.u.t.ter-fat is, but it is my guess that there are thousands of farmers whom, if they were asked this question, would not know. We, of course, know that b.u.t.ter is sold by the pound and cream by the pint, quart or gallon, but what is b.u.t.ter-fat sold by?

b.u.t.ter-fat is the yellow substance which forms the larger part of b.u.t.ter. Besides, this fat b.u.t.ter is composed of 16 per cent or less of water and small amounts of salt, and other substances of which milk is composed. From 80 to 85 per cent or so of ordinary b.u.t.ter is the fat itself. It is sold by weight. The cream from which b.u.t.ter is made is taken to the creamery and weighed, not measured. A small sample is tested by the so-called Babc.o.c.k test to determine the exact percentage of fat, and payment mode on this basis. For instance, if 1,00 pounds of cream is one-third b.u.t.ter-fat, the dairyman receives pay for 33 1/3 pounds of this substance. If it is only one-quarter fat, he receives pay for 25 pounds. Ordinary cream varies within these limits, but may be much richer or thinner. Cream after the b.u.t.terfat is removed is much like skimmed milk, although it has less water in it.

Why Would Not b.u.t.ter Come?

What is the trouble with cream that you churn on from Monday until Sat.u.r.day, then have to give up in despair and turn it out to the hogs?