One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 60

We warmed it, and we cooled it, and used a dairy thermometer, but nothing would do.

If the cream was in churnable condition otherwise, the probability is that it was too cool when you started churning. It should be about 62 Fahrenheit.

Drying a Persistent Milker.

My cow is to come fresh about the middle of next mouth, and in the last two weeks her milk has changed in some way so that the cream makes very yellow b.u.t.ter and comes to b.u.t.ter nearly as quick as when the cow was fresh. Would it best for her to go entirely dry before coming fresh, or will it be all right if she does not entirely dry up?

If your cow has been able to pick up any special amount of gra.s.s since the rains came it might add to the color of the b.u.t.ter. A cow's milk also gets richer toward the end of her lactation period, which may make a richer cream and make the b.u.t.ter come quickly There does not seem to be anything to worry about. The cow would probably do better if she could become entirely dry before calving, but unless you can easily dry her up it would be dangerous to try to force her to do so.

b.u.t.ter-fat in Sweet and Sour Cream.

The creamery wagon takes our cream every other day. Without ice it is almost impossible to keep the cream sweet during the hot weather. By the time the wagon gets here, several hours after the fourth milking, the cream is quite sour. Does sour cream test lower than sweet cream! Is any b.u.t.ter-fat lost due to evaporation in dry weather?

The test of sour cream will be as accurate as of sweet cream, if properly made, but it is rather more difficult to make; or rather, to get the material into condition to work well. There is no fat lost by evaporation.

Cream That Won't Whip.

When I sell my cream from the separator they say they cannot whip it.

Can you tell me if there is any way that I can make the cream whip?

There appears to be no good reason for blaming the separator for your difficulty with the cream. Possibly the cream may be too thin, as thin cream is sometimes difficult to whip. There is also the possibility that the fat globules in the cream may be rather small, but that will be the fault of the cows, not of the separator. Another reason why the cream may not whip well may be that it is used too quickly. If the milk is all right, the cream not too thin and it is permitted to stand for 12 hours or so there should be no trouble with it. Occasionally when cream is pasteurized it will not whip well. In these cases, or any other that may develop, the application of lime water to the cream at the rate of 1 gallon to 60 will remove the difficulty.

What Is Certified Milk?

What process has milk to go through to be called "certified," and what demand is there for it?

Certified milk is simply milk that is produced and marketed under prescribed sanitary conditions. The dairies are inspected periodically by representatives of some medical society or other organization to see that all regulations are observed, who certify that this is done; hence the name. Milk from other dairies is prohibited by law from being sold under the name "certified milk." Among the requirements in its production are that the cows must be free from tuberculosis and otherwise perfectly healthy, the stable to have a concrete floor which is washed out after each milking, the milkers to have special clothes for milking, etc. The milk is cooled and bottled immediately after milking, and kept at a low temperature until it reaches the consumer, to prevent the entrance of dirt of any kind or the development of the few bacteria that must gain entrance before it is bottled. To produce such milk requires much expensive apparatus and much more labor than to produce ordinary milk, and as a result it sells for a much higher price, both to distributor and consumer, so that the market for it is rather limited.

Jersey Shorthorn Cross.

If I cross Registered Shorthorns with a Jersey bull, what dairying value will the progeny have?

This makes an excellent cross. Even beef-strain Shorthorns have lots of milking power if it is developed and the Jersey cross will bring it out in the progeny. The cows have excellent milking qualities and give very rich milk. They also have a big frame and fine const.i.tution. About the finest cows in Humboldt county were of this cross although Jersey bulls have been used so long that the Shorthorn blood is almost eliminated.

The first "improved" cattle in California and the first cross made for dairy purposes was Jersey bulls upon grade Shorthorn cows. Later the Holstein Friesians became popular and they and their grades are now most abundant.

A Free Martin.

I have a Jersey cow who has just had twin calves, a heifer and a bull.

The heifer was born about five minutes before the bull and seems to be the stronger. My neighbors tell me to fatten both for the butcher, for they say the heifer will be barren. The mother is a young cow, as this is her second calf. Kindly inform if this is one of nature's laws or if there is a possibility of the heifer turning out all right?

The probability is that it will be better to veal the heifer than to raise her, as most heifer calves twinned with a bull are free martins, or animals of mixed s.e.x and no good for breeding purposes or for profitable milk production. If the bull is a good animal, he probably will be all right, as this twinning does not seem to affect a bull calf, though it does the heifer. It does not always happen that the heifer is worthless for breeding, but the probability is so great that you had better have her killed and be done with it.

What Is a "Grade"?

Does the term "grade" mean an animal whose sire is a thoroughbred and whose dam is a scrub, or just one who is selected from others because of her good points or those of her mother?

Roughly speaking, a grade animal is one having more or less pure-bred blood, but not enough, or otherwise too irregular, for registry under the rules of the a.s.sociation of the breed to which it has affiliation.

It does not refer to selection without use of a pure-blood sire at some point in the ancestry, but this is not a distinction of much moment, for it is hard to find animals which have not borrowed something from some cross with pure blood, though remote. The terms high and low grade are sometimes used to signify amount of pure blood recognizable by form and other characters or remembered by owners or their neighbors. Generally speaking, a grade is anything not ent.i.tled to registry, though ordinarily it refers to the offspring of a pure-bred sire and a cow of another or of no breed. The offspring of a pure-bred cow and a scrub bull would also be a grade.

Breeding a Young Mare.

I have a beautiful colt 22 months old that will weigh 1200 or 1300 pounds; very compactly built, and has extra health, life and vigor. I want this colt for a broodmare. Would you advise breeding at two or three years old?

Authorities agree at placing the age from two to three years, according to the development of the animal and other circ.u.mstances.

"To Breed in the Purple."

What is meant by breeding a sow in the purple? I have seen this statement used many times by breeders who advertised "sows safe in pig bred in the purple."

To be "bred in the purple" means to be of royal or princely parentage.

It originally was used in reference to the n.o.bility of Europe, as purple was the insignia of royal blood, due to the fact that purple was the rarest and most costly color and only the rich and n.o.ble could buy it.

When used in referring to live stock, it signifies that the animal in question has a long line of blooded ancestry.