The Globe Republican

Those Low Testing Testers.

Recently the Farmers' Review commented on the report that big cold storage companies were sending out low-testing milk testers. A dairy expert in New York asked the Farmers' Review to confirm its statements. A letter addressed to the Minnesota Experiment Station on the subject brought the following reply:

To the Farmers' Review—Yours of the 11th inst., making inquiry in regard to the small hand testers has been referred to me for reply.

We have used the small testers referred to in our dairy laboratory in connection with the school of agriculture and dairy school and in comparing the tests made by the small machines with those made by the larger power machines we noticed that those made from the small machines generally read from .1 to .2 lower. No official publication has been made of this observation but instructors in the dairy school have referred to it in articles published. So far as our observation goes the small machines do not provide enough power to get a full reading and I am of the opinion that this is the reason why the factories or creameries who are buying the cream are anxious to have the patrons test it with the small hand machines. The difference in the reading between the two machines is enough to make a large profit in the business.—T. L. Haecker.