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 constitution.  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?