~Purity of commercial starters.~ Naturally the butter maker is forced to rely on the laboratory for his commercial starter, and the question will often arise as to the purity and vigor of the various ferments employed. As there is no way for the factory operator to ascertain the actual condition of the starter, except by using the same, the greatest care should be taken by the manufacturer to insure the absolute purity of the seed used. A bacteriological examination of the various cultures which have been placed on the market not infrequently reveals an impure condition. In several cases the writer has found a not inconsiderable number of liquefying bacteria mixed with the selected organism. Molds not infrequently are found in cultures put up in the dry form. Doubtless the effect of these accidental contaminations is considerably less in the case of a starter composed of a distinctively lactic acid-producing organism than with a form which is less capable of thriving vigorously in milk, and it should be said that these impurities can frequently be eliminated by continued propagation. The virility and vigor of the starter is also a fluctuating factor, dependent in part at least, upon the conditions under which the organism is grown. In some cases the germ is cultivated in solutions in which acid cannot be formed in abundance. Where the conditions permit of the formation of acid, as would be the case if sugar was present with a lactic acid-producing species, the vitality of the culture is often impaired by the action of the gradually accumulating acid. Some manufacturers attempt to minimize this deleterious condition by adding carbonate of lime which unites with the acid that is formed. ~Propagation of starters for cream-ripening.~ The preparation and propagation of a starter for cream-ripening is a process involving considerable bacteriological knowledge, whether the starter is of domestic origin or prepared from a pure-culture ferment. In any event, it is necessary that the starter should be handled in a way so as to prevent the introduction of foreign bacteria as far as possible. It should be remembered at all times that the starter is a live thing and must be handled throughout its entire history in a way so as to retain its vitality and vigor unimpaired. The following points should be taken into consideration in growing the starter and transferring it from day to day: 1. If a commercial starter is used, see that it is fresh and that the seal has not been broken. If the culture is too old, the larger part of the organisms may have died out before it is transferred, in which case the effect of its addition to the sterilized milk would be of little value.