i74 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



istic of such diseases. I refer particularly to the disease known as 

 " Mastitis," an inflammation of the udder accompanied by the pres- 

 ence of certain bacteria largely of the pus-forming type which are dis- 

 charged with the milk in enormous numbers. 



While possibly a smaller number of cows suffer from this disease 

 than from tuberculosis (and herein probably lies the reason why this 

 important source of infantile mortality has been overlooked), many 

 cows not only suffer from repeated acute attacks in which far greater 

 numbers of these bacteria are eliminated with the milk than tuber- 

 cular germs in pulmonary tuberculosis or even tuberculosis of the 

 udder, but not a few suffer from a more or less intractable, chronic 

 type of this malady which renders them a never-failing fountain of 

 mischief. 



Probably the major portion of the grave intestinal disturbances of 

 children are due directly or indirectly to the presence in milk of the 

 bacteria characteristic of this disease and the ptomains, toxins and 

 kindred substances which always accompany certain types of bacteria 

 activity. And notably is this true of milk, for it is a most excellent 

 example of what is known technically as a culture medium, meaning 

 a substance favoring in a high degree bacteria development and growtb. 

 Some one says : " Yes, while this is all very bad we can protect our- 

 selves by pasteurizing or sterilizing our milk." While either of these 

 processes properly carried out will destroy the germs or for a few hours 

 prevent their activity they can not destroy the ptomains or like highly 

 organized poisons already present, and as dangerous to human life as 

 they are crafty in eluding chemical analysis. 



Pasteurization, then, the proper execution of which requires much 

 skill and training, removes from contaminated milk but part of the 

 danger while its palatability has been impaired and its nutritive proper- 

 ties somewhat altered, and we are obliged to drink the carcass of mil- 

 lions of bacteria still suspended in it. The tendency, moreover, of 

 pasteurization is to put a premium upon dirt, which gains entrance to 

 milk chiefly through careless methods in milking and caring for milk 

 after it leaves the cow which carries with it a great multitude of 

 bacteria and is the most important source of bacteria contamination 

 of milk. 



It has been computed that the people of the City of Berlin drink in 

 one year many hundred pounds of cow-barn filth suspended in milk. 



Milk so produced as to be free from dirt (unhappily not the milk 

 of commerce) may be considered also comparatively free from bacterial 

 growth. 



Pure milk, fresh milk produced free from germ and dirt contamina- 

 tion in the stable and during handling and transportation, is the birth- 

 right of our children, is what we all desire and is the goal toward 

 winch the various boards of health, cattle inspection bureaus and 



