l68 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



close and stuffy in the morning after everything ha> been closed 

 up tight at night. Such air is heavily laden with bacteria that 

 enter milk and cause trouble. I wish it might be my fortune to 

 show every lax dairyman the number of bacteria that fall on 

 a specially prepared medium, per cubic centimeter. The colo- 

 nies that develop where a single organism falls and the charac- 

 ter of these after a few days' growth, would, I feel sure, con- 

 vince any fair minded person that milk, above everything else, 

 should never be exposed to that air. 



The third cause for bad milk, as I have noted, is the method 

 Usually method goes along with equipment when a scoring is 

 being made and it has been found that the man with the best 

 equipment often falls low in his total score due to improper 

 methods. A man may invest in an expensive equipment and 

 still be a producer of anything but clean milk. 



The method includes the cleanliness of his animals, whether 

 he wipes the udder or not, the general cleanliness of his stable, 

 number of sweepings, time of sweeping, cracks in floor and 

 ceiling, disposal of manure (a very important detail), system 

 of ventilation and exercising of animals. These all influence 

 the- germ content of the air and the consequent germ content of 

 the milk. 



The method of milking, and the care and handling of the milk 

 are perhaps most vital of all requirements. Too often tlie milker 

 milks with moistened hands, a practice that is vev}' unclean at 

 its best. The pouring of the milk in the stable, the filling of a 

 large can that is left exposed until filled, the lack of straining, 

 or the lack of use of a covered pail, all come under improper 

 methods. Whether or not the milk is immediately removed and 

 cooled and ke])t cool is often the deciding point as to its germ 

 content, which is all important. 



Last, but not least, we could not expect a dairy to produce 

 good milk unless there was a competent man at the head of it. 

 The farmer who loves his animals, sees to their constant com- 

 fort, studies their requirements and feeds them all they need, 

 without overfeeding, is the one who succeeds. Unless a man 

 knows and likes his animals and they know him. he has no 

 business trying to produce milk. The hiring of cheap help and 

 endeavoring to produce clean milk by rules and disinclined men 

 have not been a very successful venture. An ignorant, careless, 

 filthy and vicious milker has no place in a cow stable where the 



