DAIRY MEETING. 157 



epidemics of these diseases have been caused by the scattering 

 of the germs through a community, in the milk supply. Conse- 

 quently regulations as to the health of all who in any way handle 

 the milk supply of a city or town are desirable. The necessity 

 of sterilizing cans and bottles will also be self evident, as well as 

 the importance of an uncontaminated water supply for washing 

 all utensils, and keeping flies out of milk. Though in some 

 cases these rules may seem to bear hard on the individual, the 

 welfare of the community demands them, and the status of the 

 milk business will be improved by increased popular confidence 

 in it. 



3d. It is now well known that excessive amounts of bacteria 

 in milk, even of those that are not specific disease germs, may 

 cause derangements in the digestive tract, especially of infants 

 and invalids. It is proven that much of the mortality of babies 

 is caused by undue quantities of bacteria in their milk. "Often 

 the action of this milk with infants is not that of milk but of a 

 poison," says Dr. Jordan, Boston milk inspector. 



Some of this contamination is in the shape of pus cells in the 

 milk of cows suffering from garget or other inflammatory dis- 

 turbances. Hence the importance of selling milk from only 

 healthy animals, and of rigid control of the health of cows fur- 

 nishing city milk. 



But the milk of healthy cows is practically sterile on leaving 

 the udder, and subsequent contamination comes from the dust, 

 or dirt, always floating in the air, even in the cleanest places, 

 a few bacteria, from i,ooo to 6,000 per cubic centimeter, being 

 generally unavoidable. Many of these are harmless in their 

 proper place, but there are weeds in the world of bacteria as in 

 the world of visible plant growth — you know a weed is merely a 

 plant out of place. Then there are other forms of bacteria — but 

 intimately associated with the so-called harmless ones — which 

 are particularly active in causing intestinal and digestive disturb- 

 ances. You cut your hand and bandage the wound because 

 you say that if the air gets at it healing is delayed; really it is 

 the bacteria in the air that do the damage. The cut may 

 develop into an ugly sore because, in common language, dirt 

 got into it; but really because bacteria got into it. These bac- 

 teria getting into milk may make it unwholesome or dangerous. 

 Bacteria are intimately associated with dirt. Bacteria and dirt 



