158 . AGRICUI^TURB OF MAINEJ. 



may be regarded as Siamese twins in any milk discussion. 

 The cleaner the cow, the milker, the stable, and the milk room, 

 the less bacteria-laden dirt, or dust in the air, and hence in the 

 milk. 



Some conditions are so excessively filthy as to be revolting to 

 our aesthetic sensibilities — to say nothing of bacteria — and by 

 unanimous consent are inexcusable. No one would defend the 

 cow whose udder is plastered with manure, or milk with a black 

 ring of sediment about the bottom of the bottle. But many 

 good dairymen think that the essential thing is care in straining 

 the milk which they believe to be all right if the cheese cloth or 

 absorbent cotton removes all visible insoluble manure, hay, hair, 

 and flies. The newer milk gospel preaches the doctrine of pre- 

 vention ; the keeping out of those things which seed milk with 

 bacteria. Soluble and microscopic filth can not be strained out. 

 Hence though white-washed stables, washing udders, clean milk- 

 ing suits, 4 square feet of glass per cow, immediate removal 

 of milk from barns, fly screens in the milk rooms, may seem 

 foolish fussiness — there are substantial reasons for such recom- 

 mendations. Any means, no matter how trifling, for preventing 

 the entrance of dirt into milk will tend to improve the sanitary 

 quality of the product. Prof. Pearsons found that a single 

 fly getting into milk carried 20,000 bacteria; a piece of hay 

 about 2 inches long, 1,500,000; a single fine hair from a cow's 

 flank, more than 25,000. Even the size of the opening of the 

 milk pail is important. Prof. W. A. Stocking of Connecticut 

 ascertained that in a stable where but little care was taken as 

 to cleanliness an ordinary open milk pail admitted 3,439,200 bac- 

 teria, while a small top pail admitted only 103,600. 



Some bacteria get into milk through uncleanliness of utensils. 

 Rusty tin ware is made absolutely clean with difficulty. Milk 

 with low bacteria is impossible if the farmer uses pails, strain- 

 ers or cans with open seams as lurking places for dirt, which 

 may be swarming with bacteria. 



Bacteriology has given a new meaning or force to the word 

 cleanliness. I visited a Missouri dairy recently and found some 

 pails bright and spotless but my pen knife blade brought quanti- 

 ties of putrefaction from the seams in their sides. The good lady 

 said that in addition to carefully washing the pails twice a day, 

 she brushed out the seams once a week. She would have been 



