30 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE). 



This increased interest among consumers has caused many 

 dairymen to take greater care in the production and sale of this 

 most important output of the dairy. How to produce clean 

 milk has been a much repeated question. Through bulletins 

 issued quarterly by the Department of Agriculture, an effort 

 has been made to instill into the minds of all who handle milk 

 the absolute necessity of cleanliness in the barn, of clean cows 

 and careful attendants, and the importance of removing the 

 milk from the stable immediately and cooling to 50° F. or 

 lower. Clean milk kept at a temperature below 50° will remain 

 sweet for days. 



SAMPLES OF DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



Since January i, 1910, 643 samples of milk, 66 of cream, 

 16 of skimmed milk and 14 of butter have been purchased by 

 your agent in seventy different towns, representative of con- 

 ditions in every county excepting Aroostook. Of the samples 

 of milk 378 or 58.8% contained sediment, 40 or 6.2% contained 

 added water, 3 samples were skimmed, 2 contained preserva- 

 tives and 2 were artificially colored. Such a high percentage 

 of samples pronounced as dirty or slightly dirty is indicative 

 of extreme carelessness on the part of those who handle this 

 article of food. The sediment found in most of these samples 

 was made up almost entirely of dust particles, and this tends 

 to show that the presence of dirt is due more to carelessness 

 than to an}- other cause. However, it is a noticeable fact that 

 the milk from cows that arc rarely groomed, and kept in barns 

 having open ceilings thereby admitting dust particles from 

 the hay mow overhead, contains sediment in nearly every case. 

 Dairymen have reached a similar conclusion and in many in- 

 stances have eliminated one source of dirt by sheathing the 

 ceiling, and also are using more care in handling the herd, for 

 they realize that the comfortable, well groomed cow gives 

 greater returns than the poorly cared for animal. It is plain- 

 ly evident that in certain localities there has been a marked 

 improvement during the past year in the quality of market 

 milk. Dilution with water is the most common form of adul- 

 teration ; the use of preservatives has been eliminated to a 

 marked extent, daiymen having at last realized the harm ful- 

 ness of such and the need only of cleanliness and cold storage. 



