STATE DAIKY ASSOCIATION. 539 



or feed, for such dust is heavily laden with germs. If feed is slightly- 

 dusty sprinkle it to prevent the dust from rising; and at no time feed dry 

 or strong smelling feeds lilie silage just before milking. Feed liberally, 

 using only good palatable feed stuffs. Give the cows plenty of fresh 

 water and have salt accessible at all times. Keep cows in a comfortable 

 condition, never allow them to be abused or exposed to storms, for a 

 decrease not only in quantity, but also in quality, of milk will be the 

 result. 



Clean the entire body of the cow daily. Brush and wipe with a moist 

 sponge the udder and surrounding part just before milking to prevent 

 hair or filth from falling into the milk. 



It is very important that the milker be clean in every respect. He 

 should wash his hands thoroughly before milking, and wear a clean outer 

 garment which should only be used for milking. Milk with dry hands. 

 Discharge the man that can not milk in this way. 



If any accident should occur by which a pail of milk should become 

 dirty do not try to remedy it by straining, but reject the milk and rinse 

 out the pail. It is impossible to strain out germs. 



Strain, aerate and cool the milk down to 40 deg. immediately after 

 milking, for reasons stated before. Special care should be taken to have 

 the aeration done in pure air, as foul air will readily contaminate the 

 milk. 



All of these steps that I have mentioned are means to check or 

 prevent bacterial growth in milk, and the steps must be compared with 

 the links of a chain— if one is weak, the whole is impaired; so if the 

 care of milk is neglected at any one of these steps the care taken at other 

 times may be rendered useless. 



The President: Now, we will take a few minutes for discussion. We 

 have one more short paper, which will follow this one. Does anybody 

 wish to ask Professor Erf any questions? 



Mr. Billingsley: The Professor referred to the use of a small preserva- 

 tive in milk as not being injurious, as I understood him. 



Professor Erf: Yes, sir. 



Mr. Billingsley: The question is this: Would any amount of preserva- 

 tive which may be used to keep the milk from souring, to that extent im- 

 pair its digestibility? 



Professor Erf: It would not materially. 



Mr. Billingsley: What do you mean by "materially?" 



Professor Erf: I mean that by its use no one will be injured. 



