New York Agricultural Experiment Statiox. 21 



The general result of these studies was to show that, under the 

 conditions present in the Experiment Station barn, the renovating 

 of the interior of the stable, the clipping of the cows and the vacuum 

 cleaning had little or no effect on the germ content of the milk pro- 

 duced. The protection of the milk pails from accidental contamina- 

 tion after steaming did have a measurable effect in lowering the germ 

 content. When all of the utensils were carefully steamed, straining 

 and cooling the milk resulted in only a small increase in germ content 

 even when this was done under what would ordinarily be con- 

 sidered as rather unfavorable conditions. 



These results are very hopeful for the average farmer for they 

 show that some dairy operations which have been regarded as 

 essential by many men are really unessential refinements, some 

 of them advisable perhaps under certain conditions, but neverthe- 

 less unessential from the standpoint of sanitary milk production. 



It should not be understood that the Station would encourage 

 leniency in the maintenance of unsanitary conditions in the barns. 

 There is no question but what the environment and the attendants 

 should be cleanly, thus lessening the dangers of contamination. 

 It is important, however, for the milk producers to know what 

 conditions are most likely to result in milk contamination and what 

 points should be given the closest attention in order to prevent 

 such contamination. We have already studied certain factors and 

 these studies will be continued over a wider range. 



Germ content of milk when drawn. — Along this line is a considera- 

 tion of the germ content of milk when it is drawn. It is well known 

 that milk contains germs which are in it when it is drawn from 

 the udder and which are not due to outside contamination. This 

 is a fundamental question for the producers of certified milk to 

 consider because, as we shall see, milk produced under the most 

 rigid conditions may contain bacteria in much larger numbers than 

 some of the standards which have been set by certain producers of 

 certified milk. Thus studies were begun by the department a number 

 of years ago on the bacterial flora of cheddar cheese, which were 

 reported in Technical Bulletin No. 8. At the same time studies 

 were begun on the bacterial flora of the udder, which have been com- 

 pleted during the past few years and published as Technical Bulletin 

 No. 27. As the result of the study of 1,230 samples of strippings 

 it was found that the milk as drawn from the udder contained an 



