New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 85 



The striking feature of the above table is the small increase in 

 germ content in connection with the progress of the milk through 

 the various stages of its handling. With the exception of January 

 29 and 31 the germ content of the milk was practically unchanged 

 in spite of the handling which it received. On these days it evidently 

 suffered some slight contamination during cooling, but even then 

 it had a germ content which was surprisingly low. 



It would be naturally inferred from these results that this was 

 an attempt to ascertain the completeness with which contamination 

 could be eliminated during such processes. Nothing could be farther 

 from the facts. During this study the attempt was made to con- 

 duct the dairy operations in the ordinary way, and to further insure 

 that this should be the case care was exercised that the dairy workers 

 should not be aware that such a test was being made. To facilitate 

 following the samples through without exciting comment, the actual 

 milking was done by the Dairy Expert and the Bacteriologist, using 

 pails which had been carefully steamed and protected as in the other 

 experimental work. The smallness of the germ count was largely 

 due to the fact that the milk was all furnished by one cow which 

 had a rather low udder content. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



Those who have followed recent discussions of germ content of 

 city milk and particularly those who are familiar with the extreme 

 precautions which are taken by many of the producers of certified 

 milk will be struck by the small germ content which has characterized 

 the milk obtained during these experiments. 



It is not the intention at this time to raise the question as to 

 what is the proper standard of milk quality, but there is no question 

 but that in the public mind the germ content of the milk is com- 

 monly used as such a standard. In public discussions of clean milk, 

 the certified milk standard of 10,000 germs per cc. is ordinarily 

 taken as insuring a milk which is above suspicion of uncleanliness. 



In obtaining milk which shall be safely below this 10,000 limit, 

 it is the custom to expend much labor in washing the cows and in 

 keeping the interior of the barn scrupulously clean. 



Those who have carefully noted the germ counts obtained from 

 the milk samples as given in this publication, will be surprised at 

 the large number of the counts which are under 1,000 germs per cc. 



