86 Report ob^ the Bacteriologist of the 



by the representatives of the Department of Agriculture, as w-ell 

 aa by the cheese buyers throughout the State. For these many 

 courtesies rendered we desire to return our sincere thanks. 



I. FISHY FLAVOR IN MILK. 



In June. 1900, a niill^ dealer brought to the Station a milk 

 eample having a rank, disagreeable odor and taste, as though it 

 had been in close proximity to herring or. other fish. The taint 

 was so strong that the milk was of no commercial value, although 

 coming from a dairyman of more than ordinary carefulness in 

 the handling of his herd. 



Within an hour the dairyman called, bringing a sample direct 

 from the farm. Although this was saturated with the same odor, 

 the producer protested in all good faith that he could smell 

 .nothing unusual. 



method of locating the trouble. 



As the trouble was evidently located upon the farm, the dairy- 

 man, was provided with a supply of sterile, self-sealing pint bot- 

 tles and directed to collect a sample from each cow by milking 

 directly into the bottle from each quarter in turn. The follow- 

 ing morning the bottles were returned properly filled and num- 

 bered. 



An examination by the nose showed that the trouble was 

 limited to a single cow, and the dairyman was directed to reject 

 the milk from this animal. The following day the milkman re- 

 ported that the trouble had disappeared and that his supply was 

 highly satisfactory. 



A second set of samples at the end of three days gave the 

 »ame result and showed that the trouble was stationary' in the 

 product of one cow. A visit to the farm threw no light upon 

 the origin of the trouble. The pasture was a dry upland, con- 

 taining no objectionable weeds as far as known. The feed and 

 general treatment of all the cows had been the same, and they 

 were all apparently in the best of health. 



