New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 37 



The odor of the milk was strong as it was drawn, and did not 

 appear to increase on standing. This would incline one to the 

 belief that the trouble was due either to the food or to the gen- 

 eral condition of the animal; but no food has ever been known 

 to bring about the flavor described, and all the food had been 

 shared by the whole herd. Neither was there any discernible 

 ailment or lesion of the cow, and the physical appearance of the 

 milk was normal. 



NO BIOLOGICAL CAUSE FOUND. 



Considerable culture study was carried on in the laboratory 

 with the milk from the different quarters of this cow's udder and 

 several kinds of bacteria were isolated. When these organisms 

 were grown separately or in mixture in milk they failed to repro- 

 duce the characteristic fishy odor. A form was found to be very 

 plentiful in the strippings which was peculiar in that it refused 

 to grO'W in the ordinary lactose agar or gelatin unless five per 

 ct. to ten per ct. of milk was added. This organism was further 

 tested by introducing a culture of it into two quarters of 

 the udder cavity of a healthy cow, leaving the other two quarters 

 as a control. The results of this test were also negative in that 

 no odor was produced. 



OTHER OUTBREAKS. 



While a fishy flavor in milk is by no means a common trouble, 

 Mr. W. E. Griffiths, one of the agents of the Department of 

 Agriculture, informs us that he has observed two outbreaks of 

 somewhat similar nature in the fifth district. In one instance 

 June butter with a fine flavor was placed in cold storage at 18° 

 to 22° F. until winter and when sold in the local market was re- 

 turned with the complaint that it had a disagreeable flavor. 

 Upon inspection by butter experts this was pronounced a fishy 

 flavor. No cause could be found. The second case occurred in 

 1899, when a cow kept for family' use gave milk which was so 

 pronouncedly fishy in the odor arising from it and in the taste, 

 that the milk was discarded during the latter part of July and 

 the month of August. The milk as soon as drawn had this pe- 



