No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 189 



meaus a pestiJciicc; conseqiieotly, any movemeut that insures the 

 produe' 'oil of better luent, purer milk, better food in general, means 

 fewer oases ot sickness, a smaller percentage of deaths — results 

 which should receive the hearty and liberal co-operation of all in 

 their attainment. Trobablv there never was a time when there 

 was mere alfeution jtaid to the production of pure foods, particularly 

 for ihe weaker portion of our race — the infants and invalids — than 

 now. it is leasonable that this should be the case, for there never 

 was a time within our knowledge when the causes of the contamina- 

 tion of foods was so well understood as now, with possibly much 

 more to come. A moie accuj-ate knowledge of the appearance, life 

 history, and favorite envii-onment of many of the unseen species of 

 ani'iai ajul vegetable life lias revealed to us many simple facts that 

 explain awa\ mysterious conditions of foods which were j)revIonsly 

 accepted as inevitable, but are now easily understood and controlled. 

 Objectionable conditions arising from bacterial growth and multipli- 

 cation, can often be remedied by preventing this increase, and de- 

 sirable conditions or changes in foods can often be produced by 

 favoring the presence of certain forms of germ life just as we destroy 

 from our fields all forms of vegetable life except the particular kind 

 we plant, and desire to grow for crops. It is just as objectionable 

 to have ''weed" bacteria growing in our foods as it is to have the 

 larger weeds growing in our fields. 



The conmtious above referred to apply to almost all kinds of human 

 food, but especially to dairy products, for the reason that the product 

 of the cow is an animal food, and possesses within itself all of the ele- 

 ments needful to develop all parts of the growing animal. As milk 

 and butter are generally eaten without cooking, and without in any 

 way destroying the bacterial life contained therein, we see the need 

 for their being produced under such conditions as will insure the 

 least possible risk from invasion by injurious germ life. Now milk 

 is one of the best culture mediums for germ life we have; this fact 

 verifies the importance of our subject. 



As hygiene means the rational and methodical use of everything 

 essential to the preservation of health, and, by implication, life, dairy 

 hygiene must mean the proper and rational preparation of such 

 dairy products as we consume for food, so that when taken into the 

 stomach they may produce only such results as were intended by 

 nature they should, and be replete with all the life and strength-giv- 

 ing elements required for our best growth and development. Nature 

 in her wisdom has provided that milk should be consumed in the 

 most hygienic manner possible, and that is without its ever seeing 

 daylight or coming into contact with the outside air. This is ideal 

 hygiene. But if such protection as this is needful to have milk in a 

 purely hygienic condition, we may well perceive how far we fall short 



