282 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



way by isolating the pregnant animals, placing them in stalls that 

 have been thoroughly cleansed and disinfected before parturition, 

 and the dam and young animal kept in such quarters for the first 

 week. The infection in each of these diseases is easily carried on the 

 hands of clothing of the stable help, on the body of the dam, in 

 troughs or buckets that have not been boiled or cleansed, and it is 

 difficult to explain to those who are not skilled in the science of 

 bacteriology the importance of thorough cleanliness. 



These diseases, as well as foot-and-mouth disease, tuberculosis, 

 contagious abortion, etc., can easily be carried from farm to farm in 

 skim milk that is returned from the creamery as food for calves or 

 pigs. These diseases may also be carried in the cans from infected 

 herds to the creamery and thus infect the milk and other cans and 

 then be carried to various herds in the community. To meet the 

 dangers from spreading infection in this way, the last Legislature 

 passed a law requiring the pasteurizing of skim milk by heating it 

 to 178 degrees F. It is known that this temperature will kill the 

 organisms that cause these various diseases and that milk that has 

 been heated to this temperature can be fed safely to susceptible ani- 

 mals. During the last few months foot-and-mouth disease has been 

 spread considerably through creameries by infected cans, and milk 

 returned to other farms as food for hogs and calves. In some cases 

 farmers have objected to handling hot milk, and so far we have no 

 economical method for cooling milk properly. For this reason many 

 of the creamerymen have been slow about installing pasteurizing 

 plants. An efficient method for pasteurizing skim milk can be in- 

 stalled in any creamery that is equipped with steam for less than 

 |10 and this form of pasteurization can be worked with a minimum 

 expense and labor. The only criticism offered by most creamerymen 

 for not installing and using this method of pasteurization is the fact 

 that farmers object to hauling hot milk, and that heated milk does 

 not keep so well when they get it home. 



It is hoped that creamerymen and their patrons will soon realize 

 the importance of pasteurizing milk that is used as food for hogs 

 and calves and that each party will co-operate in devising methods 

 for pasteurizing, cooling and keeping milk that will not be a means 

 of conveying transmissible diseases from farm to farm. It is equally 

 as important that cans should be washed and properly sterilized at 

 the creamery or before they are returned to the patrons. Many good 

 breeders prefer to separate the milk at home and sell only their 

 cream. In this way they can escape the danger of bringing new and 

 expensive diseases to their own premises. The Blakeslee pasteurizer 

 does its work in a clean, efficient manner, while many of the im- 

 provised methods are unsatisfactory. If the milk is heated to 180 

 degrees F. with the Blakeslee, run into clean vessels, taken home in 

 clean cans, placed immediately in cold water and fed out of clean 

 pans when properly cooled, there will be no trouble. Milk that is 

 too hot, too cold, or putrid, may cause digestive disturbances es- 

 pecially in pigs. Faulty feeding of this kind can be overcome by a 

 little care. In no case will the loss equal that caused by feeding un- 

 heated milk which may have been infected with tuberculosis, foot- 

 and-mouth disease, etc. 



The great question of how to handle tuberculosis is still in an un- 

 settled condition. Practically there has been no change made in the 



