84 VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S REPORT. 



Question — Are the germs found in ice more injurious to the 

 creameryman than those in the air, and if not, would you advise 

 the cooling of cream by placing ice directly in the vat ? 



Answer — Under ordinary conditions, allowing that the ice 

 was taken from a good source, I should say that the effect of the 

 contained bacteria would be far less than that of the air bacteria 

 falling into the cream vat. If one is sure of an ice, I see 

 no reason why it should not be used in moderate quantities 

 directly in the cream vat for cooling purposes. 



Question — Could you tell us the number of germs in a pound 

 of ice ? 



Answer — The number of bacteria found in ice varies consid- 

 erably from the fact that the bacterial content of the water from 

 which the ice is formed is subject to very great variation. For 

 instance, Boston water has about ioo bacteria per cubic 

 centimeter, while water from the Merrimac river shows 

 5,000-10,000 bacteria per c. c. It follows that ice from these 

 two sources must also vary. I may say, however, that as a rule 

 ice shows fewer bacteria than the water from which it was pro- 

 duced and in many instances the bacteria are so reduced in num- 

 ber that it could be called lor all practical purposes sterile or de- 

 void of bacteria. 



