619 



and gives the details of an interesting case where the epidemic could 

 be traced to milk. The author also thinks that milk is one of the most 

 cotntnon means of distributing tuberculosis. The great prevalence of 

 this disease among cows he attributes to their abnormal life in stalls, 

 and he gives statistics in regard to the percentage of tuberculous cows 

 iti various provinces in Germany and also in New York. The milk of 

 tuberculous cows certainly contains the tuberculosis bacillus, and thus 

 milk is made a })ossible cause of the spread of this disease. Cholera 

 germs will readily grow in milk when introiluced, as they sometimes 

 are, through water that is added to the milk. Cases of cholera have 

 been positively traced to milk. Scarlet fever is frequently connected 

 with the milk supply, and the author cites some interesting cases in 

 illustration of this fact. As a source of distribution of certain diseases 

 among animals milk also takes a foremost rank. The distribution of 

 the swine plague by this means is especially discussed. 



Lastly, the author asks : What is the source of the numerous bacteria 

 which find their way into the milk? Their ultimate source is the earth, 

 air, or water, but the methods by which they get into the milk are four : 

 (I) Some of them get in during the milking from the hands of the milker 

 or from the duct of the milk gland. (2) Many are derived from the 

 germs which remain in milk vessels that haveuot been properly cleaned. 

 (3) Many get in from the air of the stall, which is always well supplied 

 with bacteria. (4) Many may be added with the water used to dilute 

 the milk. It is in this way that the germs of typhoid fever and cholera 

 are most likely to get into milk. 



Theauthor thinks that the diseased cow must be regarded as one of 

 the sources of the infection of milk, for alth )nghno bacteria succeed in 

 getting through the healthy mammary gland into the milk, it is certain 

 that when the cow is diseased, especially if the milk gland itself shares 

 in the disease, the milk may be contaminated with bacteria, ev^en when 

 first drawn from the cow. 



Determination of water in butter, 0. Henzold(M*7c/i Zeitting, 1891,^;?. 

 71, 713). — The addition of small pieces of pumice stone to the sample of 

 butter taken for drying is recommended. The pumice stone absorbs 

 the melted butter fat and enables it to give up its moisture much more 

 readily. 



Twenty grams of pumice stone, previously ignited and cooled in a 

 desiccator, are weighed out in a porcelain dish, with 10 to 12 grams 

 of butter and a small stirring rod. These are heated until the butter 

 is melted, and stirred until it has been absorbed by the pumice stone. 

 If more than 10 to 12 grams of butter are taken they will not be en- 

 tirely absorbed by the 20 grams of pumice stone, and the moisture will 

 consequently given up less readily. The melted and absorbed butter 

 fat is dried in a bath at 100° C. during 2 hours and weighed. It is 

 not advisable to dry for a longer time, as tiie experience of the author 

 indicates that after 2 hours the butter commences to increase in weight. 



