DAIRY FARMING DAIRYING. 831 



Kephir, C. D. Spivak {Repr. from ^\ Y. Med. Jour., ]89(;, Jan. 1,% 

 pp. i.s).— This is a treatise on kephir more especially from tlie medical 

 point of view. Its history, preparation, composition, and the clian-^es 

 produced in milk in the fermentation are given, witii n n men )n.s refer- 

 ences to the literature. 



"The kephir grain is a composite body made up of three different 

 organisms: (1) SnccliaroiHi/cc.-i ccrcvi.sicv, or the yeast fungus; (2) Jiacil- 

 liia acidi lactici; and (.3) JUspora caucasica (Kern), or Bacillus Icphir 

 (Sorokin), a rod-shaped bacterium. The rods are united togetlier into 

 lilaments whicli are closely interwoven in countless zigzags, and they 

 are firmly connected by tlieir tough gelatinous membrane. Xotwith- 

 standing the fact that the above-named bacteria follow the laws of their 

 kind, yet all three take an active and equal share in the process of 

 producing tlie kephir fermentation." 



The therapeutic action of kephir is next discussed, and numerous 

 instances cited of its use in various diseases. " Kephir is indicated 

 whenever it is necessary to raise the nutrition of the enfeebled organ- 

 ism. The curative effect of kephir, in a limited sense, has been noticed 

 only in certain cases of gastrointestinal affections." In conclusion a 

 comprehensive bibliography is given. 



Inefficiency of milk separators in removing bacteria, V. A. 

 Moore {U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearhool; 1S95, pp. 131-114, Ji<js. 6). — This 

 paper discusses in a general way milk, butter, and cheese as carriers 

 of infectious diseases; sources of milk contamination, and pasteuriza- 

 tion and sterilization; and describes several ex})eriments on the extent 

 to which disease germs are separated from milk by running it through 

 a separator. In these experiments milk was used which was artificially 

 infected with pure cultures of the various disease germs, these being- 

 suspended in water and mixed with the milk. 



Three experiments were made with milk infected with tubercle 

 bacilli. In these experiments a large proportion of the bacdli were 

 found in the separator slime, although bacilli were also found in both 

 the cream and the skim milk. In one experiment in which guinea pigs 

 were inoculated with the skim milk and with the cream all the animals 

 died of tuberculosis within from 24 to oO days, which "is enough to 

 demonstrate the infectiousness of the skim milk and cream." In one 

 case a much larger quantity of the suspension of tubercle bacilli was 

 added. 



"In 16 per cent of the preparations of the skimmed milk, and in all of those from 

 the cream, tnbercle bacilli were found. They were more numerous in the prepara- 

 tions made from the cream than in those from the milk. This fact affords a reasonable 

 explanation for the statement that tnbercle bacilli are freijuently found in butter. 

 As in the other experiments, the slime contained the bacilli in much larger numbers 

 than the skimmed milk or cream." 



Increasing the rapidity of the separator did not render the skim milk 

 or cream more free from the bacilli. 



Other experiments were made with milk inoculated with virulent 



