78 EXPERIMENT STATION RErORD. 



was also much iiioro uniformity in llic results of duplicato tests. In tlio data 

 Siven for L'.S tests the pereeutajie variation in duplicates by tlae Stokes nietliod 

 was very larj,'e and averayed IVJ jier cent, while l)y the Doaue method the 

 largest variation was 20 per cent and the average only 5.0 per cent. A modifi- 

 cation of the method introduced by the investigators, which consists in heating 

 the milk sanii»le to (".0° or 70° ('. jn-evious to centrifugalizatiou, affords even 

 more uniform results, the variations averaging less than a per cent. Tliis 

 metliod as thus modified is tlierefore recommended in studies of this nature. 



In the investigations reported tlie authors studied the effects of a variety 

 of factors, as i)hysiological conditions of the animal, the period of lactation, 

 the condition of the udder, l)reed, age, and others, on the cell content of milk of 

 apparently healthy animals. 



In sunnnarizing results of their investigations the authors state that nnicli 

 injury may come to the dairy industry through the enforcement of such quanti- 

 tative standards for leucocyte content as have been hitherto adopted. Their 

 results agree with, those of other investigators in showing wide variation in 

 results of examination, deiiending largely upon the method followed. From 

 the studies according to the method they adopted their conclusion is that " there 

 is a wide range in the cellular content of milks that are apparently normal and 

 perfectly safe for ordinary use. In a number of instances this cell content has 

 been found to be relatively low and constant, while in a large proportion of 

 cases, wide fluctuations have been noted which were frequently nuich in excess 

 of any standards that have heretofore been accepted. There are undoubtedly 

 factors operative which underlie this peculiarity in the individual animals. 

 From the studies made it appears evident that the milks of older animals are 

 moi-e likely to show a high cell content than younger stock, and that frequently 

 this condition is associated with a previous udder disturbance, which in some 

 instances may leave a more or less marked indurated condition in the udder. 

 These temporary disturbances, which are really gargets of a physiological char- 

 acter, very soon disappear, and the milk becomes wholly normal, although the 

 evidence of such slight inflammatoi'y disturbances may continue for a 'Consider- 

 able period of time. So far as we have been able to find, there is no adequate 

 reason why milks from such animals as these should be excluded from ordinary 

 domestic supplies. 



"At the present time we do not feel that it is wise to formulate a quantitative 

 standard to be used as a hard and fast line in the inspection of milk supplies. 

 The most that can be said of leucocyte examinations at the present time is that 

 they are suggestive rather than final." 



Concerning the bactericidal property of perhydrase milk, H. Much 

 (Miiiwhcn. Med. Wclmschr., 5.3 {1908), No. 8, pp. 38't-386) .—The experiments 

 reported give evidence of the bactericidal effect of fresh cow's milk in destroying 

 typhus bacilli, Stiiphi/hjcocciis aureus, and coli bacilli. They also add experi- 

 mental evidence to that previously contributed by Much and Romer (E. S. R., 

 18, p. .'5GS) that the process of producing perhydrase milk does not destroy the 

 antibodies. By this process it is possible to maintain a bactericidal action 

 in the milk for 24 hours, which is not the case with oi'dinary raw milk. 



Medical milk commissions and the production of certifi^ed milk in the 

 United States, C. R. Lane (U. ^. Drpt. .igr.. Bur. Anim. Indus. Bnl. 10.',, 

 pp. .'/.i. plx. a, /fV/.sr. 11). — The writer gives a comprehensive account of the work of 

 medical commissions and of the movement that has resulted in their organization 

 in different cities, and he describes in consideralde detail the conditions under 

 which certified milk is produced in different parts of the country. A pajter pre- 

 pared by R. I). White shows an economical method for the production of certi- 

 fied milk us practiced several years at a certified dairy in Minnesota. 



