588 KXl'KKlMlN 1 STATION RECOBD. 



weighed filter paper with the aid of a vacuum pump, and washing and drying the 



residue. This method was found to be rapid and accurate, comparing well with the 

 methods of Renk and Stutzer. 



Infantile mortality and milk depots, W. J. Thompson ( Dairy, 17 {190o). No. 90S, 

 pp. 352, 354).— In this address statements are made concerning the success obtained 



by the Gouttesdes bait in France, and the infants* milk depots in England and other 



countries, and the establishment of such an institution in Dublin is urged. 



The action of formaldehyde in the preservation of milk, F, 1>. Chester and 

 T. R. Brown (Delaware Sta. Bui. 71, pp. 36). — The questions studied included the 

 effect of adding different proportions <>i formaldehyde to milk on the time required 

 for the milk to sour, the number of colonies developing on agar plates, and the char- 

 acter of the bacterial flora. 



The authors review briefly some of the literature of this subject, discuss the use 

 of formaldehyde as a milk preservative, and from the experimental data presented 

 draw conclusions which are quoted in full below. It may benoted that, as acknowl- 

 edged by the authors, the position taken in the bulletin, as regards the use of formal- 

 dehyde in milk, is contrary to that generally held by medical men and sanitarians. 

 To control bacterial development in milk by refrigeration is believed by the authors 

 to be impracticable or too expensive at the present price of the product. It is pre- 

 dicted that about all that will ever be accomplished in controlling the milk supply 

 will be the control of the more glaring abuses regarding production and handling. 



Where an intelligent person is his own producer and consumer, it is believed that 

 the best possible safeguard would be the refrigeration oi the milk and its consump- 

 tion within 24 hours of production. In the general trade, however, a temperature 

 of 60° F. is believed to be safer, inasmuch as at this temperature the lactic-acid bac- 

 teria Would develop at such a rate as to exclude, in a large measure, the dangerous 

 bacteria, while the period from milking to souring would be sufficiently short to 

 insure against too great an age of the product. Under such conditions it is also 

 believed that the addition of formaldehyde in quantities not to exceed 1 part in 

 40.000 (or about 1 teaspoonful of 40 per cent formalin to 15 gal. of milk) would ex- 

 tend the keeping quality of the milk and improve its hygienic qualities. 



The conclusions are as follows: 



"(1) With different milks containing the same quantities of formaldehyde, the time 

 of curdling varied within rather wide limits, dependent upon the character of the 

 bacteria in the raw milk and upon slight variations of temperature. 



2) With different milks containing different quantities of formaldehyde, the 

 amount of formaldehyde bore no exact relation to the time of curdling. 



With milk containing 1 to 2,000 up to 1 to S00 of formaldehyde there 

 was a rapid decrease of bacteria during the first 24 hours, after which there was a 

 slow decrease, until by the end of 5 days the milk was practically sterile, or con- 

 tained only resistant spores. 



'• 4 1 With milk containing 1 to 5,000 of formaldehyde there was a rapid reduc- 

 tion of bacteria during the first 4 to hours, but continuing throughout the entire 

 24, after which the bacteria continued to multiply at first very slowly, then at a very 

 rapid rate. 



" 5) With milk containing 1 to 10.000 of formaldehyde there was in some cases 

 a slight reduction in numbers during the first 24 hours, followed by a very slow 

 increase, then by a rapid increase. In others there was a very slow increase from 

 the start, followed by a very rapid increase. 



•' 6) With milk containing 1 to 20.000 of formaldehyde there was a slow 

 increase during the first 24 hours, followed by a rapid increase. 



" 7 With milk containing 1 to 40.000 of formaldehyde the initial and later 

 periods of increase were not differentiated, but the rise of bacteria was rapid from 

 the start, but much less rapid than in the case of untreated milk. 



