BEVIEW — TROPICAL, MEDICINE, ETC. 127 



The principal troubles with flavours, both for city and town supply and for the manufacture of butter and Milk- 

 cheese known as contamination, are caused by bacterial infection. Those flavours due to the milk absorbing the continucl 

 flavours of certain strong substances to which it may be exposed are, as a rule, not nearly so objectionable as those 

 caused by the action of the living germ. In fact, the predominant part of our flavours are due to the action of 

 bacteria which gain access to the milk through lack of cleanliness in connection with the milking utensils, 

 surroundings, methods of delivery, etc. 



He also deals with : — 



Milking — aiul how it shmild be done. — Milch cows should always be kept clean instead of being allowed, in 

 fact as they often are compelled, to tramp through slush, mud and liquid manure. 



Too frequently we find cows milked when in a dirty and unsuitable condition. Bacteriologists have frequently 

 traced serious trouble, in connection with milk supplies, to causes produced by these and similar conditions. This 

 dirt and manure oft.en dries on the cow's udders, and readUy finds its way into the milk-pail in the form of dust. 



Great care should be taken to remove all dry particles of manure and filth from any place on the animal 

 where it is likely to be dislodged into the milk-pail. 



The udder and te.ats of the cow should be thoroughly cleaned with a damp cloth or washed before the milking 

 is commenced. 



The milking should be done with dry hands only, and the filthy practice of lubricating the hands with milk 

 should under no circumstances be tolerated. 



The hands of a milker should be washed before the milking is commenced. In no case should milkers with 

 long filthy finger nails be allowed to milk cows. 



In many cases the teats of cowa are in this way poisoned, and the practice of pressing the ends of the 

 fingers against the sides of the animal's teats is also objectionable. 



During and after the milking, the most scrupulous cleanliness is necessary in order to keep the milk in the 

 best condition. To attain this object the milk should be removed, immediately after milking, to some place where 

 it would not be exposed to dust and bad flavours. 



In connection with the handling of milk on the farm for butter and cheese factory purposes and where no 

 suitable well-ventilated milk-house can be provided, it is always a wise precaution, in selecting a place for the 

 milk-stand, to take into consideration from which direction the prevailing wind comes. The stand or place where 

 the milk is kept should always be placed on the windward side of the cow-stable ; besides this, it should be some 

 distance away, in order that when the wind changes, or on close, still, and muggy nights, the milk may not become 

 contaminated or deteriorated in flavour. The milk should be kept at least fifty yards from the stable or shed. 



Straining of the Milk. — When the milking is completed, the milk should be immediately removed from the 

 cow-stable and carefully strained through a proper wire, or very fine hair, strainer. A few doubles of clean butter 

 cloth make an excellent strainer, but the objection to its use is that it is too frequently not properly washed and 

 scalded. 



A milk or cream strainer of any sort requires great attention, and unless they are thoroughly washed and 

 scalded each day they become a source of contamination rather than a purifier. 



Many dairymen and milk vendors are inclined to believe that the straining process is a cure for all dirt and 

 filth that gets into the milk, and for that reason are less careful in the milking process than is necessary. They 

 evidently forget that the bulk of the solid matter quickly dissolves on entering the milk-pail, and that the milk 

 thereby becomes seeded with germs, which easily pass through any strainer and continue their work of 

 deteriorating the flavour of the milk. 



Aeration and Cooling. — In aerating milk on the farm for either city and town consumption, or for delivery 

 to butter or cheese factories, it is essential that the aeration takes place in a pure atmosphere. Unless this be done 

 the process may become a source of contamination. 



The benefits of aeration, when carried out in a pure atmosphere, are two-fold : firstly, it facilitates the escape 

 of certain food flavours ; and, secondly, the cooling which takes place during the aeration retards the growth of 

 germs which may have already gained access to the milk. If, as above stated, aeration cannot be carried out iu a 

 clean place where the air is fairly pure, I would recommend cooling the mUk only. 



Why we cool the milk is to cheek the growth of bacteria. If the milk be allowed to stand at a high 

 temperature it produces conditions eminently favourable for the growth of those germs which produce bad 

 flavours in all dairy produce. 



The most desirable temperatures for the cooling of milk for either city consumption or for the manufacture of 

 butter is from 50 degrees to 55 degrees ; and although it is not always practicable to do this on the farm, every 

 endeavour should be made to lower the temperature to as near this as possible. 



Many species of bacteria which produce bad flavours in milk do not grow well at a temperature of 50 degrees, 

 while those that do develop grow very slowly, and the development of those organisms which produce souring in 

 milk are almost entirely stopped. 



In hot climates, aeration on the farm will be found insuBicient for the proper cooling of milk. When this is 

 the case, it should be supplemented with cooling by passing the milk over a cooler through which cold water 

 is running. 



The cooling may also be done, though not so quickly or advantageously, by placing the cans or pails in a 

 stream or dam where the water is fairly cold. If this be not available, the cans or pails can be placed iu tanks 

 of cold water and the temperature soon reduced by keeping the milk stirred with a dipper and by changing the 

 water." 



The paper is well illustrated, different kinds of sterilising ovens, milk cans and pails, etc., 

 being figured. 



