How to Keep Milk 385 



MEANS FOR IMPROVING THE KEEPING QUALITY OF MILK 



Any precautions that will facilitate the exclusion of 

 dirt from fresh milk will necessarily contribute also to 

 its keeping quality. Such precautions will include the 

 frequent removal of the manure from the barn, the daily 

 cleaning of the floors, the whitewashing of the walls 

 and ceilings, the currying of the animals, personal 

 cleanliness on the part of the milkers, and thorough 

 cleaning of the milk pails and other utensils. Mere 

 washing with hot water and soap is not sufficient for 

 the removal of the bacteria from the pails, cans, strainers 

 and milk tubes. Live steam is the cheapest and most 

 efficient means for the destruction of the milk bacteria. 

 When live steam is objectionable on account of injury 

 to the rubber tubes and other parts, antiseptics, like 

 borax, or concentrated brine solutions should be em- 

 ployed. 



Careful attention should be given, likewise, to the 

 reduction of the number of bacteria in the air of the 

 barn. It is evident that the fewer the number of micro- 

 organisms in the atmosphere surrounding the milker, 

 the fewer will be the number that will fall into the milk 

 during the process of milking. Hay, feed, and bedding 

 should not be distributed in the barn shortly before 

 milking, nor should any unnecessary commotion be 

 allowed. Good ventilation in the barns should be pro- 

 vided for, since the more frequent the admission of 

 germ-poor air from the outside, the more effective the 

 crowding out of the germ-rich barn air. But with all the 

 reasonable care for maintaining the atmosphere of the 



