THE RELATION OF MICROORGANISMS TO MILK 



457 



Similar results have been reported by Bahlman,* by Mclnerney,f 

 and by Sherman. { Some investigators, especially Hammer || and 

 Marshall and Hood, have reported results showing that in some lots 

 of milk the plate count from the clarified milk is less than in the original 

 milk. This is shown in the following data given by the last named 

 authors. 



BACTERIA IN COMMERCIAL MILK BEFORE AND AFTER CLARIFICATION 



In the case of the increased counts they do not mean that there is an 

 actual increase in individual bacteria in these samples due to the action 

 of the separator or clarifier. What it does mean is that the small 

 clusters or groups of organisms, as they exist in the whole milk are 

 thrown apart by the centrifugal force and therefore develop a larger 

 number of individual colonies in the plate cultures in spite of the fact 

 that large numbers of organisms are thrown out in the slime. 



* Bahlman, Clarence. Milk Clarifiers, Am. Jour, of Public Health, 1916, Vol. VI, No. 8, 

 1916. 



t Mclnerney, T. J. Clarification of Milk. Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 389, April, 1917. 



J Sherman, James M. Bacteriological Tests of Milk Clarifier. Jour, of Diary Science, 

 1917, Vol. I, No. 3, p. 272. 



|| Hammer, B. W. Studies on the Clarification of Milk. Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 28, 

 1916. 



Marshall, C. E. and Hood, E. G. Clarification of Milk. Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 187, 

 Nov., 1918. 



