MILK DANGERS AND REMEDIES 127 



special precautions were taken to avoid raising 

 dust, whilst the first milk, always rife with bacteria, 

 was rejected. Directly after milking bacterial 

 gelatine -plates were respectively prepared from 

 the milk in these two pails, with the following 

 results : In one cubic centimetre of milk taken 

 from the sterilised pail there were 165 bacteria; in 

 that taken from the ordinary pail as many as 4,265 

 were found. 



Another experiment illustrates perhaps even 

 more strikingly the effect of cleanly operations in 

 milking upon the initial bacterial contents of milk. 

 The preliminary precautionary measures were 

 carried out by an ordinary workman, and are in 

 no sense so refined as to be beyond the reach of 

 ordinary daily practice. "The milk was received in 

 steamed pails, the udder of the animal, before 

 milking, was thoroughly carded, and then mois- 

 tened with water, so as to prevent dislodgment 

 of dirt. Care was taken that the barn air was 

 free from dust, and in milking the first few streams 

 of milk were rejected. The milk from a cow 

 treated in this way contained 330 bacteria per 

 cubic centimetre, while that of the mixed herd, 

 taken under the usual conditions, contained 15,500 

 in the same volume. The experiment was repeated 

 under winter conditions, at which time the mixed 



