REDUCTION OF BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION. 53 



fac*0f the milk is protected from the entrance of dirt, the 

 milk being drawn in at the side into a vertically open hood* 

 Other devices have been used for this purpose which it is 

 not necessary to consider. In general it may be recognized 

 that any plan of milk vessel which exposes a small amount 

 of surface to the air will result in reducing considerably the 

 amount of dirt that may enter the milk during the milking, 

 and hence the bacterial contamination will be less. Actual 

 experiments .with such milk pails have demonstrated that 

 they do keep out a considerable quantity of dirt, and as a 

 result, a considerable proportion of the bacteria. The pail 

 shown in Fig. n keeps out about 66 per cent, of the dirt. 

 Some such specially devised pails are coming into use in 

 dairies where special care is taken for producing a good 

 quality of milk. They are not much more inconvenient to 

 handle than an ordinary milk pail, and their use is certainly 

 to be recommended in any dairy where it is desired to pro- 

 duce a pure grade of milk. 



A useful practice is to moisten the under side of the cow's 

 body, particularly the udder, but not the teats, just before 

 milking. This largely prevents the dirt from falling from 

 her body during the milking, and thus improves the quality 

 of milk. In cases where exceptional care is desired the 

 practice of washing the teats and udder with warm water 

 or even a two per cent, solution of boracic acid, is some- 

 times adopted. The value of the use of such disinfectants is 

 probably hardly sufficient to compensate for the trouble and 

 slight expense, except in cases where, for special reasons, 

 it is desired to obtain a milk as free from bacteria as possible, 

 or in instances where it is desired to get rid of some dairy 

 trouble, like bitter milk, etc. The cow's tail may be fastened 

 during the period of milking in such a way as to prevent its 

 being swung to and fro-. , 



The use of dry feed for the cow should never be allowed 

 in the milking stall immediately before or during the milk- 



