56 SOURCE OF BACTERIA IN MILK. 



Value of such Regulations. The general suggestions for 

 the dairy above given have been the result of experience 

 and not of theory, and when they are adopted the result in 

 protecting the milk from bacterial contamination is quite 

 appreciable. Exactly ho,w efficient these general methods 

 are in reducing bacteria cannot be stated, but experiment has 

 shown that where they are regularly performed the number 

 of bacteria that find entrance in the milk may be reduced to 

 a few score per cubic centimeter, and sometimes even less. 

 Even moderate precautions will produce a considerable re- 

 duction, and simple rules that may be adopted without very 

 great trouble by any dairyman may reduce the number of 

 bacteria to 1,000-5,000 per cubic centimeter. 



The question of reduction of bacteria is not one of pos- 

 sibility but of practicability. The dairy methods adopted 

 will always be a compromise, and the particular regulations 

 adopted by any individual dairyman will depend upon their 

 expense compared with the price he receives for his milk. 

 It is perfectly possible for any dairyman so to protect his 

 milk by the precautions pointed out that the number of bac- 

 teria will be very small indeed, but whether he will do this will 

 depend upon the price that he can obtain for such milk. 

 The price that most milkmen receive for milk is not suffi- 

 cient to warrant them in adopting all the precautions and 

 suggestions that have been here pointed out. These regu- 

 lations require care and expense, and it is quite impossible 

 to expect that the dairyman will adopt them unless those to 

 whom he furnishes the milk are willing to pay him for his 

 trouble. With the price of milk which the ordinary dairy- 

 man receives it is quite impossible to adopt proper methods. 

 It is only in special dairies, .where a particular price can 

 be obtained for the milk, that the adoption of such sani- 

 tary regulations is possible. In other dairies, where milk is 

 supplied for the general market at ordinary market prices, 

 the rules that are adopted will depend upon the price which 



