DISINFECTION OF DAIRY PREMISES. 59 



arily in a more cleanly condition, can be more easily disin- 

 fected. Every part of the dairy, including the woodwork, 

 should be washed with a disinfectant solution, either cor- 

 rosive sublimate or chloride of lime. It is perhaps better to 

 use the latter solution in the dairy than the corrosive sub- 

 limate, because of the intensely poisonous nature of the for- 

 mer. None of these solutions should be used by washing the 

 inside of any of the vessels or vats which are to contain the 

 milk. These vats should be washed with nothing but boiling 

 hot water. After the disinfection, every part should be thor- 

 oughly washed with clean water for removal of the disin- 

 fecting material, so far as possible. 



The Cow. The fact that some of the dairy troubles are 

 due to microorganisms which become attached to the cows, 

 makes it necessary occasionally to apply the disinfection to 

 these animals. All of the long hairs around the cow's flanks 

 and udder, and especially those on the tip of the tail, should 

 be cut off with shears. Then the cow should be washed, 

 first with water and later with a three to five per cent, solu- 

 tion of boracic acid. The teats should also be carefully 

 washed and, if one wishes to take special pains in the disin- 

 fection, the interior of the milk ducts may be rinsed with a 

 three per cent, solution of boracic acid, which may be in- 

 jected into them through a small tube, like an ordinary milk- 

 ing tube, with a rubber bulb on its end. Such a disinfection 

 applied to the animals is usually sufficient to remove from 

 the animals the microorganisms which are a source of 

 trouble. 



The bacterial contamination thus far considered relates 

 only to the bacteria that find entrance to the milk during the 

 milking. The numbers given above, ranging from a few 

 score to several thousand, are the numbers that are found in 

 fresh milk immediately after the milking process is over. 

 But the number of bacteria that are found in any sample of 



