30 Dairy Bacteriology. 



In cleaning dairy utensils they should first be rinsed in 

 lukewarm instead of hot water, so as to remove organic 

 matter without coagulating the milk. Then wash thor- 

 oughly in hot water, using soap or weak alkali. A borax 

 solution is sometimes recommended for cleaning bottles. 

 Strong alkalies should not be used. After washing, rinse 

 thoroughly in . clean hot water ; then invert over a steam 

 jet for a few minutes. A momentary application of hot 

 or even boiling water is insufficient to destroy germ life 

 that lurks in joints of vessels. Live steam is especially 

 efficient as a germ- destroy ing agent. If steamed, the 

 cans will dry more quickly. 



It is not often that steam is available on the farm, but 

 under such conditions, it is possible to acquire practically 

 the same results by using boiling water, although the 

 length of exposure must be increased. 



Not only should the greatest care be paid to the condi- 

 tion of the cans and milk-pails, but all dippers, strainers, 



and other utensils that come 

 in contact with the milk, must 

 be kept thoroughly clean. 

 Cloth strainers, unless at- 

 tended to, are objectionable, 

 for the fine mesh of the cloth 

 retains so much moisture that 

 they become a veritable hot- 

 bed of bacterial life, unless 

 they are daily boiled or 



FIG. 7. Section of udder showing cf aarn g(J 

 relation of milk-secreting tissue to 

 milk duct (after Thanhoffer). a, ex- 37. Influence Of flPSt OP 



secreting tissue; e, sphincter mus- in the Contamination of milk, 



the importance of which is 



rarely recognized, comes from the bacteria that gain ac- 

 cess to the milk, by mixing the first or fore milk with 



