176 Dairy Bacteriology. 



184. Improved apparatus. A more convenient form 

 of apparatus has been devised by various dairy manufac- 

 turers. This consists of a water-tight box, with cover, 

 which is provided with a faucet for the withdrawal of the 

 water; also a rack to hold the bottles. The test bottles 

 are made with parallel sides, the large top permitting of 

 the easy removal of the curd. The tops are provided 

 with a sieve of such construction that the bottles will 

 drain thoroughly if inclined in an inverted position 

 (fig. 36). 



FIG. 37. Curd from a good milk. The large irregular holes are mechanical. 



185. Interpretation of results of test. The curd 

 from a good milk has a firm, solid texture, and should 

 contain at most only a few small pin holes. It generally 

 has a few large, irregular, "mechanical" holes where the 

 curd particles have failed to cement as is seen in fig. 37. 

 If gas-producing bacteria are very prevalent in the milk, 

 the conditions under which the test is made cause such 

 a rapid growth of the same that the evidence of the ab- 

 normal fermentation may be readily seen in the spongy 

 texture of the curd. If the undesirable organisms are 

 not very abundant and the conditions not especially suit- 



