Contamination of Milk. 47 



contact with the manure, except such as is carried onto 

 the bedding by the hind feet. By the use of this stall it 

 is possible to keep the animals free from all accumula- 

 tions of manure. 



Effort should be made to prevent fouling of the ani- 

 mals rather than in cleaning them after once soiled. It 

 is very evident that where the cattle come to the milker 

 with muddy udders, they will not be so cleaned before 

 milking as to prevent a large amount of such dirt from 

 entering the milk. However, when all that can be done 

 towards keeping the cows clean has been accomplished, 

 a small amount of grooming will greatly reduce the con- 

 tamination coming from them. 



The kind of bedding used in the stalls may have a 

 marked influence on the contamination coming from the 

 animal. If the straw is dusty, partially rotten and 

 moldy, the bacteria and molds adhere to the coat of the 

 animal and are thus introduced into the milk. In the 

 case of cattle on pasture, no visible evidences of dirt are 

 usually present but the hair is covered with the dust 

 coming from the soil. There is very good reason to be- 

 lieve that the quality of milk is influenced by the. type 

 of pasture on which the cows graze, due to the difference 

 in the types of bacteria in the surface soil. The milk 

 from animals on low land is more likely to show unde- 

 sirable fermentations than that from those grazing on 

 higher lands. This is not due to the influence of the 

 feed as is often supposed but rather to the dirt from the 

 coat of the animal. 



Washing the udder. If a surface is moist, dust and 

 the adherent bacteria cannot be easily dislodged. The 

 air over snow-covered mountains or over oceans is rela- 

 tively free from bacteria. The udder and flanks of the 



