166 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Per cent 



Water 87. 



Fat 4. 



Casein 2.6 



Albumin 7 



Sugar 5. 



Ash 7 



More important for our lesson than the composition is the 

 question of the care and handling of milk. The most impor- 

 tant item in the handling of milk is cleanliness. Probably 

 no other kind of food is more difficult to keep clean than 

 milk. Thousands of bacteria from the air get into the milk, 

 some of which cause the milk to sour, while others may be 

 the germs of consumption, typhoid fever, and other dan- 

 gerous human diseases. The following precautions in the 

 care of milk should be taken by all who furnish us with this 

 valuable food: 



First, the milker should have clean clothes and clean hands, 

 and should never wet his hands with, the milk. Second, the 

 cow should be clean, the udder and teats should be wiped with 

 a moist cloth, and the stables well lighted, aired, and cleaned. 

 Third, every vessel used in the handling of the milk should 

 be scalded and scrupulously cleaned. Fourth, the cows should 

 not be milked where the air is full of dust of any kind. 

 Fifth, the surface of the milk should not be left exposed to 

 the air of the cellar, kitchen, or any place where dust 

 or bacteria may fall into it. Sixth, the milk should be cooled 

 quickly and kept cold. 



Butter. Butter is composed largely of fat, so we speak 

 of the fat of milk as butter fat. Fat, although most valuable 



