170 BETTER DAIRY FARMING 



utensils dry by themselves than to wipe them out. Finally, do not 

 forget to wash the brush used in scrubbing the pails. 



275. A clean farmer. — The dairyman himself must be clean 

 — he must have clean clothes and clean hands. The overalls worn 

 by the milker do not need to be white but they should be different 

 from those bearing the accumulated dirt of the farm and they 

 should be washed frequently. The next thing is clean, dry hands. 

 There should be soap and water and a towel at a convenient place. 

 Milk should not be handled by anyone suffering from a contagious 

 disease. 



276. Cool the milk at once. — Keeping the milk clean as we 

 have outlined above keeps most of the bacteria out. But the 

 few that do get in can multiply rapidly and the next essential is 

 to cool the milk at once and keep it cool to keep down the bacteria 

 as much as possible, for the product is graded with respect to 

 cleanliness by counting the bacteria in it. Effective cooling means 

 bringing the milk to 50° F. or lower within an hour after it is drawn. 

 There is no question but that cooling the milk to near its freezing 

 point is better but it is expensive. The best way to cool the milk 

 down quickly is to run it over a cooler in which cold water also 

 circulates. Many such coolers are on the market. Ice water is 

 preferable to use for this cooling but many farmers pump well 

 water through the cooler with satisfactory results. Sometimes the 

 water as it comes from the cooler is run into the watering trough. 



277. The milk tank. — Next to the use of a cooler through 

 which water circulates, the best method of cooling is to set the 

 cans in a tank of ice water and stir the milk frequently. This 

 method requires the least labor and equipment and is perhaps the 

 most practical for the average dairyman. Once the milk is cooled 

 it must be kept so until it is consumed, for cold does not kill the 

 bacteria and they will become active if the milk gets warm again. 

 Thus milk which has been run through a cooler should be kept in 

 a tank of cold water thereafter. 



There are other things sometimes emphasized in producing 

 clean milk — avoiding dust in the air at milking time, having the 

 barn floors and ceilings tight, etc. Dust does add dirt to the milk 



