TYPES OF BACTERIA Foi'M) 1 N MILK 47 



from this dairy is carried to a creamery or station ; from here 

 the cans which brought it are freely distributed to other dairies, 

 and, in time, nearly every dairy in the community will receive 

 these cans which may have been partially washed in the cream- 

 ery, but never thoroughly sterilized. By these means the germs 

 present in the cans are readily distributed and the sliminess 

 begins to appear in one dairy after another. The remedy 

 for such cases is clear. A more thorough washing and sterili- 

 zing of the cans at the central distributing station must be 

 .adopted so that no farm will ever receive a can containing 

 any of the undesirable bacteria. In this way the spread of 

 such an infection may be checked. 



In all cases there must be some original source from which 

 the trouble arises, and this source must be looked for carefully 

 and, when found, eliminated if possible. Studies of such in- 

 fection have shown, at least, three possible sources. I. Some- 

 times the germs have been obtained from the water used in 

 washing the cans or, more likely, from the water in which the 

 cans were cooled. The presence of the slimy bacteria in the 

 cooling water will surely, in time, infect the inside of the cans, 

 when they will bring about the trouble. 2. Sometimes it has 

 been found that the udder of a single cow has been infected 

 with the germ, and this has affected the milk of the whole dairy. 

 3. The slimy milk germ has also been found in the dust of the 

 food which has been fed to the animals. 



Xo other sources, as yet, are known. Hence, the dairyman 

 who finds this trouble appearing in his dairy should look to his 

 water supply, to the food of the cows, and should, for a few 

 days, keep separate the milk from the individual cows to see 

 whether the sliminess of the milk affects the entire herd, or only 

 one or two cows. As soon as this is determined, he will know 

 whether he needs to clean the udders of one or two cows, or 

 to find some more general source of infection. It is impossible 

 here to give directions how to discover and remove the cause 



