TREATMENT OF MILK FOR MARKET 147 



INFECTION IN THE HOME 



The consumer of the milk needs a caution concerning his 

 method of keeping it as well as does the farmer for producing 

 it. It makes no difference how fine a quality of milk may be 

 furnished, it will not remain in good condition unless properly 

 treated. In many cases faults and complaints that arise from 

 the consumer are due to his own carelessness and not to the 

 character of the milk which he receives. He places milk in a 

 pitcher that has not been carefully washed and that still con- 

 tains some bacteria from the last sour milk which it held. The 

 milk is placed in a warm room and allowed to stand for some 

 hours before being placed in an ice chest. If placed in an ice 

 box, this is presumably filled with ice, but the ice frequently 

 runs low, and the temperature rises. Under such conditions, 

 especially in summer weather, trouble is sure to rise, and the 

 milkman will receive the complaint that the milk will not keep 

 when the trouble is due entirely to the treatment from the cus- 

 tomer. For his own advantage the customer should be careful 

 that the milk vessel in which the milk is placed has been thor- 

 oughly cleaned, that it is kept cold, that it is not allowed to be- 

 come warm under any condition, and that it is not placed in a 

 position where dirt or bad odors can reach the milk. If these 

 suggestions are followed, the complaints of bad milk will cer- 

 tainly be lessened. 



THE USE OF PRESERVATIVES 



The use of preservatives in milk is at the present time to be 

 unhesitatingly condemned. Whether in time perfectly harmless 

 preservatives may be discovered cannot be predicted. But in 

 this country the use of preservatives is, at present, illegal and 

 cannot be recommended under any circumstances. It is, there- 

 fore, unwise here to give any directions as to the use of such 

 materials. 



