Cooling and Bottling 161 



rinsing, they should be drained, placed mouth down- 

 ward, and sterilized, preferably with steam under a few 

 pounds pressure. There are some machines on the 

 market that will fill the bottles and cap them without 

 the attendant handling either bottles or caps. When 

 the bottles and caps are both sterile, this, of course, 

 is a somewhat desirable feature. There is no reason 

 whatever why just as good results may not be obtained 

 in smaller plants, if the operator desires to fill the 

 bottles by means of a pitcher or dipper or some other 

 convenient vessel, and, as a matter of fact, this 

 method has been employed by some very successful of 

 the smaller producers. In certified milk plants, where 

 large quantities of milk are handled, some of the 

 modern bottle -filling machines prove quite satisfactory. 

 Some dairymen set the bottles in ice -water as soon 

 as they are filled and capped, in order to secure the 

 quickest cooling. Others prefer to place the bottles 

 in the shipping cases and cover with finely crushed ice. 



All vessels that are used in the handling of milk 

 should be thoroughly washed, rinsed, and sterilized, 

 preferably by steam under pressure. In sterilizing 

 cans and pails, it is quite important to have them 

 placed- in the sterilizer mouth downward. 



Cost of production. The cost of production of cer- 

 tified milk will depend quite largely on the location 

 and arrangement of the barns, stables, bottling-rooms, 

 etc., as well as the ease and convenience by means of 

 which suitable roughage and concentrates may be 

 secured and handled. It is also difficult to secure 

 efficient labor for the cleaning and milking, and to 



