30 MODERN DAIRY PRACTICE. 



of.* What an abundance of such filth and of the bacteria 

 always prolific in such environments must there not be 

 found in the milk from stables where uncleanliness of this 

 kind reigns supreme. 



Relation of Grain-raising to Cleanliness in the Stable. 

 In days gone by, when the production of grain was the 

 most important system of agriculture practised, there was 

 an abundant supply of straw on the farms, and plenty 

 could be used as litter for the cows. The fact that the 

 feeding was not as intense as now also made it easier to 

 keep the cows clean. The feed consisted mainly of hay and 

 straw, and produced a dry, only slightly offensive manure. 

 Now, on the other hand, there is only a limited supply of 

 straw on the farms, and the high feeding practised makes 

 it considerably harder to keep the cows clean, as it makes 

 the dung watery and of a very offensive smell. In our 

 days, when the demands for cleanliness in the stable are 

 becoming more and more strict, the farmer has there- 

 fore greater difficulties to overcome in trying to fulfil 

 these demands, at the same time as he often has lost the 

 best remedy previously at his disposal to reach this end. 

 The explanation of the above-mentioned fact that a large 

 number of dung and food particles and other impurities 

 may be found by a microscope even in strained milk from 

 comparatively well-kept cow-stables, doubtless lies here. 

 The danger to the keeping qualities of the milk from this 

 source arises from the fact that these particles are carriers 

 of a considerable number of bacteria. I have repeatedly 

 observed that a large number of spore-bearing bacteria 



* See Gripenberg and Grotenfelt : Illustrations of Cows' Milk, 

 Cream, etc. (Afbildningar af komjOlk, gradde m. m.), Helsingfors, 

 1889, p. 11, Fig. Vila. 



