SOURCES OF INFECTION IN THE STABLE. 33 



It is natural to suppose that a good many of the con- 

 taminating particles mentioned above came into the milk 

 through the litter used ; this may thus both indirectly and 

 directly contribute to the infection of the milk. Proper 

 litter must not only form a good bed and quickly absorb 

 the liquids, but must also as far as possible be free from 

 dust and all kinds of soil particles, fungi, etc. We often 

 find litter in our stables, however, which does not come 

 up to these requirements. I may mention as an example 

 that in several places where the generally excellent peat 

 dirt has been introduced they have neglected to remove its 

 dust particles as directed. As a result I have found large 

 quantities of humus and sphagnum particles in the milk 

 from farms where this practice was followed. I have also 

 found fungi of all kinds in the milk from a stable where 

 the fodder and straw litter were impure and moldy owing 

 to bad weather during the harvest. The milk from a farm 

 where they used pine leaves as a litter was found very 

 impure, especially from manure particles, an observation 

 which would indicate that this material, which also for 

 other reasons is undesirable, ought not to be used as litter 

 on dairy-farms. The sample of milk mentioned last also 

 contained large masses of molds. 



The Flooring of the Stable. An improper floor may 

 also be the cause of infection of the milk, as may appear 

 from the fact that the sample of milk which proved most 

 filled with soil particles in my investigations came from a 

 farm where the floor in the stable consisted of bowlders 



strainer. Vogel found 12.9 milligrams dry impurities per liter of 

 JJiirnberg milk, and Uhl found 19.7 milligrams per liter of Gies- 

 een milk (average results). "W 



