12 SCIENCE BULLETIN, No. 



chromogenic. Two thousand colonies, comprising t*o .species of oidium and 

 3,000 yeasts, were also counted ; 200,000 micrococci were found to produce 

 acid in litmus milk, but failed to coagulate it in ten days. 

 Sample L Butter in Churn before Salting. The cream from the attemperator t 

 or holding vats after cooling to 50 deg. Fah. was churned in a box churn for 

 about thirty-five minutes, and the sample of butter for plating was collected 

 by means of a sterile measure before the addition of salt or preservative. 

 From the plates it was ascertained that one gram of butter contained 443,000 

 microorganisms. The majority of these, but considerably reduced in 

 numbers, were similar varieties to those found in sample Kl. From the figures 

 in Table I it is seen that nearly two-thirds of the total micro-organisms 

 in the cream before churning, were carried away with the buttermilk. The 

 additional organisms appearing on the plates were Bad. fluvrescens non 

 hquefaoiens, Bao.julvum and a streptococcus, the probable source of all of 

 which was the butter-wash water. 



Sample Ml Butter in box after Packinj. After washing, the butter was 

 removed from the churn to another room to be salted and worked on an 

 ordinary 6-foot diameter butter worker (a circular table on which revolved 

 corrugated or fluted rollers). The churn used, as already stated, was of the- 

 wooden box type, and of about 1,000 Ib. butter capacity. The butter was 

 handled from churn to barrow, from barrow to worker, and from worker to 

 package by wooden shovels, and was packed into the latter by means of a 

 wooden rammer. This is mentioned in view of these instruments being possible 

 means of contamination. The sample for plating was taken with a sterile 

 measure from (and near the surface of) the butter in the box. From these 

 plates it was shown that one gram of butter contained 2,244,000 micro- 

 organisms. Of these 1,330,000 coagulated milk with production of lactic 

 acid, 1,000,000 were of the Bact. lactis acidi type and 10,000 a lactic bacillus- 

 of Bail, bulgaricus type and may be classed as desirable lactose fermenters,. 

 while 320,000 were streptococci, varieties of which are often associated with 

 disease conditions. Amongst the 724,000 gelatin liquefiers and casein 

 digesters, were present Proteus mirabUis, Baot.fluorescens liquefaoiens, Staphlo- 

 coicus aureus, Microioicus flavus. Boot. Zopfii, a variety of proteus which 

 does not liquefy gelatin, was also present. One thousand undesirable lactose 

 fermenters, Bact. laclis cerojenes, were found. The 150,000 making litmus 

 milk alkaline were of both spherical and rod forms. The yeasts and oidium 

 lactis numbered 20,000, while the 20,000 mould growths were Qtadosporium 

 herbarum and two species of Peniottlium. 



Sample N Butter Wash Water. The water used for washing the bu fcter 

 was obtained from the ordinary town supply, and was delivered into a large 

 tank where it was subjected to a process of chilling before using. The 

 sample for plating was collected into a sterile vessel from the delivery pipe in 

 the churn room. From the counts it was found that 1 c.c. of water contained 

 329 micro-organisms ; of these, twenty-seven, comprising Bait, fluorescens 

 liquejaoiens, Bact. mycoides, Micrococcus flavus, were able to liquefy gelatin 

 and digest the casein of milk. There were five colonies of a micrococcua- 



