CHAPTER VII 



DAIRY FARM INSPECTION 



THE hygienic qualities of milk depend very largely 

 upon the conditions existing at the source of supply. A 

 knowledge of these conditions can be obtained only by an 

 inspection of the dairy farm. Collecting a sample of milk 

 in the city or town and examining it in the laboratory 

 will disclose certain conditions, and it will usually be cor- 

 rect to infer that the same conditions exist in the entire 

 volume of milk from which the sample was taken. Some 

 of these conditions may be dangerous to the health of 

 the milk consumer, but the milk will have been consumed 

 before they have been discovered. Determining the 

 number of bacteria per c.c. in a sample of milk will fur- 

 nish a good basis for judging the care observed in pro- 

 ducing and handling the milk, especially in regard to 

 cleanliness and cooling, but it will not discover the pres- 

 ence of the bacilli of typhoid fever, tuberculosis, or diph- 

 theria, nor other important pathogenic organisms. Even 

 if it were practicable to subject each sample of milk to 

 the comprehensive examination necessary to discover 

 these organisms, the milk from which the sample was 

 taken would be consumed long before the examination 

 could be completed. It is more rational to guard the 

 milk against contamination at the source than to attempt 

 to discover contaminated milk after it reaches the city 

 and then exclude it from the supply. 



While it may not be possible to discover the actual 

 contamination of the milk in all cases by inspecting the 

 dairy farm, the conditions which permit or favor con- 

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