58 DAIRY BACTERIOLOGY 



able fermentations. Diffusion slices l are generally supposed to 

 exert a particularly undesirable influence on milk in connection 

 with cheese making ; but as a matter of fact, they are harmless 

 in a properly soured condition ; on the other hand, if they are 

 given in spring or summer when they have begun to putrefy, they 

 will be just as dangerous as any other putrefying roots ; the author 

 has found that such material is the chief source of butyric acid 

 and aerogenes bacteria in milk. 



It is obvious that cleanliness will be promoted by cutting the 

 hair on the udders and hindquarters of the cows as short as 

 possible. The condition of the ground or the covering of the stable 

 floor has a most important bearing on cleanliness. The most 

 favourable conditions are on the pastures in dry weather. In 

 rainy weather the cows may be badly soiled with mud which, as 

 has been mentioned above, is a fruitful source of sporing bacteria ; 

 milk obtained under these conditions is on this account difficult 

 to sterilise. In damp meadows or during a prolonged spell of wet 

 weather, microorganisms will grow abundantly on the surfaces of 

 plants. The floor of the cowshed must be well covered with fresh 

 straw, but it is better for the cows to rest on a clean cement floor 

 than on decaying straw or husks which give rise to dust rich in 

 microorganisms. Peat, especially the long fibred variety, is good, 

 but it must not be allowed to remain until it becomes sloppy. If 

 the shed is not planned so that the cows cannot lie down in their 

 dung, someone must be at hand to remove or cover up the dung 

 at once. There should be a sharp fall in the floor where the dung 

 is deposited. If once the udders have become badly soiled, it will 

 be impossible to obtain the milk in a decent condition. Rubbing 

 the udder with a cloth, which will very quickly be dirtied, is of 

 little avail ; proper cleaning of the udders will be very difficult of 

 accomplishment on large farms. Prevention will be found to be 

 far easier than cure, and if this matter were only given the atten- 

 tion which it justly deserves, the farmer would be rendering a 

 most valuable service to the cause of clean milk. 



It should go without saying that everyone who touches food 

 should have clean hands, but it is of little avail that the milkers 

 wash their hands only to soil them again immediately they com- 

 mence their work. Of course, something will be gained if the 

 hands are thoroughly washed after the milking of each cow, 

 provided that they are not soiled again by touching the bottom 

 rim of the pail or the cobwebs on the beams, or by slapping the 

 dirty flanks of the cow to make it give room for the milking. 

 Clean hands and clean clothes are without doubt much to be 



1 A by-product from beet sugar manufacture, which is used as fodder in 

 countries where this industry has been developed. 



