CLEANING AND THE PROCUREMENT OF MILK 59 



desired, but in the first place we must insist on clean cows and 

 clean sheds ; when these points have been gained the rest will no 

 doubt follow as a matter of course. Dry milking is naturally 

 more hygienic than wet milking, but as experience has shown, it 

 is extremely difficult to carry out in practice ; it is facilitated by 

 smearing the teats with a little vaseline or fatty material. This 

 practice, which was first proposed by Gillebeau of Berne, has the 

 additional advantage that the dirt is taken up by the greasy matter ; 

 should a drop of the grease fall into the milk it will not mix readily 

 with the latter, and it will be removed on straining through cotton 

 wool. The hope that cleaner milk would be obtained by the use 



FIG. 53. Milking Room at Fauerholm. 



of milking machines has hitherto been disappointed. These 

 machines, with their numerous corners, cavities and rubber tubes, 

 are so difficult to clean and sterilise that they require far more 

 intelligent and conscientious attention than they are likely to 

 receive at the hands of the average milker. 



As already mentioned, the cleaned Pails should receive a final 

 rinsing with hot sterile water, and this is especially necessary if 

 the farm has not a good water supply. It has often been main- 

 tained that bad drinking water for the cows will give rise to bad 

 milk ; this, however, only applies in cases where the cows may 

 have contracted some disease through the water ; the direct 

 infections caused by rinsing the pails with bad water will have far 



