THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 31 



sources, but as soon as the artificial method of drawing milk is re- 

 sorted to there enters a set of conditions entirely new and different. 

 The milk then comes into contact with the air, the vessel into which 

 it is drawn, and with particles of dirt from many sources. The prob- 

 lem 'of securing milk corresponding as nearly as possible to its condi- 

 tion as it exists in the udder is the problem of dairy sanitation. 



Since bacteriology teaches us that every particle of dirt introduced 

 into milk carries with it great numbers of bacteria which neither 

 strain nor clarify from the milk, the necessity of keeping the dirt 

 out in the first instance, instead of attempting to strain it out, is 

 apparent. From the time of milking to the final consumption of 

 the milk, every object that comes in direct contact with it may be a 

 source of contamination. If the udder and flanks of the cow are 

 covered with dirt of the yard or stable, the process of milking is 

 bound to dislodge a greater or less portion of this filth, causing it to 

 fall into the pail. It is easily conceivable how the animal in wading 

 in filth and sewage polluted water may infect the udder and through 

 it the milk with the germs of typhoid fever. We can also appre- 

 ciate how infected water may convey the germs when used for wash- 

 ing utensils or in adulteration of the milk. Clothing worn by milkers 

 often, unless special suits be reserved for use in milking, contains 

 dirt from the hogpen, the chicken coop and horse barn, or even the 

 swill pail, and there is great danger of contamination from these 

 sources. The importance of regulations requiring clean cows, clean 

 milkers, and clean methods of milking and handling must therefore 

 be apparent. 



Not only is milk a very stable medium for almost every descrip- 

 tion of germ life which may gain access to it in its journey from the 

 cow to the consumer, but it may even become contaminated while 

 still in the udder through infectious or poisonous material present 

 in the cow herself. It should be understood, therefore, that milk 

 while in the udder of a healthy cow is rarely sterile (that is to say, 

 free from germ life) , and can only occasionally be removed in small 

 quantities " free from micro-organisms. Commercial milk from 

 healthy cows may contain organisms not only while still in the 

 udder, but may become contaminated in its passage through the 

 ducts of the animal's teats, and at every point in its 12 to 48 hour 

 journey to the consumer may receive and proliferate additional 

 bacteria. 



While it is not practicable by any known method to completely 

 eliminate the prejudicial qualities of milk, it is obviously feasible to re- 

 duce to a minimum the multiplication of bacteria and the consequent 

 clanger of infection with disease. The principal requirements to this 

 end are that the cow herself be free from disease, that cleanliness, 

 low temperatures, and speedy transportation from the cow to the 

 consumer be observed, and that in order to accomplish this the dairy 

 farmer and distributor of milk be imbued with an intelligent interest 

 in safeguarding the product from deterioration up to the time of 

 actual consumption. 



It should be asserted in fairness to the dairyman that he is not 

 always to blame for the furnishing of impure milk. As a rule he 

 attempts to supply a pure grade of milk to his customers and is not 

 conscious of impurities and infections in the article he is distributing. 



