326 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



THE UTENSILS. 



1. Milk utensils for farm use should be made of metal and well tinned and 

 have all joints smoothly soldered. Never use them if they become rusty or 

 rough on the inside. 



2. Dairy utensils should be cleansed directly after using by first thoroughly 

 rinsing them in water; then clean inside and out with hot water in which a 

 cleaning material is dissolved ; then thoroughly rinse with plenty of water ; and 

 lastly, sterilize by boiling water or steam. Use pure water only. 



3. All milk utensils and strainers should be thoroughly cleansed by the use 

 of boiling water ; and all cans, utensils, and strainers must be sterilized before 

 they are used. 



4. Milk strainers should be kept exceedingly clean, and scalded a second time 

 just before using. If cloth strainers are used, several of them should be provided 

 in order that they may be frequently changed during the straining of the milk. 



5. After cleaning utensils should be inverted in pure air. Milk utensils and 

 cans must not be left in the cow stables, by the dusty roadside, near the sink 

 drain outlet, the pig sty, or the open privy vault. 



6. Ice tubs and cooling tanks should be thoroughly cleansed by scrubbing at 

 least once a week. 



7. Remember that the milk cans are the property of the city milk dealer, 

 and must not be used to carry water for cattle or for other uses on the farm. 



THE MILKING AND MILKERS. 



1. No person having any communicable disease, or one caring for persons 

 having such disease, should be allowed to handle the milk or milk utensils or 

 assist in the milking. 



2. The hands of the milkers should be carefully washed immediately before 

 milking. The hands should be thoroughly washed with soap and water and 

 carefully dried on a clean towel. 



3. Milk with dry hands. Never allow the hands to come in contact with the 

 milk. The practice of moistening the hands with milk, or to spit on them, is to 

 be condemned. 



4. The milker should wear a clean washable jacket, used only when milking, 

 and kept in a clean place at other times. 



5. Always brush off and wipe the udder and surrounding parts just before 

 milking. If the cows are very dirty, wash with a cloth or sponge, and then 

 dry the udders and teats with a clean piece of cloth or sacking. 



6. Milk quietly, quickly, cleanly, and thoroughly. 



7. The first few streams from each teat should be rejected, as this milk 

 contains more bacteria than the rest of the mess. 



8. All milk drawn from the cows 30 days before and 10 days after calving 

 should be rejected, and also all milk from diseased cows. If any accident 

 occurs by which a pail full or partly full of milk becomes dirty, do not try to 

 remedy this by straining, because the soluble filth and the bacteria can not be 

 removed by straining, but 'reject all this milk and rinse the pail. 



9. The pails in which the milk is drawn should have as small an opening 

 at the top as can be used in milking. This renders the collection of manure 

 and dust with the milk less likely. 



10. Dry fodder should not be fed to the cows during or just before milking, 

 as dust therefrom will fall into the milk. 



THE MILK. 



1. Remove the milk of every cow at once from the stable to the milk house 

 or to a clean room where the air is pure and sweet. Do not allow milk cans 

 to remain in stables while they are being filled. 



2. A good plan, if modern coolers are not available, is to strain the milk into 

 cans which are standing in ice water which reaches the neck of the can. 



3. The more rapidly the milk is cooled and the colder it is kept the safer it 

 is and the longer it will remain sweet. Milk can not be properly cooled at any 

 season of the year if the air alone is expected to do the cooling. 



4. Ice should be used in cooling, both in summer and winter, as very few 

 wells or springs are cold enough for the purpose. 



5. If aerators or coolers are used, they should stand where the air is free 

 from dust and odor, and on no account should they be used in the cow stable. 



