250 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



the milk sours. Professor Sedgwick says " short-lived milk 

 is usually filthy milk." Another authority says : " Sour milk 

 is due to dirty handling." Groteufelt says: "The impure 

 air in the stable is one of the main causes of bacterial infec- 

 tion of milk." 



Stables. 



The barn should be cleaned at least annually, removing dust 

 and cobwebs from timbers and corners, and cleaning out all 

 refuse and rubbish. It should then be thoroughly white- 

 washed. This not only removes many microbes and intro- 

 duces a weak antiseptic, but it renders the stable lighter and 

 more cheerful. Any work in the barn which stirs up a dust 

 just before milking will greatly add to the numl)er of the 

 bacteria in the air and therefore in the milk. Chores which 

 contaminate the air should l)e deferred till after milking. 

 Frequent sweeping of the barn is a good idea, but it had bet- 

 ter be omitted if it can be done at no other time than immedi- 

 ately before milking. Manure ought to be removed from the 

 stable promptly, as the longer it remains in the warm stable 

 the more the bacteria in it multiply, but wait until after 

 milking before you do this work. Many barns are made so 

 that it is impossible to avoid pitching hay from the mows or 

 high beams in the room where the cattle are kept. This is 

 favorable to stirring up a dust and therefore it ought not to 

 be done just before milking. Feeding coarse fodder directly 

 before milking, stirring up masses of dust, is not to be com- 

 mended. Sprinkling stable floors before milking will mate- 

 rially lessen the germs in the milk. The free admission of 

 outside air into the barn is also an important consideration. 

 By care it is possible to decrease considerably the infection 

 of milk through the ordinary dust of the stable. 



The Cows. 

 When the cow's flanks are covered with filth, either manure 

 or the mud of some pasture pool, the amount of bacteria 

 that wnll fall into the milk is enormous. Consequently the 

 skin of the cows should be kept as clean as possible. The 

 importance of carefully carding, brushing and cleaning the 

 cows is evident. To <ret the best results the udder and the 



