102 BOARD OF AGRICULTUiiE. [Pub. Doc. 



city where certified milk made under the direction of some 

 society, as was indicated in the latter part of my address, is 

 used, the physicians are of one accord in saying that the 

 mortality of infants has been reduced at least from one-third 

 to one-half. Dr. Roljy has shown clearly that the death rate 

 from cholera infantum in Rochester in the last eight years 

 has been reduced more than 50 per cent. And w^e can follow 

 right along, wherever anything has been done, and show 

 clearly in many instances that the death rate in children has 

 been reduced by giving cleaner, better milk. The milk 

 should be watched, as delivered and as kept ; and right there 

 is where a whole lot of the danger comes, — in the way it is 

 kept after delivery to the family. Of course a great portion 

 of the germs found in milk are the germs Avhich produce 

 lactic acid ; they are in milk naturally. People talk about 

 sterile milk. There have l)een some germs in every sample 

 of milk that I myself have ever drawn from the cow. Those 

 are natural ; it is right they should be there ; and if the milk 

 was consumed while fresh, I don't believe any damage would 

 be done. If pathological germs existed, however, damage 

 could without any doubt be done by using the milk. The 

 number of germs often indicates almost wholly the keeping 

 quality of the milk. Milk containing a large number of 

 germs per c. c. is almost always a milk that keeps but a 

 short time without changing ; that which contains a small 

 number keeps for a longer time. Ordinarih^ for a healthy 

 grown person I doubt if any germs are found in milk, other 

 than pathological germs, which will injure that person ; but 

 in feeding children, infants or invalids it does work havoc 

 with them, and brings about cholera infantum in many 

 instances. 



Prof. F. S. CooLEY (of Amherst). Perhaps I can say a 

 word in answer to Mr. West's question concerning the value 

 of skim milk. It is generally held that the intrinsic value is 

 about one-half of whole milk, the commercial value some- 

 what less, according to the market. I want Mr. Dawley to 

 say a word about aeration. 



Mr. Da^vley. It has always been our practice to aerate, 

 using a Star cooler, from the fact that we had running Avater 



