No. 4.] CLEAN MILK. 53 



highly unjust and improper^^ however, to prohibit the feeding 

 of silage to dairy cows altogether, for there is practically no 

 other food which can be fed in winter which will so closely 

 resemble snmmer footl, and which will keep the cow in such 

 thoronghly good physical condition, to say nothing of the 

 producers' right of say in the matter, — that of economical 

 production. 



Silago made from mature corn, preserved in properly con- 

 structed silos, and fetl in quantities not greater than 25 to 

 30 pounds per day, will, by keeping the cows' general system 

 in better condition, cause a better milk to be produced than 

 those same cows could produce under like sanitary conditions 

 were they fed solely on some dry food. 



The air of the stable is too frequently close and filled with 

 dust and disagreeable odors. That the milk, or rather the 

 fat of it, will absorb odors, is known to all of us. The rate 

 at which such odors are absorbed, howe\'er, has frequently 

 been overestimated. The milk should, however^ bo removed 

 from the stable atmosphere as soon as it can conveniently be 

 done; and in storage, too, it should be under clean environ- 

 ment. Independent, then, of the possibility of bacterial 

 contamination, there is a reason for an early removal of 

 milk from ill-flavored places. 



Bacte7-ia, though tiny things, are now receiving an im- 

 mense amount of attention, and justly so, for great is their 

 ability to do good or ill. The dairyman, too, must remember 

 that every particle of dust is a tiny raft or airship, each 

 carrying upon it a dozen to a hundred living things which 

 have the power of growing and filling large space. The 

 dandruif and hair from the cow carry with them particles of 

 manure which introduce the organisms which are frequently 

 the cause of the " summer complaint," colic, etc., in infants. 

 The dust in the air also introduces molds and l)acteria from 

 dusty hay, fodder and bedding, which injure or destroy the 

 feeding value of such milk. 



I say, brother dairyman, did you ever see a farmer get 

 up in the morning, and, without washing, take two pails of 

 swill from the house to the hog house, handle the tools con- 



