116 THE CREAMERY PATRON'S HANDBOOK. 



odor as persistent as that of garlic, it is claimed, may be greatly diminished 

 in this way. 



The addition of chemicals, such as potassium nitrate Csaltpeter) has 

 also been recommended, but in our limited experience with this agent, 

 we have always found that the milk made into cheese had a peculiar odor. 



Undoubtedly the use of heat and pure air will be of some help under 

 certain conditions, but with the great majority of cases it will be easier 

 and far more effectual 'to remedy the difficulty by prevention rather than 

 by treatment. 



In the larger number of instances where milk is tainted, the producer ex- 

 pects to find that the difficulty is due to the absorption of some pre-exist- 

 ing taint. Generally he is wrong in this conclusion, for in a dairy that is 

 kept reasonably free from putrefactive odors, the tainted condition of milk 

 is more often due to the action of microbes than to direct absorption. In 

 general, dairymen do not fully appreciate the influence of these microscopic 

 forms of life. Until we recognize how potent they are in their effect on 

 milk and how necessary it is to take every precaution to prevent their en- 

 trance and growth in this field, we shall fail, as a rule, to apprehend the real 

 source of trouble. 



Under natural conditions dirt and bacteria are invariably associated 

 so that the entrance of even microscopic dust is really sufficient to seed 

 the milk with organisms that are capable under ordinary conditions of 

 greatly changing the chemical and even the physical constitution of milk, 

 thereby converting what should be a highly nutritious fluid into much less 

 valuable and often positively injurious products. 



In the preceding pages the attempt has been made to explain the cause 

 of the various abnormal conditions that occur in milk, but these defects 

 can be prevented in the great majority of cases if the proper care is given 

 to the milk in the first place. To give definite expression as to what is 

 meant by proper care, the following rules are appended. Even a rigid ob- 

 servance of these regulations will not in all cases insure success, but they 

 will be helpful to those that are in doubt in regard to the best method of 

 treatment. These rules simply put into concise language the spirit of the 

 foregoing pages. 



SUGGESTIONS TO MILK PRODUCERS IN REGARD TO THE CARE 



OF MILK. 



CARE OF ANIMALS. 



1. The milk of any animal suffering from disease should not be used 

 for food in any form. 



2. The milk from fresh animals should be rejected until after the 

 ninth milking. 



3. Ensilage, turnips, etc., should only be fed immediately after milk- 

 ing, so as to allow time for the elimination of the volatile products of these 

 feeds from the system of the animal. 



