124 THE CREAMERY PATRON'S HANDBOOK. 



not determined. The belief is that it is more probably due to the former 

 cause. It was further found that taking the feeders of malted or fermented 

 food as a class and comparing the per cent, of butterfat present with the 

 per cent, of fat present in the milk supplied by those using only sweet feed, 

 that there was a difference in favor of the latter. The average tests from 

 twenty-five herds using malt grains was 3.5 per cent, of fat. The average 

 of thirty-four herds using sweet feed was 3.95 per cent, of fat. The effect 

 of ensilage could not be determined in this test as no dairyman in this vicin- 

 ity uses it. It was also observed that the dairies supplying the creamery 

 also had a higher per cent, of fat than those using the malt feed. The 

 difference in the cattle and surroundings would hardly account for this 

 condition. The creamery does not buy on the basis of a butterfat test, 

 and never makes a test, so that could not be a stimulant to a higher 

 grade of milk or protect against a water adulteration. 



The water supply is of even greater importance than the food. The 

 water supplies a double purpose, that for the animals, and cleansing and 

 rinsing the vessels and cooling the milk. The food can affect the milk only 

 as it may influence the animal and as particles may accidentally gain en- 

 trance during the milking process. The water is used directly upon the 

 buckets, cans, and other appliances, and if it be contaminated it adds its 

 infection instead of taking away. It is not contended that impure water 

 may pass through the cows and affect the milk, but that the great danger 

 is from its use upon the vessels. It should be that a water unfit for 

 domestic use should never be used for cattle to drink or in any dairy opera- 

 tion. A dairy cow demands a very large amount of water daily, from 12 

 to 16 gallons, and safety demands that the water be of known purity. The 

 water from a tubular well is a much safer water from a hygienic standpoint 

 than that from any other source. The water from a twenty-foot driven 

 well must come from the bottom, and little contamination need be expected, 

 while that from a dug well of any depth will receive more or less drainage 

 from the surface. The location of a well at or near the stockyard, espe- 

 cially if it be an open well, is wrong because it will receive drainage. Such 

 wells have been responsible, for many of the most alarming outbreaks of 

 typhoid fever and unaccountable sickness. The contamination of course 

 coming from a patierit in the house of the dairyman or from a helper. 



It is not an easy matter to obtain water at all places, and when such 

 must be gotten from dug wells, they should be located some distance from 

 the yard and the water piped to the point at which it is wanted. All dairies 

 in cities should be compelled to use water from the city service or from 

 tested wells. 



Much has been published during the past few years upon the number 

 of bacteria that gain access to the milk during the operation of milking. 

 A large number of tests were made to determine this matter at the Purdue 

 Experiment Station during the years 1895 and 1896. The tests were made 

 under as large variety of conditions as possible, commercial dairies of all 



