102 LESSONS IN AGRICULTURE 



Not only do these germs, which cause the souring of 

 the milk, get into it, but the germs of consumption and 

 typhoid fever will also live in milk, and thus endanger 

 the health and lives of all who drink it. The following 

 precautions in the care of milk should be known to all 

 who supply us with this valuable food: 



1. Avoid pitching hay or making beddings or sweep- 

 ing in the barn soon before milking time, if the cows 

 are to be milked in the barn, for more germs fall into 

 the milk if the air is full of dust. 



2. The milker should wear clean clothes, should have 

 clean hands, and should never wet his hands with 

 the milk. 



3. For greater cleanliness and safety the milkman 

 should curry the sides of the cow, and moisten the parts 

 nearest him to prevent dust from falling from the cow 

 into the milk. 



4. The first few streams of milk from each teat 

 should be thrown away, because the milk at the mouth 

 of the teat has been exposed to the air, is full of germs, 

 and will cause the rest of the milk to sour sooner. 



5. Every vessel used in the handling of the milk 

 should be scrupulously clean. 



6. The surface of the milk should not be left exposed 

 to the air of the cellar, living rooms, or any place where 

 dust and germs may fall into it. 



7. To test for formalin in milk, add a few drops of 

 ferric chloride, then pour sulphuric acid into the milk, 

 letting it run down the side of the glass. A purple 



