538 THE CONTROL OF THE MILK SUPPLY 



about five minutes. The milk can now be poured off into a clean 

 jug, and protected from the air by covering with a clean cloth. 



For cleansing, soda is not required, but the chamber should be 

 filled with warm water at once, and wiped out quite clean. The 

 lids should be left off the steriliser until required for further use. 



In the larger sizes it is necessary to stir occasionally during 

 heating and cooling by drawing the handle of the stirrer up and 

 down the spout. The milk is distinctly more palatable than when 

 boiled. The method is simple and efficacious and avoids the 

 difficulty of the separation of the fatty constituents, which occurs 

 in the so-called " bottle sterilisers." The milk chamber acts as a 

 condenser for the steam generated, and no steam is given off from 

 the lids until the milk has reached the temperature of 195° F. If 

 left on the fire, the milk can only run up to 212° F. The boiling 

 point of milk is 213° F. 



In another form of domestic steriliser which is intended for use 

 on an ordinary fire, a tube, which carries an alarm bell at the top, 

 is inserted through the lid of the enamelled saucepan. When the 

 desired temperature (85° C. or 185° F.) is reached, a trigger con- 

 tained in the tube is automatically released, and the bell rings, thus 

 warning the attendant to take the pan off the fire. In another form 

 the action is entirely automatic. A saucepan containing the sensitive 

 trigger is placed on a gas stove, and when the proper temperature 

 is reached, the release of the trigger causes the supply of gas to be 

 automatically cut off. A third is arranged for use with a spirit 

 lamp. When the necessary temperature is reached the release of 

 the trigger brings a cap over the lamp and extinguishes the 

 flame. 



In pasteurisation the taste and nutritive quality of the milk is 

 but little altered, although it does not look so " rich " as unpasteur- 

 ised milk. It is a method much practised in Amsterdam, and is 

 said to have resulted in bringing about a reduction in infant 

 mortality due to milk-borne disease. In Denmark pasteurisation 

 is very general, though not universal. Some authorities maintain 

 that pasteurisation, and, indeed, all forms of sterilisation of milk 

 are harmful to children consuming such milk. It is said that 

 infantile scurvy and malnutrition follow the consumption of milk 

 which has been submitted to prolonged heating at a high tempera- 

 ture (Barlow, Ransom, Still, and others). It is for these reasons, 

 so it is alleged, that some milk supply companies do not sterilise 

 their milk. Physiologically, prolonged heating of milk is likely to 

 alter the lact-albumen and render less digestible the proteids in 



