Introduction 



addition, Dr. Belcher, who had already be- 

 come greatly interested in the bacterial side 

 of the milk problem, was authorized to con- 

 duct an investigation at the sources of pro- 

 duction. This meant practically the trans- 

 porting of a laboratory to dairy farms and 

 creamery buildings and the performance of 

 scientific labor amid the actual conditions 

 attending the production of milk. In the 

 two years devoted to this task, thousands of 

 experiments were made and every detail of 

 milk production subjected to exhaustive and 

 critical study and examination. The results 

 of this research were placed at the service of 

 farmers and milkmen, and it is gratifying 

 to record that in many instances these busi- 

 ness men hastened to adopt precautions 

 against contamination. In a spirit of co- 

 operation, the dairy farmer, the city dealer, 

 and the bacteriologist joined forces in an 

 effort to produce milk free from serious bac- 

 terial defilement. Dr. Belcher's method was 

 the aseptic, as opposed to the antiseptic; the 

 insistence upon cleanliness, barns free from 



17 



