﻿16 BULLETIN 1, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In considering the purchase of a sanitary milk pail two things must 

 be considered — first, its practicability, and, second, the ease with which 

 it can be cleaned. Some of the so-called sanitary pails have proved 

 to be too cumbersome and unwieldy for practical use, while others 

 have spouts, sharp angles, and inaccessible places that are extremely 

 difficult to clean. It is usually the practice to fill all of the seams and 

 corners in milk utensils with solder, so that a smooth, cleanable 

 surface is presented. 



At practically all of the certified dairies steam is used for the 

 sterilization of utensils^ including bottles, cans, milk pails, strainers, 

 and in some cases even the coolers and bottle fillers. This sterilization 

 is done in large ovens, which can be bought ready-made or can be 

 built by the owner of the plant. (See PI. IV, fig. 12») In these 

 sterilizers the utensils are sterilized with live steam, usually for a half 

 hour and sometimes under a slight pressure. These sterilizers are con- 

 structed of cement, brick, iron, and in one dairy the sterilizer in use 

 is lined with glass enamel, which makes a smooth, cleanable surface. 

 In many certified dairies the custom is practiced of sterilizing the 

 milk pails and other utensils and leaving them inverted in the steri- 

 lizer until milking time. This protects them from contamination due 

 to flies or impure outside air. 



PREPARATION FOR MILKING. 



At all certified dairies great care is exercised to see that the stable 

 air is free from dust and odors at milking time. The cows are 

 groomed and the floors are swept long enough before milking so that 

 the dust has had a chance to settle. Some dairies make a practice of 

 spraying the air in the barn and the bedding with a fine spray of 

 water just previous to milking, so that all dust particles are laid. 

 At one dairy this result is achieved by the use of steam. Pipes 

 pierced with holes run horizontally through the barn, and just before 

 milking steam is turned into them. One disadvantage of this metnod 

 is that it raises the temperature in the barn considerably in the sum- 

 mer time. Before milking, the cows are usually cleaned by a separate 

 gang of men. In a few places the milkers wash the cows just before 

 they milk them, but this is not considered so satisfactory on account 

 of the fact that the milkers' hands are apt to be contaminated from 

 the wash water, and unless they are careful to clean them each time 

 there may be bad results. The cow-cleaning gang usually consists of 

 three or four men, who thoroughly prepare the cows for the milkers. 

 One of these men sometimes uses a damp towel or a piece of sacking 

 with which he wipes off the body of the cow to remove any loose hairs 

 or dust which have not been removed by previous grooming. Then 

 the cow's udder and flanks are washed, usually in two separate waters, 

 care being taken to change the water often enough so that it does 



