Prevention of Infection 119 
before milking. It is of course necessary, also, that 
the hands and clothes of the milker should be as 
carefully attended’ to in this respect as is the body of 
the cow. The bacteria find in the excrements abun- 
dant food for growth and development, and are al- 
ways found in large'numbers where such excrements 
are allowed to collect ; and when dirt of this sort ac- 
cumulates and becomes dried, the dust floating in the 
air always carries with it large numbers of germs. 
The germs are also found in large numbers accom- 
panying the dust arising from hay and other dried 
forage. This being the case, it is essential not only 
that the stable should be kept scrupulously clean, 
but that the air should be free from dust, partic- 
ularly at times when milking is going on. Thor- 
oughly sweeping and then sprinkling the stable 
floors an hour or two before the milking will mate- 
rially lessen the germ content of the milk. 
Next to the stable, the dairy utensils are an im- 
portant source of infection with bacteria. They be- 
come attached to the seams and corners of the ves- 
sels, and are not dislodged even with the most careful 
cleaning, and when the fresh, warm milk is drawn 
into such vessels the germs immediately begin to grow 
and develop. The most scrupulous care must, of 
course, be taken in cleaning any vessels in which 
milk is contained, but no vessel can be considered 
safe so far as conveying germs is concerned unless 
it has been exposed to the action of live steam for 
at least three minutes, and then kept in a secure 
place until needed for use. With these precautions 
