CHAPTER XXVI 



BACTERIA IN RELATION TO THE DAIRY 



" O powerful bacillus, 

 With wonder how you fill us. 



Every day! 

 While medical detectives. 

 With powerful objectives 



Watch your play." 



BACTERIA play such an Important part in 

 milk and its products that we must know 

 something of the life history of these minute 

 organisms to be able to recognize and guard our 

 friends, and wage death to our enemies, for we 

 have both in their ranks. 



Bacteria belong to the vegetable kingdom, 

 being single-celled plants, infinitely small, and vis- 

 ible only with a powerful microscope. When 

 grouped together in what are called colonies, they 

 may be seen with the naked eye. A spot of mould 

 on sour milk may be likened to a colony developed 

 from one germ. 



To give an idea of their size: it takes about 

 nine hundred thousand to measure an inch, and 

 five billions may be in a teaspoon of sour milk, 

 and still there may be room for more. 



Nature uses bacteria to keep the working mate- 



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