ABSORPTION OF ODORS 69 



milked, poured or aerated in such a place. The odor of 

 toliacco is taken up l)y milk. Oil of turpentine, otlier 

 volatile oils and asafcetida may give an unpleasant odor 

 and taste to milk. In this respect some of the worst 

 sul)staii<'es are carbolic ac'id, cresol ]ireparations (creo- 

 lin, lysol, etc) and chlorine, when these materials are 

 used for disinfecting stables or dairies. The odor may 

 last in these ])laces for several days and the milk will 

 take the al)norinal taste just as long. A mixture of car- 

 bolic acid or crc^sol pi'cpai'ations (crude carbolic acid) 

 and chloride of lime has been use(l for the i)urpose of 

 making the disinfectant more effective. This is not to 

 be recommended, as triclilorplienol or trichlorcre^ol are 

 Formed, compounds that ha\e a more jienetrating and 

 lasting " cai'bolic od<ir " than tbe separate materials, 

 ^lilk which is drawn in stal)les or kejit in phices which 

 are disinfected in this way is useless, sometimes for 

 weeks. 



St. Friis has given a good exam])le of this: a laigo 

 dairy in Copenhagen was in a state of tumult because 

 some of Ihe customers com])lained that the milk deliv- 

 eic'd tasted of carl)olic acid. The next <lay the milk 

 from the farms was examined separately, and it was 

 found that all the milk, about r)()0 (|uarts, from a certain 

 lierd of .")() cows, smelled and tasted so strongly of car- 

 bolic acid that it was declared unfit for use as food. So 

 tliis milk was churned, as it was also the following 

 days; l)ut the butter had the same taint and was almost 

 worthless. Xot till the tifth day was the milk so 

 free from taint that it could be used. This is the 

 explanation of the origin of the trouble : the stable on 

 the farm in question was cleaned and disinfected with 

 a - ])er cent, solution of carbolic acid to which was 

 added a small (juantity of chloride of lime. The stable 

 was aired for two days before it was used again, 



