2IO BACTERIA, YEASTS, AND MOLDS 



of its production come up to a specified very high standard, 

 the board gives the milkman the right to use the label 

 "Certified." This label, therefore, carries with it the guar- 

 anty of extreme care in production. To carry out all the 

 requirements which these boards make involves much 

 expense in the production of the milk, and as a result the 

 milk sells for a very high price, two or three times the price 

 of ordinary milk. Such milk is certainly of the highest 

 grade, but it is doubtful whether it is any more valuable, 

 and it is certainly no safer, than pasteurized milk of either 

 A or B grade, provided it is protected by proper ofiicial 

 inspection. 



But our care should not cease with the scrutiny of its 

 source. Even though originally of the highest character, 

 milk will not keep in our homes unless properly treated. 

 The keeping of milk depends upon temperature and clean- 

 liness in the pantry. 



2. Milk Vessels. Special care should be given to the 

 vessels in which milk is received and kept. A large part 

 of the trouble which the housewife experiences in keeping 

 milk is due not to the milkman nor to the character of 

 the milk which she purchases, but to the condition of the 

 vessel in which she places it. A milk pitcher used day 

 after day becomes filled with lactic-acid bacteria, and any 

 fresh milk poured into such a receptacle will be sure to 

 sour in a very short time. This fact a housewife frequently 

 overlooks. Milk vessels should be cleaned with the greatest 

 of care and should be thoroughly washed with boiling 

 water (not simply hot) in which there is considerable soap. 

 The soap cuts the grease and cleans the dirt from the 

 milk vessels, and the boiling water kills part of the bac- 



