2 86 MILK AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH chap. 



As a rule the milk is despatched to its destination almost 

 immediately after milking, but if it has to be stored it must 

 be kept in a cool, clean, and well-ventilated dairy. 



The straining of the milk, so universally practised by the 

 cow-keeper, should not be necessary, and is ineffective to re- 

 move the bacteria. The writer is of opinion that milk is 

 better unstrained, and that as far as possible the use of milk 

 strainers should be discouraged on the following grounds : 



(1) They are useless to improve the bacterial quality of 



the milk. 



(2) Unless great care is taken to keep them scrupulously 



clean they may actually increase the number of 

 bacteria in milk. 



(3) They encourage the farmer to think that cleanliness 



precautions can be neglected or at least relegated 

 to a secondary place, since all additions are removed 

 by the strainer. This view has again and again 

 been presented to the writer by the farmer as an 

 excuse for want of cleanliness in milking. 



(4) It is quite possible that if one batch of milk is 



specifically contaminated {e.g. with typhoid bacilli) 



the strainer may serve to inoculate other batches 



which otherwise would have remained uncon- 



taminated. 



The less milk is brought into contact with strainers and other 



apparatus the fewer the sources of pollution. The use of a 



milk strainer should be looked upon as a sign that cleanliness 



precautions are not properly practised during milking. In 



view of the prevailing unsatisfactory conditions, there is little 



likelihood that their use will be discontinued, since without 



them the neglect of cleanliness is often apparent even to the 



unsophisticated consumer. 



The strainer figured is an illustration of one of the best 

 strainers, although experiments ^ with it showed on the whole 

 no bacterial diminution in milk when filtered through it. 



This strainer consists of a conical funnel ending in a short 

 cylinder, just above which is a ledge supporting two gauze 

 metal discs. Between these metal discs, which also act as 



^ Savage, Report of the Medical Office?; Local Government Board, 1909-10, 

 p. 474 et seq. 



