BLOODY OR RED .MILK (j7 



were in an apparentl}" normal condition. At ilrst it was thouL^dit 

 that some conditions in the pasture caused tliis abnormal milk. 

 The cows were taken into the Ijarn, and fed on drA- food for 

 two weeks, but without any change in the c^ualit}" of the milk. 

 Gradually the}- dried up. 



The secretion of this salt\' milk was believed to be due to the 

 long time during which the c(nvs had been \ielding milk without 

 any rest. They had been given no rest previous to the last 

 calving. It is also believed that this equality of milk will occur 

 more frec^uently when the cows are near the close of the lactation 

 period . 



While the above two causes are perhaps the most common, 

 the}' are not the onl}' ones. Salty milk has been obtained in 

 cases where these reasons could not be ascribed. Bdggilcl has 

 found that salty milk has been secreted by cows with abnormal 

 udders. He has also demonstrated that it was the diseased part 

 of the udder from which the salty milk was yielded. The health}" 

 jjortion of the udder }-ielded normal milk. It is possible that 

 an obscure, diseased condition of the udder ma}' be the entire 

 cause. 



Salty milk is of course undesirable in the dairy or creamery. 

 It is ^x■ry disagreeable to the taste, and in a fermented stage 

 becomes very foul. 



Bloody or Red Milk. — Blood}', or red niilk is caused, first, 

 by an abnonnal condition of the cow's udder, which ma}' or niay 

 not be apparent; and second, a red color ma\' be de\'eloped in 

 milk after standing, through the action of bacteria. 



The bloody milk, caused b}' an inflanied udder, often assumes 

 a reddish-yellow appearance, and ma}', if not examined care- 

 fully, be mistaken for colostrum. Bloody milk produced by an 

 inflamed udder may be distinguished Ij}' small blood jxirticles, 

 which will settle to the bottom, and can be noticed if the sample 

 is placed in a glass test-tube. In bloody milk caused by bacterial 

 growth the blood does not show at the bottom, but instead, 

 previous to stirring the milk or cream, it appears on the surface 

 in small red dots. The red color which commonh' occurs in milk 

 is due chiefly to a species of germ called Micrococcus prodigiosus. 



