710 VETEKINAEY HYGIENE 



long to admit of their growth and multiplication. These 

 organisms are associated with changes in the milk, and 

 are of normal occurrence ; but in pathological milk micro- 

 cocci and streptococci may be seen, while under highly 

 favourable circumstances the bacilli of tuberculosis may be 

 identified. 



Milk being an admirable culture medium, many kinds of 

 organisms may be found, quite irrespective of the state of 

 health of the animal from which the secretion has been 

 derived ; calculations have shown that as many as 400,000 

 per cubic centimetre of milk are common. 



The number of micro-organisms depends on the age of 

 the milk examined ; the older it is the more numerous the 

 microbes, none of which may be pathogenic but all of 

 which indicate contamination. 



The colon bacillus if present is generally selected by 

 the medical expert as evidence of contamination with cow 

 dung, and it may be so. Such contamination if derived 

 from the cow, could not possibly be productive of dis- 

 turbance in man. But the colon bacillus may have a 

 human origin, and as such may not be above suspicion. 

 Medical officers who blame cow excreta for the existence of 

 the colon bacillus, should not forget that it is much more 

 readily obtained from the human hand, and carried into 

 the milk in the detestable practice of wetting the fingers 

 during milking, by introducing them into the pail. 



No effort of imagination is required to understand how 

 milk contamination from human sources may arise, when 

 the careless and dirty habits of those in attendance on cows 

 are known. The veterinary profession sees a side of the 

 picture that rarely comes within the view of the medical 

 officer, and the consensus of opinion is that in spite of 

 advancing civilization and knowledge, matters are worse in 

 the cow-house at the present day, so far as the personal 

 cleanliness of the milker is concerned, than they were years 

 ago. 



The place formerly occupied by women is now largely 

 taken by men. All farm employes, irrespective of the state 



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