94 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



tha- were largely of mixed breeding. This indicates that the sani- 

 tary conditions under which the milk is produced and the methods 

 of handling it are of more importance than the fact that the 

 animals are pure bred or that they are of some particular breed. 



DISCUSSION. 



I will answer any questions. 



O: — Was this milk at the show pasteurized or sterilized? 



A: — No sir, none of it. A most careful and thorough test 

 was made for preservatives and could not detect anything of the 

 kind. This attracted a good deal of interest in New Hampshire, 

 and it was my privilege to judgge 24 samples, and I presume 

 about half of it had more or less foreign matter, and the bacteria 

 w^as from 10,000 up to several 100,000. A good many of these 

 dairymen could not. believe their milk was not clean, but we easily 

 proved to them by taking their bottles to the windows and show- 

 ing them. This foreign matter only cuts off a few points. 



Q : — Don't you consider it a hard matter to keep fine dust 

 out of milk? 



A: — Oh .yes. Milking must be done in a cleanly manner. 

 Of course it is possible to filter it out, through sterilized cotton. 

 A good many bacteria get in even then. If dust is in there, 

 better to strain it out. It is not attractive and does not improve 

 the looks of the package. The consumer does not like to see 

 it there. 



: — Can the test be made by dairymen and find the bac- 

 teria ? 



: — Yes sir. 



: — By home dairymen? 



: — Not very well. The test for bacteria has to be done 

 in a laboratory under good conditions. He can find out if his 

 milk is clean by looking at the bottom of the bottle, and keeping 

 his cows clean, and keeping the manure out of the stables. 

 He can test his cows with the Babcock test. When it comes to 

 bacteria it requires time and experience to carry through these 

 tests. I wanted to bring some tests with me which I arranged 



