40 



ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



they multiply very rapidly, so that from a single germ, 200 may 

 be produced in three hours, 10,000 in six hours and 10,000,000 

 in nine hours, 2,000,000,000 in eighteen hours, and milk is one of 

 tl:e finest things to gather bacteria. As they increase in num1)ers 

 they gather nourifl'ment from the milk or other substances in 

 which they develop, and like other higher forms of life transform 

 what they take into their bodies into useless and poisonous pro- 

 ducts. This milk becomes sour by the turning of its sugar into 

 acid. But long before milk becomes sour to the taste, it n"»ay 

 contain enormous numbers of bacteria and has already become 

 unw^holesome, and perhaps dangerous when employed for food, 

 especially for infants and invalids. Especial care should be taken 

 that no person having, or attending on persons with any infectous 

 disease, such as typhoid or scarlet fever, diphtheria, consump- 

 tives, etc., should have anything to do with the handling of milk 

 or utensils, for they are likely to become infected, and cases have 

 been traced to the contamination of milk by careless and ignorant 

 dairymen. I have in mind one man who had typhoid in his house. 

 His dairy was situated there and his closet was situated there in 

 wdiich everything was carried through down to the gutter be- 

 hind the cows into the drain at the back of the stable. Every cow 

 was being milked in that dairy was infected. Typhoid increased 

 amongst his patrons. Fifteen cases of typhoid fever was traced 

 to that party's milk. The Board of Health traced it there and 

 that dairy was closed. I saw that myself, and it shows how care- 

 ful you should be concerning the infection of milk. 



In my experience in the past year, 1 have taken many sam- 

 ples which have undergone bacteriological examination, and a 

 case which comes under my notice especially I would mention 

 where the milk was produced and handled in a dirty and careless 

 manner was pronounced unw^holesome and unfit for human con- 

 sumption. Nothing particular was the trouble, but the cows were 

 not kept clean and everything was neglected. There was no harm- 

 ful bacteria in the milk, but simply a natural neglect. I gave him 

 notice to that effect, and he went to work and cleaned, w^hite- 

 washed and disinfected his barns, well groomed his cows and put 



