ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 211 



Thursday Afternoon, January 8th, 1903 



FIRST STEPS IN THE HANDLING OF MILK. 



By Dr. C. E. Marshall, Agricultural College of Michigan. 



Thirty years ago little would have been thought of the handling of 

 lilk by a bacteriologist, although he was fully cognizant at that time of 

 ae relation existing between bacteria and some of the changes taking 

 lace in milk; in fact, he had not reached that degree in his development 

 hat would enable him to take an economic view of this most practical 

 ombined dairy and bacteriological question. The bacteriology of the 

 airy was in reality very slow in its development, mainly through neglect 

 nd now is consequently much behind many other branches of this same 

 abject, although it is no less prominent. 



Reviewing briefly a few stages of bacteriological growth, because 

 ley are pertinent to our subject, we find that each of its stages marks 

 q epoch in some professional or industrial history. In medicine it is 

 ell understood how bacteriology has equipped the surgeon for his oper- 

 tions and the sanitarian for the prevention and fighting of contagious 

 Iseases. The surgeon in 1860 knew comparatively little concerning the 

 leaning of the operations which he performed. This is clearly mani- 

 jsted by the great mortality resulting from his operations. The sanl- 

 irian was so crude that he made futile attempts in fighting disease 

 Bcause he knew not hy what avenues the agents of contagious disease 

 aveled, nor did he know how to destroy these agents successfully when 

 b suspected their presence. 



