I02 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



system and as far up as the milk follicles — they are the little globules — 

 bacteria is there too. The New York Experiment Station has recently 

 made some investigation on this point, but not many get up there. The 

 enormous number comes in right in the teat. 



Q. Do you find as much bacteia in cold weather as in hot weather? 



A. There is not very much diJference. In hot weather that depends 

 on the decomposition, depends on where you have your cows in winter. 

 If in warm stables, your stable is as thoroughly infected with bacteria as 

 in summer. 



Q. Then temperature has nothing to do with it? 



A. Certainly it has something to do with it. I will explain that later 

 on. 



In size, bacteria is very small. We can hardly get any conception by 

 mere figures. But a good illustration would be to take a hair, an average 

 hair, such as grows on any successful dairyman's head; cut it in two, and 

 upon these flat surfaces you can place 350 to 375 germs side by side. 



Another illustration compared with men. Take any bacteria. Sup- 

 pose a cubic foot, or a foot m diameter. A man compared with that 

 would have to be 26 miles high. That shows you the smallest of these 

 bacteria. 



Now in a drop of imperfect milk we have a million and a half of these 

 germs. Our average milk, supplied in the city,, range about 50,000 to 

 60,000 per cubic centimeter, which contains 20 drops. This shows the 

 enormous numbers that are in milk. 



There are three conditions that are necessary for the development of 

 bacteria life. There are feed, moisture, and a warm temperature. All 

 three, and especially the first two, we have in abundance in creamery 

 dairies and stables. They live within a wide range of temperature, al- 

 though the most favorable temperature for growth is 93 degrees Faren- 

 heit. At this point bacteria are capable of reproducing themselves from 

 every twenty to thirty minutes. In twenty-four hours they have doubled 

 themselves to 11 billions. That shows you ithe enormous development in 

 a day, and also shows you the folly of letting milk stand at 98 degrees and 

 cooling of its own accord to the atmospheric temperature. 



