THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 49 



Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria. On account of milk carrying 

 these germs, it must be guarded by strict supervision and im- 

 partial enforcement of laws. Sanitarians everywhere, the public 

 generally and dairymen in large numbers are awakening to the 

 necessity of the proper protection of the public from unclean, 

 impure milk. 



A great many kinds of bacteria have been found in milk, 

 each of which occasion a special set of changes as it develops, 

 the most important kinds are those that cause the ordinary sour- 

 ing of milk and are the first to produce any noticeable change 

 in the taste and odor. In their growth they feed upon the milk 

 sugar, convert it into Lactic Acid which gives slightly sour milk 

 its peculiar taste and odor. Other bacteria develop in sour milk 

 and give it a strong unpleasant odor and flavor. Some of the 

 products of bacterial action on milk are desirable — for instance 

 those which give butter and cheese their characteristic flavor and 

 odor. Other bacteria in milk color it slightly and others cause a 

 ropy and stringy consistency. Filthy conditions aid the growth 

 of these undesirable bacteria. 



Flavor. 



The flavor of milk varies almost as much as its composition. 

 It is, in part due to the amount of fat present, but also to the 

 bacterial action. Flavor is often influenced by the food of the 

 cow. That is especially noticeable when the cows have eaten 

 some strong tasting substance such as turnip, and is due to the 

 fact that the flavor of the food passes directly through the ani- 

 mal tissues into the milk. Milk absorbs flavors and odors from 

 the air more quickly than other foods. The animal or cowy 

 taste and smell which is often noticeable in new milk is believed 

 to be due to this absorption. It may also be due in part from 

 stable dirt which accidentally falls into the milk. The cow may, 

 through some pathological condition, produce milk with an off 

 flavor. A pan of milk kept in a closed ice box with fish or high- 

 ly flavored fruit is very likely to take a flavor from them. MiU^ 



