5vS ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



tion, the milk would keep indefinitely. But this is impossible. 

 A few germs always work their way up into the cavities of the 

 cistern above the teats and multiply enormously, owing to the 

 favorable conditions existing there. If this first milk, or fore- 

 milk, as it is called, is milked into the bucket, the practice of a 

 good many milkers, we can see at once that contamination is in- 

 troduced at the very beginning of the milking process. It is ad- 

 visable to throw this foremilk away, and really there is little 

 loss, as it is not very rich in fat. 



The up-to-date dairyman will pay particular attention to 

 cleanliness of milking. It is a sad fact that this particular point 

 is so often neglected; we are apt to be in a hurry at milking 

 time, or we may have a slovenly man milking and fail to keep 

 a watch over him and caution. The preparations for milking 

 good, clean milk are very simple and should come as naturally 

 as washing one's face and hands before eating. 



It is a distinct advantage to keep the cow's coats in good 

 condition by a regular application of the currycomb and brush. 

 In this way loose hairs and particles of dirt are removed instead 

 of remaining to drop into the milk pail; where the hairs on the 

 udder and belly are long, clipping them short will add both 

 cleanliness and comfort to the cow. Any man should have as 

 much pride in his cows as in his horses and he would not let the 

 latter go out on the road with rough dirty hair. It has been 

 proven that twenty times as much dirt falls into buckets from 

 simply soiled udders as from one wiped with a damp cloth and 

 I GO times as much from a dirty udder. Milk absorbs odors so 

 readily, great care should be exercised to have air in barn clean 

 and fresh at milking time. Use of feeds has a wide influence 

 on barn air. Hay, dusty or strong smelling foods, such as silage, 

 turnips, etc., should never be fed until after milking. Hay and 

 dust is loaded with bacteria and most of trouble experienced 

 with silage tainted milk comes from feeding previous to rather 

 than after milking. Handling hay or grain just before milking 

 time has been shown to put twice as many bacteria into the milk 

 drawn immediately afterwards, while the handling of dry corn 



