THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION. 61 



the sunlight and air, away from the dust, ,and placed so that they 

 will drain well. 



Another factor in the milk problem to which all concerned 

 should give attention is the practice prevailing in places of not 

 washing milk cans immediately on emptying. Milk is allowed 

 to spoil in them, and when the cans get back to the farm, they 

 are in a condition that no vessel intended for milk should ever 

 be allowed to go into. Somebody is responsible for this neglect ; 

 the responsibility should be fixed and the evil corrected. 



The milk should be strained as soon as possible through 

 several thicknesses of cheesecloth. It is advised by some that 

 milk should be aerated to remove animal heat and the odors ab- 

 sorbed from certain foods. Although much may be said in favor 

 of it, great care must be exercised in aerating milk. If a farmer 

 is in doubt whether to aerate his milk or to cool it, it would be 

 better for him to cool it, for the reason that simply aerating will 

 not reduce the temperature of the milk sufficiently. Aerating 

 must be done in a very cleanly, sweet smelling place, otherwise 

 during this process the milk will absorb undesirable odors. In 

 case the milk is not separated it should be cooled down at once. 



A clean, airy milk house is a necessary adjunct to the barn; 

 this should be built with several things in view. First, it should 

 be a distance from the barn, hog pens or other contaminating 

 surroundings, and should stand on a well drained spot ; milk very 

 readily takes in and absorbs all sorts of odors, and if it is not 

 kept in a place where the air is pure, the flavor of the milk itself, 

 or any of the products made therefrom will be seriously dam- 

 aged. But the milk house should not be too far removed from 

 the barn on account of the inconvenience of carrying the milk 

 so far. Every pailful of milk, as soon as it is drawn from the 

 cow, should be carried to the milk house and there cooled at 

 once ; while this method will require a little more time and labor, 

 it will insure a product of far better quality. 



The illustration given below plainly and forcebly shows how 

 necessary it is to keep milk at a temperature as cool as possible 

 in order to retard to the utmost the development and multiplica- 

 tion of bacteria in milk. 



