20 



How TO Produce Clean Milk. 



[Apr., 



The receiver or pan of the cooler is easy to clean, but special 

 attention should be given to the tap. Old-fashioned taps with a 

 cavity above the inlet hole are very difficult to clean and should 

 have this cavity filled up. Most new taps have no such cavity 

 and no crevices. 



Strainers and Straining. — Strainers should consist of as few 

 pieces as possible. Those made of wire gauze only are not 

 merely useless, but do much more harm than good. 



Where cloths are used for straining, whether as part of a 

 metal strainer or simply tied over the mouth of a cooler pan, 

 several should be provided so that a clean one may be available 

 for each milking. Such cloths should be of very fine mesh, and 

 must be most carefully washed and boiled, following the method 

 already described for utensils. Strainers containing a layer of 

 cotton wool are also very effective, particularl}^ those where the 

 milk falls on a metal plate first, instead of directly on to the 

 straining material. The latter does not have to bear the weight 

 of the falhng milk, hence there is less chance of the particles of 

 dirt being forced through the strainer. The amount of brownish 

 sediment retained by the strainer is a good indication of the 

 degree of cleanliness of the cows, and of the care taken in milk- 

 ing; in fact, the strainer has a greater value for this purpose 

 than for any other; the passing of milk through a strainer may 

 take out small pieces of straw and hairs, but the soluble matter 

 and the numerous germs are simply washed through and even 

 more completely distributed throughout the milk than was the 

 case before straining. On the modern dairy farm the true use of 

 a cloth or cotton wool strainer is to enable the milker to detect 

 evidence of udder trouble before it could be found by handling 

 the udder or the act of milking. 



Churns. — The churns used for the conveyance of milk from 

 the farm are often a fertile source of contamination, but in this 

 case the purchaser of the milk often has a greater share of the 

 responsibility than the farmer. Many large firms supply churns 

 and undertake to send them to the farmer in a clean condition. 

 If they should arrive at the farm in an unsatisfactory condition 

 it is scarcely to be expected that the farmer will cleanse them as 

 they ought to be cleansed. He may not have the time, labour 

 or equipment required to cleanse and sterilise the large 17 -gallon 

 churn in common use. There is an overwhelming case in favour 

 of the use of a smaller chum, in so far as ease of cleansing and 

 handling are concerned. When churns arrive at the farm in an 

 unclean condition they should be washed and scalded or steamed 



