1922.] 



How TO Produce Clean Milk. 



25 



email opening, little or none of the milk is spilt on these 

 occasions. « 



When a milking machine of the suction type is used, all the 

 advantages accruing from the use of a milking pail with a small 

 opening are obtained. The amount of visible dirt gaining 

 entrance to the milk is undoubtedly lessened in cases of mechani- 

 cal milking, at least so far as the milk drawn by the machine 

 is concerned, but the germ content may be increased and the 

 keeping quality and flavour of the milk depreciated if the parts 

 with which the milk comes in contact are not kept scrupulously 

 clean. Where stripping is done by hand after the removal 

 of the machine, it is desirable that all the precautions already 

 described should be taken as to cleanliness of udder and teats, 

 otherwise the strippings will contain exceptionally large amount? 

 of dust, hair and dirt and increase the germ content of the milk 

 while at the same time raising the percentage of butter fat. 



Cooling of the Milk. — Where milk is sold for direct use as a 

 food, it should be cooled at the farm as soon as possible after 

 milking. The use of coolers on farms has become increasingly 

 common in recent years, and in spite of the additional risk of 

 contamination by the passing of the milk through and over the 

 different parts of the cooler, there is no doubt that effective 

 cooHng greatly lessens the loss of milk by souring and prevents 

 the growth of the germs which may have gained entrance to the 

 milk. Effective cooling, however, depends primarily on a supply 

 of cold water, and there are many farms which are very badly 

 off in this respect. They may be in a district where the supply 

 is limited in extent and the use of a cooler is impossible. Under 

 these circumstances something may be accomplished by placing 

 the pails of warm milk in a trough of water. Where the water 

 can be kept running through the trough cjood results may be 

 obtained, but where the trough has to be filled from a pond or 

 well it is doubtful if the results obtained warrant the expenditure 

 of the necessary labour. These conditions are most often found 

 on small farms and may be aggi-avated by the existing supply 

 being badly contaminated, especially in summer, thus making 

 it more difficult to clean the utensils. The production of whole- 

 some and good keeping milk on such farms is a difficult matter, 

 and probably the best that can be done is to keep the cows clean, 

 wash the milking pails carefully, and have the milk as soon as 

 possible after milking collected and transported to a depot where 

 it can be cooled to a low temperature by means of a brine plant. 

 The oleanin^r of the churns in which the milk is transported 



