16 BULLETIN 1, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
In considering the purchase of a sanitary milk pail two things must 
be considered — first, its practicability, and, second, the ease with which 
it can be cleaned. Some of the so-called sanitary pails have proved 
to be too cumbersome and unwieldy for practical use, while others 
have spouts, sharp angles, and inaccessible places that are extremely 
difficult to clean. It is usually the practice to fill all of the seams and 
corners in milk utensils with solder, so that a smooth, cleanable 
surface is presented. 
At practically all of the certified dairies steam is used for the 
sterilization of utensils, including bottles, cans, milk pails, strainers, 
and in some cases even the coolers and* bottle fillers. This sterilization 
is done in large ovens, which can be bought ready-made or can be 
built by the owner of the plant. (See PL IV, fig. 12*) In these 
sterilizers the utensils are sterilized with live steam, usually for a half 
hour and sometimes under a slight pressure. These sterilizers are con- 
structed of cement, brick, iron, and in one dairy the sterilizer in use 
is lined with glass enamel, which makes a smooth, cleanable surface. 
In many certified dairies the custom is practiced of sterilizing the 
milk pails and other utensils and leaving them inverted in the steri- 
lizer until milking time. This protects them from contamination due 
to flies or impure outside air. 
PREPARATION FOR MILKING. 
At all certified dairies great care is exercised to see that the stable 
air is free from dust and odors at milking time. The cows are 
groomed and the floors are swept long enough before milking so that 
the dust has had a chance to settle. Some dairies make a practice of 
spraying the air in the barn and the bedding with a fine spray of 
water just previous to milking, so that all-dust particles are laid. 
At one dairy this result is achieved by the use of steam. Pipes 
pierced with holes run horizontally through the barn, and just before 
milking steam is turned into them. One disadvantage of this method 
is that it raises the temperature in the barn considerably in the sum- 
mer time. Before milking, the cows are usually cleaned by a separate 
gang of men. In a few places the milkers wash the cows just before 
they milk them, but this is not considered so satisfactory on account 
of the fact that the milkers' hands are apt to be contaminated from 
the wash water, and unless they are careful to clean them each time 
there may be bad results. The cow-cleaning gang usually consists of 
three or four men, who thoroughly prepare the cows for the milkers. 
One of these men sometimes uses a damp towel or a piece of sacking 
with which he wipes off the body of the cow to remove any loose hairs 
or dust which have not been removed by previous grooming. Then 
the cow's udder and flanks are washed, usually in two separate waters, 
care being taken to change the water often enough so that it does 
