426 
milking, usually will not contain more than 5,000 to 20,000 germs 
per cubic centimeter. 
I have found the milk obtained by careful methods from separate 
cows to contain the following number of bacteria per cubic centi- 
meter immediately after milking: 60, 160, 400, 400, 500, 500, 8,300. 
All these counts are evidently too low, for the reason that not all the 
bacteria produce visible colonies upon agar plates, and further each 
colony does not necessarily represent the growth from one micro- 
organism. Rosenau and McCoy have shown elsewhere (upon the 
germicidal property of milk this Bulletin, p. 447) that the bacteria 
in milk are apt to agglutinate into clusters. 
LEGAL STANDARDS. 
The first attempt to make a standard for the bacteriological con- 
tent of milk was undertaken by the New York board of health, 
which, in 1900, believed it was not necessary for any milk sold in 
New York to contain over 1,000,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter. 
It was found, however, practically impossible to enforce such a 
standard for the city of New York on account of the complexity 
and enormous volume of the milk trade of that city. The princi- 
pal difficulty was to place the responsibility when milk was found 
to contain an excessive number of bacteria, as the milk passed 
through so many hands before it was delivered to the consumer. 
Boston, on the other hand, made a strict standard of 500,000 
bacteria per cubic centimeter, which was legalized by the board of 
health June 6, 1905, in article 6, section 1, of the Regulations for 
the Sale and Care of Milk. According to Jordan,® the adoption of a 
bacteriological standard by the Boston board of health has been 
decried and the subject of sco ffing , but the example of that city 
has since been followed by other municipalities, until now nearly 
20 cities are conducting bacteriological investigations of milk sup- 
plies. This outcome is fortunate, for from multiplication of work 
of this character great progress may be expected. 
GolerA health officer of the city of Rochester, issued a circular 
to all milk producers supplying that city, informing them that 
thereafter 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter would be made a 
maximum standard. 
a Jordan, James O.: Boston’s campaign for clean milk. Journ. Am. Med. Assn., 
vol. 49, Sept. 28, 1907. 
b Goler, George W.: Municipal regulation of the milk supply. Trans. Soc. on 
Hyg. & San. Science, A. M. A., June 1907, p. 251. 
