505 
BITTER MILK. 
This condition in the milk is only secondary in importance to the 
slimy milk and causes much trouble to the dairyman. Bitter milk 
may originate from two different sources. The first source is de- 
pendent upon the cow, while the second is due to the growth of bac- 
teria in the milk after it has been drawn from the animal. The differ- 
ence between these two classes of bitter milk is that the first has a 
decidedly bitter taste when freshly drawn, while the second class is 
sweet when taken from the cow, but the bitterness occurs after stand- 
ing for a short time and increases in intensity. Only the former 
will be dealt with at this time. Bitter milk, when produced in the 
cow, may result from improper feeding with such herbs as lupines, 
wormwood, etc., or with raw Swedish turnips, cabbages, etc. Bitter 
milk may also be observed during the late stage of lactation and has 
followed the infection of teat ducts with bacteria which act on the 
proteids as an enzyme, converting them into peptones and other 
products to which the bitter taste is probably due. 
COLORED MILK. , 
Red milk may be produced by the effects of bacteria, but is usually 
the result of a mixture of blood with the milk, due to an abrasion of 
the udder or teats, or to some other traumatism of the udder. It 
may also be due to the cow eating material containing a large amount 
of silica, as sedges, rushes, etc., or to plants containing red pigment, 
as madder root. Other plants which are said to impart color to 
milk are alkanet, field horsetail, meadow saffron, and knot grass. 
Bacillus cyanogenes , the cause of blue milk, at times gets into the 
udder through the milk ducts and leads to a bluish discoloration of 
the secretion. 
TASTE AND ODOR. 
The flavor of milk is very readily affected by the character of the 
feed, as, for instance, by turnips, garlic, wild onions, moldy hay and 
grain, damaged ensilage, and distillery grain. The latter is said to 
cause hyperacidity of the urine and consequent eczema. With 
proper precautions, however, these substances can be fed to dairy 
cattle without producing ill effects in the milk. The deleterious 
substances excreted with the milk are usually volatile oils contained 
in the food. They are found in the milk as well as in the body, 
generally in the largest quantity during the digestion of the food 
containing them, being eliminated rapidly through the various 
excretory channels. Thus, if these substances are fed eight or ten 
hours before milking, or if cattle in the spring are removed from 
the pastures containing garlic this length of time before milking, 
