525 
quite lengthy. Among the more important may be mentioned opium, 
all volatile oils, purgative salts, rhubarb, arsenic, mercury, lead, zinc, 
iron, creolin, scammonv, iodin, potassium iodid, antimony, bismuth, 
ammonia, and certain acids. 
POISONOUS MILK. 
Toxic properties may be manifested in the milk of cows that have 
eaten certain poisonous plants. Thus poison ivy ( Rhus toxicoden- 
dron) produces a condition in cattle during which the milk is capable 
of producing in the consumer severe gastro-intestinal symptoms with 
weakness. Leaves of the common artichoke are also said to produce 
certain toxic properties in the milk which result in abdominal pains 
and diarrhea in the person consuming it. 
COLOSTRUM. 
Milk should not be used within fifteen days of parturition or dur- 
ing the first five days after parturition. All cows should be dried off 
at least fifteen days before calving,- not only for the sake of the 
animal, but also on account of the poor quality of such milk at that 
time. This milk before and after parturition is called “ colostrum,” 
and is a yellow, viscid fluid of a strong odor, bitter taste, and acid 
reaction. The ingestion of such milk is liable to produce diarrhea, 
colic, and other digestive disturbances. 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 
In view of the facts above enumerated the following recommenda- 
tions are made as a basis for laws and for regulations by public health 
officers : 
1. That all cows on dairy farms producing milk for market pur- 
poses be tagged, tattooed, or otherwise marked for identification. 
2. That all milk produced on such dairy farms shall either come 
from tuberculin-tested cattle, which shall be retested at least once a 
year, or be subjected to pasteurization under the supervision of the 
health authorities in case the herd is not tuberculin tested. 
3. That no additions to any herd, whether the herd has been tested 
or not, shall be made in the future without subjecting the additional 
cattle to the tuberculin test. 
4. That no license for the sale of milk shall in future be granted 
except to applicants having herds free of tuberculosis. 
5. That the milk of cattle showing any of the udder affections 
above mentioned, or anthrax, rabies, gastro-enteritis, septic condi- 
tions, or clinical symptoms of tuberculosis, shall not be utilized as 
human food, even though the milk be pasteurized. Milk from cows 
