703 
animals and handled under such precautions as to insure its reach- 
ing the consumer without containing any visible particles of ex- 
traneous matter as well as any excessive number of bacteria. 
Unfortunately, whenever the milk supply of a community has been 
investigated, either under public or private auspices, the conditions 
found to prevail in the production and handling of milk have always 
been disappointing, if not, as in many instances, revolting to the last 
degree. The insanitary surroundings and general condition of filth 
prevailing at some dairy farms is at times indescribable, and the ex- 
amination of milk produced under these conditions reveals not only 
a bacterial flora, but a degree of contamination with gross jDarticles 
of extraneous matter such as to suggest utter carelessness or ignorance 
on the part of the producer. 
Milk when produced under such circumstances not only contains a 
plentiful enrichment of dust, dirt, dung, cow hairs, flies, and other 
foreign bodies, but also a bounteous inoculation of bacteria of all 
forms, such as may render it from the very outset unfit for human 
consumption. 
Significance of a large bacterial content in milk . — While many of 
the numerous varieties of bacteria encountered in milk are of a harm- 
less character, their presence in large numbers is always evidence 
of either milk carelessly handled or milk improperly cooled and 
kept. The presence of gross contamination with the foreign mat- 
ters previously enumerated insures the planting of the bacteria of 
putrefaction and decomposition. Such milk, without suffering any 
material change in its taste or physical appearance, may contain the 
poisons of bacterial activity to a dangerous extent. No universal 
standard has as yet been settled upon as to what constitutes an excess- 
ive degree of bacterial contamination of milk. In general it has 
been agreed that for milk sold from cans, anything less than 100,000 
to the cubic centimeter is good; for milk sold in bottles, anything 
under 10,000 must be considered especially good. Yet it is possible 
by the exercise of especial care to produce a milk which the year 
round when delivered to the consumer will have an average bacterial 
content of less than 5,000 to the cubic centimeter. Milk from high- 
grade dairies, when sold in bottles, usually averages from 10,000 to 
100,000 bacteria, while milk sold .from cans may range anywhere from 
100,000 to 40,000,000, especially in hot weather. 
Fresh milk — By fresh milk, we understand milk less than twenty- 
four hours old when delivered. Under the ordinary conditions pre- 
vailing in the handling of milk it will have undergone such fermenta- 
tive changes as to render it unfit for the use of young children after 
the expiration of this period. The special conditions of care in the 
production of milk which render it safe after a longer time than 
this are unfortunately very far from prevalent. 
