766 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 20 
BACTERIA AND THEIR RELATION TO 
THE CARE OF MILK AND CREAM. 
Pabt III. 
□ Our bacteriological analysis of milk 
would, probably, be continued in this 
way: A minute portion of the diluted 
milk would be added to a portion of 
liquefied agar-agar in a Petrie dish, and 
thoroughly mixed through it. Of course, 
it will be understood that, through all 
those operations, the most scrupulous 
and painstaking care must be used to 
guard against infection or contamina¬ 
tion with germ life from sources other 
than the milk under examination. This 
means that every possible precaution 
shall be taken to have everything with 
which the culture comes in contact made 
absolutely “steril” by heat or germi¬ 
cidal solutions, and also, that it is cov¬ 
ered so that no germs fall in from the 
air. In fact, this necessity of keeping 
other bacteria out of the culture is one 
of the greatest difficulties with which 
the bacteriologist has to contend. Now 
it will be seen that, unless the methods 
used are somewhere at fault, we have a 
small portion of agar-agar through 
which are diffused all the germs origin¬ 
ally contained in, let us say, the one- 
hundredth part of a drop of milk. In 
bacteriology, however, quantities are 
usually estimated in fractions of a cubic 
centimeter (about 1 28 of an ounce). 
This agar-agar furnishes a suitable 
medium for the further growth and de¬ 
velopment of these germs, and in this 
dish, their growth can be watched, be¬ 
ginning in a few hours and continuing 
for several weeks or months. It is just 
at athis stage that the real bacterio¬ 
logical study really begins. Made in this 
way, a culture may have, perhaps, a 
half dozen, or perhaps, many hundred 
germs present. When a culture is made 
of milk, there will generally be found 
to develop yeasts and molds as well as 
bacteria. The various types of bacteria 
have different methods of growth. Very 
soon, the single cell has so reproduced 
itself as to spread out, become visible to 
the naked eye, and is then spoken of as 
a “colony.” Probably we should find 
some colonies spread over the surface 
but not going deeply down, indicating 
an “ aerobic ” species. Other colonies 
will sink a pit into the agar with little 
surface, indicating the “ anaerobic ” (non¬ 
oxygen) type. Some will, probably, 
spread with a ragged outline, others 
with a smooth. We may have present 
some “ chromogemc ” form, in which 
case, some colonies may take on a 
marked color. Bright colors are not, 
however, very usual. Some colonies 
will leave the agar solid as they spread 
through it. Others will liquefy it, and 
these are called the “ peptonizing ” 
bacteria. In a word, it is by means of 
varying appearance and mode of growth 
of the different germ centers, that the 
most of the study and classification of 
the bacteriologist is now done, although 
results should be checked and verified 
by the microscope. 
If we wished still further to trace the 
development of any particular colony, a 
fresh portion of some steril culture 
medium would be put in a test tube and 
a bit of the original colony transferred 
to this by means of an “ inoculation 
needle” plunged first into the colony 
and then into the tube where the new 
culture is to be made. In this way, it 
is possible to get a “pure culture ” of 
any form in considerable quantities. 
The foregoing is an endeavor to indicate 
what would happen if everything went 
smoothly. In practice, many modifica¬ 
tions have been and will be made of the 
method here roughly explained. 
The severely practical man will, per¬ 
haps, ask, “ What does all this semi- 
scientific talk amount to ? ” Simply this, 
that he may be better able to under¬ 
stand the principles which underlie the 
preservation of dairy products. Any 
abnormal flavors or unusual behavior of 
milk can be referred to one of three 
classes of causes : First, flavors due to 
abnormal conditions of the animal — 
indigestion, sexual heat, and disease. 
For these, the name of “ Pathogenic ” 
causes is suggested. Second, flavors 
derived from the diet of the cow, i. e., 
the flavors due to the volatile oils of tur¬ 
nips, sweet-scented grasses, etc., or to 
the consumption of spoiled and musty 
fodder. Third, flavors and conditions due 
to the growth of bacteria in the milk. 
Undoubtedly, the great majority of 
phenomena connected with dairy prod¬ 
ucts and their manufacture are to be re¬ 
ferred to the last class, and it is with 
this class only that this article concerns 
itself. It being a fact, then, that all 
deterioration in dairy products results 
from the development of bacteria, the 
question of the preservation of milk is 
simply a question of preventing bacterial 
infection and growth. All systems and 
methods used to this end are of four 
classes : 1, The prevention of bacterial 
infection. 2, Their control by the em¬ 
ploy insnt of temperatures so low as to re¬ 
strict or retard their growth (refrigera¬ 
tion). 3, Their control by the employ¬ 
ment of temperatures high enough either 
to prevent growth or entirely to kill 
them (Pasteurization and sterilization). 
4, Their control by adding to the milk 
or other product some substance which 
will prevent bacterial development (pre¬ 
servatives). The first is the method 
which would be most ideal, and at the 
same time, receives the least attention. 
It means care and cleanliness at every 
point. There is little doubt that milk 
in the udder of the cow is, under ordi¬ 
nary circumstances, entirely free from 
germ life. In fact, it is possible, by the 
use of proper precautions, to secure al¬ 
most sterile milk. To do this, it is neces¬ 
sary to wash with some disinfectant the 
hands of the milker, the body of the 
cow—especially the udder—the vessel 
into which the milk is drawn, and to 
guard in every way against germs fall¬ 
ing into the milk from the air. The first 
portion of milk drawn should, also, be 
rejected, because the teats are crowded 
with bacteria which have colonized up 
them from the outer orifice. Further¬ 
more, the milking should be done in a 
pure atmosphere. Even with all possible 
care, it is doubtful whether we could 
obtain absolutely sterile milk, although 
theoretically, we might. But it would 
be perfectly practicable to reduce the 
number of germs present to a small per 
cent of what would be found under or¬ 
dinary stable conditions. If we can ap¬ 
proach these conditions in ordinary dairy 
practice, we shall have begun at the root 
of the matter of preserving milk. 
J ABED VAN WAGENEN JB 
HOPE FARM NOTES. 
The question of buying feed for farm 
stock becomes a difficult one on farms 
like ours, where no grain is grown. Most 
of our farmers keep only one team, and 
they generally feed mixed corn and rye 
to work teams, or buy “ horse feed ” of 
local feed dealers, one or two bags at a 
time. The boys began doing this—pay¬ 
ing $1 per bag of 100 pounds, which I 
consider entirely out of proportion to 
its value. The H-0 horse feed in ton 
lots is much cheaper, and we have found 
it the best prepared ground feed we have 
tried. In buying feed of late, we have 
tried to apply the same principles we 
would consider in buying fertilizers. 
Here, for example, is a note from Mich¬ 
igan which brings up a disputed point: 
On page 702 you write that “ A neighbor wants 
to sell us 250 shocks of corn at 15 cents a shock 
* * * With the $37.50 that the neighbor wants 
for the corn, we can buy far more feed than there 
is in the grain, while we have stalks enough.” 
The stalks will pay for husking and gathering 
the corn, even if you resell them, then you will 
have the grain left, and if it is only a fair crop, 
you will then be getting shelled corn at one-half 
cent per pound. As corn yields here, this is a 
very moderate estimate. May I ask what grain 
a farmer living in Michigan would buy for one- 
half cent per pound, equal in value to corn, say, 
for poultry once a day? You must exclude 
Mapes balanced ration, for freight rates are so 
high that I have thought that it would not be 
economy to experiment with that. M. o. r. 
X X X 
Of course, we do not pretend that our 
way of doing things is the best. We 
try to tell just what we are doing. Others 
may compare their methods with ours, 
for we cannot expect that a farm in 
northern New Jersey can set the gauge 
exactly for the entire country. Things 
are different in Michigan. The corn 
crop there is larger than ours, and “ 250 
shocks ” would represent more grain and 
fodder than with us. The man who 
finally husked the 250 shocks, tells me 
that he got ears enough to make about 
75 bushels of shelled corn ! Western 
readers will laugh at such a yield, but I 
am trying to give the facts. The price 
asked for these shocks was §37 50, which 
would mean 50 cents a bushel of grain. 
I can buy it for that at the local store, in 
small lots. In New York, in large lots, 
it can be bought for less than 40 cents, 
and if I could get a dozen neighboring 
farmers to combine and buy a car-load 
of western corn, we could put it down 
at our depot for 35 cents or under. That 
is why we think it poor economy to 
buy corn by the shock. 
X X X 
We cannot say what a Michigan farmer 
should buy without knowing more 
about prices. One reason why we did 
not want the corn is that most of our 
roughage is sweet-corn fodder. Instead 
of buying more corn to feed with it, we 
want a more muscle-making food to 
“balance” it. For the horses, we can 
invest the §37.50 in wheat bran or H-0 
feed and linseed meal, and obtain very 
much more muscle-makiDg food than in 
the corn, for the stalks are rich enough 
in fat and fat-formers. The H-0 feed, 
with us, fits in well with stalks, and we 
shall feed it almost entirely this winter. 
John B. Lozier, who boards nearly 100 
fine horses on his farm, tells me that he 
has used this feed in preference to whole 
oats. I believe that the principle on 
which this food is mixed is a correct 
one. The bran and coarse parts of the 
oat—left in preparing oatmeal for 
human consumption—are mixed with 
other grains to give a fair “balance ” or 
proportion. This is much the same 
principle as that employed by fertilizer 
dealers in preparing different mixtures 
for different crops. In England, these 
stock-food mixtures have been sold for 
years, and with good success. I refer 
to this here because some of our writers 
and institute workers, who ought to 
know better, are confounding this H-0 
feed with the high-priced condiments or 
condition powders. 
X X X 
But our friend wants a poultry ration 
of Michigan grains, and here is another 
man from Illinois. 
What would you use as a “ balanced ration ” for 
a flock of 20 hens, to obtain the best egg results ? 
I would like to use oil meal in place of meat or 
bones, if practicable, and as much corn as I can. 
(Continued on next page.) 
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in. wide 
43% in. wide 
8 to 16 ft. long 
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