New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 37 
The odor of the milk was strong as it was drawn, and did not 
appear to increase on standing. This would incline one to the 
belief that the trouble was due either to the food or to the gen- 
eral condition of the animal; but no food has ever been known 
to bring about the flavor described, and all the food had been 
shared by the whole herd. Neither was there any discernible 
ailment or lesion of the cow, and the physical appearance of the 
milk was normal. 
NO BIOLOGICAL CAUSE FOUND. 
Considerable culture study was carried on in the laboratory 
with the milk from the different quarters of this cow’s udder and 
several kinds of bacteria were isolated. When these organisms 
were grown separately or in mixture in milk they failed to repro- 
duce the characteristic fishy odor. A form was found to be very 
plentiful in the strippings which was peculiar in that it refused 
to grow in the ordinary lactose agar or gelatin unless five per 
et. to ten per ct. of milk was added. This organism was further - 
tested by introducing a culture of it into two quarters of 
the udder cavity of a healthy cow, leaving the other two quarters 
as a control. The results of this test were also negative in that 
no odor was produced. 
OTHER OUTBREAKS. 
While a fishy flavor in milk is by no means a common trouble, 
Mr. W. E. Griffiths, one of the agents of the Department of: 
Agriculture, informs us that he has observed two outbreaks of 
somewhat similar nature in the fifth district. In one instance 
June butter with a fine flavor was placed in cold storage at 18° 
to 22° F. until winter and when sold in the local market was re- 
turned with the complaint that it had a disagreeable flavor. 
Upon inspection by butter experts this was pronounced a fishy 
flavor. No cause could be found. The second case occurred in 
1899, when a cow kept for family use gave milk which was so 
pronouncedly fishy in the odor arising from it and in the taste, 
that the milk was discarded during the latter part of July and 
the month of August. The milk as soon as drawn had this pe- 
