74 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
ber of mold spores in the atmosphere even before the feeding 
was done. This condition was no doubt caused by the fact 
that the corn stover had been thrown down into the feeding 
alley a short time before milking time. If it had not been 
thrown down until after the first cow had been milked it is 
highly probable that the difference in the numbers of bacteria 
and molds in the two samples of milk would have been even 
greater than those shown in the table. The relative numbers 
of bacteria as shown by the averages of these experiments are 
illustrated graphically in the accompanying diagram. 
Diagram showing the above averages for the total bacteria. 
Before feeding, 
After feeding, 
Increase caused 
by feeding, 
The results of these experiments make it apparent that the 
number of bacteria gaining access to milk is greatly increased 
if dry corn stover is fed just before or during the time of 
milking. 
WIPING OFF THE COW WITH A DAMP CLOTH. 
In these experiments ten cows were used, these being divided 
into two lots of five cows each. At each milking one of these 
groups of cows was milked without any special care being taken 
to wipe off dust and other loose dirt. The other group of five 
cows had the flank and udder wiped with a cloth which had 
been dampened in clear water. No antiseptic or germicide was 
used. The next day the order of milking the two groups of 
cows was reversed so that every other day each group was 
milked without being wiped off while the other group was 
‘milked after being wiped with a damp cloth. These cows were 
all milked by the same man into a Stadtmueller covered pail. 
The samples were taken from the mixed milk of each group of 
five cows. ‘The figures given in Table No. 22 show the results 
obtained under these two conditions of milking. 
