FARMERS' CLEAN MILK BOOK FARMERS' CLEAN MILK BOOK BY CHARLES EDWARD NORTH, M.D. Director, North Public Health. Suyzau] New X?rk £Hy Secretary, Commission on Milk Sfiiji^a.^Qtffikf New ^nr^friilk Committee Chairman, Mayor" s Committee on Milk, City of New York, 79/7 FIRST EDITION NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED 1918 COPYRIGHT, 1918 BY CHARLES EDWARD NORTH PREFACE THIS book shows why some milk contains millions of bacteria and how they get into it, and how easy it is to keep them out. It shows that the millionaire with his fancy barn has no monopoly on cleanliness, but that any farmer can produce milk which is just as clean as cer- tified milk. It shows that the man himself is far more important than the dairy score card, and that hundreds of farmers in many dairy dis- tricts are now making a business success of pro- ducing clean milk. I desire to make acknowledgment to the Clover Farms Company, New York City; The City Dairy Company, Baltimore, Md.; Abbott's Alderney Dairies, Philadelphia, Pa.; D. Whiting & Sons, Boston, Mass.; Tait Bros., Springfield, Mass.; The Rockdale Company, Rockdale, N. Y. ; Borden's Farm Products Co., Inc., New York City; for many of the photographs and tabula- tions of bacterial tests which they have courte- ously permitted me to use in this book. 4 T5023 CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE MILK FACTORY PAGE TRANSFORMING FARM PRODUCE INTO MILK i VOLUME OF BUSINESS. LARGER DAIRIES 2 BANKS BUY Cows FOR FARMERS 4 LARGER PRODUCING Cows 5 CHAPTER II SELLING MILK MEASURING MILK 7 SELLING BUTTERFAT, AND How IT is MEASURED 9 SELLING CLEANLINESS, AND How IT is MEASURED 1 1 CHAPTER III BACTERIA WHAT THEY ARE 14 WHERE THEY LIVE 15 How THEY GROW 16 DISEASES FROM MILK 16 CANNOT BE FILTERED OUT ig vii viii CONTENTS CHAPTER IV THE BACTERIAL TEST PAGE THE LABORATORY 23 How THE TEST is MADE 25 CHAPTER V MILK IN THE UDDER ANIMAL MATTER SHED FROM THE LINING OF THE UDDER. . . 31 BACTERIA IN THE UDDER ; . 34 CHAPTER VI THE COW STABLE THE BARN AND STABLE DUST 36 CHAPTER VII EQUIPMENT FOR MILKING 39 FOR COOLING 43 FOR STERILIZING 50 CHAPTER VIII CLEAN MILKING BRUSHING Cows 59 CLEANING UDDERS 60 WASHING HANDS . . .61 CONTENTS ix PAGE COVERED PAILS 62 MILKING MACHINES 63 STRAINERS 64 CHAPTER IX COOLING GROWTH OF BACTERIA AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES 66 TANKS OF ICE WATER 67 TANKS OF RUNNING WATER 68 TANKS OF STILL WATER 69 MORNING'S MILK AND NIGHT'S MILK 69 IN WARM CLIMATES 70 CHAPTER X STERILIZING COLD WATER RINSE 71 BRUSHING WITH ALKALI POWDER 72 THE CLEAN RINSE 73 STERILIZING 73 STEAM 73 BOILING WATER 74 STERILIZING THE STRAINER 75 CHAPTER XI RESULTS ON PURITY MILK FARMS 87 HOMER, NEW YORK 81 x CONTENTS PAGE SPARKS, MARYLAND 83 OXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 86 KELTON, PENNSYLVANIA 92 FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT 95 WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 97 ROCKDALE, NEW YORK 100 OXFORD, NEW YORK 104 CHAPTER XII THE DAIRYMAN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DAIRY BACTERIAL TESTS OF TEN OXFORD DAIRIES 108 BACTERIAL TESTS OF TEN KELTON DAIRIES 109 OXFORD FARMERS IN KELTON DAIRIES 113 CHAPTER XIII THE DAIRY INSPECTOR FARMERS OBJECT TO INSPECTION 115 DAIRY SCORE CARDS 1 16 A NEW SCORE CARD . . / 1 18 THE FAILURE OF SCORE CARDS 120 NEW YORK CITY'S NEW MILK REGULATIONS 120 CHAPTER XIV MILK TRADITIONS SMOTHERED TASTE 123 QUICK COOLING AND SLOW COOLING 1 24 COIN TENTS xi PAGE ANIMAL HEAT 124 MIXING MORNING'S AND NIGHT'S MILK 125 THUNDERSTORMS. . , . 1 26 CHAPTER XV DAIRY ARITHMETIC 128 CHAPTER XVI ESSENTIALS FOR GRADE A MILK PRODUCTION. 132 Farmers' Clean Milk CHAPTER I THE MILK FACTORY TRANSFORMING FARM PRODUCE INTO MILK THE dairyman transforms farm produce into milk. Farm produce is raw material. The dairy barn is the milk factory. Dairy cows are ma- chines. Milk is the finished product. Tons of corn, tons of hay, and tons of grain are trans- formed by dairy cows into pounds of milk. The dairyman's raw material consists of farm produce and grain. The grain he can buy. The number of tons of farm produce and the kind of farm produce depends upon the land and the working of it. The number of dairy cows the dairyman needs depends upon the number of tons of raw material to be transformed. Each stall in his dairy barn should have in it a first class machine capable 2 THE MILK FACTORY of producing the maximum quantity and quality of milk from a given amount of feed. The dairy barn is the dairyman's milk factory, and like the mxll 6y/tierr he brings his raw material in one door and after passing it through the factory, takes his finished product out of another door. LARGER DAIRIES Volume of business and expense decide profit or loss. (Volume means quantity.) Dairy ex- penses must be borne by every quart of milk. A dairy producing only 10 quarts of milk makes each quart bear TO of the entire cost of operating the dairy. A dairy producing 200 quarts of milk makes each quart bear only 2wth of the en- tire cost of operation. The expense of operating a 2OO-quart dairy is not 20 times as great as the expense of operating a lo-quart dairy. The di- vision of expenses among 200 quarts makes each quart carry a much smaller tax than where ex- penses are divided among only 10 quarts. A sufficient volume of milk is necessary to pay the cost of good dairy operations. Small business means loss, while large business means profit. Fifty acres of cultivated land supporting 15 LARGER DAIRIES milking cows producing at least 100 quarts of milk daily means a volume of business which may just pay expenses. A smaller business than this may mean a loss, unless dairying is incidental to other kinds of farming. The advantage of the big dairy as compared with the small dairy is shown by the following table, which gives the cost of producing milk on 85 Connecticut farms arranged in groups accord- ing to the number of cows in the dairy herd. EIGHTY-FIVE HERDS IN CONNECTICUT (OF COWS AVERAGING OVER 6000 POUNDS EACH PER YEAR) Number c£ Herds. Cows in Herd. Cost of Producing Milk per Quart. Cents. 13 7-10 5-92 45 IO-2O 5-45 21 6 20-30 30-40 4-97 4-65 From the above table it is clear that if farm- ers were receiving 5 cents a quart for milk, those dairymen with herds containing less than 20 cows would be losing money, while dairymen with herds containing more than 20 cows would make money. 4 THE MILK FACTORY The largest herds produced milk I? cents per quart cheaper than the smaller herds even though both herds contained the same kinds of cows. BANKS BUY COWS FOR FARMERS Many dairy barns contained empty stanchions. Farmers with land and buildings big enough to accommodate more cows often do not keep more cows because they cannot afford to buy them. In many states bankers have made arrangements to buy cows for such dairy farmers, taking notes, and payment for the same from the milk these cows produce. This is excellent business for the banks, because an increase in the cow popula- tion means increased bank deposits. It is good business for the farmer, because he immediately has a full-sized dairy herd which in a short time pays for itself out of the milk the cows produce. The Plymouth County Trust Company, of Brockton, Mass., has during the past year and a half purchased thirteen car loads of cows, aver- aging twenty-five head to a car, for dairymen of that district. Numerous other banks in other states are doing the same thing. LARGER PRODUCING COWS LARGER PRODUCING COWS Each stanchion should contain a cow which is a large producer of milk. Each cow must consume feed for her own use before she can use feed to produce milk. After she eats enough to maintain her body all extra feed goes into milk. For this reason the large-producing cow produces milk much cheaper than the small-producing cow. Figures compiled by Professor Lockwood of Massachusetts Agricultural College from Massa- chusetts cows are as follows: Production per Cow per Year. Cost per Quart. Less than 5500 Ibs . . . 5501 to 7500 Ibs Over 7500 Ibs .0721 .0624 .0552 Professor White of Connecticut Agricultural College has compiled similar figures from dairy farms in Connecticut. Production per Cow per Year. Cost per Quart. Under 4500 Ibs 4500 to 5500 Ibs 5500 to 6500 Ibs .0702 .0582 os6o 6500 to 7500 Ibs Over 7500 Ibs . . . .0548 04.74. 6 THE MILK FACTORY The average cow producing milk for the New York City market produces between 4500 and 5000 pounds per year, which costs about 7 cents per quart. If produced by 65oo-pound cows, this same milk would cost about i| cents less per quart. CHAPTER II SELLING MILK MEASURING MILK THE laws of most states and cities describe milk as fluid drawn from the udders of dairy cows, to which nothing has been added, and from which nothing has been taken away, and which contains not less than 11.5 to 12 per cent solids, and not less than 3 to 3.5 per cent butter fat. Milk must be measured either by volume or by weight. If by volume, the common measurement is the number of quarts or cans. This method of measuring milk is unfair, both to the dairyman and to the milk dealer, because it is inaccurate. Battered or dented cans and cans not full make correct measurement of milk by volume impos- sible. The dairyman delivering milk in cans that are badly dented is cheating the milk dealer, and unfair to the dairyman equipped with good cans. 8 SELLING MILK Measurement by weight by the use of a weigh can and scales is the only fair method of meas- uring milk. By the scales all milk delivered can be accurately weighed at once. All modern shipping stations are being equipped with weigh cans and scales for weighing all milk from each dairy farmer as it is received BATTERED MILK CAN This can was built to hold 40 quarts of milk. Due to the dents it holds only 37^ quarts. A battered can is not a fair way to measure milk. WEIGH CAN AND SCALES All of the milk received from the farmer can be poured into the weigh can and correctly weighed by the scales. This is the only fair method of SELLING BUTTER FAT 9 measuring milk, both for the • farmer and for the dealer, because it is the only accurate method. SELLING BUTTER FAT The dairy farmer whose cows produce rich milk expects to receive more money than the dairy farmer whose cows produce poor milk. Butter fat has its own price. If the legal standard is 3 per cent, and a dairy produces milk con- 10 SELLING MILK taining 4 per cent butter fat, the dairyman ex- pects to receive the full market price for milk and a premium or extra price for butter fat equal to the value of the I per cent excess which his milk contains. Butter fat is measured best by the Babcock test. Sulphuric acid added to milk makes the separation of butter fat easy when the mixture is whirled in a centrifugal machine. The sepa- rated fat appears as yellow oil in the neck of the glass bottle and the quantity can be easily read from graduated marks on the neck. Fat tests may be made weekly or monthly. Disputes often occur between farmers and dealers regarding the fat tests. Changing cows changes the amount of fat in the mixed milk of the dairy. Removing cream from the top of the can for the house makes a big difference in the fat test of the the milk on that day. Where the farmer is honest, and the dealer is honest, disputes can always be settled by having the fat test made in the presence of both parties. BABCOCK FAT TESTER 11 BABCOCK FAT TESTER By this machine mixed milk or each cow's milk can be separately tested for fat. BABCOCK TEST BOTTLE The fat rises in the neck of this bottle as yellow oil, and the amount can be determined by reading from the marks on the neck the space which the fat occupies. SELLING CLEANLINESS This is something new. Cleanliness is some- thing many dairymen have always possessed, but have heretofore been unable to sell. Milk buyers have not drawn any line between clean 12 SELLING MILK milk and unclean milk, because they did not know how. Some milk drinkers prefer to drink clean milk. Cleanliness, therefore, has a market value. There would be a market for clean milk if it could be identified from the other kind. Cleanliness costs money. It costs money to keep dairy utensils smooth and in good repair. It costs money to wash and sterilize. It costs money to brush and wash cows, and clean stables, and to wash milkers' hands. It costs money to milk carefully, and to cool milk. At last a way has been found to measure cleanliness. This measurement consists of test- ing milk for bacteria. CHOLERA BACILLI 13 V»V"*?V ^" ...kC -!!?*.. _ ..-*£?_. CHOLERA BACILLI These are small rods slightly curved. Each of these small rods is an individual germ. There are many other kinds of bacteria which look like these in shape, but which are entirely harmless. CHAPTER III BACTERIA WHAT THEY ARE THEY are vegetables. They are the smallest of all plants. Twenty-five thousand bacteria end to end would cover a distance of I inch. They are so small that it takes a powerful magnifying glass to see them. They have no roots and no leaves. Some of them are shaped like cucumbers, and others like oranges. Most large plants, such as trees and corn and wheat, are harmless. A few are poisonous, such as poison ivy, mushrooms and sumach. Among bacteria there are hundreds of kinds entirely harmless, but a few are poisonous, such as typhoid, tuberculosis, sore throat and diphtheria. The poisonous bacteria have learned to grow in the warm and moist climate of human and animal bodies. There they make poisons which cause diseases known by their names. 14 WHERE THEY LIVE 15 WHERE THEY LIVE Most bacteria grow out of doors on anything that is moist and that contains food, either ani- mal or vegetable. All decay is the result of the growth of bacteria and moulds. Bacteria reduce all living things to the simple earthly elements of which they were formed. Great numbers of bacteria are attached to all particles of decaying matter. Each speck of dust blown by the air is a tiny airship carrying a crew of living bacteria. Cow-feed and bedding are coated with bacteria which feed upon them. They follow feed into the intestines of the dairy cows and grow inside the cow in great numbers. The discharges from the intestines of dairy cows are filled with uncounted millions of bacteria. The dust of manure, the floor of the cow stable, and the manure on the flanks of dairy cows are loaded with intestinal bacteria. Old milk inside of milk pails, milk cans, or on milk utensils, is the dwelling-place of enormous numbers of bacteria waiting to contaminate and injure any clean milk that may touch them. 16 BACTERIA HOW THEY GROW Warm milk is one of the best places in the world to grow bacteria. It is so nourishing and di- gestible that nearly all kinds of bacteria find milk exactly suited to their taste. When par- ticles of dust fall into milk, the crew of bacteria which they carry begin to multiply rapidly. Some feed on the sugar in milk and change it into acid, and this acid causes the milk to become sour. Others feed on curds and give milk a bad odor or make it decay. Cold weather stops growth of plants. Cold stops the growth of bacteria. Where it is as cold as ice or ice-water, bacteria grow scarcely at all. Warm weather with a temperature of blood- heat makes bacteria grow most rapidly. One germ will swell up, break in half, and in twenty-four hours double 48 times. If not inter- fered with, this means in forty-eight hours one germ would multiply itself to 281,474,976,710,656. DISEASE FROM MILK I. Typhoid Fever has destroyed the business of many dairy farmers. Typhoid in the farmer's family or in hired help sometimes gets into the DISEASES FROM MILK 17 milk. The germs always escape from the sick person in the bowel discharges or in the urine. They may be carried by drainage into well-water and by the water into pails, cans, and strainers, or they may be carried by flies. Big epidemics of typhoid fever in cities have often been traced to milk from dairy farms where persons were sick with typhoid. 2. Sore Throat and Scarlet Fever. People used to think sore throat and scarlet fever were dis- eases sent by Providence to punish mankind. Now we know that they often are caused by bacteria in milk. Sore throat bacteria look like a chain of beads, and for this reason are named, "streptococcus," which is the Greek word for chain of beads. Sore udders of cows nearly always discharge bacteria like this in great num- bers. Every epidemic of sore throat and scarlet fever which has ever been traced to its source has been found to have been caused by milk con- taining such germs. Sore throats in dairy em- ployees or sore udders in dairy cows may cause big epidemics of sore throat among the persons to whom the milk is sold. 3. Tuberculosis. The examination in hospitals of many hundreds of tuberculous children shows 18 BACTERIA that 25 per cent are infected by the tuberculosis bacteria of cows. This means that cows carry these germs to children. Tuberculosis is com- mon in cows. When the disease reaches the udder, the bacteria are discharged into the milk. A tuberculous cow also discharges large num- bers of these bacteria from her bowels. Manure from tuberculous cows is dangerous and its dust spreads the disease. 4. Diphtheria. The bacteria of diphtheria grow well in milk. Diphtheria in the throats of the hired help on the dairy farm may get into milk through coughing or sneezing or from the milker's fingers. Many epidemics of diphtheria among milk drinkers have been caused in this way. When dairy cows are diseased or when there is disease in the farmer's family or among the hired help, the whole business of a dairy farmer may be destroyed by the health authorities. Every dairyman must protect his business by quickly reporting disease when it occurs, so that the authorities can help him protect milk consumers and also save his business- CANNOT BE FILTERED OUT 19 BACTERIA CANNOT BE FILTERED OUT Dirt and bacteria travel together. Because the strainer removes dirt, some think it removes bacteria. The fact is that the finest strainer used by dairymen removes only the very coarse dirt, and leaves still in the milk all of the fine dirt. Bacteria are much smaller than even the finest dirt, and easily pass through the strainer with the milk. The cheese cloth or wire commonly used for straining is 32 meshes to the inch. The finest cheese cloth that can be purchased has 64 meshes to the inch. Under a magnifying glass the meshes of fine cheese cloth appear very large. Since it takes 25,000 bacteria to cover I inch in length, 400 bacteria could be placed in a row in the space between two threads of the finest cheese cloth, and through one of the square openings of such a cloth a regiment of 160,000 bacteria could march abreast. Bacteria are much smaller than the drops of butter fat in milk, therefore a strainer fine enough to remove bacteria would also remove all of the butter fat, and allow only skim-milk to pass through. BACTERIA CHEESE CLOTH 32 MESHES TO THE INCH (Upper half) O ••••' ''^M»&i:Hi^^ liiliilili """"TlSilll* ' ;:. 4:4 CHEESE CLOTH 64 MESHES TO THE INCH (Lower half) CHEESE CLOTH 64 MESHES TO THE INCH MAGNIFIED TEN TIMES CANNOT BE FILTERED OUT CHEESE CLOTH 64 MESHES TO THE INCH MAGNIFIED SEVENTY -FIVE TIMES In this picture in the upper right hand corner are the same bacteria shown on the previous page. They are five times as large as they ought to be in correct proportion to the size of the meshes of the cheese cloth. Between the two threads, 400 of these bacteria could be arranged M BACTERIA in line, and a regiment of 160,000 of these germs could be pushed through one of the squares abreast. This shows clearly how the finest cheese cloth cannot possibly filter bacteria out of milk. Dirty milk may look clean because it has been strained, but the large numbers of bacteria which pass through the filter will show by their pres- ence that the milk was unclean. The cleanliness of milk cannot be measured by the so-called "dirt test," which uses a strainer because milk may have been previously strained. The test for bacteria is therefore the best pos- sible way to measure the cleanliness of milk. CHAPTER IV THE BACTERIAL TEST THE LABORATORY TESTING milk for bacteria does not require the services of a college professor nor a lab- oratory equipped with expensive apparatus. Any boy or girl with a high school education can learn how to make tests of milk for the num- bers of bacteria by the "plate method" after six weeks' training. The laboratory operations are simple and very easy to understand. Accu- racy and speed are necessary to make such tests available for the milk industry and for health authorities. When such testing was done only in expen- sive laboratories by college professors the cost was too great to make such testing available for milk dealers and dairy farmers and the health authorities of small cities. But at the present time bacterial tests of milk can be made by every milk dealer and by every 23 24 THE BACTERIAL TEST country village and town, because methods have been made so simple and have been so standard- ized that the work can be performed by any intelligent person after a few weeks' training. The cost of the laboratory apparatus sufficient to test for bacteria 100 samples of milk daily need not be more than $250. THE BACTERIAL TESTING LABORATORY The laboratory equipment can be simple and cheap. It is mostly glassware. By properly ar- ranging the work, a large number of samples can be tested at one time. HOW THE TEST IS MADE 25 HOW THE BACTERIAL TEST IS MADE Milk which is clean and fresh contains very small numbers of bacteria. Milk which is dirty or stale contains large numbers of bacteria. The human eye cannot see a single bacterium be- cause it is too small, any more than the hu- man eye can see a single grain of wheat in the distance. But just as the human eye can easily see a whole field of wheat growing, in like manner it is easy to see bacteria when they grow in large masses. One bacterium will multiply into a mass in one or two days big enough to be seen with the naked eye. The bacterial test of milk as it is carried out in milk testing laboratories gives each of the bacteria in the milk a chance to produce its own mass of descendants, so that these masses may be separately counted. The test is performed as follows: (i) A sample of milk must be taken from the farmer's can into a glass bottle which contains no bacteria, because the bottle has been sterilized by baking in an oven. The milk must be trans- ferred from the farmer's can to the sample bottle most carefully. The thumb or fingers or a dirty 26 THE BACTERIAL TEST dipper, or anything unsterilized which the milk touches will spoil the sample. (2) The sample is kept ice-cold until tested, otherwise the bacteria will multiply. DILUTING THE MILK WITH STERILE WATER (3) In the laboratory exactly i cc. of milk (about a thimbleful) is drawn out of the sample with a glass tube and discharged into a bottle of sterilized water so as to make a dilution of I per cent. If the milk is believed to contain large numbers of bacteria, the dilution is made higher. HOW THE TEST IS MADE 27 (4) Exactly I cc. (i thimbleful) of this mix- ture of milk and water is drawn out of the dilu- tion-bottle by another glass tube and discharged DISCHARGING THE DILUTED MILK INTO A STERILE GLASS DISH onto a flat glass dish having a cover. This dish has also been sterilized. (5) Into the dish is then poured an exceedingly stiff jelly made from a Japanese sea- weed called agar. The jelly contains a little beef tea to furnish food for the bacteria. When spread out on the glass dish it hardens and all of the bac- teria in the milk are glued fast. THE BACTERIAL TEST POURING BEEF JELLY INTO GLASS DISH GLASS DISHES IN INCUBATOR HOW THE TEST IS MADE 29 (6) The dishes are put in an incubator where the temperature is the same as that used in hatching hens' eggs. They remain there for two days. COLONIES OF BACTERIA The jelly is perfectly clear at first. After two days there are developed white and gray spots on the jelly where the bacteria in the milk have grown into masses. Each germ has surrounded himself with millions of descendants, making a spot visible to the naked eye. It is easy to count these spots, and thus count the number of bacteria present in the milk sample. The 30 THE BACTERIAL TEST upper right-hand dish contains few spots, show- ing clean milk. The middle dish in the bottom row is gray with small spots like the sands on the sea-shore, showing very dirty milk. CHAPTER V MILK IN THE UDDER MILK as it comes directly from healthy cows may contain no bacteria, but most cows give milk containing 200 or 300 bacteria per cc., which have found their way from outside into the ends of the teats. If handled carefully milk may pass through the dairy without the addition of bacteria. On the other hand, it may receive dirt from the cow's hide, the air of the barn, the milker's hands, the milking pail, strainer cloth, cooler, or cans, and in the end contain many millions of bacteria. In safeguarding milk from bacteria and dirt every step of the journey from the cow to the consumer must be protected by those methods which will prevent damage from outside sources. ANIMAL MATTER IN MILK Such protection must begin while the milk is still inside of the cow's udder. Farm produce 31 32 MILK IN THE UDDER eaten by the dairy cow is changed in the cow's digestion into soft liquid material. This is ab- sorbed by the circulation which carries it to the udder. The cow's udder is a large sponge filled with cavities, in the walls of which the blood tubes form a fine network. The surface of the cavities is like fine velvet made up of tiny par- ticles of animal matter called cells. This velvet lining draws liquid nourishment from the cir- culation beneath, and transforms it into milk. Many of the tiny particles composing the velvet become so filled with milk material that they burst, and others are squeezed loose and fall off with the milk into the channels. The blood itself contains floating particles of solid material called white blood cells. They are round and soft like tiny drops of white jelly. These also work their way through the walls of the chan- nels and fall into the milk. As a result, the milk which flows from the small channels of the udder into the large channels and finally reaches the teats carries with it considerable material which is shed from the lining of the udder, and which can easily be seen in milk under a mag- nifying glass. The gray oval spaces in the picture are the ANIMAL MATTER IN MILK 33 milk channels. They are cut across. The walls appear as white fibers. On the inside edge of the walls are numerous round balls, some white Courtesy M. P. Ravenel. SECTION ACROSS COW'S UDDER and some black. These are the cells forming the velvet lining of the milk tubes. The white ones contain butter fat, and the black ones are 34 MILK IN THE UDDER cells of animal matter. Some of these particles have broken off and are in the center of the milk channels, from which they will be discharged with the milk. BACTERIA IN THE UDDER When a cow lies down, dirt may be pushed into the ends of the teat, carrying with it bac- teria. A scratch on the surface of the udder from a barbed-wire fence, or a wound from a bruise may become infected. Through such en- trances, bacteria find their way into the interior of the udder and start an inflammation. It is nearly as common for a cow's udder to become inflamed as for a human being to have a cold in the head. The bacteria irritate the interior of the udder by the poisons which they produce. To offset this, the blood discharges enormous numbers of white blood cells supplied by nature to entangle the bacteria and carry them off. This white material is commonly called pus, and is often seen by the milker as thick or lumpy matter discharged with the milk. The bacteria commonly causing such udder inflammations may cause tonsilitis or septic sore throat in milk con- BACTERIA IN THE UDDER 35 sumers. The bacteria of tuberculosis may be discharged from the udder of a tuberculous cow in the same way. The first step in clean milk production con- sists in regular examination of cows' udders to see if they are free from inflammation. Dairy farmers must reject all milk which con- tains lumps, or is thick, or deposits gummy material on the milk strainer. CHAPTER VI THE COW STABLE SANITARY AND UNSANITARY BARNS A DAIRY barn includes accommodations for feeding, sleeping, drinking, the disposal of waste material, and often a yard for exercise. Cows are tied up by the neck in stanchions, in some parts of the country in the cellar of the barn, in other parts of the country on the second story. In one dairy district cows may stand in short rows running crosswise of the building in the same room with horses and mules. In another dairy district the cows may stand in long rows lengthwise of the building. Barns quickly be- come soiled by cow-feed, cow-bedding, and cow- manure. The air may be filled with dried dust from these sources. The cow's hide often becomes coated with material from the floor. The droppings of dust from the cow's 36 SANITARY AND UNSANITARY BARNS 37 hide and from barn air into milking pails causes serious contamination of milk with dirt and bacteria. Well constructed and sanitary barns are de- sirable because they reduce stable dust. Cement floors, iron stanchions, smooth and tight ceil- ings and walls, abundant windows, ventilating and drainage system, feed carriers, manure car- riers, beds of cork brick, all these things are aids to sanitation, but are more expensive than most farmers can afford. The beautiful barns pro- ducing certified milk are some of them cow palaces, but after all the only thing such barns can accomplish is to reduce the quantity of stable dust. Stable dust can be reduced in any barn by any farmer by extra care. Even the commonest barn with a dirt floor and rough walls can be kept free from excessive dust by the farmer who knows how. But stable dust is of very small importance compared with other sources of contamination of milk. The barn itself is of small importance, and stable dust is of small importance compared with the damage to milk by direct droppings from the cow's hide into the milking pail, or damages 38 THE COW STABLE from unclean milking pails, milk cans, strainer cloths, and other utensils. The care exercised by the farmer and his hired help in handling milk and milk utensils is of far greater importance than the dairy barn. CHAPTER VII EQUIPMENT EXPENSIVE or fancy apparatus is not neces- sary for producing clean milk. The rank and file of dairy farmers can do good work with simple and cheap equipment. There are three primary dairy operations for which such utensils are re- quired; namely, for milking, for cooling, and for sterilizing. EQUIPMENT FOfc MILKING Brush and Wash Pail Brushes such as are used on horses, and when necessary a curry comb, should be used to clean cows. Milk pails should not be used for wash pails. There should be a separate wash pail for washing cows. Wash Cloths Burlap makes a good wash cloth, because it is strong and coarse. Fine white cheese cloth or white towelling is best for wiping udders dry. 40 EQUIPMENT A slanting position reduces exposure to falling dust. A tin lid keeps the pail clean before it is used. MILK CANS WITH LIDS There are several patterns of milk cans, such as the New England pattern, the Chicago pattern, and the New York pat- SMALL-MOUTHED MILKING PAIL There are many types of small- mouthed pails with openings from 8 to 3 inches in diameter. A 5-inch opening is large enough for practical use by the majority of milkers. EQUIPMENT FOR MILKING 41 tern. The New York can has a lid with a mushroom top. This is more sanitary than any other, because it does not collect dirt, dirty water, dirty ice, or old milk. Strainers The cleanest dairies use no strainers at all. The simplest and_cheap- est strainer is a piece of white cheese cloth which may be folded once and held in place on the mouth of the can by clothes pins, or tape, or a string, or a tin holder. A piece of white flannel or pieces of cotton may be used once and thrown away after each milking. Wire mesh strainers are much harder to keep clean than cloth, and should not be used. 42 EQUIPMENT SUMMARY COST OF MILKING EQUIPMENT Brush for cows 50 Wash pail for cows 75 Wash cloths for cows 05 Small-mouthed milking pail 2.00 Milk cans (each) 5 . oo Strainer cloths (each) 05 Holder for filter cloths i . 50 Total $9.85 (The total cost will depend on the number of pails and cans used. There should be one pail for each milker, and cans sufficient for two milk- ings and for shipment.) EQUIPMENT FOR COOLING 43 EQUIPMENT FOR COOLING Ice Supply The ice harvest is almost as important as the corn harvest for the dairyman. In climates where natural ice is formed, every dairyman should have an ice house. At small expense an ice-house can be erected on any dairy farm. Often an old wagon-house or shed can be cheaply transformed by sheathing, and the use of saw dust, into an ice-house that will keep ice well. Most farm ice-houses are too small. The storage of ice in large quantities in tight, well-built houses prevents losses. The quantity of ice stored should be not less than I pound to each pound of milk for the period of hot weather 44 EQUIPMENT during which the ice must be used. An excess of 25 to 50 per cent must be added to allow for loss through melting. Spring-water and Milk-house Spring water should be protected from con- tamination. Cold running water is next best to ice-water for cooling. A well constructed milk- house, properly screened, is the safest place to keep milk. EQUIPMENT FOR COOLING 45 Artesian Well and Milk-house Where springs are not available, wells are necessary. The artesian well gives most pro- tection to the purity of water. Water from the tank in the tower is not so cold as water pumped directly from the well into the milk-house. The milk-house can be conveniently located under the tower. Cooling Tank The cooling tank can be built of wood or cement or iron. They should be water-tight, and deep 46 EQUIPMENT enough to bring the water up around the necks of the cans, with an overflow that holds the water at the right level. SHALLOW COOLING TANK DEEPER COOLING TANK EQUIPMENT FOR COOLING 47 Picture No. I shows a cooling tank of wood that is much too shallow. Night's milk in the upper half of the can cannot be kept cool. Picture No. 2 shows a cooling tank of cement. Even this is not high enough to bring water around the neck of the can. Open Coolers The campaign for instantaneous cooling has led to the use of open coolers. All of these are Warm Milk of tin, some of them conical in shape, and some corrugated, or made of horizontal pipes. They 48 EQUIPMENT all use cold water or ice- water on the inside, and the milk flows over the outside. Properly operated, they are very effective, especially where large quantities of milk are to be cooled in a short time. The objection against them is that they are difficult to clean and sterilize properly. In small dairies such coolers are not so neces- sary as in large dairies. The small dairyman who has ice does not require an open cooler, EQUIPMENT FOR COOLING 49 but can get first-class results without it. Where small dairymen have no ice and must depend only on spring water, the open cooler may be of assist- ance. Stirring Rods Where cooling water is not very cold, milk has to be stirred. This picture shows one stirring rod made out of a broom stick with a piece of board nailed across the end. This is very unsanitary, and such a rod should never be used, as it cannot be kept clean. The other rod in the picture is made of metal, covered with smooth tin. On the end of the rod is a small disc of metal. This can be washed and sterilized, and kept clean, and is a sanitary stirring rod. It must be kept in a clean place, and always scalded before using. COST OF COOLING EQUIPMENT Ice Supply. The cost varies according to the size of ice-house and convenience to ice-field. Water Supply. The water supply is necessary 50 EQUIPMENT for other farm purposes and therefore should not be charged entirely against the dairy. Milk-house and Cooling Tank. A good milk- house with cement floors and cement cooling tank can be built for less than $100.00. Stirring rod, of metal, 60 cents. EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING Steam Boiler and Sterilizer In large dairies a steam boiler can be used to advantage. Steam in abundance can be used EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING 51 for sterilizing, either in pressure sterilizers in which the cans, pails, and other small apparatus can be confined, or steam can be used through jets injected into cans, pails, etc. Only large dairies can afford to pay the cost of steam boilers. Cheapest Steam Sterilizer The United States Department of Agriculture has designed a sterilizer consisting of a small kerosene stove upon which stands an or- dinary roasting pan full of water, on top of which is placed a galvanized iron lid with a short jet which ex- tends upward from the center. The water boiled in the roasting pan quickly creates steam, which ascends through the jet, and heats the can or pail placed upon it. 52 EQUIPMENT Boiling Water Kerosene Stove and Wash Boiler. Abundance of boiling water for sterilizing can be obtained by the use of a kerosene stove with a large wash boiler upon it. EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING 53 Hot Water Stove Such a stove can be a small coal or wood stove. Every farm house is equipped with a kitchen stove to which is attached a hot-water tank. The supply of hot water from such a tank is sel- dom sufficient. A wise dairyman will place pails or a wash boiler on top of the kitchen stove so as to insure sufficient hot water for sterilizing purposes. 54 EQUIPMENT Alkali Washing Powder Washing soda or some of the alkali washing powders can be bought in packages from i pound to a barrel. They are far superior to soap in removing curds and butter fat from tinware and from the meshes of a strainer. An 8o-pound keg is a good size for small dairymen to buy, as the powder is much cheaper than in I -pound packages. EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING Scrub Brushes Good scrub brushes with thick stiff bristles shaped to get into the joints of cans and pails are necessary to remove old milk or dirt sticking to the surfaces of the tin. They are much su- perior to any wash cloth. They can be bought at any dairy supply house. The brush with a long handle is desirable for washing milk cans. Antiseptic for Milking Machines The cleaning of milking machines requires not only treatment with alkali and brushes, but sterilization by antiseptic solutions. The best of these are solutions of chlorine. A number of preparations are on the market. Farmers can 56 EQUIPMENT make their own solutions by the use of bleaching powder. From a small quantity of powder a very large quantity of solution can be made. Such solutions should be freshly made for each milking and usually much stronger than directed on the commercial packages. They should be applied in warm water and only after all milk is removed by thorough cleaning. COST OF EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING A 20-H.P. steam boiler $75 . oo Home-made steam sterilizer (U. S. Dept. of Agriculture) 10.00 A kerosene stove with a wash boiler 10. oo Alkali washing powder in i-lb. packages, per Ib .10 In kegs of 80 Ib., per Ib .05 Scrub brushes (each) .50 Antiseptic J: or milking machine in liquid form, per gallon ... I . oo In powdered form, per Ib. (i Ib. being sufficient to make 5 gallons of stock solution) .10 Cold Water and Hot Water Of all of the items in the above list of dairy equipment, there are two which stand out with such prominence that the others fade into com- parative insignificance. These two things are cold water and hot water. The cold water supply for cooling, and the hot water supply for ster- ilizing, are by far the most important aids to the dairy farmer in producing clean milk. With an EQUIPMENT FOR STERILIZING 57 abundance of cold water, and especially of ice- water, for cooling, and an abundance of boiling water for sterilizing, the success of the dairy farmer in producing clean milk is practically guaranteed. On the other hand, that dairyman who is not equipped with cold water, and is not equipped with hot water, is almost certain to fail in his efforts to secure a sanitary product. Cold water and hot water are the biggest things in the clean milk business. CHAPTER VIII CLEAN MILKING THE equipment, after all, amounts to nothing if the dairyman by his own actions is unclean. What counts far more than equipment is the methods which the dairyman himself carries out at milking time and afterwards to prevent the contamination of milk with dirt and bacteria. His equipment may be good, but he may use it badly. On the other hand, his equipment may may be bad, but he may use it so well that he gets good results. There are several steps in the operation of drawing milk from the cow and taking care of it. In a healthy udder, milk is safe from outside dirt and dust and bacteria. The clean dairy- man must know how to transfer milk from the udder of a cow into a pail without damage to the milk. Clean milking includes the following steps : 58 BRUSHING COWS 59 STEP NO. i. BRUSHING COWS Cows fresh from a clean pasture may not need to be cleaned at all. If cleaning is necessary, an old broom can be used to sweep coarse dirt from a cow's flanks. A curry-comb and brush will make cow's hair as shiny as a horse's. A piece of burlap, dry or slightly moist, may be used to clean the cow's sides and flanks. 60 CLEAN MILKING STEP NO. 2. CLEANING UDDERS The udder should be first brushed with a dry brush, then it should be washed with clean water and dried with a clean cloth. Dirty water and a dirty cloth injure the udder and transfer dirt from cow to cow. Water and cloths must be changed often in washing udders in a large herd. Udders must be wiped dry. WASHING HANDS 61 STEP NO. 3. WASHING HANDS Milk at times trickles over the fingers of even the best milkers. Milkers' hands must be carefully washed in soap and water and dried on a clean towel before milking. If moistened with milk, the hands should be again washed and dried. A dairy barn should be supplied with towels, soap, and water, so that milkers can easily wash their hands. 62 CLEAN MILKING STEP NO. 4. MILKING INTO COVERED PAIL Very clean cows in a very clean barn may be milked into open pails, or into closed pails, with little difference in the contamination of milk by dust. But most barns are dusty. Nine-tenths of this dust can be kept out of the milk pail by a cover or hood which has an opening only large enough for convenient milking. Many farmers easily milk through a five-inch opening. Thousands of dairymen now use covered milking pails. Some hired men object to using covered pails, but a short trial always convinces them that their MILKING BY MACHINE 63 objections are imaginary. Dairies where covered pails are used produce much cleaner milk than dairies using old-fashioned wide-mouthed pails. v; : STEP NO. 4a. MILKING BY MACHINE Milk drawn from dairy cows through the tubes of a good milking machine is entirely protected against damage from the dirt of the cow, or the milker, or the stable. The objection to the machine is that if it is not carefully cleaned and sterilized, it causes 64 CLEAN MILKING immense damage to milk from the bacteria which grow in the old milk remaining in the machine. It is a serious business to clean a milking ma- chine properly. It must be taken entirely apart twice daily, brushed with soda solution and ster- ilized with one of the chlor- ine sterilizing liquids. For a large herd, the machine is a much greater economy than for a small herd. Dairy- men with small herds make better milk with covered pails and hand milking. STEP NO. 5. STRAINING MILK Clean milk needs no straining. Clean milk leaves no dirt on the strainer cloth. The cleanest dairymen use- no strainers. Clean diary- men believe that strainers are needed only for dirty milk. STRAINING MILK 65 In dairies where strainers are neces- sary, the best strainer to use is a piece of white cheese cloth. New pieces of flannel or cotton which can be used once and then thrown away also may be accepted as good strainers. They save washing, but cost more. CHAPTER IX COOLING ALL the dairyman's labor in raising farm prod- uce, in raising cattle, in caring for and feeding dairy cows, in careful milking, goes for nothing if he allows the finished product for which he is to get cash to spoil through lack of proper cooling. Imperfect cooling means loss of quality through multiplication of bacteria. It may also mean entire loss of the product through spoilage. The best results are always secured through the use of ice. GROWTH OF BACTERIA AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES Night's milk kept below 50° shows practically no change the following morning. The growth of bacteria in milk at different temperatures during twenty- four hours is shown in the tabu- lation below. TANKS OF ICE WATER 67 BACTERIA PER CC. As Re- ceived Cooled by Tern. 12 Hrs. 15 Hrs. 1 8 Hrs. 21 Hrs. 24 Hrs. 4000 Ice water 38° 2,500 3,100 4,800 8,300 8,500 4000 Next to ice. . . . 40 2,600 2,500 3,500 8,000 16,000 4000 Near ice 45 3,ooo 3,200 8,000 15,000 25,000 4000 In ice box 50 11,000 13,000 15,000 24,000 44,000 4000 Next to ice box. 55 18,000 18,000 24,000 70,000 73,ooo 4000 Running water 60 24,000 80,000 120,000 304,000 260,000 4000 Room temp . . . 65 330,000 1,400,000 S.ooo.ooo 15,000,000 40,000,000 I (Note the big changes occur above 50° F.) TANKS OF ICE WATER Tanks of ice-water are the simplest and most effective form of farm cooling. They are built of cement or iron or wood. They should be deep enough to bring water up to the neck of 68 COOLING milk cans, and have an overflow at this level. They should also have a deep outlet, so that all the water can be drawn out and the tank cleansed. Galvanized iron tanks can be bought cheaply ready made for this purpose. One large cake of ice a day is usually sufficient for the average dairyman. In such tanks as this the bacteria in the night's milk will be no more numerous than the bacteria in morning's milk when delivered next morning. ; TANKS OF RUNNING WATER Some farm wells contain water as cold as 42°, Spring-water is likely to be warmer than well- TANKS OF STILL WATER 69 water. Farm springs may have temperatures in the summer time from 50° to 60°. Where water runs by gravity or through the operation of a pump, the temperature of the milk in such tanks can be kept as low as the lowest temperature of the water, and milk can be cooled without stirring. TANKS OF STILL WATER Where dairies have no running water and no ice, and must depend upon tanks which have been filled from a pump or a well, the best results can be secured by stirring the milk. Such stirring will bring milk to the temperature of the water in about half the time required to reach such a tem- perature if unstirred. Under these conditions, the stirring of night's milk is particularly necessary in summer time. Stirring rods should be of smooth metal and not of wood. MORNING'S MILK AND NIGHT'S MILK When the dairyman delivers milk for shipment once a day, and the time selected is the morning, morning's milk is twelve hours newer than night's milk. The cooling of night's milk is then far more important than the cooling of morning's 70 COOLING milk. Morning's milk can be delivered to a nearby shipping station within two or three hours ride of the dairy in good condition, even with- out any cooling at all, provided it is to be cooled at the shipping station. Night's milk, however, must be cooled on the farm if it is to be delivered in good condition. IN WARM CLIMATES Where there is no ice, and spring-water and well-water are not cool enough, dairymen have to deliver milk to the market twice daily. In many southern cities dairymen must make a morning delivery and an afternoon delivery of fresh milk to milk stations in towns and cities where it can be immediately retailed or properly cooled. CHAPTER X STERILIZING THE most important sanitary process on the dairy farm is sterilizing. Milk utensils are com- monly soiled with old milk or dirty water in which bacteria multiply enormously. Every surface milk touches when it leaves the dairy cow adds bacteria to it, if such surface is unsterilized. Pails, cans, coolers, tanks, vats, stirring rods, add enormous numbers of bacteria to milk if they have been soiled with milk left over from previous milking. The strainer of wire or of cloth is without doubt the most dangerous weapon in the entire dairy industry, and responsible for more bacteria in milk than any other one thing. The washing and sterilizing process consists of several important operations. COLD WATER RINSE Immediately after use a cold-water rinse should be applied to all utensils touched by milk, as 71 72 STERILIZING fresh milk is for the most part readily washed away by cold water. On no account should hot water be used at this stage, as it makes milk stick fast. BRUSHING WITH ALKALI POWDER The acid of sour milk is neutralized by the alkali in washing powder. The butter fat is changed into soap by alkali powder. For this reason, a washing powder containing soda removes dried curds and grease. Washing powder should be used in luke-warm water, and applied with a brush to cans, pails, tanks, and vats. THE CLEAN RINSE 73 THE CLEAN RINSE A most important operation is the clean rinse. This means the use of clean cold water or clean warm water to wash away all traces of soda or alkali powder after brushing. It should be used in abundance enough to give a thorough rinse. STERILIZING BY STEAM The purpose of steril- izing is to kill bacteria. Some bacteria are so tough that they are not killed by heat lower than the heat of boiling water. The most per- fect sterilizing is done by steam in a metal sterilizer under several pounds pressure. Such sterilizers are beyond the reach of the aver- age dairyman. A jet of steam will do good sterilizing if a can or pail is kept over it long enough, but a momentary application does not sterilize it. 74 STERILIZING STERILIZING BY BOILING WATER Boiling water is the most important of all of the things the dairy farmer possesses. Boiling water in abundance will do more to make a success of the clean milk business than any other one thing. Most dairy farmers do not have enough boiling water. Each milk can requires at least half a pailful of clean boiling water to properly sterilize its interior surface. Pouring boiling water from can to can is in- effective. Each can and pail should have its own separate dose of fresh boiling water. While milk cans for an entire day's milking may be washed and sterilized in the morning, milking pails must be washed and sterilized twice daily. After the night's milking such steriliza- tion is just as important as after the morning's milking, yet many dairymen neglect to provide boiling water in the evening, and often fail to sterilize milking pails after night's milking. It is a common thing for the fire in the kitchen stove of the farm house to go out in the afternoon, especially in the summer time. This commonly leads to neglect of sterilizing operations after the night's milking, so that pails and strainer cloths STERILIZING THE STRAINER 75 are simply rinsed in cold water. This does not remove all of the milk on their surfaces and results in a growth of bacteria over night which often seriously contaminates the next morning's milk. STERILIZING THE STRAINER More good milk is spoiled by a bad strainer than in any other way. The cleanest milk needs no straining at all. A strainer because of its mesh is far more dangerous than any other article of dairy equipment. The mesh catches dirt I and bacteria. A filtering cloth not thoroughly washed and not thoroughly sterilized breeds bacteria between milkings so that it hides many millions in its meshes. Cheese cloth is easier to wash and sterilize properly than any other kind of mesh. The dairy farmer should have two pieces of cheese cloth large enough to use doubled once 76 STERILIZING over his milk cans. By having two such pieces they can both be washed and sterilized in the morning, giving him one cloth for the night's milking and the other for the following morning's milking. The advantage of washing and sterilizing both cloths in the morning is that the majority of dairy farmers find it inconvenient to do wash- ing and sterilizing in the evening. They should first be washed in a basin of cold water and alkali powder. Next they should be rinsed in clean cold water to get rid of the excess alkali. After this they must be boiled on the kitchen stove for at least thirty minutes in order to kill the bacteria, some of which have exceed- ingly hard shells, and are not killed by ordinary scalding. The cloths must then be hung up to dry in a clean place. Out of doors on a line over green grass in the sunlight is an ideal place for drying strainer cloths. In the winter time a line behind the kitchen stove is satisfactory if the room does not contain much dust. Farmers often fail to properly clean and sterilize filter cloths after the night's milking. As a result, night's milk may contain few bacteria, while morning's milk after passing through the unster- ilized filter, contains many millions. CHAPTER XI THOUSANDS OF DAIRYMEN GETTING RESULTS MILKING, cooling, and sterilizing; these are the big three. By practicing the methods of milking, cooling, and sterilizing before described, any dairyman can produce milk containing not more than a few hundred bacteria. Such results have been accomplished by many dairymen under practical commercial conditions. This system has been tried out in a very definite way. The record of the work done by dairymen who have tried to produce clean milk by the use of these simple methods has not been accidental, but has been the result of well-laid plans under business condtions, with the object of proving beyond doubt that large volumes of clean milk can be produced at a very small additional cost above the regular market price. Large groups of farmers for a small advance in price have consented to cooperate in carrying out the simple sanitary methods specified. Such demonstrations 77 78 RESULTS have been made at Homer, N. Y. ; Sparks, Md.; Oxford, Pa.; Kelton, Pa.; Bridgewater, N. Y.; Fair Haven, Vt.; Wilton, N. H.; Rockdale, N. Y.; Bernardsville, N. J.; Bel Air, Md.; Oxford, N. Y.; and Brisben, N. Y. PURITY MILK FARMS These principles were first put into practice on a large scale in 1903 on the Purity Milk Farms near Pennington, N. J. For a whole year daily bac- terial tests were made on milk from two barns separated by a distance of not more than 100 yards on the same farm. $20,000 BARN ON PURITY MILK FARMS 79 The first was a model sanitary cow-stable which, with its equipment, cost over $20,000. The second was an old-fashioned cow-stable with no sanitary features, which cost not more than $400. ' $400 BARN The sanitary dairy house supplied sterilized cans and sterile covered milking pails for the old barn, which were carried there in a wheel-barrow. The milker did clean milking into small mouthed pails. When the first old barn proved able to produce clean milk other old barns in the neighborhhood joined the dairy and did the same thing. The 80 RESULTS dairy house did the sterilizing and coolin; for all. BACTERIAL TESTS OF MILK AT PURITY MILK FARMS Sanitary Barn. Old Barn. 1903, September 660 1,950 October 354 331 November 287 425 December 505 457 1904, January 355 1,244 February 1,721 3,9io March 600 4. 2OO April w;7 3,300 H-J^^T^J 4,600 May 1,950 IO,2OO June sso I QOO July oo 1,260 i ^\j\j 3,500 August 1,^1 1 4. 6lO J OOT" "T)w *w Average 1,097 3,102 HOMER, NEW YORK 81 HOMER, NEW YORK This system was established at Homer, in 1910. There were 71 dairy farms at this station pro- ducing an average of 10,000 quarts of milk daily. The majority of these farmers were able to pro- duce milk containing less than 10,000 bacteria per cc., even in hot weather. This is shown BACTERIA PER Cc. Farmer. Button, Ira 7200 Bartlett, Fred 600 Blair, W. H 1500 Cole, R. G 1400 Ciouse, C. M 1200 Foster, Edw 5300 Foster, I. J 5400 Jones, Homer 2300 Klock, L. E 3000 Larrison, H 8600 McAuliffe, D mixed Moore Bros 7600 Niver, Ray 8900 O'Connor, Fred 4400 Quinlan Bros 6400 Ranney & Jones 4300 Rice, Frank 8100 Sellen, Dey 7200 Vinnedge, W 7800 Wilson, George 4600 7,100 8,600 12,000 7,300 1,200 8,900 9,600 4,200 4,200 7,400 4,000 8,100 9,400 10,300 9,200 6,900 10,300 3,100 8,600 5,100 (Highest outside temperature, 84° F.) RESULTS ONE OF THE HOMER DAIRIES AND ITS RECORD SPARKS, MARYLAND 83 by the reports made on samples tested by the New York City Department of Health in July, 1916. BACTERIA PER CC. 19 14 1C IS 191 6 6800 900 3,100 4,500 900 9,6OO IIOO 2ICO 2,300 12,500 1300 9,600 1600 4200 4,100 11,900 1300 1,500 3200 600 12,600 8,500 3900 9,300 1700 9OO 3,100 2,600 1300 8,700 3300 I2OO 800 5,300 2IOO 6,900 1700 1900 2,100 1,100 9OO 10,300 5200 IIOO 6,200 7,000 9OO 2,200 2800 IIOO 1,300 i, 800 1300 1,400 7,800 1,500 2IOO 2,900 2,000 2,900 IOOO 4,600 1,000 i, 800 2.QOO 5,000 2,500 J^/vV/ SPARKS, MARYLAND In 1913 this system of milk production was adopted by 28 dairy farmers bringing milk to a shipping station at Sparks, Md. This milk was shipped to Baltimore. In this territory the far- mers were not equipped with ice, and were de- pendent upon spring-water for cooling. 84 RESULTS The reduction in the bacteria in the mixed milk of all of the 28 farmers is shown by the chart below. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. 5,000,000 1 000 000 \ \ / / \ Milki ^_ ngH 100 000 intn ducec SPARKS CREAMERY AVERAGE BACTERIA \ 1 S> 10000 IN MIXED MILK Hods Ste and Cans rilized. V The above chart shows that even with the advantages of extremely cold weather in the winter months, the mixed milk of all farmers at the receiving station contained many millions of bacteria, but during March and April although the weather and spring- water were growing warmer, these farmers, by the adoption of sanitary methods, reduced the bacteria in the mixed milk at the ship- ping station to less than 50,000. SPARKS, MARYLAND 85 DAIRY BARN AT SPARKS, MD. COW STABLE AT SPARKS, MD. 86 RESULTS MILK FROM DAIRY OF JAMES B. ENSOR, SPARKS, MD. BACTERIA PER CC. — -1913. December February March 12,000,000 1,500,000 118,000 6,000,000 1,000,000 520,000 7,500,000 790,000 173,000 600,000 January 1,100,000 April 6,600,000 1,000,000 2,080,000 900,000 1,100,000 1,200,000 300,000 180,000 79,000 1,380,000 March 120,000 1,120,000 87,000 1 ,040,000 960,000 41,000 1,900,000 870,000 47,000 1,500,000 780,000 34,030 560,000 560,000 78,000 500,000 590,000 32,000 650,000 360,000 1,560,000 630,000 (New methods adopted in April.) OXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA At Oxford, Pennsylvania, there is a large milk receiving station shipping milk to Philadelphia. Sixty-five out of the 98 dairy farmers patroniz- ing this station undertook to produce clean milk in October, 1913, in return for financial premiums paid by the station for milk coming under the bacterial standards set by the station. OXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 87 RECORD OF 65 DAIRY FARMERS' MIXED MILK, 1913, OXFORD, PA. August October November December 1,560,000 424,000 672,000 2 1 ,000 1,600,000 470,000 260,000 48,000 5,000,000 400,000 592,000 30,000 4,376,000 344,000 780,000 68,000 250,000 547,000 27,000 September 456,000 272,000 30,000 400,000 1,632,000 40,000 2,784,000 210,000 600,000 41,000 2,960,000 3,936,000 2OO,OOO 640,000 400,000 96,000 30,000 25,000 584,000 1,360,000 165,000 300,000 480,000 312,000 19,000 30,000 530,000 720,000 153,000 . 58,000 556,000 94,000 250,000 38,000 2,200,000 1,248,000 156,000 233,000 260,000 125,000 34,000 19,000 5,470,000 200,000 120,000 1,440,000 149,000 90,OOO 1,000,000 28O,OOO 28O,OOO 1,480,000 IO2,OOO 382,000 S^.OOO 1,160,000 OO>VX 2,012,000 1,400,000 1,988,000 270,000 (New methods adopted in October.) It is objected by some persons that the reduc- tion in bacteria is due more to winter weather than to the cleanliness of the dairyman. To 88 RESULTS offset this, there is given below a statement of the bacteria in the mixed milk of the Oxford farmers for August and September, 1913, before the clean milk system was adopted, and for August and September, 1917, four years after the clean milk system was adopted. OXFORD, PA.— MIXED MILK BACTERIA PER Cc. 1913 191? August 26 1,560,000 August 8 .... 100,000 27 1 ,6OO,OOO 9. .. . 80,000 28 5,000,000 10. . . . 84,000 3i 4,376,000 13.... 60,000 September 2 2,784,000 14. .. 85,000 3 2,960,000 15- • 100,000 4 3,936,000 16.... 45,000 7 584,000 17.... 70,000 8 1 ,360,000 20. .. 105,000 9 530,000 21. ... 80,000 10 556,000 22. . . . 170,000 ii 2,200,000 23-... 150,000 14 1,248,000 24... . 136,000 15 5,470,000 27. .. . 180,000 16 1,440,000 28. ... 45,000 17 1 ,000,000 29.... 90,000 21 1 ,480,000 30..-. 110,000 22 382,000 31. ... 114,000 23 1,160,000 September 3 . 80,000 24 2,102,000 4.... 80,000 25 1 ,400,000 5.... 45,000 28 1,988,000 6. . . 25,000 30 27O,OOO 7- • • 60,000 OXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 89 90 RESULTS OXFORD, PENNSYLVANIA 91 BACTERIAL RECORD OF JOHN BEYER, OXFORD, PA. August. September. October. November. December. 2,200,OOO 920,000 12,000 6,000 5,000 24,OOO IOI,OOO 20,000 22,000 28,000 1,120,000 704,000 2 1 ,000 15,000 6,000 160,000 123,000 20,OOO 43,000 6,000 690,000 74,000 8,000 4,000 17,000 328,000 6,000 18,000 12,000 50,000 20,000 25,000 4,000 23,000 6,000 7,000 15,000 16,000 4,000 16,000 25,000 60,000 5,000 17,000 16,000 2,459,000 19,000 14,000 60,000 6,000 40,000 15,000 3,000 2,000 (New system adopted October.) RESULTS KELTON, PENNSYLVANIA ONE OF THE 57 DAIRY FARMS AT KELTON, PA, SHIPPING SANITARY MILK TO PHILADELPHIA DAIRY BARN AT KELTON, PA. KELTON, PENNSYLVANIA 93 COW STABLE AT KELTON, PA. 94 RESULTS BACTERIAL RECORD OF H. HACKMAN, KELTON, PA. 1916 1917 March June October January May 12,000 12,900 20,000 2,000 80,000 7,000 20,000 23,000 5,000 32,700 9,000 5,000 21,000 1,300 17,000 7,000 July 48,000 3,000 4,000 8,000 7,000 18,000 1,200 130,000 36,000 25,000 20,OOO 4,000 25,000 April 300,000 23,000 2,000 75,000 3,000 360,000 4O,OOO 1,200 15,000 80,000 25,000 50,000 February June 9,000 240,000 November 2,500 9,000 17,000 15,000 40,000 3,000 115,000 4,000 15,000 48,000 4,000 20,000 16,000 August 24,000 5,000 120,000 20,000 23,000 40,000 I, OOO 60,000 16,000 1,000 50,000 3,300 7,000 May 27,000 22,000 18,000 10,000 6,800 10,000 2O,OOO March July 24,000 20,000 9,OOO 4,000 16,000 8,900 10,000 4,000 4,800 7,000 24,000 17,000 December 9,000 10,000 16,000 15,000 16,000 20,000 20,000 12,000 September 4,000 10,000 16,000 23,000 16,000 2,000 6,000 5,000 14,000 17,000 1,400 2,400 16,000 16,000 5,000 2,000 160,000 20,000 24,000 18,000 2,100 4,700 12,000 16,000 24,000 1,500 April August June 24,000 4,000 2,200 20,000 48,000 14,000 4,000 18,000 22,000 20,000 8,000 7,000 23,000 24,000 8,000 13,000 24,000 1,300 80,000 7.5OO ^5,000 150,000 / ,o 6 ooo OO, 8 ooo 60 ooo 100,000 35,000 20,000 FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT 95 FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT ONE OF THE 25 DAIRY FARMS PRODUCING SANITARY MILK AT FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT 96 RESULTS BACTERIAL RECORD OF W. BUCKLEY, FAIR HAVEN, VT. 1916. 1917. March June August (. ctober January 6,000,000 7,000 3,220 64,000 15,000 18,500 1,200 3,000 4,000 April 58,000 14,000 2,500 9,000 560,000 42,000 10,500 2,800 17,000 80,000 14,000 26,000 19,000 250,000 July 3,000 45,000 5,000,000 2,200 17,000 5,500 86,OOO 7,700 2,400 June 70,000 5,000 6,300 28,500 50,000 7,200 2,700 490,000 28,000 6,900 23,000 166,000 7,000 November 130,000 67,000 8,900 12,000 45,000 September 6,000 3,000 67,000 4,400 20,000 95,000 9,800 22,000 9,100 10,200 24,000 9,5oo A ugust October 74,000 5,400 5,200 3,600 45,000 16,800 25,000 5,900 20,000 WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 97 WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE ONE OF THE 38 FARMS PRODUCING SANITARY MILK NEAR WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE ,. ii . J DAIRY BARN, WILTON, N. H. 98 RESULTS ENTRANCE TO SPRING AND MILK COOLING TANK UNDER PORCH OF HOUSE, WILTON, N. H. WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE 99 BACTERIAL RECORD OF F. CUMMINGS, WILTON, N. H. 1916 1917 October January March May July 37,000 5,900 1500 3,600 7,000 14,000 400 1900 3,500 1,000 600 5900 4,800 5,000 November i, 800 400 5,500 2,000 19,000 1,500 20OO 2,300 5,000 1,000 1 1 ,400 500 3,200 10,000 700 5200 3,500 4,000 December 800 60O 6,000 11,000 900 1900 June 35,000 1,900 A ugust 5,400 February April 3,100 7,000 5,400 400 3400 n, 600 1,000 900 2,200 1300 1,000 3,800 200 2300 8,000 3,100 1,400 4500 9,000 500 1,300 5500 2,000 900 2,200 9100 2600 I am personally familiar with this dairy farm. Mr. Cummings has less than 10 cows. He does all the milk handling himself. His wife uses an abundance of boiling water, and carefully washes and sterilizes all milk utensils. The milk is cooled in the water of a very cold spring located in the ground under the front porch. Mr. Cummings illustrates the fact that it is possible to secure 100 RESULTS milk with exceedingly small numbers of bacteria at all times of year, both winter and summer, without a fancy barn, or fancy equipment, but by exercising only the ordinary care that is easily within the power of any dairy farmer. The samples were taken from the cans at the railroad shipping station before shipment to Boston. ROCKDALE, N. Y. There is a large milk shipping station at Rock- dale, N. Y., which ships milk to a well-known chain of dairy restaurants in New York City. The bacterial laboratory located in this station makes regular tests of all milk received from its patrons. The milk is cooled and shipped to New York City in a raw state in 4O-quart cans. It is pasteurized by each of the dairy restaurants where it is received. Bacterial tests are regularly made from samples taken from the 4O-quart cans on their arrival at the railroad terminal in Jersey City. The results of these tests are a most strik- ing illustration of the high sanitary character of this raw milk after a railroad journey of 250 miles. Even though the samples are taken at the city railroad terminal, the milk compares ROCKDALE, NEW YORK 101' favorably with samples taken at some of the best country shipping stations. i ; ]\, > W 5 BACTERIAL TESTS ON SAMPLES TAKEN FROM THEIR ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK CITY OF THE MIXED RAW MILK OF 56 FARMERS AT ROCKDALE, N. Y.f 250 MILES, FROM NEW YORK CITY January, Feb., March, April, May. June, July, August, 1917. 1917- I9I7- 1917. 1917- 1917- 1917. 1917. 74,000 8000 I4,OOO 24,OOO 22,OOO 27,OOO 30,000 28,OOO 136,000 6600 II,2OO I2,OOO 2O,000 42,OOO 55,ooo 32,000 67,000 4000 5,000 28,OOO 14,000 39,000 40,000 16,000 15,000 4700 I,OOO 16,000 40,OOO 34,000 48,000 221,000 7,000 5700 I2.0OO 36,400 42,000 33,000 60,000 44,000 4,000 4800 l8,OOO 28,OOO 22,000 16,000 52,000 28,000 8200 16,000 13,200 25,000 27,000 62,000 87,000 3900 14,500 7,000 42,000 39,000 47,000 62,000 15,000 15,800 28,000 76,000 44,000 65,000 10,000 10,000 30,000 27,000 74,000 121,000 12,800 32,000 45,000 23,000 61,000 56,000 10,500 20,000 26,000 34,000 70,000 85,000 Average 50,000 5700 10,800 20,800 29,600 34,7oo 53,500 70,400 102 RESULTS ONE OF THE 55 DAIRY FARMS PRODUCING MILK AT ROCKDALE, N. Y. T DAIRY BARN, ROCKDALE, N. Y. COW STABLE, ROCKDALE, N. Y. ROCKDALE, NEW YORK 103 BACTERIAL RECORD OF FRANK SHEFF, ROCKDALE, N. Y. 1916 1917 Sept. Nov. Jan. March May July 21,000 3100 1 1, 800 1,000 2,000 900 8,000 1300 I,IOO 800 2,000 10,000 3,000 7000 1,000 400 6,700 4,800 6,000 220O 1,400 I,IOO 2,700 1, 800 1,100 4600 1,400 10,200 3,400 1,000 1,500 500 i, 600 II,2OO 2,200 1,500 1700 4,400 800 2,400 2,000 Oct. 1000 8,200 900 2,600 1,400 1,000 1200 1,000 8,900 1,300 15,600 1,100 1800 4,8OO 700 3,200 1,500 800 Feb. 4,700 1,100 ' 14,000 12,000 IOOO goo 3,900 8,800 1,400 1,200 June 10,800 Dec. 3,200 April 1,200 Aug. I,2OO 3100 700 4,300 2,OOO 1,000 900 800 I4,20O 4,400 1, 800 25,000 800 IOOO I,4OO 4,100 I,2OO 1,700 1,400 1300 700 1,700 3,600 4,200 1,100 600 1,000 2,400 I,IOO 3,600 2,700 800 700 2,000 3,600 2,600 1,000 2000 800 1,900 IO,80O 1, 600 IIOO 7,600 4,400 2,500 5,000 6200 3,400 9,000 1,000 1300 2,800 i ,000 1,500 IIOO 3,400 900 800 1, 600 104 RESULTS OXFORD, N. Y.* Work was begun in the summer of 1917 with 156 farmers at Oxford, N. Y., and 58 farmers at DAIRY FARM, OXFORD, N. Y. Brisben, N. Y., in laboratory testing and premium payments for the production of Grade A milk. Ninety per cent of these dairymen have already * Oxford, N. Y., must not be confused with Oxford, Pa. Grade A milk is being produced for Philadelphia at Oxford, Pa., and for New York City at Oxford, N. Y. OXFORD, NEW YORK 105 been successful in keeping the bacteria in their milk below the required standards. As an example of their work, one typical dairy farm is selecetd. COW STABLE, OXFORD, N. Y. 106 RESULTS BACTERIAL RECORD OF C. M. BALCOM, OXFORD, N. Y. 1917 1918 July 9... 92,OOO Nov. i . . 6,000 Jan. 4... 5,000 4,000 7... 4,000 Aug. i ... 450,000 8. . 6,000 10. . . 1,500 8. .. 65,000 6,000 12. . . 9,000 15... 24,000 I5-- 16,000 15... 2,300 24. .. 110,000 8,000 18... 2,700 28. .. 215,000 22. . 9,000 22. .. 4,500 15,000 23. .. 10,000 Sept. 6 ... 7,000 13... 20,000 Dec. 3.. 2,000 Feb. i ... 3,200 22. .. IIO,OOO 6. . 8,000 5--- 5,800 II . . 9,000 8... 4,000 Oct. 3... 3,000 I3-. 8,000 II. .. 9,200 6. .. 6,000 15- • 1,700 15... 12,500 8... 4,000 19.. . 6,000 19... 2,400 10. . . 2,500 22. . 1,400 15... 9,000 29. . 2,800 17. .. 3,000 22. .. 1,000 25... 7,500 CHAPTER XII TEN OXFORD DAIRY FARMERS THE DAIRYMAN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DAIRY A DEMONSTRATION of the value of the dairy- man himself as compared with the value of the dairy was carried out at Oxford and Kelton, Pa., in 1915. Ten dairy farmers at Oxford, Pa., who had learned how to produce clean milk agreed to make up a party to go to Kelton, Pa., to see 107 108 THE DAIRYMAN what kind of milk they could produce in dairy barns they had never before visited. For six days before the date of this excursion, tests were made for the numbers of bacteria in the milk brought to the shipping station at Ox- ford by these 10 dairymen from their own dairy farms. The results are shown in the following tabulation : BACTERIAL TESTS, OXFORD DAIRYMEN'S MILK (ON OXFORD DAIRIES) March 17 to April 5, Inclusive Dairyman. Test No. i. Test No. 2. Test No. 3. Test No. 4. Test No. 5. Test No. 6. No. i 13,000 13,000 21,000 4,000 21,000 20,000 2 7,000 13,000 23,000 4,000 60,000 18,000 3 4,000 19,000 25,000 8,000 24,000 I7,OOO 4 20,000 8,000 21,000 11,000 ^ 9,000 23,000 5 15,000 4,000 l6,OOO 7,000 2.*,OOO 18,000 6 6,000 20,000 19,000 24,000 22,000 25,000 7 10,000 20,000 26,000 22,000 12,000 II,OOO 8 21,000 9,000 9,000 15,000 11,000 22,000 9 10,000 22,000 23,000 12,000 21,000 13,000 10 20,000 15,000 24,000 16,000 29,OOO 80,000 At the same time a laboratory man had been sent ahead as an advance agent to the town of Kelton, Pa., where it was proposed to carry out TEST OF TEN OXFORD DAIRIES 109 the experiment. The dairy farms at Kelton were a good average type of Pennsylvania dairies, but had never undertaken to produce milk containing small numbers of bacteria. Samples from all of the 56 dairies located there were taken by the bacteriologist, and from the number, 10 dairy farms were selected. The bacteria found in the milk of the Kelton dairies for five days before the date of the experiment are shown in the fol- lowing tabulation: BACTERIAL TESTS OF MILK PRODUCED ON KELTON DAIRIES BY KELTON DAIRYMEN March 29. March 30. April i. April 2. April 3. April 5. I,20O,OOO 570,000 2,OOO,OOO 5,OOO,OOO I,I6O,OOO 910,000 760,000 5OO,OOO 60,OOO 950,000 8lO,OOO 3,OOO,OOO 1 ,6OO,OOO 6O,OOO 2,800,000 38O,OOO 1 ,200,000 I,OOO,OOO 57,000 680,000 i ,000,000 940,000 I,83O,OOO I,52O,OOO 4,830,000 4,OOO,OOO 1,450.000 290,OOO I 4.OO OOO I,IOO,OOO 600,OOO 32O,OOO 3,OOO,OOO 2,600,000 8 ooo ooo 3,600,000 60 ooo 11,000 4,000,000 1,900,000 9,000 2,100,000 800,000 2,200,OOO 380,000 540,000 I,6OO,OOO 56,000 1,110,000 70,000 500,000 110 THE DAIRYMAN On the day appointed for the test, the 10 dairy- men from the town of Oxford travelled by railroad from Oxford to Kelton, and were met at the station by 10 Kelton dairymen, with whom they LEAVING OXFORD were paired off. Each of the Kelton dairymen took with him to his dairy farm one of the Oxford dairymen. The Oxford man took complete charge of the milking operations of the afternoon's milking. TEST OF TEN OXFORD DAIRIES 111 ARRIVING AT KELTON OXFORD DAIRYMAN PAIRED OFF WITH KELTON DAIRYMAN 112 THE DAIRYMAN ONE OF THE KELTON DAIRIES No changes whatever were made in the Kelton dairies. The Oxford men used the same barns, the same milk-houses, the same cows, the same milk cans, and the same spring-water for cooling purposes. They used the same sterilizing facil- ities, and milked the cows in the cow-stables without any attempt at cleaning the stables. Each Oxford dairyman brought with him his own covered milking pail. This was the only piece of apparatus which changed in any way the regular equipment of the Kelton dairies. The Oxford dairymen were on the Kelton farms TEST OF TEN OXFORD DAIRIES 113 not more than two hours in all. The milk they produced remained overnight on the farms, cooled only by spring-water. Samples for bacterial tests were not taken until the next morning, when the cans were brought to the Kelton railroad station. The bacteria contained in the milk produced by the Oxford men compared with the bacteria in the milk produced by the Kelton men on these same farms are shown in the following tabulation: BACTERIAL TESTS OF MILK PRODUCED ON KELTON DAIRIES By Keiton Dairymen. By Oxford Dairymen. Aprils April 6 1,830,000 3,300 1,520,000 4,830,000 3,100 4,600 4,000,000 7,000 1,450,000 3,600,000 60,000 4,100 61,000 800 70,000 500,000 2,500 i, 600 5,600 The above results are almost too astounding to be believed, excepting by those who have actually been through such experiences as this. The truth of these figures can be so easily verified 114 THE DAIRYMAN by anyone who is sufficiently interested, to actually put into practice in an ordinary dairy the simple sanitary precautions previously outlined, that the figures can be accepted as not due in any way to accident or to any error of the laboratory but to correctly represent the facts. It is certainly true that a dairy farm producing milk containing millions of bacteria can in a single day at prac- tically no expense change its methods so that the milk produced at the next milking will contain less than 10,000 bacteria per cc. All of this is because the factor which exceeds all others put together in importance is the dairyman himself. CHAPTER XIII THE DAIRY INSPECTOR FARMERS OBJECT TO INSPECTION MOST dairy farmers object to the visits of the dairy inspector. City and state departments of health often send them to visit dairy farms. Some of them have had practical experience in dairy- ing and some have not. The score cards which they use to score the cow-stable, milk-house, and utensils often greatly annoy the dairyman, be- cause they emphasize details which seem to the dairyman to be unimportant. Cement floors, smooth walls, light and ventilation, iron stan- chions, separate drinking troughs, the condition of the manure pile and the barnyard, are com- mon subjects on which the dairy inspector gives the farmer advice and instructions. The public is entitled to good, clean milk. The authorities ought to take action against dis- honest dairymen who sell milk which is dirty or 115 116 THE DAIRY INSPECTOR adulterated. The farmers' objection to the dairy inspector is not on these grounds, but on the grounds that inspectors sometimes seem to em- phasize things which have little to do with milk quality, and even disagree among themselves in a way that casts discredit on their judgment. Every dairyman knows that success in the production and handling of clean milk depends most of all on the dairyman himself, and not on his buildings, nor their quipment. Careful milk- ing depends on the dairyman. Careful washing and sterilization depend on the dairyman. Thorough cooling depends on the dairyman. Every dairyman knows that no matter how good a barn and milk-house or their equipment may be, the milk produced on the premises can be greatly damaged through the carelessness and uncleanly habits of the hired man. One unclean strainer cloth can spoil the milk produced in a $25,000 dairy barn. DAIRY SCORE CARDS Dairy score cards have been used for a num- ber of years by departments of health. Farmers often receive such cards, and they may be seen DAIRY SCORE CARDS 117 nailed on the wall of the milk-house or of the dairy barn. They are the chief weapon of the dairy inspector. All score cards lay too much emphasis on surroundings and too little emphasis on milk. The most popular score card has been one endorsed by federal authorities, often called the United States score card. Even in the hands of the most experienced and intelligent dairy in- spectors, it is impossible by the use of this card to distinguish between the dairy producing unclean milk containing millions of bacteria, and the dairy producing sanitary milk containing a few hun- dred bacteria. The reason for this is that the United States score card fails to place the em- phasis on the few things of most importance in clean milk production. After all, the object of the dairyman and of the dairy inspector is to secure good milk, there- fore a good score card should lay the emphasis on those things which chiefly affect the sanitary character of milk. Below is a new score card which aims to do this. 118 THE DAIRY INSPECTOR _, c ™ 3 II: e! RE CARD PROPOSED at no milk will be ree from infectious di and medical inspecti ?p S - sis (f) CM M W M .•3 • '3 :3-g - g : 'a^g'f gSgSaS )T3T3 •> C C a cs •+3 • o c^-p ^ j5 A NEW SCORE CARD 119 « :'§ : 3! S •• t::!;sl5; s :a :g 6 :^ :^ g « .?.: L: ; p, :t .-'-s 53 : « i5 Bill •§ : : 333 o o o'C JUUO, > >> « 120 THE DAIRY INSPECTOR THE FAILURE OF SCORE CARDS Even a card like this is an utter failure. In actual practice it has been used by some of the most experienced dairy inspectors in America, who not only could not agree sometimes within ten points of each other, but also found that the card did a great injustice to some farmers, because it failed to agree with the sanitary character of the milk produced. We must put the score card in the same class with the strainer cloth. It is one of the most dangerous instruments in the dairy business. The score card above is shown mainly as a curiosity and not because it should be used. Health au- thorities are learning how to control milk without the use of score cards. They are coming at last to realize that milk consumers do not drink dairy barns, but drink milk. They are beginning to require only things of most sanitary importance and not things which have no effect on the milk. NEW YORK CITY'S NEW MILK REGULATIONS The Department of Health of the City of New York, after careful study of score cards, has de- NEW YORK CITY'S REGULATIONS 121 cided to discontinue their use and instead to make a few simple positive sanitary requirements for the dairy, and bacterial standards for the milk. These new regulations were published De- cember, 1917. For Grade A milk, pasteurized, the requirements are as follows: Sanitary Requirements for the Dairy Cows physically examined. Cow-stable properly constructed, lighted, ven- tilated, and clean. Utensils properly washed and sterilized. Water supply uncontaminated. Milk-house provided and properly constructed, lighted, ventilated, and clean. Cooling facilities for milk sufficient to main- tain temperature of not more than 50°. Milking must be with clean, dry hands. Employees free from infection. Standards for Milk Raw milk shall not contain more than 200,000 bacteria per cc. in the city. Raw milk shall not contain more than 100,000 bacteria per cc. in the country. THE DAIRY INSPECTOR Pasteurized milk shall not contain more than 30,000 bacteria per cc. when delivered. Pasteurized cream shall not contain more than 150,000 bacteria per cc. when delivered. NOTE. These are extremely liberal bacterial standards compared with the small numbers of bacteria found in the milk of clean dairy farmers. CHAPTER XIV MILK TRADITIONS TRADITIONS and superstitions have been handed down from father to son through generations of dairymen. These often prevent the farmer from accepting modern methods of dairy practice which are necessary to reduce the bacteria in his milk. Some of these beliefs are as follows: SMOTHERED TASTE Warm milk put into a can and covered with a tight lid, over night, will taste smothered. The smothered taste will appear unless milk is left uncovered so that the smother can escape. The truth is that the odor and taste are due to cow- manurs which has fallen into milk from unclean cows or from dust in the stable air, or it is due to foul odors in the air of the stable itself. Clean milk can be put into cans with lids tightly on, 123 124 MILK TRADITIONS or into bottles tightly capped, while it is hot. It cannot have a smothered taste if it is clean. An open cooler will help get rid of this smothered taste in unclean milk. QUICK COOLING AND SLOW COOLING It is believed that bacteria grow so fast that milk must be cooled instantly to stop them. The truth is bacteria do not begin to grow until between three and four hours after milk is drawn from the cow. This is a great advantage to dairymen who have not a volume of milk sufficient to justify equipment with surface coolers. It is a serious thing for the small dairyman to feel that open coolers are necessary, for the reason that he is not equipped properly to wash and sterilize them. Small dairymen can cool milk best by placing it in cans and standing the cans in ice- water, or cold water. The numbers of bacteria at the end of three hours will be no greater than they were when milk was freshly drawn from the cow. ANIMAL HEAT Animal heat is supposed to be different from other kinds of heat. Some think animal heat MIXING MORNING'S AND NIGHT'S MILK 125 may smell or taste and is more difficult to re- move from milk than stove heat. The fact is that animal heat is just heat. Animal heat is removed from milk by cooling of any kind. Ani- mal heat will all escape from milk through the sides of a can or bottle when standing in cold water. MIXING MORNING'S AND NIGHT'S MILK There is supposed to be some mysterious chem- ical action that takes place between morning's milk and night's milk when they are mixed, which results in the rapid souring of the mixture. The mixture is supposed to sour much more rapidly than either the night's milk or the morning's milk would if left alone, consequently, dairymen keep morning's milk and night's milk separate. The truth is that souring of milk is the result of the growth of bacteria which produce lactic acid out of the milk sugar. If night's milk has been kept cold it stays sweet, because the bac- teria do not grow in the cold. Warm morning's milk is sweet because it is fresh. Morning's milk will sour in a few hours if not cooled. If morning's milk is mixed with night's milk it 126 MILK TRADITIONS raises the temperature of the night's milk so that the mixture is warm enough to allow bac- teria to grow. There is no reason why a farmer should not mix morning's and night's milk if he can keep them both cold. At the shipping station both morning's milk and night's milk are usually mixed by the milk dealei , because the dealer immediately cools the mixture and puts it through his pasteurizer. If milk is kept clean and kept cold, it makes little difference whether it is morning's milk or night's milk or a mixture of morning's milk and night's milk. THUNDERSTORMS It is believed by many that milk which was sweet before a thunderstorm will be sour after a thunderstorm, because of some influence, per- haps the influence of electricity on the milk. The truth is that the souring can be due only to lactic acid produced by the growth of lactic acid bacteria. These bacteria cannot grow well in cold milk. They will grow well when milk is not kept sufficiently cool. Since thunder- storms come in hot weather, and hot weather often interferes with the proper cooling of milk, THUNDERSTORMS 127 sour milk is frequently discovered on the same days that thunderstorms occur. On dairy farms where milk is cooled with ice, or ice-water, or cold water, thunderstorms come and go and are unable to sour the milk. CHAPTER XV DAIRY ARITHMETIC The Farm I dairy farm = 80 acres of cleared land 80 acres of cleared land = 20 acres hay = 30 tons hay = 10 acres corn = 100 tons ensilage = 40 acres pasture = 40 tons green feed = 10 acres other crops The above farm will support Or Or The Cows 20 extra cows, using 40 per cent of their feed for body building, and 60 per cent for milk 27 fair cows, using 50 per cent of their feed for body building, and 50 per cent for milk 35 poor cows, using 60 per cent of their feed for body building, and 40 per cent for milk producing 8500 Ib. milk per year each. producing 5500 Ib. milk per year each. producing 3000 Ib. milk per year each. With hay at $15.00 per ton on the farm, ensilage and green feed at $5.00 per ton, and grain at 123 DAIRY ARITHMETIC 129 $50.00 per ton, the cost of producing milk in good, fair and poor cows is as follows: Cow, No. Lb. Milk per Year. Quarts Milk per Year. Quarts Milk per Day. Cost of Food per Day, Cents. Food per Day for Body- Building, Cents. Food per Day for Milk Production, Cents. Cost of Food per Quart of Milk, Cents. I 8500 3953 II 40 16 24 3-66 2 5500 2558 7 29 14! *4i 4.14 3 3000 1348 3-7 23 14 9 6.21 THE PRODUCT FARM PRODUCE is THE RAW MATERIAL, Cows ARE THE MACHINES, MILK is THE FINISHED PRODUCT Farm Produce Cows Milk 30 tons hay 20 extra cows 1 70,000 Ibs. I oo tons ensilage 40 tons green feed Passed through or 27 fair cows or ^ Will produce or 148, 500 Ibs. or 35 tons grain 35 poor cows 105,000 Ibs. Collective Hauling At eleven milk shipping stations in New York State, 453 farmers' wagons are used to haul 1181 4O-quart cans of milk an average distance of 3 miles. Allowing only one horse and one man for each wagon and two hours as average time away from farm work the cost is per day as follows: 453 men, 2 hrs. at 30 c. per hr. . . $ 271.80 453 horses 2 hrs. at 20 c. per hr. . . 181.20 Total cost per day i 453-OO Total cost per year $165,458.25 130 DAIRY ARITHMETIC One two-horse farmer's truck will carry thirty 4O-quart cans of milk. It would require only 44 such trucks (allowing for some partly filled cans) to haul the 1181 cans hauled by the 453 wagons above. The cost of collective hauling by the 44 trucks would be: 44 men, f day at $1.50 $ 66.00 44 teams, J day at $2.50 no.o Total cost per day $ 176.00 Total cost per year $ 64,284.00 Yearly saving $101,174.25 COMPOSITION OF MILK NORMAL MILK FROM MIXED HERDS Average of 3000 Samples, Snyder's "Chemistry of Dairying" Per Cent. A Holstein Herd. A Jersey Herd. Water. 87. so 87.61 84 SO Total solids 12. SO 12 1Q I S 41 Fats T> 60 1. 46 S 6l Solids not fat S.QO 8.Q1 Q 80 Casein and albumen Milk sugar Ash 3-40 4-75 O. 7S 3-39 4.84 O. 74 3 91 5-15 O 74 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES I quart milk weighs 2. 15 Ib. I gallon milk weighs 8 . 60 Ib. 10 gallons milk weigh 86 Ib. 46.5 quarts milk weigh 100 Ib. DAIRY ARITHMETIC MILK PRICES 131 Per 100 Lb. Per quart. Per 8i Qt. Per 21 i- Qt. Per Gallon. Per 10 Gal. $1.00 .0215 .183 .462 .086 .86 $2.00 •043 .366 .924 .172 1.72 $2.50 •0537 •457 I-I55 •215 2.15 $3-00 .0645 •549 1.386 .258 2.58 $3-50 .0752 .640 I.6I7 .301 3 -oi CHAPTER XVI ESSENTIALS FOR GRADE "A" MILK PRODUCTION BY DR. CHARLES E. NORTH Primary Equipment Milk Pails (Small Mouth) Cans Strainers (Cheese Cloth) Ice Supply Cold Water Supply Cooling Tank Stirring Rod (Metal) Boiling Water Supply Alkali Powder Scrub Brushes Primary Methods Cow's Udder Clean Clean, Dry Hands Milk in Small Mouth Pail Strain through Cheese Cloth Cool in cans in tanks of Ice- Water or Cold Water below SO F. Stir night's milk (if necessary) Wash Utensils with Brush and Alkali Powder Rinse with Clean Water Sterilize with Boiling Water 132 UNIVEESITY OF CALIFOENIA LIBBAEY, BEEKELEY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW Books not returned on time are subject to a fine of 50c per volume after the third day overdue, increasing to $1.00 per volume after the sixth day. Books not in demand may be renewed if application is made before expiration of loan period. wit 20m-ll,'20 TB 1652 415023 Hi UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY