Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

THE MILK INDUSTRY. 349 nothing ever comes of them. The principal cause of water contamination is escaping sewage. In the case of large distributing agencies keeping their own cows the modus operandi is, of course, somewhat different. They run dairy farms in various parts, in which are to be found the very latest appliances for dealing with milk in various ways. 1 he writer recently visited one of these establishments, which was admirably organised and con- ducted. There were many cows in residence, including some fine Kerrys, Shorthorns, and Dexters. All the stalls were labelled with particulars as to when born, calved, last record, percentage of fat, milk yield, grain feed, etc. Cows which render milk for special purposes—invalids and infants—are fed on meal and hay. In dealing with the milk supply it really seems that the distributors have reached the superlative degree of precaution. The orthodox method of milking will not do to-day. Men are now principally employed in extracting the lacteal beverage, and the operation is performed in clue scientific form. The pail is a large metal receptacle, get into it from the outside of the udder, the milker’s hands or clothes. The milker wears a special milking suit, all white, and the hindquarters of the cow are covered with a white cloth. When the operation is concluded, the milker’s clothes, the cloth from the cow, and the stool are all placed in a steam chamber. When they are subsequently taken from this they may not appear literally clean, but they are bacteriologically pure. A new piece of cotton-wool is used at every milking, a year’s cost of this article alone being a not inconsiderable item. The argument for all this is that bacteria find their nourishment not in the milk itself, but in the impurities which are sometimes contained in it; it is practically a process of starving them out. When we have banished dirt we shall have heard the last of bacteria, bacilli, microbes, germs, etc. But even these measures do not satisfy certain folk, whom the dealers are justified in dubbing faddists and cranks. Said an authority to the writer, while discussing the subject, “ If we could deliver the milk in churns straight into the people’s pitchers, we fitted at the top with a strainer ; over this is placed a layer of cotton-wool. The milk is thus doubly strained direct from the udder, and kept clear from any impurity which might otherwise fSSOAIKYCOU ■ DESPATCHING MILK (EXPRESS DAIRY CO., LTD.).