Mesa free press., 1900-02-23
MESA FREE PRESS
A. P. SHEW WMAN. PUBLISHER.
TIMELY HINTS FOR FARMERS
Care OF Milk For the Factory.

A consideration of the subject of
the care of milk upon the ranch is al
ways timely. 1t is especially so at
this time of the year. II any special
provision is to be made for better
methods of handling the cows and the
milk during the trying summer season,
now is the time to do it, before the
warm weather sets in.
z itk the great lack of cold water
upon our farms the problem of get
ting milk to the factory in the best of
condition-is not an easy one to solve.
Many dairymen are careless or indif
ferent concerning it, and others,
knowing this, argue that it is useless
for them to take good care of their
milk if it is to be contaminated at the
factory by being mixed with the bad
milk of their neighbors. And there is
some reason In their argumrnt. AS a
chain is no stronger than it's weakest
link, so days make of butter or
cheese a. the factory cannot be very
much better than what would have
been made from the poorest lot OF
milk alone Most milk faults are
contagious and that milk coming to
the factory sour or tainted should in
variably be rejected. Any man who
so disregards, not only his own inter
ests,. but those of his fellow patrons,
as TO deliver foul milk at the factory
shcIld suffer this penalty at least. To
r, ject bad milk, is tie crt amsryman's
only means of defending himsoli and
his other patrons against the few
wilfully careless and ignaraht, aud it
justice to all concerned it aust be
done. NO creamc,yman likes to turn
away a patron, however, aud 70 pa
tron can afford 10 have his milk re-
fused. IT, few general principles
concerning the handling of milk are
understood and acted upon it need not
be necessary.
In the first place it should be un-
derstood that the souring and other
fern entations of milk are not normal
changes. They axe place as result
of the growth III the milk of minute
forms of life called germs, OF bacteria.
These germs are so small that they are
to be seen only by the use of q power
full microscope, but they reproduce
themselves with great rapidity. Milk
as it is formed in the udder of the
healthy COW is free from these germs
and, if it could be drawn, without ex :
posure to the air, into q closed vessel ,
equally germ free, it would remain in
sweet condition indefinitely.
There is one source of contamina-
ton, however, before the milk reaches
the outside That is the small quantity
of milk remaining in the milk duct OF
the teat from one milklrg to another
Into this little receptacle germs work
their way. Here conditions for grow til
are so favorable that by the next milk
ing many thousands are ready to be
carried out into the milk pail by the
first few streams Of milk. By milking
this fore milk. as it is called. into a
pail reserved for that purpose and
feeding it to calves or pigs at home
this source of trouble may be avoided
| The rest of the trouble comes from
without. Every particle of dust in
the air of the corral, and every hair
and bit of dirt on the body of the cow
|
and the clothing of the mixer Is
covered with countless germs. Thous
ands and thousands of them find their
way into the milk. In order to avoio
needless contamination from these
sources much care must be exercised
| tn ,ha fret Y,loca tho corral shou IC
be kept clean. The manure should bt
cleaned up and hauled away regularly
and not allowed to collect, until tbs
corral fence simply enclos's one bis
fiat manure pile with surface of dry
powdery particles of pulverized dung
rising in cloud of dust whenever tht
| oows ore hrouoht in to milk In the