The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-11-16
UNCLE SAM ON MILK.
Worried Mothers Told How TO Pro-
tect Helpless Little Stomachs.

Worried Mothers Told How TO Pro-
tect Helpless Little Stomachs.
Fearing that the babies of the ma
tion were going to be deprived of
pasteurized milk, Uncle Sam has
come to their rescue with a timely
little pamphlet on The Care of Milk
and Its Use in the Home" In it
he tells worried mothers all over the
country how to pasteurize milk at
home. He says:
Milk is most conveniently pasteur-
ized in the bottles in which it is de-
livered. To do this use a small
pail with perforated false bottom.
An inverted pie tin with a few holes
punched in it will answer this pur-
pose. This will raise the bottles
from the bottom of the pail, thus
allowing a free circulation of water
and preventing humping of the bot
ties. Punch hole through the cap
of one of the bottles and insert a
thermometer. The ordinary floating
type of thermometer is likely to be
inaccurate, and if possible a good
thermometer with the scale etched
on the glass should be used. Set
the bottles of milk in the pail and
fill with water nearly to the level
of the milk. Put the pail on the
stove or over a gas fame and heat
it until the thermometer in the milk
shows not less than $50 degrees nor
more than 1856 degrees Fahrenheit.
The bottles should then be removed
from the water and allowed to stand
from twenty to thirty minutes. The
temperature will fall slowly, but
may be held more uniformly by COW
ering the bottles with a towel. The
punctuated cap should be replaced
with a new one, or the bottle should
be covered with an inverted cup.
After the milk has been heated
as directed it should be cooled as
quickly and as much as possible by
setting in water. To avoid danger
of breaking the bottle by too sud-
den change of temperature, this wa
ter should be warm at first. Re-
place the warm water slowly with
cold water. After cooling, milk
should in all cases be kept at the
lowest available temperature.
This method may be employed to
retard the souring of milk or cream
for ordinary uses. 1t should be re-
membered, however, that pasteuriza-
tion does not destroy all bacteria
in milk, and after pasteuriZation it
should be kept cold and in a clean
ly manner and used as soon as pos
sible. Cream does not rise as rap
idly os separate as completely in
pasteurized milk as in raw milk.
1t may be surprising to some
housekeepers to learn that milk is
in danger not only from flies, with
their 1,250,000 bacteria apiece, but
also from the atmosphere of the Or
dinary house. Fresh air, it seems,
is not so good for milk as for bab-
les. 1t is very sensitive stuff, this
Tactic fluid, and everything that
comes near it makes an impression
on it-bacteria from the air, germ
laden dust, odors of other foods and
the death dealing fly. Organisms
which get into milk multiply very
rapidly while it is warm; hence the
need of keeping it in the refrigera-
tor as much as possible and putting
upon the table for family use the
amount required for that meal only.
Milk left over from the table should
never be poured back into the bot
tie with the purer portion, but kept
in a separate covered receptacle.
The bottom of the refrigerator is
the best place for milk, because
cold air settles rapidly and the
bottom of the refrigerator is there
fore the coldest.
The refrigerator should be wash
ed and scalded every week, and the
ice compartment and outlet for wa
ter formed by the melting ice kept
free from dirt. The bottles, too,
must be kept clean and never used
for anything except milk. The deal
er is obliged to scald them each
time he uses them, but he does not
scrub them, Uncle Sam says, and
filthy bottle may not be cleaned suf-
ficiently to avoid all danger to the
next consumer.
All utensils with which milk comes
in contact should be washed in pure
water, never in water which has
been used for other dishes, and
should have their own private dish
towel if they are to be wiped a all.
The baby's bottle, of course, should
be scalded every time it is used, and
the nipple should be kept absolute
ly clean. A bottle with corners
which collect germs and are hard
to clean, or long rubber tube be-
tween bottle and nipple should not
be tolerated
Inc HOuerH udlTymdn scrubs MS
cows, the up-tO-date dealer keeps
everything spotlessly clean, and if
the American housekeeper and bot
tie washer does as Uncle Sam tells
them the babies of the land will be
in no danger of taking impure milk
into their helpless little stomachs
The pamphlet is published by the
United States Department of Agri-
culture, and will be sent free to any
one who applies for it. 1t is listed
as Farmers, RullaIin 412