FACTORS AFFECTING THE GERM CONTENT OF MILK

As we have stated before, the modern demand for sanitary milk of a higher grade inevitably involves an increased expenditure in labor and equipment appropriate to bring about the desired results. In the interests of economy, it is imperative, therefore, to provide dependable information regarding those factors which are especially responsible for the supply of satisfactorily clean and wholesome milk. Obviously, it would be an extravagant folly to incur unnecessary expense in connection with items that cannot at best contribute anything to the improvement of the milk supply; whereas every effort must be made to safeguard a food as important as is milk, at every step in its production, whenever the possibility of deterioration unquestionably exists.

The quality of milk from the sanitary standpoint is at present judged essentially on the basis of its chemical composition and its germ content. The latter in particular has come to be regarded as