how closely the country and the city are united. A case of typhoid fever in one farm family, not properly cared for, may be the seed of a serious epidemic in some town. To insure clean milk to the consumer, and a fair return in money to the producer, is a great sanitary and commercial problem, not to be solved in a day. Milk is a medium in which bacteria flourish, both the harm- less and the disease producing. Typhoid fever and other fatal diseases may be carried by milk from unclean barns 150 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT and dairies, and tuberculosis is possible from diseased coira. The cows must be in good health, and the stable clean. Figure 43 shows a stable with cement floor and good drainage. The cows must themselves be clean, and should be curried and washed. The milkers should have clean clothes and hands, and all receptacles should be sterilized. The milk must be rapidly cooled {see Fig, 44), bottled in sterilized bottles, kept cool during transportation, and delivered as promptly as possible to the consumer. " Certified " milk is produced and handled under the best conditions, but costs at least 15 cents a quart. Since a quart of milk is equiv- alent to a pound of steak or to 8 e^s, milk even at 15 to 20 cents a quart is more economical than meat and eggs at ordinary prices. At the usual price of 8 to 10 cents a quart, milk is very economical as compared with other per- ishable foods. The question of preservation and pasteurization can be treated here but briefly. Preservatives are forbidden by law in most states. Pasteurization is heating at a tempera- EGGS. MILK, AND CHEESE 151 ture sufficiently high to kill any disease germs present, but not high enough to give a cooked taste. This process, while it destroys most of the bacteria, does not kill the spores of all. The chief arguments against pasteurization are (1) that on a commercial scale it is difficult to really accomplish this, and (2) that it is easily used to cover the sale of unclean milk. The argument for it is, that it is impossible to obtain as yet Fia. 44. — Milk botUiuK room. an ideal supply for a large city in hot weather, and that pasteurization, if properly conducted, kills nearly all of the dangerous bacteria and saves the lives of many babies. Clean milk that needs no pasteurization is our ultimate aim, and we must remember that milk pasteurized under unknown conditions needs to be kept cold and treated with even more care than fresh milk, for it " spoils " quite as easily, only we may not know it because it may not taste sour. In the last few years the question of pasteurization has 152 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT been studied with very great care. It is found best to heat the milk for 20 to 30 minutes at a temperature of 140° to 155° F. If it is certain that this method has been used;^ one need not hesitate to trust the milk, for the arguments against pasteurization do not properly apply here.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

how closely the country and the city are united. A case of typhoid fever in one farm family, not properly cared for, may be the seed of a serious epidemic in some town. To insure clean milk to the consumer, and a fair return in money to the producer, is a great sanitary and commercial problem, not to be solved in a day. Milk is a medium in which bacteria flourish, both the harmless and the disease producing. Typhoid fever and other fatal diseases may be carried by milk from unclean barns and dairies, and tuberculosis is possible from diseased cows. The cows must be in good health, and the stable clean. Figure 43 shows a stable with cement floor and good drainage. The cows must themselves be clean, and should be curried and washed. The milkers should have clean clothes and hands, and all receptacles should be sterilized. The milk must be rapidly cooled {see Fig, 44), bottled in sterilized bottles, kept cool during transportation, and delivered as promptly as possible to the consumer. " Certified " milk is produced and handled under the best conditions, but costs at least 15 cents a quart. since a quart of milk is equivalent to a pound of steak or to 8 eggs, milk even at 15 to 20 cents a quart is more economical than meat and eggs at ordinary prices. At the usual price of 8 to 10 cents a quart, milk is very economical as compared with other perishable foods. The question of preservation and pasteurization can be treated here but briefly. Preservatives are forbidden by law in most states. Pasteurization is heating at a tempera- ture sufficiently high to kill any disease germs present, but not high enough to give a cooked taste. This process, while it destroys most of the bacteria, does not kill the spores of all. The chief arguments against pasteurization are (1) that on a commercial scale it is difficult to really accomplish this, and (2) that it is easily used to cover the sale of unclean milk. The argument for it is, that it is impossible to obtain as yet Fig. 44. — Milk bottling room. an ideal supply for a large city in hot weather, and that pasteurization, if properly conducted, kills nearly all of the dangerous bacteria and saves the lives of many babies. Clean milk that needs no pasteurization is our ultimate aim, and we must remember that milk pasteurized under unknown conditions needs to be kept cold and treated with even more care than fresh milk, for it " spoils " quite as easily, only we may not know it because it may not taste sour. In the last few years the question of pasteurization has been studied with very great care. It is found best to heat the milk for 20 to 30 minutes at a temperature of 140° to 155° F. If it is certain that this method has been used;^ one need not hesitate to trust the milk, for the arguments against pasteurization do not properly apply here.

Foods and household management