Should the milk be from one cow? It should be from the mixed or herd milk since that varies little from day to day.
How fresh should the milk be? In winter it should not be used after it is forty-eight hours old; in summer not after it is twenty-four hours old, and sometimes it is unsafe in a shorter time.
How should the milk be cared for at the dairies? It must be kept clean and free from being contaminated. Cows, milkers and stables must all be kept clean, and the milk must be carried in sealed bottles; those that handle the milk must not be near a contagious disease; all milk pails, bottles, cans, etc., used for the milk must be steamed and boiled before being used.
Should it be immediately cooled after leaving the cows? Yes, and kept at a temperature of about 50 degrees F.
How should the family care for it after it is delivered fresh from the cows? Strain it for infants through a thick layer of absorbent cotton or through several thicknesses of cheese-cloth into quart jars or milk bottles, covered and cooled immediately. This is best done by placing the bottles in ice water or cool spring water that comes up to their necks and allow them to remain there at least one-half hour. What you wish to use for the children who drink plain milk you may pour into one-half pint bottles, and these should be placed in an ice chest or in the coolest possible place. The first rapid cooling is very important and adds greatly to the keeping qualities of the milk, for the milk loses its heat quickly when cooled in water, but very slowly when it is simply placed in a cold room. After standing for four or five hours or longer, the top milk can be strained off; the cream may be removed after waiting twelve to sixteen hours.
How should it be cared for when received in bottles? The temperature of the milk is always raised during the delivery, so it should be cooled as before described. If it was bottled at a dairy the cream or top milk can be removed in an hour or two.
How should milk and cream be cared for by the family when purchased in bulk? This milk should never be used for infants, as it is liable to be contaminated. Both cream and milk should at once be poured into vessels, covered and kept in a cool place. There will not be much cream or top milk upon such milk.
[ALL ABOUT BABY 577]
How should refrigerators be treated? The inner portion should be of metal. An ordinary metal refrigerator, as sold, if encased in a wooden box makes the best kind. A covering of felt and heavy quilting can be made for the refrigerator which can be removed easily when wet or soiled—it must be kept absolutely clean. The compartments for the milk should be so arranged that the milk bottles be either in contact with the ice or near it. The supply of ice should always be abundant, or the temperature of the milk will not be low enough. The temperature should not be higher than 50 degrees F.; it is oftener 60 to 65 degrees F. To tell the temperature, use a nursery thermometer and this should be used from time to time to know what temperature the milk is in. Milk is often spoiled in too warm temperatures in refrigerators, and also in unclean refrigerators. Many cases of sickness are caused by it. The refrigerator should carry a temperature of near 50 degrees F., and be absolutely clean, and the compartment for the milk should be absolutely separated from other food compartments.