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 box. In most ice boxes the temperature is allowed to rise higher than is generally supposed, and it is better to keep the milk bottle next to the ice than in the food compartments.

Milk and cream easily absorb flavors from the air and should not be kept in open vessels next to other food. Any house-*keeper knows how quickly milk or cream will be tainted by standing in the same compartment with onions or musk-*melons; if the bottle is not covered, milk may also be contaminated by other less noticeable but more harmful vapors from nearby products. Let the milkman furnish you with some extra milk bottle caps, or cover your milk bottle with an inverted tumbler.

A clean ice-box

As has been shown in previous chapters, milk is a favorable soil for all sorts of germs and bacteria to grow in. It must therefore be kept from contamination with the utmost care, and everything that comes in contact with it must be scrupulously clean.

Top-Milk.—When the milk has been standing at rest three or four hours, the top-milk will be considerably richer than the rest. If such rich milk is wanted for any particular purpose it may be poured off, to be