In order to determine whether non-lactose fermenting bacilli are numerous in fresh milk, a series of experiments was made in the early part of this year on samples of fresh dairy milk, taken in Dumfriesshire, for routine bacteriological examination. The samples were brought to the laboratory with the least possible delay, and in no case did more than seven or eight hours elapse between the time of milking and the inoculation of plates. In the majority of instances, the interval was much shorter.