120 AGRICULTURE OF ^lAIXE. 



PRODUCING AND HANDLING MILK FOR THE 



RETAIL TRADE. 



By Geo. H. Ellis, Boston, Mass. 



As I expect to be more or less personal in this matter, leav- 

 ing you to draw general conclusions, I shall to a considerable 

 extent tell the story of our own producing and handling of milk 

 for the consumer. The first point that we undertook to cover 

 was what it seemed to me should be covered so far as possible 

 in all handling of milk for use as milk. I do not agree with our 

 friend, Dr. Hall, that milk should be sterilized. I believe that 

 the nearer milk can be kept to its natural condition the better. 

 If it is to be treated at all, I would do nothing more than pasteur- 

 ize it. Whatever may be said of the desirability of sterilized 

 milk, for myself, and I am a large milk drinker, I do not want 

 cooked milk. I want my milk just as near the condition it came 

 from the cow as possible, provided the cow is healthy and clean, 

 and the man who drew the milk the same. We now are pro- 

 ducing and selling daily to retail customers, nearly all within 

 the city of Newton, between 1,900 and 2,000 quarts of milk and 

 45 quarts of cream running from 40 to 45 per cent butter-fat. 

 That trade has been built up simply because other people wanted 

 just what I want, — good, pure, clean milk, as nearly fresh from 

 the cow as it is possible to get it. I realize that any talk along 

 this line does not directly apply to you here, as it is impossible 

 to handle milk at a distance from the cities in just the way 

 that we handle it, and yet I believe that our system can be 

 approached. It goes without saying that this could not be done 

 at the present prices of milk. The producer is today, I believe, 

 furnishing as good milk as he is paid for, and the only way that 

 we can better the production is to ask the consumicr to pay a 

 good, fair price for a good article. 



First, with us, is the cow. We are situated in an old Jersey 

 town. The people of Newton are interested to a large extent 

 in Jersey cattle. They have become accustomed to very rich 

 milk, and in catering to that taste we are keeping a herd of Jer- 

 sey and grade Jersey cattle, the average test of the milk being 



