230 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



has been claimed bocauso of the rolativoly larfjo proportion of protein 

 in dunnn wheat as conij^ared with that in oidinarv wheat. The re- 

 sults obtaiiictl ul the dillcrciil stations have ii,i\('ii i'eas()nal)le assur- 

 ance that this country ((nild produce all of the macaroni and similar 

 materials which it consumes and supply ii considerable portion of the 

 macaroni wheat and flour for use abroad. 



IMPROVEMENT IN CHARACTER OF DAIRY PRODUCTS. 



Xo class of food materials has received more general attention 

 than the dairy products, milk, cream, butter, and cheese. A large 

 number of the stations have made investigations of the chemistry 

 and bacteriology of these materials, and of the various problems con- 

 cerned in their i)ro(luction and distribution. For example, the Con- 

 necticut Storrs Station " conducted investigations extending over 

 many years on the bacteria of milk and on the organisms concerned 

 in the ripening of cream for the production of the best quality of 

 butter. The Iowa Station '' also made similar investigations and 

 conducted practical experiments in butter making that have been of 

 great value to the butter producers and have resulted in a consider- 

 able improvement in their product. 



A very large part of the study of dairy problems has been in the 

 interest of tlve production and distribution of pure milk of a stand- 

 ard quality. Largely as the r.esult of the work of the experiment 

 stations, State legislatures have enacted hiws establishing standards 

 of composition of milk, and many of the stations are required to see 

 that these laws are obeyed. As a result, milk supplies are being 

 quite generally imj^roved in this respect ; but, as the stations are con- 

 tinually pointing out, there is still opportunity for much greater 

 improvement in the quality and purity of milk. There is altogether 

 too much carelessness and indifference to cleanliness in the handling 

 of milk. 



No article of diet is more dangerous than impure milk that is con- 

 taminated with disease-producing organisms. It has been shown 

 that milk is a very favorable medium for the growth and dissemi- 

 nation of organisms producing tuberculosis, typhoid and scarlet 

 fevers, cholera, and diphtheria, and serious outbreaks of such dis- 

 eases have frequently been traced to milk supplies that have been 

 infected through the ignorance and slovenly habits of persons 

 engaged in the milk business. As commonly handled, milk may 

 become contaminated at every stage from production to consumption. 



. a Connecticut Storrs Sta. Rpt. 1900 and other years. 

 6 Iowa Sta. Buls, 32, 35, 40, 71, and 76. 



