DAIRY MEETING. l6l 



we want to come as near as possible to clean cows, clean milk- 

 ers, clean barns, clean milk rooms and clean utensils, remember- 

 ing that cleanliness has a new significance nowadays. Even 

 then milk should be exposed to the air as little as possible. 

 Furthermore we must bear in mind that most of these bacteria 

 increase very rapidly at the natural temperature of milk, or 

 even 20° or 25° below ; hence milk should be cooled as promptly 

 as possible and kept at 50° or below until used. 



In order to secure the conditions which are needed to keep 

 the bacteria down to the lowest possible number, official inspec- 

 tions and regulations are imperative ; we cannot rely on the good 

 "intentions of the producers when they are numbered by the 

 hundreds or thousands, for many will be found who are ignor- 

 ant or negligent. One of the most unsanitary milk rooms I 

 ever saw had a pile of calf manure under the window where a 

 pail and can were airing — and the proprietor of the place 

 worked 3 years at the Vanderbilt dairy at Biltmore and knew 

 thoroughly what proper conditions are. 



But these regulations should be such as to produce the best 

 results with the minimum of trouble to those who wish to do 

 right. 



Not a little of the friction between milk producers and health 

 officers results from the bearing of the inspectors, who, possibly 

 political appointees, may have no practical knowledge of their 

 business. (A State of Washington law requires dairy inspect- 

 ors to be dairy school graduates.) It is not to be wondered at 

 that the average milk producer resents criticisms from some 

 who inspect his premises, and hastily jumps to the conclusion 

 that the whole inspection business is a passing fad with no sub- 

 stantial basis, merely imposing additional burdens upon the 

 already overworked milk producer. 



Considerable experience has convinced me that this form of 

 friction can be reduced to a minimum by the score card system 

 of inspection, whether used by the butter maker in securing a 

 better quality of product for his creamery, the market milk 

 buyer, or the city or State officer. A certain number of points 

 are assigned to about 60 different subjects, and the inspector 

 expresses his judgment on each one in turn by giving it a rating. 

 He secures the most helpful and friendly results by talking 



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