l62 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



with the farmer as he scores. Six points are allowed for clean- 

 liness of the bam ; — the inspector can call attention to dirty 

 windows, to cobwebs on the ceiling, to manure spattered on the 

 walls, to dirty floors. The farmer sees all these — no contro- 

 versy can arise over their existence. Perhaps the inspector says 

 to the farmer, "Now, Sir, calling 6 perfect how many points do 

 you think it would be fair to allow you for cleanliness of sta- 

 ble?" Eight times out of ten, the farmer himself will place a 

 correct estimate on his own conditions. Similarly with other 

 topics on the card. When the whole card is filled out the 

 figures are added in the presence of the farmer. There is no 

 mystery about it and nothing arbitrary. The final rating is 

 incontestable and at the same time so manifestly fair that no 

 criticism can be made. But should he feel that injustice has 

 been done him it can be easily proved or disproved by a com- 

 parison of his premises with the permanent record on the score 

 card. I have made hundreds of inspections in a score of 

 States. In only two instances have I met with any but the 

 kindest treatment. One was a dairy to which a bad outbreak 

 of typhoid fever had been traced and the place had been reno- 

 vated under direction of the local health ofificer ; though the place 

 was scored much above the average — 73 — the proprietor was 

 disappointed that it was not found to be perfect. The other 

 critic was a chronic kicker who always found fault with every- 

 thing. Very often my work is received with thanks and a pleas- 

 ant invitation to call again. Another advantage of the score 

 card is the great simplicity of regulations resulting from its use. 

 Instead of burdening the farmer with remembering a lot of 

 rules, instead of irritating him with a multiplicity of "Thou 

 shalt nots," we can have this simple rule that any dairy scoring 

 below a certain point — say for instance 50 — will be regarded as 

 unsanitary and its product will be rejected by the creamery, 

 the market milk buyer, or the city health officer. The score 

 card instead of drawing an unexplained, mysterious dead line 

 constantly holds out a temptation to progress. A Tennessee 

 inspector told me recently of a producer saying to him, "My 

 score is 60, but it will be 65 the next time you visit me — for I see 

 where without much great trouble I can gain 5 points." This 

 idea of advancement is stimulated in some places by publishing 

 the names and scores of the best dairies. 



