388 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



PRESERVATIVES. 



When milk or cream handled in the ordinary way around town 

 and left warm does not become sour in 36 hours some preserving 

 agent has almost certainly been used. There is no preservative yet 

 known which will keep the milk sweet without injuring it as food. 

 Milk is a delicate food, intended for the delicate stomach of an in- 

 fant, and the continued use of small quantities of preservatives 

 may, and doubtless does, often mean the slow killing of the child 

 consuming that milk. When milk is produced from healthy cows 

 and in a cleanly manner and kept cool, there will be no need for 

 chemical preservatives. The slovenly and indifferent man is the 

 one who makes use of preservatives to cover up his poor work. 

 The dairyman who makes a practice of adding chemical preserva- 

 tives to milk intended for consumption in homes may not be a mur- 

 derer, but he is by the very act, acknowledging that he is willing to 

 take chances on becoming one. 



