No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 651 



this requirement. It will not be free from germs unless unusual 

 care has been observed. For this reason pure milk is not often 

 found. The average market milk will sliow about five-hundred times 

 as many germs in a given quantity of milk as is allowed by the milk 

 commission. Milk may contain as many as five million germs or 

 even more in sixteen drops and to the taste, smell or naked eye, it 

 could not be distinguished from milk that is free from germs. This 

 fact is comparatively easy for the bacteriologist to determine. His 

 test pretty clearly shows how much care has been exercised in 

 handling the milk. 



The normal constituents of milk is determined by the chemist. 

 In fats and proteids 4 per cent, milk is allowed to range from 3.5 to 

 4.5 per cent.; 5 per cent, from 4.5 to 5.5 per cent, for fats, and from 

 3 per cent, to 4 per cent, for proteids. This information is valuable 

 for the physician because in prescribing a diet for children or in- 

 valids, he often wishes to have the milk modified. Perhaps he may 

 want milk that is richer in sugar, poorer in fats, etc., and he can- 

 not recommend changes intelligently unless he knows nearly the 

 normal constituents of the milk that is being used. It is also the 

 duty of the chemist to determine whether the milk has been arti- 

 ficially changed or preserved in any way. 



When the requirements have been fulfilled and the Commission 

 is satisfied with the reports from the experts, certificates in the form 

 of small pointed slips are issued and given to the producer or appli- 

 cant. He is entitled to one for each package of milk that is to be 

 delivered for the next month. Before certificates are given out for 

 the following month another favorable report must be made to the 

 Commission by the inspectors. In case of failure to pass the test 

 at any time a second inspection can be made. This is also done at 

 the expense of the applicant. 



It will be observed that the requirements of this Commission are 

 very rigid and exacting. Milk cannot be produced under such care- 

 ful conditions for the average prices. It will cost the producer from 

 six to seven cents per quart to produce milk in this manner. It is 

 not advisable to undertake it with too small a herd. The reasons 

 are evident. It takes a person of more than an average amount of 

 ability to manage a dairy and produce milk that will satisfy the re- 

 quirements. A person with the requisite qualities can manage the 

 work in a dairy of at least a hundred cows as easily as he could a 

 herd of twenty. The examinations will cost no more in a large herd 

 than in a small one. The cost of equipping the milk house will be 

 nearly as much in a small dairy as in a large one. 



Perhaps no one could devise a better plan for handling milk at 

 the present time than is required by this Commission. The great 

 difficulty with it is the fact that it is an expensive system, and the 

 average consumer is not willing to pay for the extra exertion and 

 labor. At the present time there are five dairies selling certified 

 milk in Philadelphia. These dairies run from thirty-five to three 

 hundred cows. Certified milk sells in the city at from twelve to 

 sixteen cents per quart. 



There are many dairies in various parts of the country that are 

 being managed according to these or similar high standards. They 

 have demonstrated the fact that milk can be handled according to 

 these requirements and kept for weeks and remain sweet. The 



