284 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



collection of groceries, vegetables and meats and the dust from the 

 street and the stream of customers, dust that is laden with bacteria 

 and rarely free from those of tuberculosis and various skin diseases 

 if nothing worse, is it any wonder that such milk becomes positively 

 dangerous as a food? 



Unfortunately milk is of such a character that the average con- 

 sumer is usually ignorant of this possibility and does not suspect 

 the dangers that are so easily carried, all of which makes it a hard 

 problem to educate them. Many who get good milk feel that the 

 things said about the milk supply are gross exaggerations by Yellow 

 Journalists. While this may be true sometimes, there is so much 

 foundation in fact that to-day the public is aroused in many cities 

 as never before and we have a demand for certified milk, which is 

 nothing more or less than a clean cold raw milk from healthy cows 

 fed on wholesome foods. Milk which a disinterested party repre- 

 sented by the Medical Milk Commission certifies to the consumer is 

 as represented and has been produced under the conditions claimed 

 for it. To the expense necessary for the production of such milk 

 must be added the considerable expense of the disinterested super- 

 vision and certification making it a very expensive milk, so much so 

 that it will always remain a comparatively small percentage (>f the 

 total milk consumed in any community. 



What then is essential to the production of milk for the masses? 

 I believe, first: continuation of the educational campaign till the 

 more intelligent users of milk become aggressively interested in 

 having a knowledge of the character of their milk supply and the 

 realization of the great difference that may exist in the character 

 and quality of the milk. When this is reached they will make such 

 inquiries of their milk man as will force him to recognize the differ- 

 ence. With this realization wall also come a willingness to differ- 

 entiate in the price. Good milk should command a little higher 

 price than it ordinarily does and the poor milk should command 

 considerably less or be eventually excluded from the market. 



In my judgment no amount of law alone is going to bring about 

 the model milk supply. Education must be a part of any success- 

 ful effort. 



The vital things in the production of a wholesome milk are, in 

 my judgment, the following: 



Given healthy cows, wholesome food and healthy attendance. 



First: The flanks, udders and adjacent parts of the cow must be 

 clean, free from adhering manure, loose hairs, etc. While not ab- 

 solutely necessary, the clipping of these parts will make it much 

 easier to keep them clean. 



Second: The air of the stable must be free from the dust incident 

 to the incoming cows, to the grooming of the cows and to the moving 

 of bedding, hay or grain. This may be secured by seeing that those 

 operations take place long enough before milking to allow the dust 

 to settle. There »;hould be such ventilation, — that is. real change 

 of air, not simply so called ventilators which may or may not work, 

 — as will change the air and remove the gases characteristic of the 

 stable and which will be more or less absorbed by the milk passing 

 through them from the udder to milk pail, if present. 



