90 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



MILK -PLANT MANAGEMENT. 



More efficient operation and the elimination of waste are the 

 objects of the efforts in milk-plant management. Simple methods of 

 checking milk bottles, often an important item of loss, and a simpli- 

 fied system of accounting, have been worked out and put into suc- 

 cessful operation in a number of milk plants. In a large number of 

 milk plants in representative cities careful studies were made also of 

 the cost of delivering milk both by horse-drawn and motor-driven 

 vehicles. Much milk is lost in the process of handling in some milk 

 plants, and this loss, or shrinkage as it is called, often amounts to a 

 considerable figure. For example, the economies affected in that par- 

 ticular in one plant caused a J^early saving of $2,836. Assistance in 

 this respect was given to various plants during the course of the in- 

 vestigation mentioned. Plans and specifications for construction and 

 equipment were drawn up and furnished to milk plants that re- 

 quested such assistance, and special efforts were made to help coop- 

 erative plants. 



COST OF MILK PRODUCTION. 



The cost of producing milk, a subject of vital concern to thousands 

 of dairy farmers, is being studied intensively in three representa- 

 tive localities in North Carolina, Indiana, and Vermont. By means 

 of monthly visits and the keeping of records on a definite number of 

 farms, a specialist gathers accurate information. The dairymen in 

 the Indiana district by feeding an abundance of legume hay were 

 able to reduce their grain bills materially without lessening the 

 milk flow. 



OTHER INVESTIGATIONS. 



Ordinary methods of cooling milk and cream on the farm are not 

 very effective. To determine the relative efficiency of cooling tanks 

 made of wood, concrete, galvanized iron, and wood insulated with 

 cork board, tests are being carried on under all the conditions that 

 may be found upon the average farm. 



Various common feeds, such as turnips and other root crops, silage, 

 and soiling crops, are being studied with reference to their effect upon 

 flavor and odor. This study includes the trajismission of odor or 

 flavor not onlv when the cows eat the feed but when the milk is 

 exposed to it. 



Experiments are being carried on with several new types of farm 

 sterilizers which have the additional feature of heating water for 

 washing utensils. 



A study of the municipal milk and cream ordinances of many 

 cities revealed considerable diversity. There is a like diversity in 

 the salaries, training, length of service, and method of appointment 

 of dairy inspectors in States and cities. 



To prevent waste, efforts have been made to induce city health 

 authorities to denature rather than destroy milk condemned as unfit 

 for human consumption. Several cities have already adopted the 

 practice, and the denatured milk is now fed to live stock. 



