240 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



anxiety "to make better time" may cause disaster. A campaign 

 of education first ; next, invoke law to prosecute and exclude from 

 the market the minority of producers who are wilful or negligent 

 and cannot or will not clean up. There must also be sound public 

 sentiment endorsing such action by the health officer. 



A Rhode Island farmer, president of a local agricultural so- 

 ciety, in his annual address, said : 



"It behooves the milk producer to read the signs of the times 

 and so to improve his product that he will not fear coming legisla- 

 tion, which, on the ground of public health, may be expected to 

 exclude much of the milk now sent to market." 



It is one of the functions of an association like this to push the 

 educational phase of the work; to explain these "signs of the 

 times" to milk producers so that the progressive ones may vol- 

 untarily clean up and practice satisfactory methods. This asso- 

 ciation can in this way be of great assistance to Missouri milk 

 producers who should loyally sustain it. 



Considerable experience, not a little of which has been in your 

 own State, has convinced me that an ideal combination of educa- 

 tional and police work with a minimum of friction can be secured 

 by the score card system of inspection. A certain number of 

 points are assigned to each of about 60 different subjects and the 

 inspector expresses his judgment on each one in turn by a figure. 

 He secures the most helpful and friendly results by talking with 

 the farmer as he scores. To illustrate : Six points are allowed for 

 cleanliness of the barn; 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 controversy can 

 arise over their existence; perhaps the inspector says to the far- 

 mer, "Now, sir, calling 6 perfect how many points do you think 

 it would be fair to allow you for cleanliness of stable?" Eight 

 times out of ten, the farmer himself will place a correct estimate 

 on his own conditions. The inspector proceeds similiarily 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 criticisni can he 

 made. But should he feel that injustice has been done him it can 

 be easily proved or disproved by a comparison of his promises 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. Very often my work is re- 



