THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 537 



Market milk lias not increased in price proportionate to other dairy 

 products in recent years. 



The salntary effect of milk inspection is well illustrated by reference 

 to the experience of the city of Rochester, N. Y. During the five years 

 from 1887 to 1892 the Infant mortality of that city ranged from 740 

 to 900 per cent. Tn 1892 efficient milk inspection was inaugurated 

 and the infant mortality rapidly dropped until during the years from 

 1897 to 1904 it ranged between 400 and 4 60 per year. 



We have been using quite extensively the government score card 

 and we find that the average score of dairy farms in Iowa is less than 

 45 per cent out of a possible 100 per cent. This, of course, is quite 

 low but not so low as that of the dairies supplying milk to Chicago 

 which is nearly five points less and the dairies supplying the city of 

 Washington score an average of only 43 points. While the use of the 

 score card system is of recent date, all familiar with its use agree that 

 by the proper use of this system, the dairies so scored do improve 

 often quite m.aterially from one to a subsequent visit of the inspector. 

 By its use each particular item is gone over in detail and record made 

 of conditions found and while some might be inclined to give undue 

 importance to some one thing, this method gives to each item its 

 proper and due weight and no more. In the city of Des Moines all 

 the dairies supplying milk to the city were scored for the first time 

 some two years ago and we have just recently finished scoring them 

 again and find that the average increase of the score of these dairies 

 has been in this time 13 points (or from 4 6 to 59). 



The problems in market mJlk vary with the season. For instance; 

 in the winter time when cows are housed, the sanitary conditions of 

 the barn, (including the kind of floor, ventilation, provisions for light) 

 have a marked influence on the quality of the milk; whereas, in the 

 summ.er, this factor does not enter largely into the question for the 

 reason that the cows are stabled only at milking time. But in the 

 summer, we have the fly to deal with. This is a very unwelcome com- 

 panion to the cow and only recently have the people been awakened 

 to the fact that the fly is the one great menace to the public health. 

 We find as much or more visible dirt or sediment in milk during the 

 summer time than during the winter season but this summer sediment 

 is not so deleterious to the milk as that of winter. The sediment in 

 summer is usually caused by the cow wading or standing in water 

 and fighting flies and throwing the muddy water on her udder and 

 belly. This dries and at the time of milking falls into the pail in 

 the form of black dirt or sand, whereas, the sediment found in win- 

 ter's milk is usually dried manure. 



The proper food for the infant mammal be it man, horse, cow, dog 

 or sheep or porpoise is the milk of its own mother, but with the 

 human infant, the best and most available substitute for its mother's 

 milk is the milk of the cow. The ideal milk is that produced from 

 perfectly healthy cows and handled in a strictly sanitary manner, 

 milked clean, cooled immediately after milking and consumed at the 

 earliest possible moment thereafter. 



