THE MICROSCOPE. 125 



of Health of New York, directed examinations of 550 samples of 

 milk of that city. The only adulteration that could be detected was 

 water. In 45 cases milk was seized by the police the moment when 

 it was undergoing the process of dilution. By chemical analysis, or 

 by the use of the lactometer (lacto-densimeter),the quantity of water 

 added was ascertained, and the average amount found to be over 26 

 per cent., or, for every three quarts of milk, one quart of water was 

 sold. It was estimated that in this way 40,000,000 quarts of water 

 were annually peddled out at the average rate of 10 cents per quart, 

 making 'business' to the amount of .^4,000,000 per year, or ,^12,000 

 per day. 



"Some one has stated, I know not how correctly, that the num- 

 ber of cows that not long since supplied milk to London was not 

 enough to give to each inhabitant of that metropolis more than a 

 tablespoonful of pure milk daily." — Gojd Health. 



