180 ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION 



they did not authorize supervision over production 

 and transportation of milk in order to insure its 

 freedom from extraneous matter. In a few juris- 

 dictions laws were soon passed, however, to prevent 

 the sale of "diseased, corrupted or unwholesome 

 milk," and in the State of New York by an Act 

 of 1 894 tuberculosis among cattle was investigated, 

 and infected cows were destroyed, the owners being 

 indemnified by the State. This was the first law 

 of its kind in America, but similar provisions were 

 soon adopted by other States, and in order to prevent 

 the use of formaldehyde as a preservative additional 

 laws rapidly followed. 



Here and there laws and orders had been issued 

 over a period of many years requiring particular 

 measures that would tend to improve milk supplies. 

 These measures were the precursor of the present 

 system of milk control as practised generally in the 

 United States ; for instance, by a law of April 20, 

 1869, in Pennsylvania the councils of cities and 

 boroughs were authorized to provide for inspections 

 of milk ; the sanitary code of 1875 f New York City 

 provided for inspections of milk distributing establish- 

 ments ; by an Act of 1886 milk distributors in 

 Massachusetts were required to take out licences ; 

 in 1889 in the same State the Board of Health 

 recommended cooling of milk to 50, and in 1893 

 cities in Massachusetts were required to appoint milk 

 inspectors, towns being authorized to do so; in 

 Minnesota and the District of Columbia in 1895 

 authority was granted local health authorities to 

 protect their milk supplies by means of control 

 of herds, inspections and licensing of dairies by the 

 Health Officer of the District of Columbia being 

 specifically authorized by the Congress of the United 

 States. These latter laws were the first of this 

 character under which municipal authorities were 

 authorized to inspect dairies outside their jurisdiction, 



