SANITARY MILK PRODUCTION 143 



Bacteria decompose milk; sterile milk will keep indefinitely, but milk 

 that contains many bacteria rapidly disintegrates at ordinary tempera- 

 tures. Normally, clean milk has a pleasant flavor and odor but dirty 

 milk is apt to be disagreeable either from dung which imparts a "cowy" 

 taste or from products of bacterial decomposition which are often dis- 

 gusting to the palate and foul-smelling. Dirty milk is frequently unsuited 

 to manufacturing of dairy products because of the bacteria that it contains. 

 While clean milk cannot be said to be safe milk in the sense that it is 

 necessarily free from disease germs, it is probably true that the cleanly 

 dairyman takes more pains to protect his milk, so far as he can, from in- 

 fection than the dirty one does. In the words of the late G. M. Whitaker 

 " dirty milk ought not to be considered a merchantable article at any 

 price no matter how low." 



The householder objects to dirty milk for several reasons. In the 

 first place, dirt in the milk bottle serves warning that a food product 

 which is in constant use in the home is being handled carelessly. In the 

 second, dirt is offensive to the senses; milk that looks dirty, that smells 

 bad or that is off flavor, is not relished. In the third, there is a firmly 

 gounded conviction among most people that decency demands scrupulous 

 cleanliness in the handling and preparation of food and this feeling is 

 outraged by the presence of dirt in milk. Finally, the belief is enter- 

 tained that dirty milk causes intestinal disturbances in children, particu- 

 larly among those under 2 years of age, and many adults fearing the effect 

 of such milk on their own health, forego its use. 



Milk of Extra Quality More Expensive to Produce. Large city milk 

 dealers and manufacturers of dairy products pass on the milk their patrons 

 bring them and often establish a scale of prices based on fat content, 

 cleanliness, bacterial count or other considerations, but citizens in general 

 have delegated to boards of health the duty of judging the quality of 

 milk and of determining the safeguards that shall surround its production. 

 So, to many dairyman the production of sanitary milk means little more 

 than working under conditions imposed by these boards. While such a 

 view is natural it is not the most helpful one. Sanitation as applied to 

 dairying should be regarded first, as safeguarding the business with pre- 

 cautions that reduce the losses of producer and consumer from disease 

 and second, as tending to secure successful marketing. The attainment 

 of these objects costs money so that the dairyman is limited in his efforts 

 to secure them by the willingness of his customers to pay enough for safe 

 and superior milk to warrant its production. Most farm products give 

 visible evidence of their quality so that the public is willing and expects 

 to pay high prices for extra-fine meats, grains, fruits and flowers and they 

 are graded in the market as firsts, seconds, etc. With milk and to some 

 extent with its products this is not the case. It may be possible for the 

 discriminating buyer to tell the best from the poorest, but to distinguish 



