THE MILK CONTRACTOR 247 



the building and should have flyproof and ratproof vaults. No room 

 used for domestic purposes should be directly connected to the milk 

 plant. The horse stable should be entirely separate from the plant. 



Water Supply of the Milk Plant. The water supply should be abun- 

 dant, clean and safe. When the public water supply is used the bacteri- 

 ological and sanitary chemical analyses of the city or State are usually 

 available and can be depended upon. It will usually be found econom- 

 ical to have in addition a mineral analysis of the water with the analyst's 

 statement of how the water should be corrected for boiler use. This is 

 particularly necessary in regions of hard or corrosive waters. The con- 

 tractor who depends on the advice of salesmen of boiler compounds in the 

 purchase of correctives is likely to be badly deceived. Where the con- 

 tractor develops a private water supply for his plant he should have 

 periodical bacteriological and chemical analyses made of the water and 

 should keep them carefully on file that he may have them as a defense in 

 case the purity of the water is impugned. 



Plumbing of the Milk Plant. The plumbing of the building is im- 

 portant. Sanitary open plumbing should be used and the workmanship 

 should be first-class. The fixtures should be conveniently placed but 

 toilets should not open off rooms in which milk is handled. The system 

 should be designed in such a way that there will be little trouble from 

 freezing. Pipes should be wrapped to prevent them from freezing or in 

 the case of long leads of hot water piping, to prevent loss of heat. Fix- 

 tures should be properly trapped and the main soil pipe should be carried 

 up through the roof above the ridge. 



The wash bowls may be of marble, porcelain or of enamel ware. The 

 sinks in which bottles and tinware are washed are generally of galvanized 

 steel. Wood and soapstone are absorptive and so should not be used. In 

 the smaller dairies of the better class porcelain sinks are sometimes used 

 for washing bottles. . They are expensive but otherwise they are excellent. 



Cost and Equipment of the Milk Plant. In construction it should be 

 borne in mind that the plant should perform its function efficiently and at 

 low cost. The dealer who erects an unnecessarily expensive plant 

 imposes a burden on the business in the same way that the producer 

 does who builds a highly expensive barn. The land chosen for a site 

 should not be overvaluable. The building itself should be planned with 

 a view to the future of the business; it should be so designed that, as con- 

 venient, additions can be made and it should be durable and perfectly 

 sanitary. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture Milk Plant Score Card. A correct 

 conception of the essential features of a first-class plant is best obtained 

 by studying the score card for city milk plant inspection, of the dairy 

 division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



