THE MILK CONTRACTOR 323 



that in summer the ice in which the bottles were packed for delivery 

 melted rapidly, while in winter bottles were likely to freeze in the case and 

 break. Also, the cases became bent out of shape and so would not center 

 the bottles beneath the filling machines. The case that has been finally 

 evolved is a metal one with wire bottoms and partitions; such cases 

 keep their shape, stand hard use, and, as stacked, tend to hold the air 

 motionless around the bottle, so that at all seasons of the year they 

 hold the temperature of the milk for some time, at that at which it is 

 loaded onto the delivery wagons. For shipping certified milk, refrigera- 

 tor cases are used. 



Bottle Caps. Milk-bottle caps, except the metal ones, are made of 

 sulphite fiber impregnated with paraffine. The paraffine is applied hot 

 and should be put on the cap after it is cut and printed in order that the 

 edges as well as the surfaces may be coated. If a good grade of paraffine 

 is not used on the cap, or if it is poorly coated, the cap will impart a 

 noticeable flavor to the milk. The cheap thinly coated caps are not 

 waterproof and so become soft and spongy from absorbed moisture. As 

 the paraffine is hot when applied to the caps they are sterile or nearly 

 so when first made; therefore, the problem is to keep them sterile till 

 used. Some dealers pack them in rolls by machine so that no one handles 

 them, but others are not so careful. Inspectors do well to assure them- 

 selves that dairymen are storing their caps in a clean place and are hand- 

 ling them properly. 



Common-sense caps are not easily removed from the bottle and so 

 various devices have been brought out to make them so. One firm has 

 a little projection at the edge by which the cap can be lifted. It prevents 

 the cap from setting snugly on the seat and so admits dirt to the bottle. 

 Another cap has a tab affixed to the top by a wire staple which sometimes 

 rusts and discolors the milk. One cap is scored across the middle with 

 the intention of making it possible to raise one side of the cap to pour 

 out the milk and afterward bend the cap back into place. The printing 

 of the cap is important ; the design should be attractive and the lettering 

 distinct. The tendency is to make the caps gaudy and to crowd the 

 words together so that they carry no message. By putting a trade mark, 

 or the name of the dairy, or a pat phrase descriptive of the milk on the 

 cap the attention and trade of the public is often caught. The date of 

 bottling is stamped on the cap by dealers in certified milk and by some 

 others. In cities where the milk is graded the grade of the milk is 

 stamped on the cap in large letters. 



Milk Bottles. The proper and economical handling of glass bottles 

 is an important element in the city milk business. Ever since Soxhlet's 

 first experiments in sterilizing milk they have been used more or less as 

 containers for it. Pediatrists and those interested in child welfare work, 

 by distributing pasteurized and modified milk in glass bottles somewhat 



