THE MILK CONTRACTOR 325 



begun in Chicago. In 1896 it was begun in Cincinnati and in 1907 was 

 made compulsory there. Nowadays only small towns have any consider- 

 able part of the household deliveries made otherwise than in glass bottles. 

 Milk bottles should be made of the best clear flint glass and should be 

 properly annealed, otherwise they will be brittle and will fail to stand 

 rough usage and the violent changes in temperature to which they are 

 subjected in washing and sterilizing. They should be free from flaws 

 and the glass should be evenly distributed ; irregularities are most likely 

 to occur on the shoulder and at the mouth. Most of the breakage is due 

 to the poor annealing and to uneven distribution of the glass. The cap- 

 seat should be carefully formed and both it and the bottle mouth should be 

 finished smooth that cleaning brushes may not be cut on sharp edges. The 

 bottles of different makers vary somewhat in size but the %-pt. is approxi- 

 mately 5J4 by 2% in., the pint 1% by 3^ in., and the quart 9% by 3% 

 in. It is highly important that the capacity of the bottles be guaranteed; 

 usually it is specified that they shall hold not over 2 cubic centimeters 

 above nor less than 2 cubic centimeters below the indicated capacity. Of 

 course, if the bottles hold more than represented it means loss to the dairy- 

 men while if they contain less it means loss to the consumer, and is likely 

 to land the dealer in court, for the milk codes of many cities forbid the use 

 of undersized bottles. The weight of milk bottles varies but in those of 

 good quality the ^ pt. weighs about 80 Ib. per gross, the M-pt- 125, the 

 pint 180, and the quart 280. There is considerable diversity in the shape 

 of the bottles apart from the special models adopted by some dairymen as 

 advertisements and also as obstacles to their use by others. Manu- 

 facturers properly endeavor to fashion bottles so that they will show up 

 the cream well but there are on the market bottles with long narrow 

 necks that give the consumer an entirely false impression of the amount 

 of cream his milk carries. Besides the common-sense bottles there are 

 those with small mouths and no cap-seats, that are for caps that entirely 

 cover the tops. All bottles should be of a shape convenient to clean. 

 Many dairymen use plain bottles but it is better for the owner to have 

 his name or that of the dairy or some distinctive mark moulded into the 

 glass for it enables him to prove his property and should discourage 

 others from using it. In some cities the law forbids one dairyman using 

 another's bottles. Such laws protect the dairyman in the right to his 

 property and are some defense from the danger of his unwittingly coming 

 into possession of and using those of his bottles that other dairymen have 

 placed in houses harboring communicable disease. Discretion should be 

 used in enforcing such laws for much of the delivery of milk is done in the 

 dark and men of honest intention will at times get hold of bottles that do 

 not belong to them. Milk bottles should be colorless but many of them 

 are not so. Some have a purple hue because the glass, which had no color 

 when the bottles were new, contains manganese which the sunlight con- 



