430 CITY MILK SUPPLY 



their trade from quarters that were wholly unfit for the purpose and 

 with so little equipment that it was impossible to handle the milk prop- 

 erly. The milk they put out is often of poor quality and their sources 

 of supply are usually unsatisfactory and uncertain. Taken by and 

 large this class of men make a bare living out of the milk trade only by 

 aid of the unpaid labor of the members of the family. So while it seems 

 harsh to shut them out, it is necessary for their own good and for that 

 of the community, for their participation lowers the tone of the milk 

 trade as a whole. A minimum standard of construction and equipment 

 of city milk plants and a minimum score should be required and rigidly 

 adhered to. 



Oversight of the Delivery System. It is necessary to keep an over- 

 sight over the delivery of milk. If the delivery of dipped or bulk milk 

 is permitted, the effort should be made to have it handled in containers 

 that protect it from the dust of the streets and that make for its being 

 handled in a cleanly manner. This sort of delivery is rapidly disappear- 

 ing; in many cities both large and small it is absolutely prohibited, de- 

 livery in bottles being required. In spite of the loss from breakage and 

 theft, the expense of cleaning and the extra weight of the bottles on the 

 wagon, bottled milk is superseding dipped milk because it offers milk of 

 uniform composition in attractive packages, reduces the loss incident 

 to handling the milk, and minimizes the danger of contamination in 

 delivery. On the whole it is a much safer way of handling milk than to 

 deliver it in bulk, though communities that do not require the daily sterili- 

 zation of the bottles before they are filled are certain sooner or later to 

 suffer from outbreaks of communicable disease originating in infected 

 milk bottles. There should be a stringent rule forbidding the filling of 

 milk bottles by drivers on the streets. 



Delivery of milk in open wagons should be prohibited. The wagons 

 should be kept clean and in good order. The noisy delivery of milk in 

 the early morning hours is a veritable nuisance which some cities deal 

 with by ruling rattlety wagons off the street and requiring all wagons to 

 be rubber-tired. The drivers should be neat and clean and should be 

 sharply brought to book if detected in handling milk carelessly. 



The provisions of the code pertaining to labeling should be enforced. 

 The wagons should carry the name of the dairy or of the owner in large 

 plain letters and the license number in bold figures. Some cities require 

 that the name of the dealer be moulded in the bottle and forbid dealers 

 using one another's bottles. If skim-milk, subnormal milk, or milk 

 beverages are carried on the delivery wagon, their containers should be 

 marked conspicuously as to their content. If the law requires that the 

 grade of milk or information regarding the pasteurization of milk be 

 marked on the bottle cap, the caps should be approved by the department 



