CONTROL OF THE PUBLIC MILK SUPPLY 



477 



disseminated in the milk of a dairyman whose wife was a carrier for 7 

 months before the cases became sufficiently numerous to direct suspicion 

 to the milk route. Lack of official supervision makes the occurrence of 

 such cases more likely. 



Conn, in a preliminary report on the milk supplies of small cities in 

 Connecticut having 1 to 20 dealers, found that preservatives were rarely 

 used, that the butterfat was often below legal standard but this he 

 attributed to careless mixing of the milk rather than to skimming, and 

 watering was uncommon. Bacterial counts ran from 100 per cubic 

 centimeter to 12,000,000 per cubic centimeter; 42 per cent, were above 

 50,000 and 23 per cent, were above 1,000,000 per cubic centimeter. 

 In summer few counts were under 500,000 per cubic centimeter which 

 he believed was due to insufficient icing. He continued the work and 

 through the cooperation of the State Board of Health, county health 

 officers and local health officers was able to arouse interest in the small 

 cities. The samples examined increased to 300 per month and covered 

 practically all of the towns and cities large enough to have milk routes. 

 He believed that he demonstrated the feasibility and usefulness of a 

 central laboratory in cooperating with small places in controlling these 

 milk supplies. As a result of his work, in 2 years 25 milk inspectors were 

 appointed. Previously there had been but two in the State. In towns 

 where inspectors were appointed the supplies improved, but in others 

 little progress was made. 



As an illustration from the South of conditions that may obtain in a 

 small city the experience of Jackson, Miss., where the situation was 

 taken in hand by the State Board of Health, may be cited. One hundred 

 and forty milk analyses were made. Before inspection, the scores on 

 the " official" score card varied between 11 and 69 and the few bacterial 

 counts ranged from 50,000 to 200,000,000 and averaged 22,000,000 per 

 cubic centimeter; 3 months later in August, 1911, the counts ranged from 

 88,000 to 5,800,000 and averaged 1,200,000 per cubic centimeter. The 

 following was the range of butterfat in the milk of the different dairies 

 before and after inspection was begun: 



Apparently but two dairies were selling unskimmed milk prior to 

 the appointment of a permanent city dairy inspector, but under the guid- 

 ance of one, the dairymen willingly improved their premises and after a 

 little instruction adopted approved dairy methods. 



Hastings in 1910 made the statement that the efforts of boards of 

 health to improve milk supplies and the concentration of the milk busi- 



