SELECTION OF A MILK SUPPLY. 1 77 



dairies, such as already referred to, that produce their milk 

 under ideal conditions and charge for it a high price. The 

 milk from these dairies is the best in every respect, but the 

 price is high. The purchase of certified milks or milk from 

 certified dairies is almost sure to furnish milk which is reliable, 

 although less so than the milk from sanitary dairies. The 

 slightly advanced price of the certified milk should not deter 

 one from obtaining milk from these sources, for the small 

 advance in price is more than compensated for by the extra 

 reliability of the milk. If, however, one is not ready to give 

 the advanced price required for such milk, it is necessary to 

 depend upon the general milk supply. The general milk 

 supply of large cities may be purchased with a confidence that 

 it is usually chemically reliable, but will not be reliable from 

 the standpoint of bacteria. It contains bacteria in large quan- 

 tities, sometimes in excessive quantities, and must be re- 

 garded as a possible source of danger. 



In the use of milk, according to the data in our possession 

 at present, it seems that, for adults, provided we can have 

 a source of supply that is tolerably reliable, it is quite un- 

 necessary to go to the trouble of sterilizing or pasteurizing. 

 It is true that the use of raw milk is a possible source of 

 certain diseases ; but it is quite impossible to avoid all danger 

 of contagion in this world, and the danger from the use of 

 raw milk is probably one of the small rather than one of 

 the large dangers. If one uses raw milk he must do so with 

 the understanding that it is a possible source of danger, and 

 may occasionally produce trouble ; but the danger is not a 

 great one and it is doubtful whether it is sufficient to warrant 

 the extra trouble of sterilizing the milk. In using milk for 

 feeding young children a different attitude must be taken. 

 The danger to young children of the distribution of certain 

 contagious diseases, especially tuberculosis, diphtheria and 

 the diarrheal troubles by raw milk, is considerable. For 

 young children fed upon milk it is probably wisest to 



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