128 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND THE FARMER : 



the average profits of the distributor. The quantity of whole 

 milk available for consumption in the United Kingdom in 191 8, 

 as estimated by the Committee on the Production and Distribu- 

 tion of Milk, was nearly 1000 million gallons, so that the total 

 loss through soured milk is extremely high. These facts ought 

 to be borne in mind by everyone concerned in the production 

 and distribution of milk. Clean milk is not only a source of 

 health ; it is a source of profit. 



Fortunately for the dairy farmer — who, it must be admitted, 

 is not always far-seeing in this matter — there is a growing public 

 demand for clean milk. But research is necessary to find out 

 what links in the chain which connects the producer to the 

 consumer are weak links from the point of view of cleanliness, 

 and how they may be strengthened. One of the most important 

 lines of research conducted at Reading bears on this question, 

 and some valuable facts have been discovered. The question 

 was first approached at the farmers' end of the chain, and it was 

 found that if milk is properly produced and handled it will keep 

 pure under any conditions of haulage, and in the hottest or most 

 sultry weather, for at least two days, so that if delivered to the 

 consumer within 24 hours, there is no risk of its going sour in 

 the house. This is known as Grade " A " Certified Milk, and 

 it must conform to a definite bacteriological standard ; that is, 

 the number of bacteria contained in it must be kept within a 

 specified limit. The production of this t5^e of milk involves 

 special buildings and methods ; the cows must be free from tuber- 

 culosis, and the milk must be despatched from the farm in sealed 

 bottles. In the neighbourhood of large industrial centres, 

 Grade " A " Certified milk is a commercial proposition, for there 

 is a definite demand for it, and the higher price obtainable justifies 

 the increased expense involved in its production. 



But at our present stage of progress the universal production 

 of Grade " A " Certified Milk is an ideal to be aimed at rather 

 than a practical scheme to meet existing conditions. A some- 

 what lower standard, but yet higher than the average, is required 

 to meet the case of the average dairy farmer, who cannot afford 

 the capital required for new buildings and appliances. The 

 Institute has considered his case, and has found that a very definite 

 advance can be made if clean buildings and utensils, a good water 

 supply, and — above all — cleanly methods of milking are employed. 

 A farmer who adopts these methods, and also submits his herd 

 to the tuberculin test— getting rid of animals which are thus 

 found to be tuberculous — is in a position to produce what is 

 known as Grade " A " milk, for which he can obtain a higher 

 price than for ordinary milk. The advantages of producing 



