No. 4.] MARKET MILK. 89 



milk producer and the milk consumer in this country to-day. 

 The demand for milk is far less than it should be (about 

 three-fourths of a pint per capita). I believe one reason 

 for this is the lack of perfect confidence between the pro- 

 ducer, the consumer and the medical profession. If this 

 confidence were established, the demand for tinned milk, 

 condensed milk and milk substitutes in various forms would 

 decrease, and fresh milk take their places. If, therefore, I 

 can say anything here to-day that will tend to restore this 

 confidence, which is so important to the dairy farmer, I 

 shall feel well paid for coming here. 



The Producer's Responsibility. 

 The public is beginning to feel that the producer has 

 been a little too careless and indifferent as to the condi- 

 tions under which milk has been produced and handled. The 

 question of cleanliness, then, from the standpoint of the 

 producer is no longer a matter of sentiment, but a practical 

 business proposition. As soon as the public has confidence 

 in the producer, and knows his products are produced under 

 clean and sanitary surroundings, there will be more milk, 

 butter and cheese consumed than there is to-day. Milk is 

 naturally a pure product, and if found unclean or unwhole- 

 some or unnatural in composition, the chances are it is not 

 the fault of the cow. Some one is to blame. It may be the 

 producer, it may be the middle man, or it may be the con- 

 sumer ; but sometimes we know it is the producer. When we 

 see large amounts of dirt in the milk, it is probably the pro- 

 ducer's fault. What would you think of finding a teaspoon- 

 ful of dirt in the bottom of the milk bottle on your table? 

 Yet this is not uncommon. [Illustrated by two charts.] 

 Such milk is dangerous and disgusting. We probably con- 

 sume more filth in milk than in any other food. We cannot 

 afford, as dairymen, to let the consumer get the idea that 

 milk is produced under dirty conditions. We must admit 

 that our dairies are not up to a reasonable condition of clean- 

 liness. Out of a thousand dairies around Washington, scored 

 on the basis of a score card, 100 per cent being perfect, the 

 average score was only 45. Of the first 5,000 dairies in- 



