48 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



THE MILK SUPPLY OF MASSACHUSETTS CITIES. 



BY GEO. M. WHITAKER OF BOSTON. 



Statistics of butter and cheese are abundant. The pro- 

 duction, the exports, the amount in storage, the consump- 

 tion, are matters of comparatively accurate record, which 

 are systematically compiled and carefully preserved. In 

 Massachusetts the production of milk for sale is a more 

 important branch of dairying than butter or cheese making, 

 yet of this we have had no reliable statistics ; and, while 

 creamery or butter literature abounds in the agricultural 

 press and experiment station bulletins, comparatively little 

 is written about sale milk. 



One reason for this is found in the perishable nature of 

 milk. It must be in the hands of the consumer as soon as 

 possible after it is produced. There is no opportunity to 

 hold the supplies ; we never see cans of milk on Market 

 Street waiting a purchaser, and there is no possibility of a 

 surplus being left over to go in cold storage for next week 

 or next month. Milk is almost continually on the move 

 from the cow to the consumer. 



Except in the case of the largest cities, the supply comes 

 in small lots from territory within a few hours' drive from 

 the place of consumption, and is for the most part delivered 

 by the producer. The stream arises from so many small 

 springs, and is so soon out of sight, that accurate information 

 as to its magnitude is difficult to obtain and has never been 

 compiled. In the absence of such data, the industry has 

 not attracted the attention it deserves. 



The sale milk business is a particularly interesting study 

 in a State like Massachusetts, because a large proportion of 

 the population lives in cities and large towns. At the 



