126 



MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 236 



n. CONSUMPTION AND SOURCES OF SUPPLY IN SPRINGFIELD 



AND VICINITY 



In order to obtain some dependable data on the consumption of milk by 

 the urban population of Massachusetts a study was made of a selected 

 urban district typical of many in the state, where it was possible to collect 

 reliable figures on milk receipts and retail distribution. Springfield, Massa- 

 chusetts was the area chosen for study, and enough of the surrounding 

 cities and towns were added to include all the regular commuters and all 

 the outlying areas served by the retail distributors of these centers. The 

 accompanying map shows the boundaries of the area and the cities and 

 towns included. It contains about 252 square miles and a population in 

 1925 of 309,950. The cities and towns in the area are Springfield, West 

 Springfield, Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Chicopee, Aga- 

 wam, Westfield, Holyoke, Ludlow and South Hadley. 



Sources of Milk entering the Springfield Area. 



It has been customary to compute the average milk consumption in our 

 cities by dividing the number of quarts reported as sold by the dealers in 

 each city by the number of inhabitants as reported by the census. This 

 basis of estimation has left much to be desired from the standpoint of 

 statistical exactness. . 



