72 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



ment of external appearances. The ambitions and purposes 

 of the dairy farmer himself are affected, if at all, in a reverse 

 direction. 



While it is true that in the course of time the industry would 

 be compelled to adjust itself to sanitary laws and to dairy in- 

 spection by an improvement in quality and higher prices, yet 

 this readjustment will certainly be slow, and can only come 

 about after the expenditure of very large amounts of money 

 and the lapse of a considerable period of time. 



I recently asked a dairy inspector how long it would take him 

 to transform a dairy farmer, who was producing milk contain- 

 ing millions of bacteria, into one who would produce milk 

 containing only a few thousands, if the place were visited by 

 him once each month. He replied that he thought that in the 

 course of a year he might make the transformation. 



The inducements offered to the dairy farmers at Homer for 

 the adoption of the sanitary measures described consist first 

 in the payment of premiums on each quart of milk. One 

 premium is paid for the tuberculin testing of dairy cattle; a 

 second small premium is paid for the use of covered milking pails 

 and ice water; a third and most important premium is paid 

 for all milk containing less than 10,000 bacteria per cubic 

 centimeter. There is also a premium for butter fat. Finally, 

 there are tlu-ee prizes, first, second and third, for the men who 

 produce the milk containing the smallest numbers of bacteria 

 during the month. 



The payment of an extra prize to the milk producers for milk 

 containing small numbers of bacteria at Homer is the chief 

 reason why the dairy farmers have produced milk with that 

 characteristic. That they have been entirely successful in 

 producing milk with very small numbers of bacteria is illustrated 

 by the following table: — ■ 



