No. 4.] SANITARY MILK. 75 



themselves would rank in nearly the same order as their milk 

 ranks. There is no question in my mind that the man himself 

 is far more important than his equipment, and that a good man 

 can produce good milk amid unfavorable surroundings while 

 a bad man cannot produce good milk under any circumstances. 



The 6,000 quarts of milk which the 29 dairy farmers at Homer 

 are now producing possesses a character which corresponds 

 closely to that of certified milk. This milk comes from between 

 700 and 800 tuberculin-tested dairy cows. It arrives in New 

 York City averaging closely to 10,000 bacteria per cubic centi- 

 meter. It fully warrants the statement that our present milk 

 producers are entirely capable of furnishing a milk which 

 satisfies the highest demands of sanitary experts. This can also 

 be done at a cost for sanitary measures alone, as performed 

 above by the farmer and a central station, which makes it 

 necessary to advance the price not more than 1 cent per quart. 



It seems obvious that the milk which is to solve the milk 

 problem for large cities must be a milk which the rank and 

 file of milk producers are capable of producing, and which can 

 be sold at a price that is within the reach of the rank and file 

 of milk consumers. An improvement in quality always means 

 some advance in price. Consequently, better milk than we 

 have now must cost somewhat more than the present retail prices. 



The establishment of a central, sterilizing station, as above 

 described, in any dairy district immediately eliminates chances 

 of milk pollutions from the farm wells, farm kitchens and wash 

 tubs, and insures the proper washing and sterilizing of all 

 utensils used. The concentration of so many operations in a 

 central plant, under the direction of one superintendent and 

 set of employees, is obvious business economy, and is a great 

 reduction in expenses compared with the multiplication of these 

 things when done on each individual dairy farm. 



In summarizing I would say that of all the sanitary measures 

 in the fist the washing and sterilizing at a central plant of all 

 utensils, the use of covered milking pails, and the use of ice 

 water are of such efficiency that all other measures sink into 

 insignificance compared to them. 



In estimating the value of the plans proposed for bringing 

 about the adoption of sanitary measures, the work described 



