88 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



into this kind of work. I should also like to liavo him state 

 wliat success lie has had in getting the customers to take the 

 milk. 



Dr. KoKTii. Regarding the commercial success of the 

 enterprise, this business was gone into for two particular 

 reasons. The first was because I was anxious to find out 

 what it cost to make clean milk, and a number of men of 

 wealth in New York City put up the capital for the purpose. 

 The second reason was because in New York they wanted 

 to start 30 depots in the poorer parts of the city for the feed- 

 ing of infants, and they wanted good milk to use at these 

 stations, which were opened last May. Unfortunately for 

 our business they were closed the 1st of October to our milk. 

 But during that period we were delivering up to 4,000 quarts 

 of milk a day to these stations, wher.e between 500,000 and 

 600,000 babies were fed. The records show that during this 

 period they experienced the lowest mortality they have ever 

 had. On the 1st of October the philanthropic people decided 

 to carry it no further, and this threw 4,000 quarts back on 

 our hands, and we have since been trying to find a new mar- 

 ket for this milk. Now, as a matter of profit and loss — I 

 didn't want to discuss this subject, because I am supposed to 

 be a professional man and not a business man, being con- 

 nected with this matter only as consulting bacteriologist. 

 But naturally I am more interested in it than any other 

 business, so I had expert accountants go over the books of 

 this company, which has been running only a year, to find 

 out what it cost to make this milk, and they reported that 

 from May 1 to October 1 the cost was 7.7 cents per quart, 

 delivered in bottles to these stations. That included the cost 

 of office expenses, railroad freight, horses and trucks in New 

 York City and salaries of drivers. I therefore feel that I am 

 warranted in saying that at 10 cents a quart there would be 

 a nice profit. That 7.7 cents was based on summer prices, 

 from May to October. The winter prices average a cent 

 more. That would make it 8.7 cents for winter prices. 

 Then there is an additional expense now in trying to sell the 

 milk at retail, — the difference between wholesale delivery 

 and retail delivery. T believe, however, it still leaves 1.3 



