DIRTY MILK 57 



Amount of dirt 



It is a matter of surprise to many people to know that 

 the laws of some places legalize a certain amount of dirt 

 in milk. Thus in Dresden the standard regarding market 

 milk states that it must not contain more than eight milli- 

 grams per litre. 



The amount and nature of the dirt in market milk varies 

 very greatly. An investigation in Hamburg showed that 

 the quantity varied from none to 183.5 milligrams per 

 litre, the average being 13.5 milligrams of dry dirt in a litre 

 of milk. Schmelk, in Christiania, found an average of 11 

 milligrams in a litre; von Hellens found only 1.79 milli- 

 grams per litre in the milk of Helsingfors. In Berlin, Renk 

 showed the average to be 10.3; in Halle, 14.92; in Leipzig, 

 3.8; and in Munich, 9.0. The maximum quantity in each 

 case was much greater than the averages mentioned, al- 

 though it never reached the maximum for Hamburg milk. 

 The Copenhagen Health Commission had thirty-nine 

 samples of milk tested for dirt, which was found in small 

 quantities varying between one and thirteen milligrams 

 per litre (Jensen). 



Milligrams mean but little to the average mind, and even 

 to the chemist they represent tiny amounts. If we trans- 

 cribe these figures into ordinary language, we shall find 

 a surprising interpretation. Thus, Commissioner Evans 

 estimated that Chicago receives twenty-five tons of dirt 

 in its city milk supply every year. 



How ordinary dirt may be harmful 



Ordinary dirt may not be especially injurious for the 

 adult, but by unanimous consent it may be very serious 

 for infants. No one doubts that milk containing millions 

 of bacteria, even of the ordinary kinds, is not a fit food for 

 the tender mucous membranes of babies. Like rotten 

 fruit, such milk is known to be one of the causes of summer 



