DIRTY MILK 61 



tributed so that a larger number appear in each cubic 

 centimetre. ^ 



The dairyman points with pride to his clarifier and tells 

 how much it cost. The farmer is equally enthusiastic 

 about his nickel-plated strainer which he purchased 

 after seeing one at the dairy show. It would be more con- 

 sistent if they apologized for these bright evidences of 

 neglect. 



The psychology of why people demand clean meat but 

 not clean milk is a puzzle. Upton Sinclair's "Jungle" 

 produced a profound effect, but Smollett's "Humphrey 

 Clinker," a book written nearly one hundred and fifty 

 years ago, containing a characteristic description and a 

 scathing denunciation of the milk supply of Covent Gar- 

 den, is still unnoticed. The conditions on the dairy farm 

 are often worse than those at the slaughter-house and the 

 dangers are much greater. These conditions have been 

 pointed out with force and eloquence by many writers, but 

 the facts do not seem to strike fire in the popular mind. 



The dirt test 



The dirt test is one of the most practical of the simple 

 methods for controlling the milk supply. The Health Com- 

 missioner of Chicago in 1911 adopted the sediment test to 

 reveal the presence of gross filth in milk. As an educational 

 feature the results were better than was anticipated. The 

 only way to convince the ordinary farmer that his milk 

 is dirty is to show him the dirt. By the use of this test 

 Chicago has refused the admission of many thousand 

 gallons of milk from over five hundred different dairy farms. 



The dirt test consists simply of filtering a pint or quart 

 of milk through a little absorbent cotton. The brownish- 

 black deposit upon the absorbent cotton tells the tale. In 

 Chicago the Department of Health applies this test by 

 means of a filtering apparatus. The cotton is placed in a 

 porcelain crucible with a perforated bottom a Gooch 



