148 THE MILK QUESTION 



tails. Nevertheless the commission can err by magnifying 

 unimportant points. What matters it whether the manure 

 pile is twenty-five or thirty feet away from the barn and 

 milk room so long as it is so located and so managed that 

 odors, flies, and other objections are obviated? What mat- 

 ters it whether the milk house is ten or sixty feet from the 

 barn? The methods, care, intelligence, and above all the 

 conscientiousness with which the measures are carried out 

 are infinitely more important than a few inches or feet, or a 

 blind adherence to an arbitrary rule. It is results we are 

 after. A good surgeon can perform an aseptic operation in 

 a kitchen or a stable, although it is much easier to do so 

 in a well-equipped modern surgical clinic. Likewise, in- 

 telligence and care play a similar r61e in the production of 

 clean milk. 



The medical milk commission is not always competent 

 to decide questions of animal husbandry. In the milk ques- 

 tion will be found farming problems which are quite dis- 

 tinct and may have little bearing upon the medical side of 

 the problem. When the quality of the milk is not affected, 

 it may be advisable to leave to the farmer the things that 

 are the farmer's. 8 



The certificate. The certificate must be a true certificate 

 of character or else certified milk will fall. Therefore, not 

 only the producer but the commission itself should zeal- 

 ously guard against any misuse or irregularity with the 

 certificate. On the opposite page will be found a facsimile 

 of a typical certificate. 



The certificate does not guarantee that the bottle of milk 

 to which it is attached is of the highest quality, of definite 

 composition, and absolutely safe. It is only a general guar- 

 anty of the methods and reliability of the producer and 

 his product, and a further assurance of a certain amount of 

 supervision over both. 



The certificate should always be dated. The only date 

 of real importance is the date of production. Some milk 



