256 THE MILK QUESTION 



milk, or when something goes wrong, the housewife blames 

 the farmer or the dairyman. On the other hand, the 

 farmer and dairyman say that the householder does not 

 care for the milk properly. 



The difficulty begins at the doorstep. The milk bottles 

 are left by the driver on the sill. There they stand, may- 

 hap, several hours. In the mean time the milk becomes 

 warm, especially in summer; the street dust collects on the 

 caps and lips of the bottle; stray dogs and cats lick the tops 

 to which a little milk usually remains sticking; flies, 'ants, 

 roaches, and perhaps other vermin are likewise attracted, 

 and may leave infection or undesirable specks. Irrespons- 

 ible boys and stray tramps may take a sly drink (the best of 

 the cream layer) and perhaps fill up the void with water of 

 doubtful origin. The possible mishaps to the milk bottle in 

 the early hours of the morning are, indeed, numerous. 

 By this time the milk in the bottle is perhaps warm, pos- 

 sibly it has incubated several hours in the sun. When the 

 milk bottle is taken into the house a new series of possi- 

 bilities arises. The bottle is carried gingerly by the serv- 

 ant's hands, which may be dirty with the early morning 

 cleaning. I say the bottle is carried gingerly, for the reason 

 that it is common practice to pick it up so that the fingers 

 touch the lip of the bottle. 



The bottle now passes into the cook's hands, which per- 

 haps have not been washed since her early morning visit 

 to the toilet. The bottle is now placed in an ice box, where 

 it is supposed to be kept cold so as to check the growth of 

 bacteria and delay deterioration. But the average house- 

 hold ice box is a snare and a delusion. They are either 

 badly designed or poorly insulated; they are usually too 

 small or insufficiently stocked with ice; frequently the 

 doors do not fit tightly, which greatly interferes with their 

 efficiency; and almost always they are located, for conven- 

 ience, near the heat of the kitchen stove. Investigation of 

 actual conditions shows that the household refrigerator 



