154 THE MODERN MILK PROBLEM 



appears to be the total count of bacteria. Other labora- 

 tory tests may also be found to be applicable, with 

 special reference to dirt determination. Objections 

 to dairy score requirements for the different grades 

 have been discussed in Chapter III. The logical way 

 to rate milk is by the quality of the product itself, not by 

 the equipment of the dairy or the methods which the 

 dairyman is believed to use. In short, the proof of the 

 milk is the testing. 



The most practical criterion of composition is the 

 butter-fat percentage, which varies more than the 

 solids not fat, is easy of determination, and is a point 

 of particular importance in artificial infant feeding. 



A natural application of the above considerations 

 would be to grade milk according to sanitary quality 

 as " Grade A," " Grade B," etc., with the use of the 

 word "raw" or "pasteurized"; then to add a figure 

 indicating for each supply the butter-fat percentage. 

 This latter might be stated by limits of variation, e. g., 

 " 3.5 to 4.0% fat," or by a single figure, as " 3.5% fat," 

 with a legal limit as to the permissible variation of the 

 actual content from such figure. Butter-fat labelling 

 has not yet, so far as the writer knows, been attempted, 

 but has been proposed * and, if proved to be prac- 

 ticable, would be the logical way of selling milk accord- 

 ing to richness. It would ensure the purchaser the 

 desired amount of cream and, if sufficiently accurate, 

 would be a guide for removing cream from milk in pre- 

 paring it for infant feeding. At the same time, the 

 health authorities would have to perform sufficient 



* See recommendation by the Commission on Milk Standards, 

 p. 92, which further advises a guaranty of milk solids not fat. 



