NEW YORK MILK COMMITTEE 61 



there must be frequent pollution of the rivers of milk as their 

 minute tributaries radiating over hundreds of square miles are 

 gathered together into vast streams that flow daily into the 

 larger cities. It is a wonder there are not more reports of 

 milk borne epidemics, and there would be, if epidemiological 

 investigations were made of every outbreak, particularly among 

 children. 



What then is the present status of the milk problem from a 

 sanitary point of view? An extremely small amount of pure 

 milk for clinical purposes is being produced. A moderate 

 amount of clean milk can be insured as a result of careful 

 dairy inspection as maintained by some cities at the present 

 time. Milk free from tubercle bacilli is possible, but it can 

 only be had at the expense of much time and money, and it is 

 safe to say that much of the market milk sold is not free from 

 this infection. 



An adequate supply of safe milk cannot be guaranteed with 

 the amount and character of dairy inspection conducted at 

 the present time. 



The average number of dairies inspected per day by in- 

 spectors of the District of Columbia during the fiscal year 

 ended June SO, 1909, was .7. At this rate, one inspector 

 would visit approximately 840 dairy farms in a year. It is 

 understood that the milk supply of New York City comes from 

 over 30,000 farms. At the same rate, it would require at least 

 thirty-five inspectors to make one visit annually to all of these 

 farms. That much inspection undoubtedly accomplishes some 

 good, but it is manifestly inadequate to insure a safe milk sup- 

 ply to New York City, and fails to afford like protection to 

 other communities. 



The fact that safe milk can be produced under prescribed 

 methods is of great encouragement to sanitary authorities 

 charged with the prevention of communicable disases, and has 

 resulted in the adoption of more or less adequate laws and 

 ordinances to safeguard the production and handling of milk. 



But any supervision short of the requirements formulated by 

 medical milk commissions to prevent contamination by infec- 

 tious diseases will not guarantee absolute safety from those 

 diseases. 



It is necessary, therefore, in devising an efficient method, to 



