106 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



per cent of the total amount of milk supplied to the city of New 

 York, aggregating approximately 1,500,000 quarts daily, was pas- 

 teurized, and that in the neighborhood of 123,250 of a total of 368,489 

 quarts of milk arriving in Boston daily was subjected to commercial 

 pasteurization. 



The rules adopted for the regulation of milk production and sale in 

 the city of Chicago distinguish between " continuous " pasteuriza- 

 tion that is, a continuous flow of milk through the heating or heat- 

 retaining chamber and " held " pasteurization, which applies when 

 the milk is retained during the pasteurization in such a manner that 

 the process does not constitute a continuous flow ; but in both instances 

 it is required that the pasteurized product show that over 99 per 

 cent of the bacteria and all pathogenic bacteria have been destroyed. 

 The rules require a uniform heating to 140 F. for 20 minutes, to 

 150 F. for 15 minutes, to 155 F. for 5 minutes, to 160 F. for 1 

 minutes, or to 165 F. for 1 minute, the time calculated from the 

 period when the entire quantity reaches the specified temperatures, 

 the pasteurized product to be immediately cooled thereafter to a 

 temperature of 45 F. or less, without exposure to the air or other 

 contamination. 



The additional regulations for the sale and care of milk in New 

 York City, adopted April 22, 1908, provide, inter alia, that pasteuri- 

 zation of milk must be carried on under a permit issued therefor by 

 the board of health, that the milk be at once cooled and placed in 

 sealed sterilized containers and delivered sealed, plainly marked 

 " Pasteurized," with an indication of the date and hour when the 

 pasteurization was completed, the degree of heat employed, and the 

 length of time exposed to the heat. It is expressly enjoined that 

 pasteurized milk be delivered to the consumer within 24 hours after 

 pasteurization. 



An examination into the requirements of this and other jurisdic- 

 tions convinces the committee that the practice of compelling the 

 pasteurization of all milk consumed in the District of Columbia 

 (except " certified " milk) is not only a reasonable and desirable re- 

 quirement, but is essentially necessary to the conservation of the 

 public health. 



LOCATION OF PASTEURIZING PLANTS. 



The committee has been somewhat perplexed in arriving at a 

 proper conclusion as to whether the proposed pasteurizing plants 

 would be located to better advantage within the geographical limits 

 of the District of Columbia or at such centrally situated points 

 throughout the sections of Maryland and Virginia from which the 

 milk supply of the District is principally received as would best ac- 

 commodate the producers shipping to Washington. 



As regards the convenience of the farmer, a correct solution of the 

 matter would perhaps depend chiefly upon whether his farm hap- 

 pened to be located nearer to the railroad from which shipment is 

 now made to Washington or nearer to the site of a proposed plant, 

 since the situation would practically resolve itself into the determina- 

 tion whether he could reach the railroad station with greater facility 

 than he could deliver his product over to the pasteurizing plant in 

 his own locality. When we consider the element of labor, it is rea- 



