416 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



APPENDIX AK. 



REPORT BY UNITED STATES CONSUL. T. H. NORTON OF ADDRESS BY PROF. 

 HEMPEL ON TREATMENT OF MILK BEFORE GERMAN ASSOCIATION OF 

 SCIENTISTS AND PHYSICIANS. 



GERMAN MILK HANDLING. i 



SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION OF HOW PURER PRODUCT MAY BE ATTAINED. 



Consul T. H. Norton, reporting from Chemnitz, says that the most important 

 address on the protection of health at the seventy-ninth annual meeting of the 

 German Association of Scientists and Physicians, held at Dresden in September, 

 was that on the " Treatment of milk " by Prof. Hempel. A part of the consul's 

 summary follows: 



The importance of the question in Germany is evident, for the latest sta- 

 tistical data show that the Empire produces annually 5,020,000,000 gallons of 

 cow's milk, valued at $405,000,000, and 15,850,000 gallons of goat's milk. Com- 

 parison may aptly be made with Germany's annual production of pig iron, 

 valued at $232,500,000, or her annual coal output, valued at $404,600,000. 



It is a serious question, in view of the brilliant successes in the field of 

 serum-therapy, whether we should not abandon entirely the current methods of 

 treating milk by heating, so as to destroy possible germ growth, in favor of a 

 process based upon the introduction of protective bacterial agencies, capable of 

 neutralizing or nullifying the action of disease germs, if present. 



It is, however, beyond all dispute that milk from healthy animals, collected 

 under conditions of scrupulous cleanliness, is a better and safer food than milk 

 which has been heated to the point at which germ life is destroyed. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TRANSPORTATION. 



Intimately connected with the attainment of the hygienic dairy ideal is the 

 problem of the transportation of milk. The larger the size of a city, the longer 

 must be the average haul of its milk supplies, the greater the possibilities of 

 deterioration. Furthermore, in most German cities admirably constructed 

 dairy stables, with every possible adjunct for cleanliness and ventilation, have 

 been erected at great expense. Their original value and their maintenance, 

 with the highe? urban charges for labor, fodder, bedding, etc., all involve a 

 very marked addition to the normal cost of milk produced in the country dis- 

 tricts, and constitute a tax, levied for the purpose of delivering fresh milk with 

 the least loss of time, to the consumer. 



A change to more healthful and economic methods involves the distinct or- 

 ganization of milk traffic on the German railways on such a basis that well- 

 cooled milk shall be transported in refrigerator cars attached to express trains. 

 It likewise presupposes the proper agencies for the distribution, under similar 

 temperature conditions, of such milk to consumers after reaching a city. 

 Neither of these conditions exists as yet in Germany. The excellent arrange- 

 ments for insuring cleanliness in urban dairies have not yet been supplemented 

 by provision for preserving milk at a low temperature until it passes into the 

 consumer's possession, often a half day, and even an entire day, after leaving 

 the cow. 



Dr. Hempel concludes that the only satisfactory solution of the milk problem 

 in Germany is to be reached by governmental requirements and inspection at 

 each stage along the following lines: 



FUNDAMENTAL RULES. 



" First. Dairy cows must be absolutely free from tuberculosis and be subject 

 to frequent examination and tests by competent inspectors. 



" Second. They must pass the day, when the weather permits, in the open air 

 and in pastures. 



" Third. They must have an abundance of good fodder, be under good care, 

 and be cleaned each day. 



" Fourth. Milking should take place in a special milking room, kept scrupu- 

 lously clean. A milker careless about personal cleanliness would respond to the 

 stimulus of such an environment. 



