36 



agent. Where a farmer, however, makes a careful study of the 

 quality of the milk he produces, if it is not satisfactory on reach- 

 ing the city, he has a clue on which to work in detecting possible 

 dishonesty of carriers or others. The chemist will often be very 

 conservative in stating positively that a sample of low-grade milk 

 owes its poverty to " topping" and watering, because the variation 

 in the proportions of fat and solids not fat is not as great as where 

 a larger quantity of water has been added to milk. Still, when we 

 find milk with an amount of fat less than might be expected from 

 the solids not fat, particularly if the solids not fat are slightly 

 below the normal, we have grounds for strong suspicions that the 

 millv has been tampered with in this way. In tlie case of sample 

 No 1, above, in which the fat was 1.66 per cent and the solids not 

 fat 8.66 per cent, while there is a possibility that it might have 

 been as the producer testified under oath, there are also reasonable 

 grounds for strong suspicions that part of the fat had been removed 

 and a small quantity of water added. With natural milk as low as 

 1.66 per cent of fat, we should hardly look for solids not fat as 

 large as 8.66 per cent. 



In this brief paper we have not attempted to discuss the compo- 

 sition of milk exhaustively or in a thoroughly scientific manner, 

 but we have endeavored to present so much of a view of the com- 

 position of milk, and of some of the ways in which it is adulterated, 

 as to help farmers who are selling milk to conduct their business 

 more intelligently, by the help of the Babcock tester. With this 

 they can always be on the safe side as to the quality of their 

 product. Understanding the significance of the fat test and how 

 to use it, they can keep themselves posted as to the quality of the 

 product they are selling, and not be under the disadvantage of 

 working in the dark. 



