No. 4.] SANITARY MILK. 89 



All utensils used in milking or in handling the milk should 

 be thoroughly sterilized. It is not enough that the pails and 

 cans be washed, — they should be thoroughly scalded with 

 steam or boiling water. In all dairy operations sal soda 

 should be used instead of soaps. 



The ideal flavor of milk might perhaps be regarded as a 

 negative rather than a positive flavor. It should be slightly 

 saline and sweet, with no after-taste whatever. The color 

 of milk plays a more important part in getting a good price 

 for a good product than some are willing to admit, and is 

 aftected by the individuality of the cow and the feeding. By 

 selectins; for each herd some cows that o-ive a hi^h-colored 

 milk, and discarding those which impart too much "sky- 

 blue ; " by judiciously feeding with succulent foods and 

 alfalfa and clover hay, and if necessary some roots, — one 

 can influence the color to a marked degree. 



In sections remote from our large cities, where milk is 

 shipped in by rail, the farm conditions are far from ideal. 

 It is unfortunate that the buildings on many of these farms 

 were not built for dairy purposes, but were built when more 

 general farming was carried on, and have been only slightly 

 reconstructed to enable cows to be kept in them. It is true 

 that here the sins are more largely of omission than of com- 

 mission ; and one of the reasons why the existing conditions 

 maintain is that milk made under these circumstances is taken 

 to the shipping station, and brings the same price as that 

 made on the best-equipped farm in the vicinity. The only 

 way to remedy this evil will come from complete inspection 

 by a corps of men who are qualitied not only to inspect, but 

 to instruct, and who can give suggestions for improving the 

 conditions without the expenditure of too large sums. This 

 thought brings us again to one already expressed, — that 

 with the demand for a better milk on the part of the con- 

 sumer must come a willingness to pay a better price, and 

 the dealers and transportation companies must recognize the 

 rights of the producer, and see that he gets a just share of 

 what the consumer pays. 



This inspection should not only cover the premises where 

 the milk is made and the cattle ke})t, but the physical condi- 



