92 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



our feeding. In many a stable more pounds of feed are given 

 an individual cow than she can pay for. The food limit 

 should be governed by the ability of the cow to give a profit 

 on what she is eating. On farms where the conditions are 

 such that the soiling system can be adopted successfully, it 

 is probable that the cost of milk can be reduced to a marked 

 degree ; but the number of such farms is limited. 



In some oriental cities the consumer of dairy products has 

 become so convinced that fraud is practiced in handling them 

 that he demands that the cow be driven from door to door, 

 and milked in his presence. If he had studied the subject 

 of milk production as thoroughh^ as we have, he would know 

 that those who get the first milk from the cow were getting 

 practically skimmed milk, while the one who got the last 

 pint was getting nearly cream. The last man, however, 

 should be getting milk that was })ractically free from bac- 

 teria ; and perhaps, when we consider the stories that are told 

 in relation to the handling of milk and milk products in some 

 of those countries, the consumer may not be so unsophisti- 

 cated, after all. It is reported in "Milch Zeitung" that Pro- 

 fessor Schlossman, in a lecture before the milk dealers of 

 Magdeburg, spoke about the danger of milk absorbing odors 

 and taste from other matter kept near the milk, and in some 

 experiments submitted samples of absolutely pure milk to 

 parties who claimed that it lacked the "true milk taste." 

 Then he gave them a sample to which a grain of cow dung 

 had been added, and it was declared to have the " true milk 

 taste." 



While it is true that much clean milk oroes to market in 

 cans, the bottle, filled at the farm and securely capped, is 

 the most cleanly and satisfactory way to handle it. The 

 equipment is quite expensive, but the milk which is lost in 

 dipping, together with that which is slopped, will, it is 

 claimed by many producers, pay the cost of the bottles. It 

 should be remembered, however, that, unless it is properly 

 cared for, the glass bottle may be the most unsanitary 

 method of delivery. Some bottles will come from families 

 where the cleanliness is questionable, or where there is dis- 

 ease, and it seems to have l)een proved that disease germs 

 can be carried in them. 



