No. 4.] REPORT OF DAIRY BUREAU. 445 



It will be noticed that in this town the practice of mixing 

 milk does not probably exist to the extent that it should, as 

 different milkmen were found with milk averaging all right, 

 but of wide variation in quality. 



Compare the above with the analyses of samples taken in 

 Chelsea, as follows : — 



I't-r Coiit. 



No. 1 12.50 



No. 2, . . . . 13.06 



No. 3, . . . . 12.42 



No. 4 12.46 



For Cent. 



No. 5, . . . . 12.12 

 No. 6, . . . . 1:?.50 

 No. 7, . . . . 12.46 



The above samples from Chelsea were taken on the request 

 of local parties, who suspected some milkmen of adulterating 

 whole milk with skim-milk. The result of the analyses 

 would indicate that something of this kind had been done, 

 and yet the milk was not poor enough to run the risk of 

 defeat in court. 



It should be remembered that no complaint is made against 

 a person for selling milk below the standard unless the milk 

 varies enough from the statutory standard to make convic- 

 tion seem reasonably sure. Many people who argue against 

 the milk standard think that the statute draws an arbitrary 

 line, and that anything which falls below that line, be the 

 ditference ever so small, may be the basis of a legal prose- 

 cution and cause the seller or producer to be branded as a 

 criminal. Nothing of this kind exists, in actual practice. 

 The milk must be enough below the standard to satisfy the 

 court, ])eyond any reasonable doubt, that it is not of aver- 

 age quality, in spite of the efforts of shrewd lawyers on the 

 defence to cast suspicion on methods of sampling or accu- 

 racy of the analysis. 



This allowing a certain latitude is not favoritism, or laxity 

 in enforcing the laws, — but it is due to well-established 

 principles of court procedure which have the sanction of the 

 highest legal lights in the Commonwealth, and which would 

 soon cause trouble if they were violated. 



The Legislature of last winter improved the milk laws by 

 specifying the amount of fat and of solids not fat which 

 standard milk should contain. This put a stop to the exces- 

 sive use of skim-milk as an adulterant. 



The law was also amended, reducing the standard during 



