102 KEPOKT OF THE No. 55 



in charge of a trained nurse, and less than ten minutes elapsed from the time the" 

 milk was drawn from the cow until it was bottled, sealed and placed in ice await- 

 ing the time it would be taken to the city. Samples of this milk were taken each 

 day for bacterial count, and during July, 1909, it ranged from 2,214 up to 19,904, 

 averaging 5,887. It will be noted that there was no pasteurization or sterilization 

 of this milk. For two years pasteurization was adopted but this was afterwards 

 abolished, and Dr. Goler now describes this period as a "grave mistake." Figures 

 are quoted in support of this assertion. From 1897 to 1899 the milk for infants 

 was pasteurized and during July and August of those years 368 children under 

 five died. Then pasteurization was stopped and in the next three years the deaths 

 under five totalled only 223. 



DISTRIBUTING IN THE CITY. 



In the city there were five infants' milk depots 1 from which this milk was dis- 

 tributed, each depot being located in a congested district, and being in charge of 

 a trained nurse. To these depots the mothers are requested to bring their babies 

 and receive advice as well as milk. The milk is supplied in half pint and pint 

 bottles at a price which figures out eight cents a quart. But if the applicant 

 presents a certificate from a doctor that she is unable to pay, the milk is supplied 

 free. Printed instructions, which may be had in any one of five languages, are also 

 distributed with a view to educating mothers on this vital subject. A record is 

 kept of all the babies being supplied from each depot and an effort is made to 

 follow up each case and note the progress being attained in keeping the infant 

 healthy and well. Supplying clean, pure milk, modified to suit the tender, in- 

 fantile digestive organs is obviously of inestimable value; but the great educa- 

 tional influence of the nurse and the literature should not be under-estimated. 



THE FINANCIAL SIDE. 



Of course all this costs money, but not so much as might at first be supposed. 

 The aim has been to keep the expenditure around $1,000 a year, and last year 

 it exceeded this by only $380. There is but little capital outlay involved. The 

 farmer is paid for his milk by the quart according to the quantity used, and as 

 many of his regular customers are away from the city during the hot months of 

 July and August, he is generally glad to dispose of the surplus milk in this* way. 

 Sometimes the milk is taken from the same farm for two or three years in suc- 

 cession, but aside from the merits of the scheme in supplying safe milk for babies, 

 Dr. Goler believes it has a distinct value in educating the farmer to a higher stan- 

 dard of sanitary cleanliness. 



FIGURES TELL THE STORY. 



Only during July and August has this special milk for infants been supplied 

 and hence the cold, plain figures of the mortality returns furnish the test of its 

 efficacy. The -figures given below show the total deaths under five years of age 

 for these two months for the nine years prior to the adoption of the scheme and 

 the last nine years of its working and show that although the population has ma- 

 terially increased, the deaths in these classes have decreased by almost half. 



