THE MILK INDUSTRY 125 



farming community to-day simply because the 

 law does not control the quality of milk, and so 

 long as anything will suffice which is passable, 

 farmers cannot be expected to take trouble which 

 will not increase their receipts. By the aid of 

 recent inventions, farmers and milk-sellers alike 

 are able to test a number of samples of milk in 

 a few minutes, so that there would be no excuse 

 for the distribution of a sample containing less 

 fat than the standard required. If the present 

 system is allowed to continue, the whole milk 

 trade will degenerate into more or less fraudulent 

 competition connived at by the authorities in 

 power. If there were no precedent for the pro- 

 posal which has been made, it would be more 

 difficult to urge its expediency, but standards 

 exist in many parts of the world in America 

 in particular; and it is remarkable that in 

 Boston, Massachusetts, where the consumption 

 of milk is greater than in any part of England, 

 the standard is higher than in any other city 

 in the world. After myself investigating the 

 question in America, and being shown by those 

 responsible for the conduct of the law that the 



