44 THE STORY OF MILK 



washing machines, conveyors, etc., are wonders of in- 

 genuity, and one needs only to see one of these modern 

 plants to understand that in a large city milk can only 

 be handled to advantage in expensive establishments. 



Skim Milk is one of the cheapest of foods and under 

 proper regulations its sale should not be prohibited. 

 The reason why in times past skim milk has been dis- 

 credited and excluded from sale was that, as produced 

 by the old methods of raising the cream, before the 

 advent of the separator, it was always more or less 

 old and sour before it was available and certainly before 

 it could be distributed to consumers. Under such 

 conditions it was hardly ever fit for human food. But 

 when produced by the separator and pasteurized and 

 cooled immediately after — within a few hours after 

 milking, which is entirely feasible— it is an excellent 

 and nutritious food for adults and even for children 

 over two years of age. Ripened with a pure culture of 

 lactic acid bacteria, it makes a healthful, refreshing 

 drink, like buttermilk. Only when it is allowed to sour 

 without proper care or control does skim milk, as whole 

 milk does, become unfit for food or drink. On a cold 

 winter morning when men are going to work (or per- 

 haps are looking for work which they cannot find), 

 and children are on their way to school, often underfed, 

 a street-corner wagon or stand where boiling hot, fresh, 

 sweet skim milk might be distributed at a cent or two 

 a glass would be a blessing in any city. 



CREAM 



^Yhen new milk is left at rest the cream will rise 

 to the top and after 12 to 24 hours a cream-line can 

 be seen in the bottle. This cream-line is sharper 



