On the Composition of Milk 129 



minus fats fell below the Society's standard, in no instance did 

 the fats fall so low as the Society's standard. 



The percentage of total solid matter in the morning's milk 

 varied from 15'50 in the case of cow, No. 17, to 11-44 in that of 

 cow, No. 38 ; and in the evening's milk from 16'80 (cow. No. S6) 

 to 11-50 (cow, No. 9). 



The percentage of solids minus fats varied in the morning's 

 milk from 11-78 (cow. No. 20) to 8-25 (cow, No. 38), and in the 

 evening's milk from 11-30 (cow. No. 17) to 8-27 (cow. No. 15). 



The suggestion has often been made that a standard for milk 

 should be defined by statute. Perhaps it would be advisable to 

 institute two standards. One might be for solids m^inus fats 8-5, 

 and for fats 2-7 per cent. Any person selling milk below this 

 quality should not be entitled tu any defence on the ground of 

 natural poverty of the milk. Another, and general standard, 

 might be solids minus 9 per cent. — fats 3 per cent. It would be 

 open to persons charged with having sold milk below this 

 standard to prove that it was procured from a very limited 

 number of cows ; or they might demand that the cows should be 

 milked in the presence of a responsible person, and a sample of 

 the milk so obtained analysed. 



A milk vendor, who was prosecuted for selling milk which I 

 certified was adulterated, protested in court that it was pure, but 

 that it was procured from four cows known to yield very poor milk. 

 I suggested that the cows should be milked in presence of 

 an officer of the court, and the milk analysed. I found that it 

 contained 13-20 per cent, of solids, including 3-5 per cent, of fats. 

 The milk was also analysed by the Inland Revenue chemists, 

 Somerset House, and with identical results. They further stated 

 that it would be necessary to add 22 per cent, of water to it in 

 order to reduce the amount of solids, minus fats, in it to that 

 present in the alleged adulterated sample, which was also analysed 

 at Somerset House. 



I think there is the strongest proof that milk, on the average, 

 contains more than 13 per cent, of solid matters. During the last 

 sixteen years I have examined an immense number of specimens 

 of this liquid, and whenever I was certain that it was pure, I in- 

 variably found it to contain more than 12 per cent, of solids. I 



