APPENDIX B 279 



Two sets of questions arise in any consideration of the use of 

 the butterfat content as a basis for the grading of milk: 



1. As regards the proper differential: 



a. What is the effect of too high or too low a differential 



on 

 (i) The producer 



(2) The distributor 



(3) The character of the milk supply? 



b. Should a difference be made in the amount of the 



differential when it constitutes respectively a 

 penalty and a premium? 



c. How can one at any given time arrive at the proper 



differential? 



2. As regards the proper basic test: 



a. Does a low or a high basic test, as such, have any 



influence on the quality of milk produced for a 

 given market? 



b. Is there any disadvantage in the fact that different 



communities have different basic tests ? 



c. Is any given basic test more desirable than any 



other? 



Before taking up these questions it should be pointed out 

 that this discussion is not at all concerned with milk prices as 

 compared with prices of other commodities, but is concerned 

 only with the relative fairness of prices paid for milks of different 

 degrees of richness in fat. For example, it is not the question of 

 whether the price should be $2.50 or $4.00 per hundredweight, 

 but rather what should be the price of 3 per cent milk or 5 per 

 cent milk when 4 per cent milk is of a given price. 



Again, this discussion is not concerned with the question of 

 prices in one city as compared with those in another, but is 

 concerned with the question of whether or not it matters to 

 producer, distributor, or consumer, whether the price is quoted 

 on the low-testing milk, on the high-testing milk, or on some 

 intermediate grade. 



Let us take up first the questions regarding the differential. 



