402 
and pieces of leaves in samples 121B and 196B ; and one or more dead ; 
flies in samples 43B, 56B, and 252B. | 
Samples 28A, 4B, 29B, 51B, 91B, HOB, 132B, 154B, 179B, 189B, 
199B, 208B, 234B, 247B, 248B, 255B, 277B, 21C, and 38C were found 
to contain more than 0.18 per cent of lactic acid. 
Finally a word or two should be said as to the general import of 
these adulterations of the Washington milk supply. First, the fact 
that 48 of the samples analyzed contained less than 3.5 per cent of 
fat is not in itself a matter of serious import, for the reason that the 
milk of perfectly healthy cows frequently contains less than 3.5 per 
cent of fat, and yet no one could question the value of such milk as i 
a food. Then again, we note that the requirements here in the Dis- ^ 
trict of Columbia regarding the fat content of milk are higher than 
the United States standard controlling the composition of milk ! 
offered for sale under the laws governing interstate commerce. This 
in itself may indicate possibly that the requirements governing the ; 
percentage of fat in milk within the District of Columbia are a trifle | 
too high. 
As already pointed out, the watering of milk is a practice which , 
should be vigorously condemned and controlled by rigorous enforce- ' 
ment of the law, for the reason that such practice is not only fraudu- : 
lent, but also a serious menace to the health of the community by \ 
reason of the fact that the milk may become infected with patho- i 
genic organisms as the result of the addition of polluted water, and ; 
ordinarily the dairyman who Avaters his milk does not stop to con- :i 
sider the character of the Avater Avhich he is adding thereto. In fact 
the degree of Avater pollution Avhich might seriously contaminate and 
infect a milk supply, if the Avater Avere added to the milk, Avould ; 
probably under most circumstances be exceedingly difficult to detect. , 
The only Avay therefore to control such a situation is simply to pre- ' 
vent by law the addition of Avater to milk in any form. According 
to Atlee (15), impure Avater is one of the most frequent sources ij 
of the pollution of milk, resulting either from the addition of Avater | 
for purposes of adulteration or from its use for washing utensils. | 
Winslow (16) is also of the opinion that water is probably the most ■ 
dangerous adulterant of milk, for the reason that the Avater used by j 
dairymen is frequently dirty and contaminated with pathogenic 
organisms. 
From the standpoint of public health the point of chief interest 
and of the greatest importance brought out in this investigation 
is the large number of milks sold in Washington containing meas- i 
urable amounts of dirt, Two hundred and forty-two samples out 
