Vol. LXIX. No. 4042 
NEW YORK, APRIL 16, 1910 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
THE MILK INSPECTION PROBLEM AGAIN. 
Fair Statement of the Farmer’s Side. 
The attitude of the New York City Department of 
Barn Inspection has been dictatorial instead of co¬ 
operative and educational, and has thus somewhat de¬ 
feated its purposes. It is impossible for any force of in¬ 
spectors, which the city may employ to do any more 
than make an occasional visit to each of 40.000 to 
45,000 dairymen. This the city authorities should have 
considered, and instead of 
going about their busi¬ 
ness with clubs and with 
insolence, they should 
have used intelligent di¬ 
plomacy. As farmers, 
we are for the most part, 
I believe, in favor of 
some sort of intelligent 
inspection, since the 
daily papers and others 
in the city have stimu¬ 
lated a feeling of dis¬ 
trust of milk and its 
production at the farm. 
A reasonable inspection 
will* tend to dispel dis¬ 
trust and create a better 
demand for a wholesome 
and economical food. 
Farmers have long since 
ceased to have any real 
respect for the inspection 
that has been given, since 
very few of the men 
sent are fit for the work. 
V e r y f e w inspections 
are made which the 
farmer is not expecting 
in the course of a few 
days at least, and he has 
time to put things in 
order if he chooses. True, 
he cannot tell whether 
his barn will score 50, or 
more or less. Scores of 
the same barn, under 
practically the same con¬ 
ditions, frequently vary 
20 points, and sometimes 
more. It seems to de¬ 
pend partly upon the 
personality of the in¬ 
spector, but largely upon 
his mood. In only a few 
cases, however, do we 
find the inspectors per¬ 
sonally difficult to get 
along with, but the let¬ 
ters from the Health 
Department couched in 
the language of a set 
form, are irritating. To 
a man who is inclined 
should be, these lette 
him, 
or how much it will score, as it is what sort of care 
is given from cow feeding to creamery and beyond. 
In other words, it is the spirit of cooperation between 
the health authorities and producers and handlers of 
milk that is to determine the real conditions of the 
milk furnished, and this the Health Department could 
hardly have alienated more successfully had they 
started out avowedly to do so. The situation is un¬ 
fortunate, both for producers and consumers of milk. 
1 do not mean that milk is made unwholesome by 
THE LATEST ARRIVALS—THE SECOND PAIR OF TWINS. Fig. 1 
See Page 480. 
FIRST PAIR OF TWINS-FOUR IN LESS TFTAN TWO YEARS. Fig. 177. See Page 480. 
to be independent, as a man 
rs have one effect—they anger 
instead of eliciting his interest in the assumed 
° . ct tha t U is intended to accomplish—that of pro- 
curmg better food for city residents. Now, there are 
men who, when they feel 
liable to become reckless, 
farmers. If 
°f the milk will be less efficient, during the long 
periods between inspections, than it would have been 
mid he been left alone. 
We all know that it is not the question of a barn, 
themselves insulted, are 
Some of these men are 
a man gets reckless, I fear that his care 
the men who thus regard themselves imposed upon. 
I only regret the situation as unnecessary. An in¬ 
spection of milk in the city will quickly determine 
whether it is wholesome, and dealers can be called 
upon to furnish that which is wholesome. Indeed this 
is the sort of inspection that the city should be busy 
about. Dealers can treat with farmers, and procure 
such milk as they need by paying for it, and they 
may call upon State authorities in any exceptional 
cases. Milk might cost them a trifle more under 
such circumstances, but dairymen are entitled to the 
extra monev if they take extra care. It isn’t fair for 
the city board to undertake to discipline farmers in 
order that the gigantic milk supply houses may escape 
expense and trouble in furnishing good milk. In 
writing this, I am not criticising individuals and 
employees in the Department of Health, some of 
whom I have reason to regard very highly for their 
courtesy and intelligence. h. h. lyox. 
COUNTRY STORES AND PARCELS POST. 
I have lx en deeply interested in the discussion of- 
parcels post, and for 
many years I have felt 
satisfied that it would be 
of more benefit to the 
farming community than 
anything else that can 
be tried. I have noticed 
the objection that it will 
work an injury to the 
country merchants. I 
have been a country 
merchant for several 
years, and I firmly be¬ 
lieve that there is no 
class of people that 
would derive greater 
benefit from a general 
parcels post than the 
country merchants. My 
observation has shown 
me that farmers as a 
rule are always willing 
to stand by the coun¬ 
try merchant who will 
try to keep the goods 
that they need, and is 
willing to sell them at a 
leasonable profit. The 
great trouble with the 
merchant usually is that 
he cannot afford to 
carry in stock what the 
people want, but if we 
had a general parcels 
post the merchant could 
get anything called for 
without having to pay 
the extravagant express 
charges that he does 
now, and would prevent 
the farmer from making 
an order. If a farmer only 
wants one article that 
he cannot get at the 
country store, and con¬ 
sequently sends an order 
for it, lie will usually 
make the order large 
enough to come by 
freight, and will in¬ 
clude in the order many 
goods that he would 
have bought at home if 
he could have secured the one needed article there. 
On the other hand, if we had parcels post the country 
merchant could deliver a great many packages by 
mail. When I was in business I would have been 
willing to furnish almost every article that is named 
in the catalogues of the large mail order houses at 
the prices quoted by them, and I could have made as 
much profit then as a merchant ought to make. There 
are a few articles named in the catalogues that 
arc priced so low that the merchant could not com¬ 
pete on them, but there are very few such articles. 
The objection of many country merchants to parcels 
