Connecticut western news., 1877-02-02
THE MILK TEST CASE.

The trial of Daniel Schrumpf in New
 York City for selling adulterated milk, if fof public interest because it judicially set ties the value of the lactometer and ,h. standard of healthy milk. The iac.omete, consists of glass tube like that of th. thermometer. having bulb much larger than that of the thermometer, below which is second and smaller bulb filled with shot. The rest of the instrument contains nothing but air. The tube is marked with numbers ranging from Zero at the ton tc i2o or l26 at the bottom. This simple in- strumrnt IS placed in vessel containiu. the milk 10 be tested. The loaded end causes It to stand upright. The lighter in. nuid the lower 1t sinks thus the figure on the scale which the surface of the milk reaches indicates if 1t has been wateretl and the amount of water put into it. To com. piete the experiment It is necessary that .he milk should be brought to a certain degree Of warmth, 60 degrees Fahrenheit being tn, recognized standard The lactometer diff. terently graded, of course, has been for some time in use abroad its introduction here as milk tester has been strenuously resisted oy the milkmen of the city on two grounds. first, that it only measures ,b- speclfc gravity of the milk. and therefore does not indicate adulierations with alum. sugar. chalk or cream ! Second, on the ale gation that the milk of different COWS VA rles so widely in specific gravity that there is no standard, The defense broke complete ly down in both respects. It is true tha, the lactometer only shows adulteration by water, but this is the principal adultera,ion. others being easily detected by other means
 There clearly is standard specific gravity for milk. as for other liquids for the Board of Health showed that in an inspec,. ton ot 5O6 different COWS, the specific gray ity of only five fell below the standard of 100 in the lactometer, and in each case for reasons easily applicable. On the evidence ot the lactOmeter Mir. Schrumpf was con- victed, and sentenced 10 fine of $25O and ten days imprisonment. As the lactometer only costs dollar and the thermometer ar- oth, I dollar any house keeper who hereaf- ter pays for milk and water for her house hold has only herself 10 blame.
 One or two interesting and significan, facts were brought out upon this tria'. One was the pecuniary interests at stake in watering milk. The cars bring every day 400 900 gallons of milk into New York city hicl, llo af ,fvs1 f.,r MT. Schrumpf had added one quarter Wa ter If the trade generally followed his example there would be daily Sale of 100, OOO gallons of water at ten cents a quart, $lO 600 day, snug little sum for profit in the course of year. Another fact was that the trade were inclined to follow MT. Schrumprs example. This case was adopt ed by the Orange County Milk Dealers Association as test case. and they have raised the money to pay his dne. Fortu- nately they cannot go to prison for him. that kind of Substitution" being unknown to the law. Still another fact in evidence was that the watering takes place after it reaches the city. As result of trials on between two ard three thousand samrles of commercial milk, that IS, milk as It reaches the city from the country dealers, there was not single instance in which the milk fell below the standard. Tue farmers do their watering by slop feeding the cattle. which increases the quantity at the expense of the quality, but which ordi- FkATn fhs4F Failkr h..l. he, standard of the Board of Health.