Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-11-17
'sPrepared," not "Adulterated Milk.n

''Prepared," not ssAdulterated Milk.n
A man who had long been engaged
as a milk peddler on the streets Of Bos-
ton, after abandoning the business, was
asked by an interviewer this question::
rs aduiterated milk sold in this mar
ket?' He replied: ssNo, sir, not a drop.
as we milk peddlers understand it. but
there is plenty of prepared milk.n On
being asked: 'What is the difference
between prepared and sadulterated'
milk?" he replied: ':We milkmen asso-
clate something criminal with the word
'adulterated' milk but not with the
word prepared milk" He continued:
prepared milk has in it no deleteri-
Gus matter" Is water furnished the
city used to .'prepare" milkP If SO how
can it be said that it contains no ..dele-
ferrous matter when it has defed the
most learned chemists to tell the Water
Board why the water furnished the city
is unfit to drink?] When asked s.How
much prepared milk is soldin Roston?n
he replied: '.N%ine-tenths of all that is
sold is more or less prepared" The
interviewer remarked: .sYou don't mean
to say that only one-tenth Of the milk
sold in Boston is pure:?" The milkman
replied: ''That's precisely what l meant
to say, and l know what 1 am talking
about, at least | was long enough in the
business to know it, and every milk
peddler knows it, and the Inspector
knows it too, if not a fool" He adds:
prepared milk stands the test of tho
J1nf0fnnfa1s a md fbo ~, oct o1-s1T-1 A.-x---
1t is only when a man is a rogue and
anxious to make money too fast that he
can be detected by an examination of his
milk"
The milk vender was next asked if
he had any objection to telling how
milk is prepared? And he replied as
follows: ''There can be no objection to
letting the general public know, as a
great many milk-consumers already do
know. and buy their milk with that
knowledge. The principal Ingredient
is water, which, if pure, is harmless,
and only serves to increase the quanti-
ty. Then we put in salt, which tends
to keep it fresh, and burnt sugar, which
is the coloring matter used to give that
rich look to the milk which, to the eyes
of the ignorant, is. a SURE Indication of
cream. That is all" The interviewer
inquired: "What proportion of water
is used?" "That," replied the milk
man, depends upon the class of trade
and the dairy from which he obtains his
supply. If 4 milkman be wise he will
select a SQUIRE of supply upon which he
can safely rely, and then he will. if
careful, test his milk to see that the
farmer does not cheat him by prepar-
ing it for the first time. The milk from
some cows will stand more water than
that from others. It depends a good
deal, too, upon how the ows are fed.
Then again, as to the consumers. If a
milkman sells his milk to a poor class
of people who can not afford to pay a
fair price for it, SO as to give him a liv-
ing margin of profit, of course he uses
water more literally than he would if
he dealt with people who were willing
to pay, and did pay. If q milkman
pays four cents a quart for his milk,
you can readily see that he can not sell
it to a small grocer who retails it at five
cents a quart. In this case he gets his
profit from the water used in prepara-
ton. One in five is not bad milk, and
n in eight is, of course better"
"What do you e by zone to five
and sone to eighth" Said the milkman
in reply:
"'One in FIVE means one can of
water to five cans of milk, and 'one in
eight of course, can of water to
eight cans of milk. By the way, 1 for
got to tell you there is another ingredi-
emit sometimes used. In q dry season.
when milk is scarce and prices high, l
have known milkmen in order not to
lose customers by failing to supply
them, to use condensed milk with water
and the other ingredients already men
toned. This makes a very good milk,
make a great many large cans ofmilk;"
The milkman being Intercepted, "Why
not sell pure milk to people who are
willing to pay for it?" answered. 'Il
intelligent people, we do so; but there's
the rub. People don't like pure milk
as it comes from the COW. 1t is nauseat
ing to most people. How often has the
city child been heard to exclaim when
in the country when served with pure
milk, 8. don't want cows milk, give me
milkman's milk!' It may seem strange
but it is nevertheless true. once hac
a customer who said, II want pure
cows milk and l will pay you YOU
price for it," said all right, and
served him with the pure article, but hi
bitterly complained; said he knew mill
when he tasted it; cursed all milkmer
as frauds, and was going to withdraw hi
custom, whenI told him I would try an
other farmer. 1 then gave him 'one il
eight and he was perfectly satisfied
There is another fallacy. Mother
always demand pure milk for infants
Now, I venture to assert that the ma
jority of cows milk, fresh from tn
COW, would not stay upon an infant
stomach. Again, without salt, it is i'm
possible to keep milk sweet but a yer.
Short time. 1t sours soon, and her
again the poor milkman comes in TO
abuse. If you pay eight or min
cents a quart for your milk, you vii
get a good nutritious article, but no
pure milk. So what can you expec
when you only pay five cents a quartz
Such is the revelation made by an ex
milk peddler of this city, whose boas
is, 81 know what I am talking about
and concludes by saying. 81 am thank