The Dickinson press., 1888-04-28
THE MILKY WAY.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE COWS PROD
UcT AMONG THE NATIONS.

System in the United States-Lon,on's
Musical vcnder-Bclgium's Dog Carts.
Sweden and Switzerland-Paris' Supply.
The Daily Cow i'll India.
Those who have lived near q dairy in this
Or any other American town will not require
a description of what it is to be awakened at
$3.50 or 5 a. III. by the milk carts starting on
their rounds. To turn over, mutter II few
cursory remarks wishing the cart We're at
Jericho and to cndeavor to settle ones self To
sleep for another couple of hours is too com
mon to require my further remark. But it
is not with the disturbed sleepcrtllat we have
to do here, but with the hundred and one
manners i'll which the breakfast tables of
many different nations are supplied with that
fluid so often miScallcd milk.
In these United States one system prevails.
The product of the COW, i'll many places
mixed with something else, is delivered lv
means of large, low spring wagons drawn by
one OF more horses. In these wagons are
cans, four or five in n row, and in these cans
is the milk. The practice is to start out carly
i'll the morning, and, knowing the general
quantity that each customer requires, such n
measure is deposited outside the door i'll a
can left for that purpose. In the evening n
second round is made to serve those who re-
quire Il second supply.
In England the milkman playsu most I'M
portant part in the daily drama of life. The
milk arriving at one of the large railway
stations is duly received and cartvl away by
the dairy prolrietors to their ,iclotS. Here
it is purchased by the individual milkmell,
who have rounds of their own to serve. By
whom the quantity of the article i, increased,
Or whether hy the judirious almixtulr of
water, flour, sugar or other ingredients. is II
point which has never been quite thoroughly
decided. Now it is IL ,llirynrn who is cited
t" appear before tn" magistrates for selling
milk below the proper standards: then it is II
miiilnan who is fined for delivering an I'M
pure article.
But the milhman himself is, as has been
said before, an important parsonage. He is
clad i'll ordinary manly garments. On his
shoulders lie bears a yoke, from the ends of
which ara suspended. by means of straps,
cans. With Il curious half running, half
walking gait, he goes from one door to an
other, depositing the cans on the pavement
with Il peculiar chatter. at the same time
ringing the area bell and calling out in truly
musical tones: 'M-i-lI-l-k-oo." The cook
never takes long answering this
and while she presents her jug for the uuull-
tity She requires, she makes Inquiries as to
the latest lit of intelligence that is going
abont, and then communicates the newest
item of gossip that has rome to her knowl.
edge. Thus the breakfast tables are furnished
with material for mind and body matter. and
many little fragments of personal history
leak ont in this way.
But the vender of milk has not this reputa-
ton alone. On the other side of the channel.
il. Belgium. where the sex even is different.
II like character is horne. Here the milk
women wear short skirts, aclcan white apron
and cap and IL small shawl crossed over the
shoulders. The milk is kept in cans of brass,
polished almost like mirrors. The cans arc
sometimes tall and sometimes broad and
circular, and nrc carried in carts drawn hy
dogs. This is perhaps the only country
where one can purchase, knowingly, milk of
different degrees of purity. The price varies
rs To whether one wishes to buy it-skimmcd,
with IL LITTLE water added, with Il good deal
or exactly as it left the cow. Coffee being n
national drink, and us Il poor laboring man
would as soon think of trying to live on air
us 10 do without it, milk in some form is an
absolute necessity. To meet this want the
tactical food is offered in different forms, and
Is purchased in the nearest approach to purity
us the funds of the buyer will permit.
1t is not in Belgium alone that dogs are
used for drawing milk carts. On the Rhine
they III" to lie iolln, performing the same
servic4 and also in Holland. Some people
consider it cruel thus To employ dogs, but to
one who is thoroughly convcrs;,nt with the
subject it does not appear so. 1t is certainly
cruel to overload them. us il is to overtax
horses. Put but Il fair strain on his powers.
however, ard Il dog really enjoys being able
to he of Use to his master or mistress. In
SOM parts of Germany horses aud wagons.
take the places of dogs and carts. excepting
near Hamburg, where women, ROBBED in ma
ticnal costume, make the rounds in the same
manner as the English milkmcn.
In Sweden milk is not brought to ones
house, but those who want any have to 90
and fetch it. Naturally it follows that the
dairy is q great rendezvous with servants,
who always c%llCeavor to have their masters
Or nlistresses deal with that one where most
of their friends congregate.
In Switzerland, where perhaps there are
more critical judges on this subject to he
found than in any other European land, milk
is once more brought around from door. to
door. The i'll this country not being
large, the consumer is generally supplied di-
rect from the farm. The milk is placed in
.s'f A'"t "ttNi''s iiik&'tS lOiltl VI hOOu
or pewter, with Il wooden top fitting Oh very
securely. Two of these are placed ON a
vehicle composed Of q fiat piece of wood on
wheels, with Il bar or posts in the middle, to
which the milkholaers are attached. The
whole is drawn by a man, who often wears
the costume of his canton. Milk in this
country is particularly good, very cheap,
and forms Il large item in the very sparse
living OF the poorer classes. Large ulanti-
ties OF it, too, are made into q consolidated
form and exported all over the world.
To supply Paris with milk is 10 easy un-
dertaliing. The houses, rising six-yes,
sometimes seven stories higll-contain as u
rule AT least as many families, and each one
requires a daily quantity. The concierge,
that iiend under whose espionage the whole
building exists. sometimes receives the cans
for certain flats and carries them up to their
respective owners. Inhabitants of other
stories prefer to have the milknan himself
leave his merchandise at the kitchen door.
There are those, too, and they are mostly the
occupants of the s%alrets, who fetch their SUP
plies as required, caring little for the seven
flights of stairs their journey nccessitates.
such then briefly are the many ways en-
pioyedl many countries to supply the daily
milk. One method, perhaps stranger than
W Heietoioie loucHc't upon, remains yet to
be noticed. 1t is the manner in which the
residents of India, be they Europeans OF
natives, have their wants satisfied. 1t is the
custom there for the COW to be brought before
the door and MIXED. The Choice or cow
keeper leads the animal from house to house
and certainly i'll this case delivers the articl,
in its purcst and most unadulterated form
Sitting OF his heels he fills the measure Will
rs much milk as required direct from tn,
udder of the COW. That done, he proceeds t,
the next customers residence and does like
wise, and so OH until the yield is exhausted
In such a hot country the advantage of sucl
asystem is more than that of the mere purit,
of the supply.-"P. e. H" in San Francisc,
Chronicle.
NO CHANCE FOR ESCAPE.