The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-03

4 Falling OF of Fifty Per Cent in
the supply and an Increased De
mand Due a. the Hot Weather.
Dairyruen say There Is No Remedy
Washington has been on the verge Of a
milk famine FOR several days past, and
conditions appear to be growing worse
rather than better. on account of the pro
tractcd hot woath.~ All of the local milk
dealers are having difficulty Is supplying
their customers and many OF the smaller
dealers have been forced to almost en-
tirsly suspend business pending an in
crease III the milk supply
There Is less milk coming into the city
now than at any time within the last
twenty-five years Local daiTymen who
depend upon the New York State dairy
farms for their supply # milk have been
unable to secure the usual amount while
the milk producers OF adjacent counties
in Maryland and Virginia are sending
anywhere from 100 to 500 gallons of milk
and cream less than the customary
quantity daily
Natural causes have contributed toward
reducing the supply. and the hot weather
has increased the local demand nearly 1CJ
per cent. The situation therefore which
confronts the big Washington milk firms
is a doubling of the demand and q shrink
age Of more than half the ordinary sup
ply. The daiTymeR are unanimous in stat
ing that there is Al present less milk IN
Washington than at any time during the
past quarter Of a century The large.
customary increase in the demand always
occasioned by the Fourth of July con-
sumption of milk for ice cream has add
ed TO the scarcity Of milk and the in
customers with the quantity needed
Firms dealing with New York diaries
have received notices that contracts made
early in the summer cannot be filed, ow-
ing to the milk famine prevailing
So far the price of milk has not been
advanced and there is TO immediate pros
pect that it Will, unless conditions become
very much worse Dealers say however,
that unless a break in the hot spell &C
ours within q week or ten days the supply
of milk in the city viii become practically
exhausted. In this event the price OF
milk viii probably become exorbtant-
E Wagner at Al East Capitol street,
one Of The largest dealers in the city. is
now receiving 250 gallons Of milk a day
He handles ordinarily so gallons, and has
been unable TO supply many Of his pa
irons
past few days said 3Ir. Wagner's man
aver. has been due to the fact that
throughout the country the grass has
dried in the fields The cows have been
worried by flies and have suffered to such
an extent on account of the hot weather
that they have refused to eat II this
weather continues for ten days longer
there is no telling how scarce it VIII
become. Another difficulty has been pre-
scented to the farmers The standing
wheat must be cut, and the tender clover
which has been shaded by the standing
wheat viii be burned by the sun as
soon as the shade IS removed. This feed
IS necessary. and If it is destroyed by the
heat, the COWS viii have nothing to eat
d n C Bell a large shipper of milk, Of
DeeryYood. Nd, says his supply has drop
ped from seventy-five gallons daily to less
than twenty-five All OF the Maryland
farmers are reaping at night to save their
horses They report d great scarcity Of
milk. 4 big Gaithersburg shipper whose
daily shipment aggregated 100 gallons now
only sends fifty gallons.
c. Thompson, III B street southwest,
probably the largest local milk dealer, re-
ports gre<. scarcity of milk He be
Iieves that there viii be famine unless
g change in the weather occurs. J. ".
Gregg and R J. Benson, local dairymen,
are also handling much smaller quantities
Of milk than usual
Several dealers have offered to buy milk
1t double the usual price. in order TO keep
their contracts with customers They
found. however. that the milk IS not 10 be
obtained. as il Is not being shipped to the
city Several days OF rain viii probably
relieve the local milk market somewhat