Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-01-02
MUNICIPAL MILK STANDARDS.

The Delaware College Agricultural
Experiment station issued thu fol.
low ing bulletin re,ative to municipal
milk standards:
The question Of standards 10 govern
the city milk trade IS important aud
but lite undo stood, The pure food
agitation that 10 now justly finding
}rNeral support began about % years
4 lin the attempt TO check frauds in
eaIe OF milk. These frauds had
bme enormous in extent, IN the
q Tfpion of some exceeding all other
r hmercial frauds combined, and often
egerous to health aud even to life.
ksive years ago Sc per cent OF all
mples oil milk tested 10 Philadelphia
1ers conside ed adulterated; at present
tsuspected cases are conf aratiyely rare.
HlEvidently great progress has been made
toward the exoius on Of impure or
adulterated milk and unfortunately Mt
the same time great Injustice has been
SdUne to hundreds OF honest dairymen
] land milk dealers, and much valuah 9
property in herds has been impaired.
At the present time about ~ States
| and Territories have no q eoiAl laws
governing tho milk trade; J prohibit
VI the sale of impure or adultetated milk,
II and the remainde', ia add ,tion, Fix
certain arb trary standards of compost
toe 10 VIII oh all milk oliel ed for sale
unjust conform,
III Now these laws evidently aim at two
widely different ends. One is to pro.
tect pur hasers from poisonous or IN
( furious authorizations o. from disease
1 I germs perhaps 8, i'll more deadly. About
n this there can be little difference of
opiu on among right-mindeu people.
Physicians seem to agree that any sub.
stance which retards Or prevents the
souring Of milk may be, and probably
\ is. uniavorahss t. digestion and there
lore dangerous to health. Hence The
4 practiceof adding EraservatIVes to milk
II cRunot be too strongly condemned, TO-
human health at least, and often human
ll1ife, Is ieopardized thereby. Recent
jadyanoea in tho knowledge of diseases
u Indicate that much illness Is charge
able to germ laden milk, hence proper
sanitary surroundings Of the dairy, and
freedom from disease in herds, con
d TORS to be enforced by law equally
with chemical purity.
The other end aimed at by milk laws
Is TO prevent the sale OF an article, good
and PURE and withal wholesome but
not quite so good, or rather not quite
g. rich pound for FOUND, as some other
articles of its class. About the wisdom
and justice of this there may be ques'
v lion. The case would hB quite aimi lar
IL the sSle OF cotton in clothing should
b /, prohibited because ii is not so warm
\ as wool; ar as IL the sale of certain
i fruits should ba prohibited because
they are not of % fine flavor as GER
tain others. In considerable number
| OF States milk, even though pure and
wholesome, excellent in itself may nol
| legally be so il 1t falls below Ger.
ia standard. aud sometimes very
/ b Oh standard, of composition. Thus
| in Massach ueetts, for example, milk
\ conta ming IL per cent Or more OF solids
i is legally good milk and / may bring
eight or ten cents a quatt, but milk u
| l2la pes cent solids. during the winter
months, ia legally mot good" and may
not egally be sold at any price. If the
former is worth sight cents surely tht
latter ought to be worth at least sever
\ cents and any intelligent person wnuiC
v as chesrfuily pay that as eight cents iol
Nthe other. But no. 10 attempt such
N lea.e, even at any price, is crimI
furnished with q iine and fot repeated
ofenoesn even with Imprisonment
How unreasonable this is will apptn
from the following facts: During til,
Butfa.o Exposition thorough tests wer,
y made of 10 herds. each of five COWS
\ representing 10 principal breeds of dair!
\ oattG As these herds were all judi
4 ciousy chosen from among the best o
their kind by skilled men bent 81
making the best possible show ny fe
I their favuiite breed, they may b.
\ taken, not as representative OF gooi
COWS, but far more, as about the hes
that the couutry has he u able to pro
duce. Now i've oil these 10 herds. viz.
the Shorthnrns, Hoisteins, AytshiFss
4 Blown Swiss and Dutch llelled, gave
\ during the six months trial, milk of al
average composition such that it coult
N not be sold legally in Massachusg it's o
H Vermont except in summer, and not "a
Il any time 10 New Hampshire or Mime
VI sofa -Four OF these herds named ranked
ia paint OF profitable production q
III total sol DIS. as The frat fonr on the list
\ and hence they may fairly be considers
N as about the beat 20 COWS in the Unite
II States and Car ada in that respect
N Then under tho most favorable possibl
M surroundings, with the best OF care a
VI better fed and tended than nine tenth
OF mankind, the Test 70 COWS In tn
country Tor the purpose named pr,
w Guced milk that would be held legal
X mot goodr or "for the purpose of thi
ACT adulterated, in four States. On
OF these herds, the lilo stems, produce
~ the greatest amount of butter fat OF al
yet these, the best five COWS in III
4 United States in that respect, CAV
milk too poor TO sell in eight State
! Vund thu District of Columbia.
v In tour OF there States the standar
I is trihe lower than in the four. name
N fbut yet high enough to exclude, M
u only tue Ho steins, hut also the Dutc
Z ! Belted: and in six more States I'll
| standard, II per cent Of solids, is exact
the average OF the llolsteins; but
( course, az during fully half the tin
they would fall below. this average tht
would he excluded. So in IA Stat
and in the District of Columbia, col
"a ming nearly haf uur population
milk from the hest butter producir
(" herd In the country o1u,d not be so
4 legally, being OF such composition as
\ be pronounced legally mot good"
.'adulterated. -
The UNIV sdom and injustice of sue
legislation are hardly open to question
N its only excuse would seem to be igno
Rnce on the part OF the advocates
,tixed standards, and little eonvers
zion with them confirms this vie'
The impression is general among th
Class thai no cow will give milk belo
Vr,R certain standard, and all sampl
failing below that are regarded
Internationally adultel Rted. There
Furthermore confusion of ideas,
THAT, SKINNED or watered milk
always olaseod with drugged, or proper
III speakipv uo,soued milk, and wi