The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-03-24


In New York city over four mil
lions Of people must be fed daily.
That the food consumed be uncon.
taminated by disease breeding germs
is necessary for the welfare of the
community, and, in order to enable
the purchaser to obtain ''pure food, y
force of eighty skilled men is con-
stantly inspecting retail and whole
sale shops.
Milk, meat, bread and vegetables
are all inspected by the minions OF
the Board of Health, and more cases
of contaminated and adulterated food
are found than the average person
would believe possible.
OF all the foods or liquids perhaps
more real danger turks in the milk
that isevery day brought to the house
than in any other article. There is
quite a history connected with this
inoffensive appearing quart bottle of
milk, and during the winter thirty
private inspectors are on its trail in
summer the number is increased to
forty. The milk must pass through
fifteen different pairs of hands before
it reaches the table. All milk sold
in New York is from twenty four to
thirty-six hours old, some of it COM
ing from Messina Springs, a dairy
place way up near the Canadian
border, 400 miles away.
The first time milk passes human
hands. is upon the farm, where it
streams into the shining pail from
the milkman S hands it is given to a
farm runner" who conveys it to
the dairy house; there it is received
by the dairy man, who turns it over
to the two men at the strainers.
When it has been strained, another
man fills the large cans these are
given to driver and taken to the de-
pot here they are received by a man
on the milk train, and rest until they
reach the city, where they are rolled
out by another man and taken on a
truck to the big wholesale milk
market.
1t is here that the inspector on the
city force first begins to work. He
carries a lactometer and thermome-
ter 4; these determine the amount of
fat in and the temperature of the
milk. No milk can be brought into
this city unless it meets three stated
requirements-it must be sweet, it
must not be below fifty degrees in
temperature, and it must contain at
least three per cent. of fat. At this
market the milk is distributed to the
retailers, and at the hands of the
driver reaches tho shop here it is
placed in the refrigerator, and even
tually some one comes along and for
the munifcent sum of four cents buys
quart of milk that has travelled per-
haps four hundred miles, and passed
through fifteen pairs of hands.
There are three classes of inspec-
tors at work on the milk problem.
First of all are the four ;nen who
travel through the country. It is the
duty of these men to visit every dairy
farm from which the New York milk
supply is drawn. 1t has taken no
small amount Of time to secure COM
plete list of these farms. A list of
railroads carrying milk is obtained,
and then from these roads the names
of the towns in the vicinity of which
dairy farms are located; direct route
is made out and the inspector must
visit each farm at least once month
These visits must not occur at any
stated times, for the inspector must
view conditions in all the confusion
of real work, and although it is diff
cult to slick up" dairy house in an
hour or two, still some of the farmers
are particularly capable in present
ing the best side of poorly conduct
ed dairy.
This Inspector must understand the
examination of cattle. If he finds a
tubercular COW among the herd, the
milk from this farm is not permitted
to enter the city until the COW has
been killed. The farmers license
may be revoked, as the jurisdiction
of the Board of Health does not ex-
tend to another State. If the inspec-
tor finds that the animals are fed
either on distillery waste or garbage
the milk is stopped at the New York
wholesale house. IF the drainage oi
the dairy house is in an unsanitary
condition, or the water supply at all
stinted, a report is made and milk
barred from the New York market
until conditions are set right. A
short supply of water would mean
unclean cans. Every can is washed
three times before it is reflled. Once,
before it is returned to the dairy from
New York. This is but a rough
washing; on the farm it is scaldec
with solution of lye, then with soda
and water; as a result every can i:
thoroughly clean.
! There IS a terry boat running De-
tween New York and Jersey called
the milky Way This boat car
ries milk from the receiving station
One Of the most unique raids evel
made occurs when the milk inspec
tors descend upon this boat. Thi'
occurs early in the morning, Ions
before the city is astir.
The tops of all cans are wired dowi
before leaving the dairy farm on th'
boat they should still be sealed. ant
when the raiders descend with thei
milk testers the milk should be il
almost perfect condition. Off COM
the tops of the cans, and in go tn
testers. If the milk does not com
A. 49, 4aef ~ Is Cox,orc ore 10oc