The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-03-15

both mean a greater or less outlay OF
money, albeit a Just and Legitimate
one, and as Ia result the dniryman OF.
ter overcomes these lapses OF duty by
adding some substance which is very.
inexpensive and at the same; time will
prevent souring. Perhaps the com:
monest substance added Is formalde.
hyde. a very powerful and irritating
di~sinfectant, actively poison. 1t Is nee
essary TO add this chemical In only
very small quantities and SO it is OF.
ten argued that It exists In the milk
In such minute quantities as to be
harmless. No scientific foundation can
be found for this defense. It Is harm.
full In any quantity when taken into
the %alimentary tract OF man. 1t Is to
be admitted that seldom are any harm.
full effects, noticeable, but they exist
nevertheless. Especially Is this true
In the case Of infants who r eNlnfor.
tunately so often OF dire necessity
brought up on cows milk. In such
cases there is the greatest danger
from this practice. Other common
substances Used for the same purpose
are saltcylic acid, sodium benzoate,
and sodium borate. What has been
said OF formaldehyde applies also to
these. That this practice Of adultera,
tion has been In vogue In this city. In
the past cannot be denied. These pre-
servatives have been demonstrated
chemically and their presence leglti-
mately Inferred In many other instance
es. When a bottle Of milk allowed
to stand In the sun all day does not
sour one Is forced to the conclusion
that some germiclde has been pre-
viously added to the milk. Numerous
instances Of this kind have been re-
reported 10 the Health Officer In the
past year.
That a certain number Of bacteria
are inevitable present in all milk,
from a practical standpoint, must be
conceded. That In reasonable numbers
they do no harm Is also true. But to
fulfil each Of these conditions they
should be numbered by thousands and
not by millions. That they can be
kept within reasonable bounds by the
observance of even moderate cleanll-
ness and care. has been repeatedly
demonstrated where milk inspection Is
In practice. The city Of Wheeling
has a limit OF s 5000 bacteria per cubic
centimetre. This is avery low limit.
although the layman It would seem
that this number was excessive, re-
membering that cubic centimetre Is
only the fourth part Of tablespoonful.
In some cities before inspection the
number has been found to average
20 millions and over. In practice It
Is found that conditions necessarySto
keep the number down to, $4,000 Will
also keepTthe number down to very
many; fewer than this number. It
means only cleanliness in every de.
tail. Who Of US would not insist on
reasonable cleanliness In the products
ion and handling Of the other articles
which come on ouritable? Especially
articles that are not cooked. for cook
Ing destroys the germs. That such
common cleanliness is not always oh:
served in the production Of milk, 9th.
er places as well as in Fairmont. may
be inferred from the following quota.
tlon:
1.-THE day has gone by when a pretty
milkmaid went, in clean. white apron
AMI with shining milk pail. to milk
the COW with the crumpled horn out
among the buttercups Of a dewy morn
Ing. Instead, some old fellow stumb-
les out Of the house and to the barn.
with the stump2of a clay Pipe In his
mouth. and wearing overalls and
boots saturated and covered, with
the Nth acquired by a winters use.
When he reaches the barn he selects
some r%ecunbent COW, kicks her until
she stands up. dripping and Shiny, and
as he Is a little late and the milk will
have hardly time to cool before the
man who carries It to the city will
come along. he does not stop to clean
up behind the COW, but sitting down
on a stool, proceeds to gather the milk
and whatever else may tall into a uail
which perhaps is clean and perhaps
not. OF such refinement as washing
the udder Of the COW or wipIng her