The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-17
FAST TRAVEL FOR
 AB|G C|TY'S MILK The Milk Cans Are Treated @ As Passengers GO 40 MILES AN HOUR New York Keeps Very Close Watch on Milk Supply and Sends Agents Direct To the
 Farms

| New York, February 16.-(Special.)-- New York city district consumes 1884, 900 quarts of milk and cream every day. This is about 100000 quarts day more than last year, and since the average daily per capita consumption is reck- oned at a third of a quart this indicates an annual growth of 300, 900 in the pop ulation of the metropolitan district
 which territory includes Newark, Pater- son, Jersey City, Yonkers and the near CT suburbs, in addition to New York | city itself.
 | Probably few persons not directly
 concerned realize what big problem
 the rapid transportation of milk is for
 the railroads. Milk cans are not frieght they are passengers. They travel in
 cars that are classed as passenger | equipment and they move on a pas senger train schedule. For there's no | time to waste. The board of health sees | to it that the milk is pure and fresh when 1t is sold in the city. and it can't be pure and fresh unless the railroads ! do their part of the job with speed and unfailine regularity.
 | An illustration of the growing con-
 sumption was afforded recently when
 the Lehigh Valley railroad ordered 15
 new milk cars, all with steel under frames. Older cars are not to be with | drawn from service when the order is
 filled--the new ones simply represent
 additional facilities. Each one of the IS
 cars will have net loading capacity
 of 72,000 pounds (about 12,000 quarts | tdae. h,,r, ,1ra far
 pounds of ice.
 | In the nighttime the milk trains roll
 into New York, Jersey City and Hobo
 ken. They come from all directions
 some from New England, others from
 up the Hudson valley, others still from
 Pennsylvania and the central and west ern parts of New York state. The work of unloading them, and reloading them
 with empty cans is done in the space
 of three or four hours. Then the cars
 start back to the dairy regions again,
 and the same performance Is repeated every day in the year The farmer who milks his COW far up in the Finger
 Lakes" section of New York state, 300
 miles away. knows to a certainty that | the contents of his pail Will reach the | city before midnight. | No city in the world keeps closer
 watch on its milk supply than New York. | The board of health Is in direct charge | of this function of the city government.
 It does not limit itself to sampling the ! milk sold In the city--its agents go di- | rect to the farms. There they make | careful inspections of the cows, the barns | and the details of management, If any | thing is wrong the board of health can
 simply put the ban on the offending farm. | No milk produced there can be accepted | by the milk-selling companies for trans | portation into New York city.
 l The inspection is no empty form,
 either Inefficiency may escape notice l in some departments of the city govern
 ment, but the pressure of public opinion | is steady and powerful on the guardians | of the city's health. If there is any de-
 terioration in the milk supply it will be | discovered very quickly. So the board | of health's agents are always on the | alert They are constantly sending in
 reports on the dairy farms, urging cer- | tain improvements, or perhaps recom- mending that the milk of some recalcf-
 rant farmers be refused at the shipping station If the conditions complained of
 are not serious. few days of grace, in | which to mend his fences" may be
 allowed to the offender.
 l Here the railroad company can be of
 great value, both to the milk producer and the consuming public in teaching | the farmers how to take care of their herds. Through it's agriculturist the Le-
 high Valley railroad reaches all the dairies in its territory, and the agricul- l turist's bulletins, dealing with dairy prac- | tice. supplement his personal visits The l company's milk agent. too. makes fre- | ouent tours, visiting the dairymen and l discussing with them ways and means l of improving conditions.