Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-08
-RAsHINGTONIANs require the

RRR 1ASHINGTONIANS require the
W. services each, day Of more
NAk than seventeen thousand
w cows in order to secure the
supply of milk sufficient to
their needs. All told. it is estimated that
about seventy-six thousand quarts. or
nineteen thousand gallons. Of milk is
consumed daily. That represents a little
less than half a pint per person In the
National Capital. There are approx
matefy eleven hundred dairy farms. on
which the cows are raised.
Maryland and Virginia to a great ex-
tent. furnish the District with it's milk, of
which about two-thirds comes in on the
steam and electric roads. and the re-
naming third in wagons from nearby
dairies. In Maryland and Virginia alone
there are about fifteen thousand cows
which supply milk for this city Less than
eight hundred COWS are In the District
proper. while New York and Pennsylvania
are the other sources of supply, the
former furnishing considerable cream.
The majority of the milk consumed here
comes from within a radius of fifty-five
miles. the bulk coming from Loudoun and
Fairfax counties in Virginia and Mont
gomery and Frederick counties in Mary
land 1t Is for the cream that New York
and Philadelphia are called upon.
Washington's milk supply and the
method by which 1t is received is an in
teresting bit of local history. At the
Union station is a platform. called the
milk platform. at which no other work
il done than that of unloading the milk
cans In the morning and loading the
farms. The bulk of washingtons milk is
received between and S:45 in the morn
ing. One full car. however, arrives here
about $50 each evening.
OF the milk which comes to Washing
ton over steam roads the majority comes
in large quantities, requiring a whole car.
About three Of these come each day, with
the remainder of the supply taking its
place as regular baggage In the baggage
car. In tine cars which carry nothing but
milk special arrangements are made. but
in only one instance is any attempt made
at refrigeration
In the early hours of the morning, gen.
orally before sunrise, the trains carrying
the milk cars make their regular stops
at the milk stations. In the case of one
road these stops number twenty. at which
as much as 5000 gallons of milk are
sometimes taken aboard. The dairymen
who meet these trains know just when
to expect them, and the big cans are all
ready to carry on the minute the train
has come to a standstill. In the same
way the milkmen here know just when
the train arrives. and are waiting with
their delivery wagons at the platform In
some cases the milk is prepared at the
farm ready for delivery to customers, and
all that Is necessary Is to take 1t from
the train to delivery wagons. On another
road there are about thirty-eight stops at
which milk is taken on. the farthest of
which Is ninety-two miles away. OF all
the stations at which milk is taken
aboard the most important are German
town, Boyds and Frederick In Maryland
and Herndon and Purceliville In Virginia
Milk Is shipped to Washington in five,
seven and eight-gallon cans, these being
the ordinary milk cans used for holding
quantities of milk. Freight rates on milk
vary from 2 to cents a gallon. accord
ing to the distance 1t has to come. For
the most part Washington's milk comes
within the two-and-a-half-cent limit, con-
sequentiy making the average freight a
little over half a cent a quart. On the
electric roads the rate ranges from " to
IL cents gallon. The method by which
the freight Is paid Is by tickets attached
to the cans.
OF the farmers who produce milk for the
District 1t is interesting to note that only
four nave nerds exceeding 100 cows. The