The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1916-05-11
The Milk Is All
From Healthy
Cows, Tuber-
CulOr Tested
and Produced
Under the
Latest Sanitary
Conditions.

Now that Pierce county dairy
men are about to ask for new
milk ordinance, an article in a
current number of the Country
Gentleman by G. f. Story will be
of timely interest.
In reference to milk that is
within the law, he writes:
What would you do if you
owned herd of COWS that, al
though fed with care and man
aged according to good dairy
practice, yielded milk so low in
fat and solids that you we're liable
to arrest if you retailed it. on the
ground that 1t was adulterated?
This question is continually being
asked, and it's answer involves
several points. Is 1t fair to make
ruling that will exclude unadul-
terated milk from the market?
1t would seem that this point has
been ruled upon when We con-
slider the federal law which linn
it's the moisture that can be sold
in butter.
THE ideal way to handle the
question would be to have a slid
ing scale of prices based upon the
fat and solids content of the milk,
together with premium for
cleanliness. This plan would be
difficult to enforce in many
places, and would doubtless meet
with more or less opposition.
'oFr the present it seems en-
tirely right and proper to have a
standard fixing the minimum sol
ids content of milk. Without such
standard we should place pre-
MUM upon thin milk, for as a
rule it costs less to produce milk
of low solids content than to pro-
duce the richer milk. IL may be
that the present standard is UNI
balanced and should be revised to
meet present-day conditions, but
hthat does not affect the necessity
for standard
What effect does feeding have
upon the solids content of milk?
Ii has been shown conclusively
that feeding has, at most, II very
temporary effect upon me COM
! position of milk. This fact would
forestall any attempt to vary the
milk solids by large or small
amounts of protein in the ration.
What effect does the addition
of cream or the rejection of the
fore milk have upon the solids
/ reading? The first effect would
be SO to raise the cost of the
milk as to render its sale un-
profitable; also its composition
would be unbalanced, and while
the fat could easily be brought up
to the standard thesolids not fat
would not necessarily follow.
What, then, is left for us to do if
we would keep within the law
and still give oy lnwhat is re-
CURED?
"A combination of breeds is
the easiest solution of thesS
problems. 1t is possible to Sc
cure individuals of the same
breed which will combine to give
desired results, but the task is
much simpler IL we use a COM
bination of two or more breeds.
Many milkmen who guarantee
milk of a certain standard from
a single herd have a definite
proportion of their herd from the
different breeds. This furnishes
milk of proper quality, but has
the disadvantage of reducing the
value of the herd from a breeding
standpoint. 1t would require a
large farm to support a bull OF
eahc breed, and If this were not
done surplus stock would have
little value.
"One may easily test proposed
additions to the herd by means
of a Babcock tester and lacto-
meter and determine he solids
content of the milk.
Coffee merchants have blend.
ed their wares for years to bring
out certain qualities. Ia 1t not
feasible to use the same princi.
Piles to overcome our present diff.
r; nultiao with million