The Washington times., 1923-03-13
DAIRY men
ENDORSE:
Plan
Survey BY Bureau Of Standards
Reveals Many Short
Quart Bottles.
By GEORGE FRANKLIN.

Adoption By diaries Of q stand
ard milk bottle and uniform
State laws governing its use is
aimed at by the Bureau Of Stand
ards, which has Just completed,
through the Weights and Meas
ures Department, an exhaustive
survey Of the milk containers
used in the distribution Of milk
By dealers in New York, Chicago,
Philadelphia, and Washington.
Many Quart Bottles Short.
Results Of the survey show that
Tiers may be an approximate short
are of . drahm and a half Of milk
in many Of the quart bottles in use
by distributors. This is due to the
1act that while the bottle filled to
the cap.seat u full quart con.
tanner. trade experience has proved
that ft Is unsafe and unsanitary to
load the bottle TO that point.
The prevailing practice is to leave
space OF 8 quarter OF an inch be-
tween the surface OF the milk and
tI,at Of The paper CAP closing the bot
tie. This free space II required, bot
Of the milk under varying atmos.
pheric conditions. Bureau represen-
tatlyes were loath today to assert
the shortage was the result Of q
disposition to be dishonest, being In
clined to accept the explanation Of
datrymen that experience had dem
Onatrated the practice to be In the
interest OF the public rather than in
that Of the milk distributors.
Tests conducted in Washington
showed that the product OF twelve
local milk bottlers average short
age equivalent to drahm and q
half to the quart. In discussing the
efforts to secure the adoption OF d
standard milk bottle and uniform
State laws governing it, use, r. s..
HOlbrook, head of the Weights and
Measures Department, said:
= with the several kinds OF milk
bottles furnished BY the bottle max.
ers 1t IL impossible to standardfze
milk containers or 10 secure uniform
Stale laws governing the 1istfibti-
ton Df milk.
Three Different Types. III.
AT 4 recent conference attended
by Representatives of the bottle
makers held here ft developed that
ct present they are making three
distinctive types OF milk bottles.
each prescribed by the laws OF
some State.
first comes the container, which
must be FULL that il, filled to the
very cap, to contain the specified
quantity of milk bought by the
consumer. Then there il the bottle
which may be filled to within an
eighth OF an inch OF the cap, and
the third which allows a. quarter
inch space between the milk sur
face and the cap.
Our plan Il to have the bot
tiers make a standard bottle, which
we recommend should allow a
quarter inch space between the
milk and the cap. and then secure
9 uniformity Of State laws govern
ing It's use.
THE FUR bottle is the least de-
girable of all. When the milk
e6mes in contact with the paper
cap no allowance is made for ex-
pansiOn of the fluid. with the result
that the cap is constantly in dan
ger Of being forced out OF the bot
tie. Then when it comes to -un-
Gaping it the act tends to force
the milk out over the cap before
the latter can be removed, only to
drain hack into the bottle, carrying
with 1t any germs picked UP on
the outside Of the cap. In that
way the entire contents of the
bottle may become infected.
Experiments we made indicated
that the bottle diversified to allow a
quarter-inch space between the milk
and the cap is the ideal container,
and we are now exerting our efforts
to secure its adoption by bottle
makers"
6tandardizing Of milk containers,
however, is not the only phase OF
the problem to be solved to insure
consumers of receiving full measure,
according to department heads.
That the bottle makers will indorse
q regulation relieving them from
making several types Of milk bottles
presumably having the same content
capacity was learned at a conference
Hheld last week by the department
and attended by representatives Of
the farmer. According to state