Compliments or the Author 
THE MILK-SUPPLY OF CITIES: 
CAN IT BE IMPROVED? 
-MARCY The JTIlk-Supplj off Cities: 
Can it be Improved? 
Presented to the Section on State Medicine, at the Forty-ninth Annual 
Meeting of the American Medical Association, held 
at Denver, Colo., June 7-10, 1898. 
HENRY O. MARCY, A.M., M.D., LL.D. 
BOSTON, MASS. 
Surgeon to the Cambridge Hospital for Women; late President of the 
American Medical Association; President of the Section on Gynse- 
cology, Ninth International Medical Congress; late President of 
the American Academy of Medicine; Member of the British 
Medical Association; Member of the Massachusetts Medi- 
cal Society; Member of the Boston Gynaecological 
Society; Corresponding Member of the Medico- 
Chirurgical Society of Bologna, Italy; 
late Surgeon U. S. A., etc. 
REPRINTED FROM THE 
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDIGA-hASSGC.MTWN~ 
DECEMBER 10, 1898. 
American Medical Association Press. 
CHICAGO: | 
1808. THE MILK-SUPPLY OF CITIES: CAN IT 
BE IMPROVED? 
Sanitation has made rapid strides in the protection 
of the public from a great variety of dangers, and 
more and more each year are emphasized the interde- 
pendence and correlation of the entire body politic. 
This is especially true in urban life, and many of the 
relations which were thought to be purely personal 
and individualistic are now accepted as common, and 
are to be most satisfactorily dealt with under general 
supervision and control. The development of the 
water-supply and sewerage of cities is an illustration 
of common needs, more and more demanding a union 
of public interests, supervised by men of the highest 
talent, specially trained for this service. 
Modern science has pointed out many dangers to 
which the individual is exposed, and it is with special 
satisfaction that we refer to the labors of this genera- 
tion in having defined the causation and limitation of 
a large class of the diseases to which the human race 
is liable. 
Ever present—from birth to death—is the daily 
need of supplying the wmnts of the system with ma- 
terials from which the vital economy extracts the pro- 
ducts necessary to repair the waste and rebuild the 
organism. During the first year of life this is fur- 
nished almost exclusively by the maternal milk, or 
that from animals, and nearly every individual incor- 
porates milk daily into his supply of food. 
In nursing, this complex animal product is con- 
veyed directly, without contamination, into the stomach, 
and therefore becomes easy of digestion and assim- 4 
ilation. We have learned to know that milk is an ex- 
cellent culture-medium for certain forms of bacteria, 
and that, because of these and other contaminations, 
it rapidly undergoes changes which are deleterious to 
the animal organism, and may be the means of diffus- 
ing disease in a variety of forms. In a very brief 
period after its production it becomes entirely unfit 
for food. 
It is generally accepted that by far the larger single 
cause of mortality during the first year of life is owing 
to improper feeding—“ bottle-fed infants.” Dr. S. 
W. Abbott, Secretary of the State Board of Health of 
Massachusetts, in a recent paper entitled “The Sav- 
ing of Children,” says: “1 have carefully examined 
the list of diseases in which an increased death-rate 
has occurred in Massachusetts, and have no hesita- 
tion in stating that boards of health in our large cities 
will find a fruitful field of work in the study of the 
question of infant mortality, its causes and the pre- 
vention of its excessive prevalence. Another reason 
for encouragement in this special direction is the fact 
that many lives saved in infancy are saved for a long 
and useful life, and are in fact so much added wealth 
to the community at large.” 
Dr. Sohlossman says: “The death of every child 
constitutes a definite loss of national wealth, On 
the other hand, energy expended in saving the lives 
of the aged from the inroads of disease at the later 
periods of life only saves this class at a period when 
they are most likely to be a burden to the commu- 
nity.” 
Dr. Abbott quotes statistics to show that the death- 
rate of children under one year of age, per one thous- 
and births, in Ireland from 1884-1888, was only 94, 
which is the lowest figure in foreign countries. In 
England it was 144, in France 165, in Massachusetts 
varying from 150 to over 200, and in the large cities 
often exceeding this latter percentage. It is generally 
conceded that this abnormally high percentage of 
death-rate is largely due to improper feeding. How shall this, perhaps the most important of all 
our food supplies, be economically and safely fur- 
nished the public? is the subject to which I invite 
your attention and in its solution solicit your earnest 
co-operation. Manifestly, the first subdivision of the 
subject will be the source of the product—the ani- 
mal furnishing the milk, Since man has almost ex- 
clusively selected the cow for this purpose, we will 
limit our inquiry to this animal. The improvement 
of the breeds of cattle is manifestly important, although 
the time at my disposal will not permit the discussion 
of this branch of the subject. It must be accepted 
that the animal furnishing the milk should be main- 
tained in a state of health. This necessitates a proper 
feeding, healthy surroundings, a good water-supply, a 
certain amount of daily exercise out of doors, and pro- 
tection from exposure and cold. It might be assumed 
that the interest which the owner of a dairy has in his 
herd, from an economic standpoint, would be a satis- 
factory guarantee in the securing of the public pro- 
tection. Unfortunately, however, this is not true, and 
from a narrowly selfish standpoint the owner of the 
cow oftentimes considers her only as a machine from 
which to realize the largest possible product. Since 
this is estimated and sold as quantity rather than 
quality, the attention is often directed to the supply- 
ing of food products, accepted by the owners to be in 
a certain degree deleterious to the health of the ani- 
mal, but recognized as stimulating to the milk secre- 
tion, as well as not seldom cheapening the keeping 
expense of the animal. Articles generally known as 
more especially damaging are the distillery products 
and certain imperfect forms of ensilage, more or less 
universally contaminated by various fungoid growths 
known as moulds, etc. 
The owner’s self-interest is also oftentimes, if not 
commonly, brought into collision with the public 
good in the employment of too little and a low grade 
of service in the care of the animals. This is at 
present very generally recognized in careless and 6 
dirty methods of milking, especially during the 
period of housing made necessary by northern winters. 
The filth incorporated in the milk by the ordinary 
methods of stable-milking is a source of serious dam- 
age to the product, and if observed by the average 
consumer would be stigmatized as digustingly filthy. 
These interests of the milk-producer, resulting from 
ignorance, carelessness and worse, so plainly conflict 
with those of the consumer, that the public has a 
right to demand that all the sources of milk-supply 
production shall be constantly kept under public 
inspection and control, viz., that a healthy animal 
furnishes a clean and healthy product for public 
consumption. 
The second subdivision of the subject is: Having 
a good product furnished by the dairy, how can it 
most safely and economically be distributed to the 
consumer? By general consensus of opinion the 
clean milk should be cooled as rapidly as possible, 
since bacterial decomposition goes on slowly at low 
temperatures, and immediately put up in sterile 
receptacles. Since tin is in common use, boiling 
water and steam furnish safe and economic methods. 
When glass is selected, and for many reasons it is 
much to be preferred, after washing, sterilization is 
easily effected by dry heat. Once put up for the 
public use, the product should be exposed as little as 
possible in reaching the consumer. This is the great 
objection to the large can. 
Some years since, 'as chairman of a committee hav- 
ing public inspection of the milk-supply of the city 
of Boston, we found the greatest contamination re- 
sulted from the dirty methods practiced by small 
dealers, in recanning in a filthy stable in pints and 
quarts for family use. This was often labeled as one 
cow’s milk, and especially recommended for the use 
of children. The cheap corner grocery is another 
source of milk defilement, which oftentimes is kept 
in dirty surroundings, even living rooms, and sold in 
small quantities for the use of neighbors. 7 
Until within a comparatively brief period milk- 
inspection, although demanded by law, has been a 
perfunctory and superficial affair. It was deemed of 
chief importance to prevent dilution and the incor- 
poration of foreign substances. Dilution with pure 
water may be the least damaging to the consumer, 
although he does not obtain the full value of his pur- 
chase money, while the addition of coloring matter 
to give the milk a rich, creamy appearance, is not 
especially injurious. 
The real dangers with which the public has to con- 
tend lie in the contaminations already referred to. 
Besides these there is the lack of economy necessi- 
tated by the rapid distribution of a product which 
deteriorates every hour after its production so rapidly 
that by the third day it becomes a waste product. 
We admit that the problem is by no means easy of 
solution, and that in the aggregate it is of enormous 
magnitude; and yet modern science seems to be 
extraordinarily lacking in furnishing better means 
for supplying a universal want. Other food products 
are cared for much more satisfactorily, so that the 
consumer has his table supplied economically and 
safely from the markets of the world. We cease to 
marvel at the fresh salmon daily distributed, which 
comes to us in good condition from Alaska. We find 
poultry of the autumn, fattened upon the western 
cornfields, in good preservation during the months 
that follow; even the mutton from New South Wales 
vieing in the English market in quality with the 
Southdowns of the previous day’s killing, which has, 
for its chief rival, Chicago beef, noted for its excel- 
lence in the great centers of both continents. Cer- 
tain cheese and butter products have wide reputation, 
and deservedly so, because they are prepared from 
healthy dairies in the pure air of high Alpine fields. 
The last few years have seen a revolution in the man- 
ufacture of butter and cheese from milk brought to 
a common center from a large surrounding district. 
The products are so manifestly superior that they 8 
bring higher prices in the open markets. These may 
be called concentrates of milk, and, because of their 
minimizing in bulk and keeping properties, are easily 
transported long distances to the great centers of con- 
sumption. This should pertain equally to the milk- 
supply, and in the abstract is a problem of compara- 
tively easy solution. 
In this paper I purposely avoid even touching upon 
the important questions of milk composition and the 
testings of its value, since in a general way, these are 
not only well understood by the medical profession, 
but also by the body politic. Sufficient for our pres- 
ent purpose has been the reference already made to 
the constant contamination to which milk is subject, 
from the moment of its production until its consump- 
tion. It is a well-known scientific fact that aseptically 
withdrawn from the healthy udder into an aseptic re- 
ceptacle, and sealed at once without exposure, milk 
remains indefinitely in a state of preservation. By 
the present means employed for its abstraction from 
the animal, protection from contamination is impossi- 
ble, although to me it seems evidently feasible that 
machines for milking could be adopted, which, in 
very large degree at least, would be preventive of this 
source of infection. Once having occurred, however, 
some means must be taken for its disinfection. This 
may be said to be readily done by boiling, but heat 
thus applied not alone changes the taste of the prod- 
uct, but also its composition, both the fat and casein 
being affected by it, and rendered far less nutritious 
and digestible. Heated to a lower temperature, about 
170 degrees F—so-called Pasteurization—the cream 
and caseous products are less changed and the larger 
portion of the bacteria destroyed. This gives a safer 
milk and is much more economic in consumption, be- 
cause it will keep much longer without spoiling. 
Milk concentrates, the larger portion of the water 
having been extracted and condensed by evaporation 
in vacuo, until a semi-solid is the resultant, have long 
been familiar to all. They have their advantages and 9 
are considered under certain conditions well nigh in- 
dispensable articles of food. Their use, however, is 
comparatively exceptional, because of undesirable 
changes resulting from the application of heat. By 
the abstraction of the -water from milk, its bulk is les- 
sened about 87 per cent. If removed without change 
of the solids, the addition of this amount of water 
would again give fresh normal milk. Removal by 
processes that would destroy deleterious contamina- 
tion occurring in its production would render the 
product as permanent as that of butter and cheese, 
and as easy of transportation. The economic result- 
ant would diminish the cost to the consumer about 
one-third, and give an article of food of far greater 
value and safety. How can it be effected? 
I am indebted to my friend, William T. Sedgwick, 
professor of biology in the Institute of Technology, 
Boston, for much valuable information upon the 
subject of milk contamination, and the State of 
Massachusetts may well consider itself fortunate in 
the services which he has already rendered, in secur- 
ing a better milk-supply. His publications upon the 
subject are more or less known to the medical profes- 
sion. From a large series of bacteriologic investiga- 
tions the following deductions are drawn: 
Normal country milk produced by clean, healthy animals, 
drawn by hand with great care into sterilized bottles and 
planted quickly, yielded as an average of several trials 530 
bacteria per cubic centimeter—the cubic centimeter roughly 
estimated as equal to a cube one third of an inch, or to a small 
thimbleful. When, however, the milkman used the ordinary 
milk-pail of flaring form, seated himself with more or less dis- 
turbance of the bedding, and vigorously shook the udder over 
the pail during the usual process of milking, we found that 
the numbers were very much higher, namely, an average of 
30,500 per cubic centimeter, at the end of milking. When 
such milk is found upon the tables of country families a few 
hours later, it naturally shows still more bacteria, doubtless, 
because those with which it was seeded have had time to mul- 
tiply. The average of fifteen such samples from the tables of 
families in Jamaica Plain, Cambridge and Auburndale, was 
69,143 per cubic centimeter. In these cases, moreover, the 
conditions of the cows and of the stables were exceptionally 10 
good, while the milkmen were much more than ordinarily clean 
and careful. 
It follows from these results that there are two principal 
sources of the bacteria in the milk, viz., contamination during 
the act of milking, and the natural multiplication of the bacte- 
ria thus introduced during the interval between milking and 
the consumption of the milk. The result of these investiga- 
tions was to show that even under the most favorable condi- 
tions cow’s milk, as ordinarily drawn becomes, almost neces- 
sarily, infected with hosts of putrefactive bacteria at the very 
outset. Under worse conditions, with unclean stables and 
dirty milkmen, to say nothing of half-cleaned pails and cans, it 
is easy to understand why milk swarms with bacteria; and, if 
we allow time also, the wonder is, not that it contains so many 
germs, but rather that it is still potable at all. 
When we reflect upon the indescribably filthy condition of 
many cow stables; upon the fact that the cow’s udders and 
flanks are not infrequently covered with flaking excrement; 
upon the quality of the men employed to do the milking, etc., 
etc., it becomes a simple matter to understand how this rich 
animal fluid—sterile at the start, but drawn by unclean hands 
into half-cleaned pails, and meantime sprinkled from above by 
the dust of the stable, by hairs, dandruff, dirt, and particles of 
excrement from the skin and udder of the cow, vigorously 
shaken by the milker or brushed by his hat—becomes infected 
with organisms. That these multiply swiftly and enormously 
in the warm and rich fluid, well aerated by the act of milking, 
is also a natural consequence of favorable conditions. 
Of fifty-seven samples taken directly from the milk wagons 
and planted at once, the average number of bacteria were 
2,355,500 per cubic centimeter. In sixteen samples taken from 
groceries, usually older milk than that found in the wagons, 
the average number of bacteria was 4,577,000 per cubic centi- 
meter. Two samples collected from well-to do families upon 
the Back Bay showed an average of 1,488,000 per cubic centi- 
meter. Forty-five samples of so-called “railroad” milk, that is 
produced at a distance from the city and shipped by rail, under 
favorable conditions even upon its arrival, contained an aver- 
age of more than 500,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter. 
Mr. S. 0. Keith, of Boston, a graduate of the insti- 
tute of technology, who has for two years devoted 
himself to the special study of milk products and their 
contamination, recently gave a most interesting lec- 
ture before the Boston Society of Arts upon this sub- 
ject. He stated that he had made experimental bac- 
iteriologic studies during the last summer upon the 
milk from ninety-seven dairies, examined soon after 11 
its arrival in Boston. Twelve per cent, contained less 
than 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter; 51 per 
cent, from 100,000 to 1,000,000; 25 per cent, from 
1.000. to 5,000,000; and 12 per cent, over 5,000,000. 
Professor Sedgwick quotes the investigations of 
Professor Renk of Halle, who found that the public 
milk-supply of that city varied from 6,000,000 to 
30.000. per cubic centimeter, and he remarks by 
way of comparison that the sewage of American cities 
seldom contains, on the average, more than 1,000,000 
bacteria per cubic centimeter. 
Professor Sedgwick has not been willing to treat 
the subject from simply the standpoint of abstract 
science, and at the October quarterly meeting of the 
Massachusetts Boards of Health in 1897, and pub- 
lished in the Journal, will be found the following 
rules, suggested by a committee of which Dr. Sedg- 
wick wTas chairman, for adoption by Boards of Health 
of the State for the protection of milk supplies from 
pollution: 
ARTICLE I. 
Section 1. All persons engaged in the production of milk for 
sale, or in the sale, delivery, or distribution of milk in the city 
or town of . . . shall annually, on or before May 1, make 
written application, on forms prescribed by the Board, for a 
permit or license. 
Sec. 2. No person shall engage in the business of producing 
milk for sale, or in the sale and distribution of milk, in the city 
or town of . . . after April 30, 189-, without a permit or 
license to do so signed by said Board of Health, and under 
such conditions as said Board of Health may impose, revocable 
at the pleasure of said Board. 
Sec. 3. The conditions under which every cow is kept, whose 
milk is brought into any city or town, or kept, delivered, dis- 
tributed, sold, or offered for sale, in such city or town, shall be 
made known to the local Board of Health in such detail as the 
Board may require, and shall be approved thereby; and no 
milk except that delivered from such cows shall be brought, 
kept, delivered, distributed, sold, or offered for sale. 
Sec. 4. No milk shall be sold, offered for sale, or distributed 
in any city or town, unless the cows from which it is delivered 
have within one year been examined by a competent authority, 
and shown to the satisfaction of the local board of health to be 
free from disease. 12 
Sec. 5. All persons having a permit or license to sell, 
deliver, or distribute milk in any city or town, shall keep a 
copy of the same constantly posted in a conspicuous place on 
premises and vehicles from which milk is sold or distributed 
or in which milk is kept or delivered. 
ARTICLE 11. 
Section 1. No milk shall be kept for sale or distribution, or 
handled, tranferred from can, or stored in any stable or similar 
place, or any room used in whole or part for domestic or sleep- 
ing purposes. 
Sec. 2. Milk shall be stored or regularly mixed, cooled, or 
poured from can to can only in a room not directly connected 
with a stable or stables, provided with a tight floor and kept 
constantly neat and clean, the walls of the room being of such 
a nature as to allow easy and thorough cleaning. The room 
aforesaid shall contain proper appliances for washing and ster- 
ilizing all utensils actually employed in the storage, sale, and 
distribution of milk in said building, and all such apparatus 
and utensils shall be washed with boiling water or sterilized 
by steam regularly after being used. 
Sec. 3. No animal, water-closet, or privy shall be in the 
aforesaid room or any room directly connected therewith. 
Sec. 4. All milk directly after it is drawn from the cow shall 
be at once taken to, and be at once filtered, cooled, and stored 
in a room such as is described in Article 11, Sections 1 and 2. 
Section 1. Milk kept for sale in any store, shop, market, 
bakery, or other establishment, shall be always kept in a 
covered cooler, box, or refrigerator, properly drained and 
cared for ; and while therein shall be tightly corked or closed, 
and only in such location and under such conditions as shall be 
approved by the local board of health. 
article in. 
article iv. 
Section 1. All cans, bottles, or vessels of any sort used in 
the sale, delivery or distribution of milk to the consumer must 
be cleaned and sterilized by the milk dealer before they are 
again used for the same purpose. 
Section 1. Every person engaged in the production, storage, 
transportation, sale, delivery, or distribution of milk, shall 
immediately on the occurrence of any case or cases of infec- 
tious disease, such as typhoid, scarlet fever, or diphtheria, 
either in himself or in his family, or among his employes or 
within the building or premises where milk is stored, produced, 
sold, or distributed, take care that the local board of health is 
notified of such case or cases, and at the same time suspend 
article v. 13 
the sale or distribution of milk until authorized to resume the 
same by the local board of health. 
Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any person suffering from a 
contagious or infectious disease, such as typhoid, scarlet fever, 
or diphtheria, to handle, transport, deliver, mix, taste, work 
over, or distribute milk, or in and about places where milk is 
stored, sold, or distributed, or to serve as a milker or milkman. 
No vessels which have been handled by persons suffering from 
such diseases shall be used to hold or convey milk. 
A long discussion of these rules was entered into by 
the members of the Massachusetts Boards of Health, 
which resulted in their adoption, and as a fruitage 
thereof, I subjoin the following order issued by the 
Board of Health of the town of Montclair: 
BOARD OP HEALTH. 
AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING THE PRODUCTION OE MILK AND 
REGULATING ITS SALE AND EXPOSURE FOR SALE IN THE TOWN 
OF MONTCLAIR. 
Be it ordained by the Board of Health of the Town of 
Monclair, in the County of Essex, as follows : 
Section 1. Every person, corporation or association of per- 
sons who now is or who hereafter shall be engaged in the sale, 
or exposure for sale of milk within the Town of Montclair, be- 
fore selling or exposing the same for sale, shall furnish the 
Board of Health of the Town of Montclair a true and com- 
plete statement as to the locality from which the milk so sold 
or exposed for sale is produced ; also a full and complete list 
of the names and addresses of persons from whom the said 
milk was purchased, and the names and addresses of all per- 
sons to whom they are regularly selling or delivering milk 
within said town; said lists shall be furnished to the said 
Board on the first days of January, April, July and October 
of each calendar year, and at all other times when requested 
by the said Board. 
Sec. 2. No milk shall be sold or exposed for sale in the 
Town of Montclair except milk from cows stabled under light, 
dry and well ventilated conditions, and in all other respects 
conforming to the requirements hereinafter set forth, viz : 
a. Each cow shall have at least three feet in width of floor 
space when fastened in stanchions, and in all cases where no 
adequate artificial means for ventilation are provided, each 
animal shall have an air space of at least five hundred (500) 
cubic feet. 
b. All stables for shelter of said cattle shall be provided 
with a tight, dry floor. The manure drop shall be water-tight, 
and if constructed of wood shall be asphalted, tarred or other- 
wise made non absorbent. 14 
c. The walls and ceilings of said stables shall be white- 
washed whenever it mav be deemed necessary by this Board of 
Health. 
d. Manure shall not be allowed to accumulate in large 
quantities in stable yards,nor near the buildings where the cattle 
are kept, and when stored temporarily in such places it shall 
be removed at least once per month. The said stable yards 
shall be drained and kept in a clean, dry condition, and no ac- 
cumulation of household garbage, vegetables or other putres- 
cible matter shall be allowed to remain or decay in said stable 
yards. 
e. Cattle shall at all times be kept in a clean condition, and 
udders shall be washed, hand-rubbed or wiped with a clean, 
damp cloth before each milking. 
/. No milk shall be sold or offered for sale or distributed in 
the Town of Montclair, unless the cows from which it is ob- 
tained have, within one year been examined by a competent 
veterinarian, and are free from diseases dangerous to the pub- 
lic health. But this shall not be construed as forbidding the 
sale or use of milk from cows not tested with tuberculin. 
g. No milk shall be sold or offered for sale or distributed in 
the Town of Montclair, obtained from any cow that has calved 
within ten days, or from a cow which will come in or calve 
within sixty days. 
Sec. 3. No milk shall be sold or exposed for sale in the Town 
of Montclair, except milk produced from cattle fed and watered 
under the following conditions : All food given to such cattle 
shall be fresh, sweet and wholesome. The use of either distil- 
lery slops or fermented brewer’s grains is prohibited, and their 
presence on any dairy premises will be considered sufficient 
cause for the exclusion of the milk from such dairy from sale 
or delivery in said town Water supplied to cattle shall be pure 
and free from all contamination by stable or household drain- 
age, and no well or spring in or adjoining any stable yard shall 
be used for watering said cattle. 
Sec. 4. All milkers and other attendants employed in any 
dairy, the milk from which is to be sold or offered for sale or 
delivered in said town, shall be personally clean. Before en- 
tering upon their duties connected with the dairy, hands shall 
be washed, and clothes changed or brushed, and no milk shall 
be delivered or sold or exposed for sale in said town, produced 
from dairies wherein the foregoing regulations are not enforced. 
Sec. 5. Utensils used for the collection and transportation 
of milk shall, before being used, be thoroughly washed with 
pure water and soda or soap, and then sterilized by boiling or 
steaming. 
Sec. 6. Milk which is to be delivered or sold or offered for 
sale in said town shall, immediately upon being drawn from the 
cow be removed from the stable to a room separate and apart 
from the said stable, and immediately cooled by submerging 15 
the vessel in which the milk is contained in cool water to a 
depth equal to that of the said milk in the vessel. The above 
mentioned room shall be properly ventilated and lighted and 
shall be used for no other purpose than that indicated above, 
and shall at all times be kept in a clean condition. 
Sec. 7. The said milk shall be delivered in bottles unless 
permission for delivery in another manner shall be granted by 
said Board. No tickets shall be used in connection with deliv- 
ery of milk. 
Sec. 8. If at any time any person or persons having any 
connection with a dairy from which milk is delivered or sold or 
offered for sale in the Town of Montclair, or any resident mem- 
ber of the family of any person so situated, shall be stricken 
with cholera, smallpox, (including varioloid), diphtheria, mem- 
branous croup, yellow, typhus, typhoid or scarlet fever, meas- 
les or any other communicable disease that may hereafter be 
declared by this Board to be dangerous to the public health, 
notice shall be given to said Board immediately, by th eowner 
or owners of such dairy, and no milk produced from the dairy 
of any corporation, person or association of persons failing to 
give the notice herein required, shall hereafter be sold or ex- 
posed for sale or delivered in the Town of Montclair, until spe- 
cial permission therefor has been granted by said Board. 
Sec. 9. Any person, corporation, or association of persons, 
violating any of the provisions of this ordinance, shall, on con- 
viction thereof, be liable to a penalty of not less than ten nor 
more than one hundred dollars. 
Sec 10. All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent 
with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed. 
Passed March 25, 1898, 
Attest: 
D. D. Duncan, 
President. 
R. P. Francis, Secretary. 
My friend, Dr. J. Cheston Morris of Philadelphia, 
one of the best-known authorities upon the subject of 
milk-supply and distribution, writes me under recent 
date and in reply to the question, Where can milk be 
most satisfactorily produced? “'On a farm where the 
animals can browse contentedly on green grass, near 
running waters, and can find good shelter, plenty 
of hay, corn fodder, corn and cob meal in winter 
warm, well-lighted and aired stables. Keep animals 
clean, dry, well-fed and freely exercised. Stimulate 
them unnaturally and disease may follow. Breed only 
from healthy animals and.avoid unhealthy care-takers. 
My Devon cowts are giving me about five and a half 16 
times their weight in milk per annum, which fur- 
nishes four quarts of cream or four pounds of butter 
from twenty-eight quarts of milk. I think a machine 
that keeps itself in order and produces a new machine 
annually, beside five and half times its own weight, 
without undue urging, a pretty good machine, and I 
am satisfied. Ido not believe we can preserve milk 
as it comes from the cow and with digestibility un- 
diminished for more than thirty-six to forty-eight 
hours.” 
Dr. Morris refers to a very recent discussion having 
taken place in Philadelphia over the best methods of 
handling and distributing milk, resulting in the 
approval by the Board of Health of the glass jar distri- 
bution, well known to have been originally introduced 
by Dr. Morris. The advocates of the large-can pro- 
cess of distribution objected to the glass-can system 
on the ground that contagious disease might be car- 
ried from house to house by imperfectly disinfected 
jars, but Dr. Morris states, ‘T showed that I had car- 
ried on this method of distribution for more than 
twenty years without a single case of such carriage, 
either among customers or at the farm; that for the 
farmer’s own protection, as well as for his profit, abso- 
lute practical disinfection for each jar is indispen- 
sable.” 
It is apparent that a rigid supervision under State 
authority would do much toward the protection of the 
public, by furnishing milk produced by healthy cattle, 
kept reasonably clean, sent to market much cleaner 
and better preserved; in a word, safer for public con- 
sumption. 
As shown by Professor Sedgwick, to a degree at 
least, it is necessarily an infected article and conse- 
quently must undergo decomposition within a limited 
period, that placed by such a distinguished authority 
as Dr. Morris not exceeding forty-eight hours. 
Dr. Morris’ method of requiring each producer to 
put up his milk in pints and quarts in glass jars, with 
the name of the dairy and the date of milking has 17 
manifest advantages. Any defect in the supply or 
cause of disease, as, in illustration, the repeated 
occurrence of typhoid fever (epidemics disseminated 
by the milk-supply) can be easily traced. It also 
stimulates rivalry and fosters a local pride among 
the farmers. It is noteworthy to observe the much 
better keeping quality of milk thus prepared for the 
market. 
Illustrative specimens were shown by Dr. Morris, 
when lecturing upon the subject some time ago in 
Boston, that were perfectly fresh and sweet when the 
jars were opened four days after the milking, although 
subjected to the long journey from Philadelphia. 
On a model farm near Boston the process of milk 
preservation is carried on in the following simple and 
effective manner; Having been milked as cleanly as 
possible, the milk is poured into a receptacle and by 
gravity finds its way through a series of strainers into 
an adjoining apartment having no other connection 
with the stable. Here it is quickly refrigerated and 
put up for market. 
To aid in a cleaner process of milking, a pail has 
been devised called the climax milkpail.” It con- 
sists of an ordinary pail with a tightly fitting cover 
with tw’o openings from which funnels project con- 
siderably above the surface of the cover. The bot- 
tom of these funnels is covered with close-meshed 
wire strainers. By its use much of the dirt which 
ordinarily falls into the pail from the udder is avoided. 
Pure rubber covers of a size to enclose the entire teat 
ending in a rubber tube, to conduct the milk into a 
closely covered pail could be used without much diffi- 
culty after a little practice with them on the part of 
the milker. They would be of the highest service, 
cheap, easily cleaned, and with reasonable care, fur« 
nish an almost absolutely sterile milk. 
Mr. Horlick of Racine, Wis., quite recently de- 
scribed to me a most ingenious device for milking 
cows by a machine, the power of which is furnished 
by an electric motor. It is said in many ways to 18 
work satisfactorily, and by an ingenious combination 
may be applied to the milking of even fifty cows at 
the same time. All these methods are advancements 
in the right direction, to which may be added what, 
in a limited degree, has already been carried into 
effect—the process of sterilization by the application 
of a low grade of heat, Pasteurization, that is, main- 
taining the milk for a considerable period at a tem- 
perature of about 170 degrees F., not high enough to be 
detrimental to the albuminoids. Even if sterilization 
by this method is effected, contamination is sure to 
follow upon subsequent exposure to bacterial infection. 
The secretion of the mammary gland is the product 
of certain epithelial cells. By their transforming 
power they manufacture from the blood a mixture of 
fat, sugar, and salts in a watery solution which we call 
milk. It is in fact strictly an animal food of unstable 
composition and is easily decomposed under the action 
of bacterial development. A pound of very lean beef 
and a quart of milk each contain about the same quan- 
tity of actual nutritious material. The taste which is 
objectionable in sterilized milk may be modified by 
pouring the milk from one receptacle to another, thus 
aerating it. In certain parts of the country Pasteur- 
ized cream has become popular. It is more conveni- 
ently handled and, freed in large measure from bacte- 
ria by the process, will keep for days without souring. 
It is objected to because of its lack of consistency, 
being thinner and less viscous. The Wisconsin Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station, after a careful study of 
the subject, recommends the use of lime dissolved in 
a solution of granulated sugar. This is called “vis- 
cogen,” on account of its viscous producing proper- 
ties, and the treated products are called visco-cream, 
visco-milk, etc. Only one part of viscogen to one 
hundred and fifty parts of cream is required, and the 
small quantity of lime added according to this rule 
only amounts to about four parts in 10,000, which, 
instead of being detrimental to the health, is rather 
beneficial. 19 
In several European cities sand filtration of milk is 
employed at a central depot after its arrival from the 
country. The filters consist of large cylindrical ves- 
sels, divided by horizontal, superposed compartments, 
of which the middle three are filled with fine, clean 
sand, sifted into three sizes, the coarsest being placed 
in the lowest and the finest in the topmost of the 
three compartments. The milk enters the lowest 
compartment through a pipe under gravitation press- 
ure and, after having traversed the layers of sand from 
below upward, is carried by an overflow to a cooler 
fed with ice water, whence it passes into a cistern, 
from which it is directly drawn into locked cans for 
distribution. Milk thus treated is not only free from 
dirt, but the number of bacteria is reduced to about 
one-third. In new milk the loss of fat is said to be 
very slight, but the quantity of mucus and slimy mat- 
ter retained in the sand is surprising. The sand is 
renewed each time the filter is used. 
The live stock interests of our country are so enor- 
mous that it is difficult to form a just appreciation of 
their value. According to the census of 1890, there 
were that year in the United States between fifty-one 
and fifty-two millions of cattle, calves born over six- 
teen and one-half millions, and the total number of 
milch cows were 16,511,950, of an estimated value of 
over $4,000,000,000. The milk-supply for 1889 reached 
the enormous aggregate of 45,210,125,567 gallons, 
worth on the farm over $651,000,000. 
The census of 1890 gives us the latest reliable data, 
but there has been a material increase in the value of 
the milk-supply in excess of the ratio of the increase 
of population. It is only by comparison that such 
enormous amounts can be appreciated. The total 
value of all the mineral and metal products, including 
coal, of 1896 are given as follows: 
Belgium §100,000,000 
France 110,000,000 
Germany 300,000,000 
United Kingdom 340,000,000 
United States 737,958,761 20 
Some years since Mr. Edward Atkinson of Boston 
showed that the hen was a greater producer of mate- 
rial wealth than the gold mines of the country. From 
the above figures we note that the cow, by her milk 
product alone, is a source of wealth not far below that 
of all the mineral products of the United States. 
The butter product for 1889 was 1,024,228,468 pounds 
and the cheese product for the same year was 18,726,- 
818 pounds. The average quantity of milk produced 
for milch cows during the year 1889 was gal- 
lons, and to each individual in the United States for 
the year was 834 gallons, or nearly one quart per day 
for every man, woman and child in the entire country. 
Estimating that six-tenths of the product was canned 
and shipped for distribution, the amount thus dis- 
posed of was 25,008,602,718; analytically 87 per cent, 
is water, and at least 75 per cent, of the water should 
be removed before shipment. The amount of icater 
thus expensively distributed with only attendant loss, 
is so enormous that it can be appreciated only by 
means of c0mpari50n—18,756,452,037 pounds equal 
9,378,226 tons =468,911 car loads each of 20 tons 
=11,725 train loads, each of forty cars =2931 miles 
of continuous trains, reaching nearly from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific Oceans if thus placed to span the 
continent! 
Were it possible to eliminate this enormous 
percentage of waste without damage to the resultant 
product, the gain would be almost beyond compre- 
hension. 
G. W. Goddard of Cambridge gives the following 
figures from New York City Board of Health Report: 
1896, pp. 90, 91. Daily average of cows’ milk and 
condensed milk shipped to New York City; Milk 
828,612 quarts, cream 16,000 quarts, condensed milk 
8600, a total of 853,212 quarts. To give milk equiva- 
lent to the cream add 64,000 quarts. To give milk 
equivalent to the condensed add 19,800 quarts, mak- 
ing a total of milk-supply 937,212 quarts, condensed 
75 per cent, of the whole; 87.7 per cent, of above is 21 
produced in New York State; in New York City 2200, 
in State 1,112,370, in all 1,114,570 cows. Total cost 
at five cents per quart, over $60,000,000 per year. 
The Agricultural Department at Washington has 
just issued one of its bulletins, treating of the milk- 
supply of Boston and other New England cities, and 
prepared by Mr. George M. Whitaker, executive 
officer of the Massachusetts State Dairy Bureau. The 
Greater Boston, namely, within a radius of ten miles 
from the State house, contains a population of one 
million, or eighteen per cent, of the population of 
New England. 
About three-fourths of the supply of milk for this 
section is sent by railroads, the greatest distance for 
direct shipment is 140 miles. For the most part the 
milk is conveyed in cans especially constructed for 
this purpose with refrigerator closets, etc. The milk 
thus supplied is from eighteen to thirty hours old be- 
fore it reaches the consumer. Boston was the pioneer 
city in this country in the transportation of milk by 
railroad. The first man to engage in this business 
was Jason Chamberlain, who began operations sixty 
years ago upon the Boston & Worcester railroad. He 
sold milk at twenty-five cents per can of nine and a 
half quarts. In 1843 there was printed in the New 
England Farmer an article upon the subject. It 
states. “We have learned that one man brings in upon 
the Worcester railroad 200,000 gallons annually. 
This is supposed to be one-tenth of all that is sold in 
the city. This at twenty cents a gallon costs the cit- 
izens $400,000 per year.” Today fully three-quarters 
of the milk supplied to Greater Boston passes through 
the hands of large wholesalers, locally known as con- 
tractors. There is a considerable increase in the con- 
sumption of milk in Boston each year. The total for 
1895 was about 18,000,000 gallons—in 1897 the sup- 
ply had increased nearly 700,000 gallons. Within 
the ten-mile radius there are over 7000 cows. 
Mr. B. F. Mclntyre, of McKesson & Robbins, New 
York, has recently published some interesting articles 22 
upon the condensing of milk by a process of refriger- 
ation when the milk is in agitation. His more recent 
publication is found in the Milk Reporter, January, 
1897. His experimental studies were carried on at 
Cattaraugus, N. Y., under favorable refrigerating con- 
itions. The product met the approval of dealers from 
both the commercial and economic standpoint. His 
process is briefly summarized as follows; 
1. Reducing the bulk of the milk by conversions 
of the water of the milk into ice, instead of vapor or 
steam. 
2. The making of the ice on the surface only of the 
milk, by elevation of the freezing pans in an atmos- 
phere of zero temperature or thereabouts. 
8. Frequent breaking of the surface ice so that 
fresh liquid is presented to a freezing effect, with 
gradual submersion of the broken ice as the bulk of 
ice increases. 
4. Standardization of the product. 
Considerable difficulty was experienced in the se- 
lection of milk free from “ cow-odor.” Milk with a 
perceptible taint of animal odor is unfit for conden- 
sation by cold processes as thereby these odors are 
intensified. The fats are removed by a cream sepa- 
rator which should be set to run heavy cream and 
which should assay not less than fifty per cent, milk 
fat. Running into the separator is of much value in 
freeing the milk from dirt and foreign animal prod- 
ucts. From the separator the fat-free milk was run 
over a bank of horizontal copper pipes through which 
ice water was circulated reducing the temperature of 
the milk from 80 to 35 per cent. F. By this process 
of condensing there is no thickening of or chemic 
change in the albuminoids, such as takes place when 
the milk is reduced by heat in vacuo. A condensa- 
tion of five and one-half gallons to one gallon is re- 
quired to produce a product with the desired consist- 
ency. By this freezing process one hundred gallons 
of skim-milk are reduced to thirteen gallons of very 
thick milk which represent in milk, sugar, caseine 23 
and inorganic salts fully nine gallons of solids. 
Eighty-seven gallons of water in the milk are formed 
into ice. An average sample of the snow-like ice, 
when melted and evaporated to dryness contained 
.2 per cent, of residue. A final step in the pro- 
cess was the admixture of the heavy cream in proper 
proportions with the concentrated fat-free milk. In 
keeping properties the new form of condensed milk is 
superior to whole milk, as the freezing temperature 
at which the milk is held is destructive of some forms 
of germ life common to milk, and the natural life of 
the preparation is prolonged by this partial steriliza- 
tion.” 
I am in receipt of letters from Mr. Mclntyre, of 
recent date, in which he states, that “ unfortunately 
the plant at Cattaraugus has recently been burned,” 
and in reply to my inquiry as to the expense attend- 
ant upon this process of condensation, he states: 
“ The cost of the manufacture of ice per se from milk 
is not so very much greater than making it from 
water. My process could be designated as a method 
to produce ice in crystal form, instead of in solid or 
cake form, and the solids of the milk might be con- 
sidered as a foreign admixture to the water being 
subjected to the freezing effect. I claim, and have 
the judgment of experts, that my process will produce 
as much ice daily from a given weight of coal, as will 
be produced in the ordinary ice-making process. Ice 
made from distilled water is sold in New York in 
midsummer at $2.00 per ton.” 
If the condensation can be carried on by a process 
by which the water of the milk can be extracted at 
any such cost as above estimated, it will at once be 
accepted as of the largest value. It seems feasible 
and merits a careful consideration, as introducing a 
possible new factor of the greatest value in furnish- 
ing economically a daily product of such an indis- 
pensable character as milk. 
The condensation of fluids in vacuo has been 
economically conducted, at a very recent period, at a much lower rate of temperature than was formerly 
deemed possible. I am advised by two New York 
chemists that one of our large manufacturers of malt 
products is successfully carrying out a process with 
the temperature as low as 110 degrees F., in vacuo 
and it is believed not improbable that milk can be 
evaporated to dryness at a temperature of 100 degrees F. 
This temperature would scarcely affect in any way 
the albuminoids and would leave a product unchanged 
except for the abstraction of the water. 
It seems thoroughly feasible to treat milk in large 
quantities by abstracting the great bulk of the water 
through refrigeration, thus practically sterilizing the 
resultant product. This product, treated by evapor- 
ation, either in vacuo at a low temperature or by a 
warm air blast, the heat-point of which is regulated 
so that the resultant product may be in the form of 
granules, cakes, or of a consistency not unlike that of 
butter or cheese, all possessing good keeping quality, 
would, upon the addition to it of the proper percentage 
of water, furnish fresh milk at will. 
In these days of rapid progress the public is accus- 
tomed to accept radical changes, when demonstrated 
for the better, with very little of comment. The 
immense problem which I have thus all too briefly 
outlined, viz., furnishing vastly more economically a 
safe and satisfactory milk-supply is worthy the atten- 
tion of all sanitary scientists. Clearly formulate the 
want and show the manifold advantages resulting 
from better methods, and science at once steps in 
and demonstrates the way for their attainment. This, 
I believe, will early be accomplished. The milk-sup- 
ply of the world will be economically revolutionized, 
to the manifest advantage of every individual. 
A further study of Mr. Mclntire’s processes in- 
creased my interest in the subject until, after a corre- 
spondence of some length, I induced my friend, Mr. 
George M. Goddard of Cambridge, a well known 
expert in the processes of refrigeration, to visit New 
York and carefully examine the method advocated by 25 
Mr. Mclntire. The outcome of this, through Profes- 
sor Sedgwick, has been to secure the active co-opera- 
tion of Mr. Edward Burnett, who has devoted a large 
share of his life to the scientific studies relating to 
agriculture, and especially the better methods of milk 
production and distribution. Mr. Burnett’s large 
milk-plant at Southboro was placed at Mr. Goddard’s 
disposal and the summer occupied in a careful prac- 
tical study of the processes. Samples of the concen- 
trate were distributed for experimental use. Those 
which came under my observation proved in every 
way satisfactory. The oldest specimen examined, 
having been kept thirteen days, was perfectly sweet 
when opened. A careful series of baoteriologic tests, 
by the request of Professor Sedgwick, were under- 
taken by Prof. Gr. M. Holman, of which the following 
tables furnish brief samples: 
Sample. 
Bacteria 
per c.c. 
1 
Whole milk 
267,400 
Numerous liquefiers. 
2 
Skim milk (pan) 
432,600 
3 
First condensation. . . 
394,200 
Odorless plate. 
4 
Second condensation. . 
173,000 
Mouldy cheese odor. 
5 
Third condensation . . 
24,000 
Sweet butter odor; 1100 liquefiers. 
6 
Fourth condensation. . 
19,400 
Sour milk odor; few liquefiers. 
7 
Past’rized cream prod.. 
175,000 
Mouldy odor. 
8 
Raw cream product . . 
2.616,100 
Many moulds. 
9 
Raw cream product . . 
2,759,400 
10 
Pasteurized cream, . . 
0 
Plate covered with moulds (mucus). 
11 
First ice 
6,370 
Some moulds. 
12 
Second ice 
3,444 
Some moulds; badly liquefied. 
13 
Third ice 
1,470 
Many moulds; badly liquefied. 
U 
Fourth ice 
17,000 
15 
Ice from 19 hours’ freeze 
(July 20 21). 
6,035 
Table I.—First Series (Aug. 1,1898.) 
Table II.—Second Series. 
1, Skim milk 
152,400 
2, First condensation 
10,200 
3, Second condensation 
7,700 
4, Third condensation 
6,100 
5, Fourth condensation 
2,000 
6, First ice 
300 
7, Second ice 
185 
8, Third ice 
5,320 
9, Fourth ice 
7,300 
10, Raw cream product 
612,360 
11, Pasteurized cream product .... 
9,200 
12, Pasteurized cream 
11,300 
13, Raw cream 
14,742,000 
14, Borden’s evaporated cream .... 
0 
15, Boston condensed (unsweetened) . 
1,134,000 
Sample. 
Bacteria per c.c. 
Badly liquefied; bad 
[smelling plate. 26 
Table lll.—First Series. 
Sample. 
Solids, 
per cent. 
Ash. 
per cent. 
Fats, 
per cent. 
Whole milk 
13.29 
0.87 
4.3 
Skim milk 
9.32 
0.7 
Raw cream product 
34.73 
1.61 
15.36 
Fourth condensation 
17.45 
2.02 
Nineteen hours’ice (20-21). . . . 
0.49 
0.05 
Third ice 
1.38 
0.07 
Raw cream product 
44.1 
19.? 
First condensation 
15.0 
Second condensation 
23.39 
Third condensation 
35.49 
Fourth condensation 
36.18 
First ice 
1.15 
Second ice 
2.47 
Third ice 
5.96 
Fourth ice 
21.97 
Borden’s condensed 
30.2 
3.7 
Boston condensed 
38.5 
0.3 
Second Series. 
No pathogenic germs in “Refrigerated Condensed.” 
Test from run of Sept. 3,1898. 
Bacteria 
• Solids, 
Samples. 
per c.c. 
per cent. 
1, 
Whole milk 
90,000 
13.43 
2, 
Skim milk 
78,500 
9.34 
3, 
Raw cream product 
17,400 
39.88 
4, 
First condensed 
17,900 
14.28 
5, 
Second condensed 
6,800 
22.73 
6, 
Third condensed 
8,300 
24.6 
7. 
First ice 
1,382 
0.37 
8, 
Second ice 
5,700 
4.25 
9, 
Third ice 
11,250 
8.04 
10, 
Third ice, after three extractions. . . 
5,100 
18.85 
11, 
Raw cream 
14,000,000 
12, 
Pasteurized cream 
37,000 
13, 
Pasteurized cream product 
5,600 
ized cream) product, 94.2 per cent. 
Reduction of bacteria from the whole milk to the finished (Pasteur- 
It will be noted that the bacteria are very greatly 
diminished by the refrigerating process, although the 
product is not absolutely sterile. A special plant is 
now being established, where it is believed that much 
better work may be accomplished with a great reduc- 
tion of cost. The daily output will be at the begin- 
ning 600 gallons reduced to 100 gallons, the product 
having already been disposed of. It is confidently 
believed that the result will assure an abundant 
reason why the milk distribution may be greatly 
improved, giving a far more reliable product, of good 27 
keeping quality, at a much less cost to the consumer. 
If, for commercial reasons, it does not prove profitable 
to carry the process of concentration above the result 
outlined, the ordinary family supply of milk may be 
furnished weekly instead of daily and a far better 
product obtained than that of the present. 
I have in my possession a specimen of powdered 
milk made by Mr. Mclntire nearly two years ago, in 
a state of good preservation; thus demonstrating that 
the so-called butter fat of milk can be preserved in 
mixture, Mr. Mclntire is of the opinion that it is 
easy to concentrate the solids of milk to a consistency 
not unlike butter or soft cheese, which will require 
only the addition of a proper amount of water to 
restore it to a sweet, wholesome, fresh milk, contain- 
ing its proper quantity of normal cream. The keep- 
ing quality of this product will be such that it will 
come into world-wide distribution.