Mm
I . .y. :::,j ' '
HOW A CITY
IS SERVED
WITH MILK
; PHOTO!). By A 5TAFF ART15T '
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Modern Milkmaids and Sanitary Science
IRAUl'IKUb ilnlrymnldB and tha
poetic HoiiKH which undent bank
placed In tha mouths of lovora
who met tholr rustic sweethearts
ut milking tlmo Imvo no pluco
In the. complex organism which sup
plies n Krctit city with milk. Milk
maids appear now only In comlo
cporau. Men In gcrmproof garments
hnvo displaced the protty country girl with
her llaxen braids. Science turn frowned
upon tho peaceful cow which was so fas.
clnatliiK to Hosn llonhcur and hor follow
craftsmen. Tho most useful of animals Is
now treated aB though hIio was a leuer.
She Is washed and scrubbed and fumigated.
Bho stands In disinfected stables and tier
milk Is filtered through absorbent cottcn
and heated to tho balling point before It is
deemed safo for human food.
If poor bossy could seo her milk after
It has boon filtered nnd Tiisteurlzed and
sealed up In bottles which aro accompanied
by a certificate of purity sho would not
recognize It. From tho cow to tho con
sumer Is a long, tortuous way. In splto of
tho steaming, freezing nnd Jolting tho
dairyman's product goes through before It
finds it way to Omaha tables, tho cream Is
singularly like tho sort they havo down on
tho farm, whoro no attempt has been made
to improvo on nature.
llnll' l.iit'tciil Flood.
Nearly 6,000 gallons of milk aro sold In
Omaha every day and 3,500 cows aro kcut
to supply tho city's milk trade. Thcso
figures disregard cows which aro keot bv
pirsoiiH who do not sell milk. There are
144 milk depots In tho city. One hundred
nnd forty wagons aro used in peddling milk
nnd elghty-nlno hand dairies aro licensed.
Although small dairies situated within n
few miles of tho city supply considerable
milk to Omaha consumers, tho groater part
of tho milk used In tho city comes from
largo dairies situated at West I'olnt,
Waterloo nnd other neighboring towns,
llotween 8 o'clock nnd 11 each morning
trains coming Into Omaha from evory direc
tion bring hundreds of cans of milk to
depots. Wholesale dealers send this milk
to depots In all parts of tho cltv. In some,
places tho milk and cream aro bottled,
Other depots sell their milk to customers
from the original package Many wagons
and hand dairies got their milk buddIv
from tho wholesalers whoso products nro
shipped to Omaha by train.
Hours beroro Omahans think of rising In
tho morning an army of nearly 1,000 people
is busily engaged In preparing tho day's
milk supply for tho sleepy-headed city.
Long before sunrlso tho cows aro milked
and tho cream, milk and buttermilk are
carted to railway stations. Many devices
havo been invented for milking cows, but
nono has como Into general uso. Men milk
maids aro superior to all mechanical means
of drawing milk from tho cow's udder. Most
of tho dairies surrounding Omaha employ
men who aro professional dairy bands and
can milk twenty cows twlco a day with caao.
From Cow lo Counuiiivr.
Tho creameries which ship milk to Omaha
In large quantities havo many cows of their
own, but depend largely on fnrmers for
their milk supply. After tho farmers havo
delivered their morning's milk to the sepa
rators, which run tho cream Into one vat
nnd tho milk Into another, tho cream Is
either sent to Omaha or used In making
butter, wbllo tho milk, minus tho butter
fat, is given back to tho farmers and usod
In feeding calves nnd hogs, Other milk Is
heated to a tcmporaturo of 120 degrees
before It Is shipped to Omaha.
During tho summer season tho sale of
buttermilk for domestic consumption Is
very large. Hundreds of gallons of the
healthful boverago ore sold In Omaha dallv
when the thermometer forges up toward
tho 100 mark. Noxt to beer, buttermilk Is
tho most popular drink during the heated
season, but In winter It is drunk but llttlo.
Tho supply of buttermilk Is consumed bv
the packing houses during the winter, much
of It being used aB chicken feed.
One South Omaha concern is feeding
nearly 1,000,000 chickens nt present. Thcaa
nro shut up In coops which aro stacked
high In a storehouso. Troughs nro arranged
on nil sides of tho coops and buttermilk,
mixed with mcnl, is piped into these
troughs. Buttermilk makes tho flesh of
fowls very white. When thoy aro cooood
up thoy take on flesh very rapidly, as thero
Is no opportunity for them to exercise
The salo of skim milk Is also large
In Omaha nnd South Omaha. Creameries
havo no trouble In disposing of all such
milk which farmers do not care to uso for
feed. Tacking houses and commission men
uso Inrgo quantities of sklm milk In
working over old butter and in the manu
facture of Imitation butters. Such milk
freshens stalo butter and Imparts a milk
tasto to tho Ingredients used In substitutes
for butter.
Milk Is charged with being such a common
source of Infection that every precaution Is
taken by cities to protect tho public against
careless and unscrupulous dairymen. All
tho dairies supplying milk to Omaha con
sumers nro inspected frequently by cltv
officials nnd cows which aro not above sus
picion nro examined by tho city veteri
narian. Tho rallk Inspector, L. K. Hutton,
Is constantly on tho lookout for adulterated
milk. Tho city ordinances require that nil
milk must contain at least 3 per cent of
butter fat. Samples of milk sold by nil
dealers are collected from consumers In
various prtrts of tho city and whenever a
sample falls to como up to test tho dalrv-
man who sold it Is notified that ho mtiit
Improvo tho quality of his milk. Chemlca
analysis is also mado of samples of milk
to detect tho presence of preservatives or
water.
Tho city milk Inspector docs all In his
power to keep the standard of milk up
to a high point nnd forces Indlfferont rallk
doalcrs to Improvo tho sanitary condition
of their stables nnd milk houses. Certain
dairies tako unusual caro In handling their
rallk and supply it to customers with n
sworn statement that It Is Hbsolutely pure.
In such dairies the cows are curried and
washed daily and aro fed in stables which
(Continued on Sixth Page.)