s available.

If the milk is bought from some near-by farm it is important that the
purchaser assure himself of the health of the cows producing the milk and
of the sanitary conditions surrounding production and handling. Quality in
milk is much more than cream content. Cleanliness in production and
handling is far more important, and this the country resident can
personally determine by occasional visits to the source of supply, an
advantage difficult for the urban resident to attain. Quality in milk is
not necessarily measured by the investment in the milking barn or the
showy external features of the producing and handling plant.

The essential factors in the production of clean, wholesome milk are
healthy, clean cows; healthy milkers; clean, sterile utensils; and
sanitary stables and premises. These conditions can be attained by any
careful dairyman and can be checked by any layman interested in securing a
dependable supply of safe milk. The purchaser should insist that the cows
be tested regularly under government supervision for tuberculosis and the
reactors to the test removed from the herd. This is important in all
circumstances and particularly so where the milk is consumed in the
unprocessed state by children.

_Producing Milk at Home._--It is entirely feasible for the rural family to
produce at home an ample supply of milk at low cost. To do this it is only
necessary to have stabling facilities for one or two cows and to have a
member of the family sufficiently interested to feed, care for and milk
the cow or cows. If this plan is to be followed the owner, if he is
inexperienced, should enlist the aid of a neighbor or friend in making the
purchase. The animal should be fresh, that is, just starting the period of
lactation, and preferably not more than four or five years of age. A cow
that is fresh can be judged as to ability to produce good milk from all
four quarters of the udder in adequate amount.

_Selecting the Family Cow._--The breed to be selected is not important,
except that for family use a cow of the so-called Channel breeds (Guernsey
or Jersey) is considered better adapted because of the higher butter fat
content of the milk as compared with the Holstein-Friesian, for example,
which usually produces a larger total quantity of milk with less butter
fat. It is not necessary to purchase a pure-bred animal of any of the
breeds, so far as milk production is concerned. On the other hand, a
pure-bred