supplying the poor with milk properly heated so as to
destroy the bacteria which may have been introduced by careless
handling, has also saved hundreds of thousands of children from
premature death.

_Diseases caused by milk._

Many infectious diseases are propagated by milk, not only among
children, whose chief food is found in this supply, but also among those
of more mature age who, though drinking only a small quantity, are
apparently more easily affected. Four diseases are particularly to be
noted in connection with the consumption of milk, namely, typhoid fever,
scarlet fever, diphtheria, and tuberculosis.

_Typhoid fever from milk._

One of the most striking illustrations of the spread of typhoid fever
through milk occurred this last year in the city of Ithaca, New York.
The city proper lies in a valley between two hills, the milkmen having
their farms on both sides of the valley to the east and west, on the
hill slopes. One milkman on the west, with a large route, delivered his
own milk only in part and bought an additional supply from a farmer on
the east. In the family of the latter occurred a case of typhoid fever
in September, pronounced by the local physician to be sunstroke, but
evidently typhoid fever, since other cases of secondary infection
developed in the same family and were then pronounced typhoid. The milk
from this east-side farm was taken down the hillside and turned over to
the west-side farmer, who distributed his own milk in his trip from his
farm across the valley, his route being so timed as to allow him thus to
dispose of all his own milk. Having then loaded up with the east-side
supply, he started back across the valley, distributing the milk which
was evidently polluted, since on his return route house after house
developed typhoid fever, with no cases on the first part of the route
and with no other cases in town except those on this milk route.
Forty-four cases developed in all, with two deaths.

The Reports of the Massachusetts State Board of Health give a number of
cases of the same sort, all showing that milk is easily infected by
persons suffering from even mild attacks of typhoid fever, attacks so
slight as perhaps not to be recognized or to be worth submitting to a
physician, but which are responsible for bacteria passing from the hands
or mouth to a can cover or ladle, and so to the milk.

_Diphtheria._

Diphtheria seems to be well established as a disease transmissible b