The Board of Health sends men to examine, or inspect, the milk the
dairymen bring, to see that it is sweet and pure, and that there are
no infectious germs in it. And it sends men out into the country to
examine the dairy farms and see that the cows are properly fed, and
that the barns in which they are milked are kept clean; and that the
water in which the milk pans and bottles are washed comes from clean,
pure wells or springs.

[Illustration: WHAT MILK INSPECTION MEANS

Clean barns, cows, pails, and milkers mean clean milk. The cows
here stand in fresh, clean sawdust.]

Another thing that the Board of Health does is to send an inspector
round to look very carefully at all the meat that is sold in the
butcher shops, and at all the fruits and vegetables at the grocers'.
If he finds any meat that is diseased or tainted or bad, or any fruit
or vegetables that are beginning to spoil, or any flour, sugar, or
canned goods that have been mixed with cheaper stuffs that are not
good to eat,--in fact, are what the law calls _adulterated_,--he may
seize the bad and dangerous foods and destroy them, and summon to
court the dealers who are trying to sell them. Then the dealers are
fined or perhaps sent to prison.

So, you see, the Board of Health is one of the very best friends that
you have, trying to keep your food pure and good, the water that you
drink clean and wholesome, and the milk sweet and free from dirt or
disease germs. You ought to help these officers and their inspectors
in every way that you can. I know that it is sometimes troublesome to