THE ETHICS OF FOOD 541 



used. In the person of the milkers and in all the details of 

 milking no opportunity of contaminating the milk would seem 

 to be lost. Cow-dung is a normal constituent of the milk as 

 supplied. The following is part of an account published by a 

 correspondent in the British Medical Journal : 



"Against one wall of the shed was banked up a great heap 

 of manure, while on the opposite side all the cinders, old bones 

 and general rubbish of the farm were accumulated. ... I was 

 horrified to see the filthy state of the milk as it flowed out of his 

 pail. It was discoloured with grit, hairs and manure. ' Look 

 at that ! ' I said, pointing to a specially large bit of manure. 

 I regretted my zeal, for he dipped his whole hand into the pail 

 and, as he brought it out, said, 'Oh, that ain't nothing; that's 

 only off the cow !' " 



In November 1903 Dr. George Newman, then Medical Officer 

 of Health for Finsbury, published an elaborate report on the 

 conditions of the milk-supply in that borough and the facts 

 there collected may be regarded as fairly typical of the con- 

 ditions generally prevailing. 



He found that 90 per cent, of the milk was obtained from 

 country farms and that 95 per cent, of these were situated at 

 a greater distance than 100 miles from London. As a rule, 

 the evidence showed that the cow-sheds from which the milk 

 was derived were ill-lit, overcrowded, badly ventilated and badly 

 drained. Of the milk-shops, 52 per cent, were found to have 

 one or more sanitary defects and 73 per cent, of the vendors 

 failed to keep the milk covered or protected from dust. The 

 average number of bacteria in unpreserved milk was found to 

 be 2,370,000 per cubic centimetre. Pus and dirt were present 

 in numerous cases. 



In consequence of the contaminated condition of the milk 

 as commonly supplied, various processes of heating milk have 

 been introduced in order to destroy the numerous micro- 

 organisms and thus protect infants and others from the effects 

 of contamination. These methods have been enthusiastically 

 advocated by many writers, so that the boiling or sterilisation of 

 milk has almost come to be regarded as a desirable practice, 

 typical of sanitary advance and medical progress. 



Whatever may be the excuse of expediency, the whole 

 argument is unsound and inconsistent with the principles of 



