lo May, 191 1.] The City Milk Sup fly. 299 



inspected. The giving of milk in return for fodder or otlier commodity, 

 for cattle pasturing, for services rendered, or any other sort of barter, is 

 equivalent to a sale, and a licence must be applied for. 



Before the Act came into force there were many so-called private 

 people who kept from one to several head of cows, ostensibly for the 

 purpose of supplying their household with dairy produce. When surplus 

 milk was on hand they sold to their neighbours ; and, in order to gain 

 custom, it was too frequently sold at a price much lower than that 

 charged by the dairymen. The bulk of this private milk selling took 

 place in the spring when grass, and, consequently, milk also, were most 

 plentiful. At other sea.sons, these people usually had only enoiigh for 

 their own requirements, for their cattle had generally to sustain them- 

 selves on such scanty grazing as might then be found on the unfenced 

 suburban allotments. 



In order to hold trade, a legitimate dairyman must maintain a regular 

 supply of milk to his customers the year through ; and during the autumn 

 and winter months he frequently does this at considerable expenditure for 

 fodder for his cows. During the spring and early summer months, when 

 milk is plentiful and comparatively cheaply produced, the dairyman ex- 

 pects to recoup himself for the extra outlay incurred in keeping up the 

 supply during the months of scarcity. Should he, however, meet with 

 competition from unlicensed people, who, by underselling him in the 

 .sprnig, reduce his trade at that season, his case is hard ; and much of this 

 actually occurred before the advent of Government supervision. Now all 

 are on the same footing in regard to licence fees and inspection ; and pri- 

 vate cow-keepers must either apply for licence or refrain from selling. 

 In most cases they adopt the latter course, while those who pay the 

 licence-fee find it unprofitable to charge less than trade prices for their 

 milk. 



Advantages to the Trade. 

 Another drawback to legitimate trade which formerly existed arose 

 from those dairymen who were known as " cutters," or retailers of cheap 

 milk at all seasons. Some few years ago, the dairying business was 

 rendered very unsatisfactory through the number of men who carried on 

 this cutting or underselling of their trade competitors as a regular pro- 

 cedure. At that time, it was generally supposed by those in touch with 

 the trade that " cutters " were also sellers of inferior (luality milk. 

 Subsequent events showed this conclusion to be correct in numerous in- 

 stances ; for the samples of their milk taken in the course of its dis- 

 tribution resulted in repeated prosecutions, until finally they either sold 

 good milk at the usual price or went out of the business. With the 

 abolition of unlicensed cow-keepers and those w'hnse premises were kept 

 in an insanitary condition, and through the sale of inferior milk at low 

 prices having become unprofitabli^ to the cutting fraternity, dairying as a 

 business has greatly improved during the past five years. Those who 

 were at first opposed to central supervision are now its strongest sup- 

 porters; and many dairymen freely acknowledge tiiat the (lovvrnment 

 system of supervision has l>een the making of their business. One <> 

 these, a large trader, volunteered the information that for several years 

 prior to its inctplion he had biircly held his own in trade competition; 

 but, during the three years following the (iovernnient taking o\er the 

 supervision, his business incre;ised over 30 per (•cut., and it has kept on 

 improving. 



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