260 SOME ASl'ECIS OK TltOl'lCAL SANITATION 



true of the goat in Kiif,'laii(], hut it is certainly not thu case as ref,'ai(ls our httle Sudanese 

 goats. They love ruhi)isli lieaps, and I liave seen them devouring dirty paper and fragments 

 of women's cast-off clothing. Truth to tell, there is precious little for them to eat in 

 the neighbourhood of Khartoum. Their means of sustenance is to me a mystery, and I am 

 half inclined to think they enjoy chewing tin cans and the fragments of broken bottles. In 

 the Sudan, where animal tuberculosis, unlike human tuberculosis, is very rare, and 

 where cattle live in tiic open, I think cow's milk is preferable, but this is a matter 

 of taste. The milk from the native herds is very good. .Vnalyses by our chemists 

 show it to be well up to European standards, and to be specially rich in fat. It is not 

 the milk which is at fault, but the milk vendor. Women bring this milk into the town 

 very early in the morning from the outlying villages, and you will scarcely believe me when 

 I say that some of these villages are nine miles away, so that the vendors have to tramp 

 eigliteen miles in all, half the distance with their burden of milk, and all for a very 

 meagre profit. Needless to say, they endeavour to improve matters for themselves, 

 "Watering" though not for their customers. Their methods are not scientific. .Any water will do, 

 the milk jj,^,| .^uy qimntity of it so long as the milk retains a whitish colour. Moreover they were 



ill the habit of conveying the milk in earthenware vessels. Anything more fitted for 

 bacterial growth and activity than one of these "burmas" it would be hard to conceive. 

 They are porous, and usually filthy. A dirty bit of rag stuck in the mouth prevented 

 milk being lost by splashing, and added to it all manner of abomination. 



At an early period steps were taken to regulate this traffic. The women were 

 registered and given badges. "Burmas" were forbidden and proper cans substituted. 

 Matters were carefully explained to the ladies, and then the fun began. The cheerful 

 and exhilarating sight was frequently witnessed of the Medical Officer of Health and 

 Sanitary Inspector pursuing, on horseback, one of these dames who had reverted to her 

 old methods — had a " burma " on her head, or had been filling her can from a convenient 

 well. Punishment did good, and things improved — only to relapse. It w-as impossible 

 to keep a very close eye on them all, and now another scheme is to be tried. It could not 

 be carried into effect until the number of Inspectors was increased. As this has been 

 done, the following measures will come into force shortly : — 

 Registration of The women, all registered, will bring in the milk in properly covered cans to a central 



milk vendors station. There the milk will be measured, and samples taken for analysis from time to 

 time. It will then be transferred to tins owned by the municipality, which will have 

 locked covers, and from which milk can be obtained only through the exit taps. Customers 

 will be notified of the change, and it will be their own fault if they do not see their milk 

 supplied through these taps. Meanwhile, the women's tins will be scalded, cleaned, 

 and made ready for the evening, when they will be given back to the vendors on their 

 return from their milk walks, while the empty municipal tins will be collected, cleaned, 

 and stored ready for the next morning. The scheme sounds simple and effective. It 

 remains to be seen how it will work. I think if the women charge a little more for such 

 good milk there will be no hardship on either side — the public will no longer be cheated, 

 and the risk of diarrhoea and marasmus will be lessened. I have now dealt with the 

 Miseciianeous main features of the Inspector's life. He has many other important duties. He has to 

 duties supervise a railway gang who keep the tramway in order ; he is responsible for refuse 



destruction (Fig. 82) ; he controls the mineral water factories ; he keeps an eye on the 

 markets (Fig. 85), especially our primitive fish market, and the slaughter-houses. House- 

 to-house inspection takes up much time, and is combined witli the never-ending mos(iuito 

 work. We have few noxious trades, but such as exist must be watched and regulated. 



