5 ( 4 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



tion, to eleause them with steam. Cans for the conveyance 

 of milk should be dust-proof, and so, too, the vessels in 

 which the milk is kept after reaching the house of the con- 

 sumer. The finding at the bottom of a glass of milk small 

 pieces of hay and other dh-t usually leads to the imputation of 

 a want of cleanliness on the part of the dairyman, while in 

 reality these impuiities often proceed from street-dust, which, 

 in fact, consists lai-gely of manure. The blame should be laid 

 on the city authorities who allow such a dust nuisance to 

 prevail. 



Where a consumer is in doubt regarding the condition of 

 the milk it should be boiled before use. This proceeding de- 

 stroys not only the germs causing ordinary fermentation, but 

 also those which are the cause of the infectious diseases to 

 which presently I will more especially refer. It is doubtful if 

 boUing in any way impairs the digestibility of milk. 



The process of boihng, as it destroys germs and thus 

 effectually prevents their multiphcation, is said to be a process 

 of sterilization — milk when boiled is said to be sterihzed. It 

 has been proposed, and in some places actually accomphshed, 

 to place sterilized milk in the mai-ket. In St. Petersburg, in 

 the Children's Hospital, also in some large dahies and private 

 families, the milk is heated in flasks to boHiug-point, and 

 hermetically sealed while in a state of ebulHtion. A similar 

 process has been canied out on a smaller scale in Norway and 

 in London. 



In Copenhagen milk for eliildren is sold by the druggists. 

 All cows from which the milk proceeds are specially chosen, 

 and subjected regularly to examination by veterinary surgeons. 

 The cows are specially fed, and special precautions are taken 

 to pi-eserve the purity and freshness of the milk, which is 

 placed in sealed bottles before being sent to the dniggists, by 

 whom families are supplied. 



It is clear from what I have said that the prevention of 

 harm to children through their being supplied with unwhole- 

 some milk Hes to a very gi-eat extent in the hands of con- 

 sumers. They must themselves see that they take precautions 

 to exclude dust from the milk, to cleanse thoroughly all 

 vessels in which milk is placed, and shoidd insist on being 

 supplied with milk free from dirt, and otherwise, so far as 

 they are capable of judging, entnely sound. Such insistence 

 will compel the dairyman and dairy-farmer for the sake of 

 their trade to regulate to some extent the sanitary arrange- 

 ments of their premises and the methods in which the milking 

 and the distribution are carried out. Is this sufficient ? It 

 has been decided in most civilized countries that something 

 further is required — that the public authorities should have 

 some control over the rnilk-supply. Through ignorance or 



