BY PROFESSOR CROOKSHANK. 37 



I consider, nevertheless, that milk from cows suffering 

 from any diseased condition of the udder or teats is unwhole- 

 some, and I maintain that when we pay for pure milk, we 

 are entitled to have it. We want the doctrine of absolute 

 cleanliness to reach our dairies, both public and pi-ivate On 

 no account should any "waster" or "piner," or cow suffer 

 ing from any disease affecting the milk, be admitted into the 

 herd. Registration and inspection of dairies are of great im- 

 portance, but with or without Government Inspectors, I think 

 the public might to a great extent protect themselves. It 

 would be a distinct advantage to adopt the Danish system of 

 co-operation. In towns like Brisbane, small dairymen should 

 combine to form large model dairies. They should invite 

 inspection of their premises and farms. They would find it 

 to their own advantage to employ a veterinary inspector. The 

 public would be willing to pay a higher price if they had a 

 guarantee that the cows were healthy, and that every pre- 

 caution had been taken in the collection, in the transit, and 

 in the delivery of the milk. A great deal has been said upon 

 the necessity of boiling milk. Except in time of epidemics, it 

 is not a practice likely to be generally adopted. Pure fresh 

 milk is an ideal food, and the boiling of milk alters its com- 

 position, it is then very unpalatable to many people ; and is 

 not only unsuitable, but in many cases dangerous for infants. 

 Neither Dr. Powell or Dr. Goodhart were prepared to recom- 

 mend the boiling of all milk. From their evidence, we may 

 gather that they had other causes of consumption in their 

 minds. They insisted upon the fact that tuberculosis of the 

 bowels is almost unknown in very young children, and it is not 

 very common even in children from five to ten years old. 

 Dr. Goodhart laid great stress upon the fact that tuberculosis 

 in children was very common when there wasa distinct family 

 history of tubercle, and it was quite common also to find 

 children becoming tubercular after measles, bronchial-pneu- 

 monia, whooping cough, and intestinal catarrh. 



I would draw attention to the fact that negro children 

 in the West Indies suffer from tubercle, and they have very 

 little milk, and this, owing to the tropical climate, is almost 

 always boiled. Tuberculosis in children in England is largely 

 a disease of the poor. Though it attacks all classes, it is 

 extremely common among the London poor, and in all our 

 over-crowded towns. The disease among the poor is attribut- 

 able more to the want of milk, than to the possible occurrence 



