DR. E. W. HOPE'S PAPER 197 



stopped there, and had never, at any time, taken any 

 step to ensure that those by-laws were given effect to. 



As is the case with human beings, so it is with 

 animals kept in confinement in close, ill-ventilated 

 places, the disease with which we are all familiar, 

 viz., tuberculosis, is prevalent, and a tuberculous cow 

 means tuberculous milk ; it was soon found, as one 

 might have expected, that the tuberculous milk came 

 from those rural cowsheds which were without venti- 

 lation, without light, without drainage, and from cows 

 which were dirty and neglected. 



In order to protect themselves from conditions 

 such as these, many of the great centres of population 

 obtained special powers, under which, among other 

 things, their medical officers, veterinary surgeons, or 

 other duly appointed representatives, were authorized 

 to visit and inspect the cows and cowsheds on any 

 farm outside the city boundary from which tubercular 

 milk- was supplied to the city, and, furthermore, to 

 make an order prohibiting the sending of milk from 

 such places into the city, until such time as the 

 premises had been improved, and the sources of con- 

 tamination dealt with to their satisfaction. These 

 powers worked well, the action of the city authorities 

 led owners and cowkeepers to put their premises 

 into proper order, and to pay stricter attention to the 

 health and cleanliness of the cows, and to the con- 

 dition of those who milked them. In this way the 

 whole of the country was benefited by the action 

 taken by the cities at the cost and charges of the 

 cities' ratepayers. 



Strangely enough, the counties very rarely took 

 any initiative in the matter, or themselves sought any 

 powers by which they could control the recalcitrant 

 rural authorities ; in fact they displayed no interest. 

 There have been cases where, rather than incur the 

 expense of improvements, the diseased milk has been 

 diverted to centres where the supervision was less 



