258 Irrigation and Drainage 



Pollution Commissioners, the medical officer of health for Edin- 

 burgh, Dr. Littlejohn, now Sir Henry Littlejohn, said: 



" < The cows in Edinburgh are chiefly fed with sewage grass 

 that is grown on Craigentinny meadows. I have thought that 

 there might be objection to feeding cows upon grass so grown, 

 because I was of opinion that grass so grown might be of inferior 

 quality. But practically I have failed to detect any bad effects 

 resulting from the use of such grass.' 



" Another point which these philanthropic sanitarians tried to 

 make out against milk from sewage -grass -fed cows was that 

 such milk 'turned putrid in a very short space of time.' The 

 most ample evidence is forthcoming to show the absolute ground- 

 lessness of this contention also. Mr. Spier, the Scottish Dairy 

 Commissioner, who has conducted most of the dairy experiments 

 which have been carried on for the Highland Agricultural 

 Society, has fully tested the matter, and he writes to us as 

 follows on the subject: 



' ' By way of testing this point, I set aside eighteen cows for 

 the experiment: Of these, six were fed in the house on sewage 

 grass, six were fed in the house on vetches, and the other six 

 were pastured in the fields. Milk from each of these sets of 

 cows was repeatedly set aside in separate vessels until it became 

 decidedly tainted, and out of the numerous tests the milk from 

 the cows fed on sewage grass never once turned sour first. In 

 the majority of cases, the milk from the cows fed on the vetches 

 was the first to turn sour, while the milk from the sewage grass 

 and on the pasture was about equal in keeping properties. On 

 several occasions the milk from the three lots of cows was kept 

 for the same length of time and churned separately, but on no 

 single occasion did the butter from the cows fed on sewage grass 

 become rancid before the other lots did. Samples of the butter 

 from the three different lots of milk were sent to the chemist 

 of the society, and he was unable to tell which was which. ' " 



These statements will serve to call attention to the fears 

 which have been expressed on theoretical considerations, and 

 the nature of the evidence which appears to indicate that there 

 is little ground for them. 



