CHAPTEE XV 



EXISTING CONDITIONS OF THE MILK SUPPLY 



In this chapter the general sanitary conditions under which 

 milk is produced and sold in this country are detailed. The 

 facts stated are in the main derived from the writer's personal 

 experience in both rural and urban districts, supplemented by 

 information contained in very numerous reports of Local 

 Government Board Medical Inspectors, Medical Officers of 

 Health, and Veterinary Inspectors. 



Chapter 11. and the present chapter may be considered 

 supplementary to one another, the one dealing with existing 

 conditions as they supply bacteria to milk, the other with the 

 same conditions from the sanitary and practical aspect. Bead- 

 ing the two chapters together, the relationship of the insani- 

 tary conditions to the bacteria found in milk will become 

 obvious. 



The conditions at the farm naturally first claim attention. 



A. Byre Conditions 



1. Structural. — The structural conditions of cowsheds vary 

 enormously, and all degrees may be met with ranging from the 

 sanitary, efficient, and satisfactory cowsheds erected by many 

 enlightened landowners to wretched hovels lacking every 

 essential of a cowshed. 



Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate cowsheds defective in almost every 

 particular, and yet not very uncommon. The worst conditions 

 are met with in the rural districts, and in general it may be 

 said that the construction and cleanliness of urban cowsheds is 

 distinctly superior to what is found in the rural districts. This 

 superiority is readily explained. Urban cowsheds are more 



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