The British Dairy Farmers' Association. [Oct., 



THE BRITISH DAIRY FARMERS' 

 ASSOCIATION. 



F. J. Lloyd, F.C.S., F.I.C., 



Consulting Chemist and Dairy Bacteriologist, British Dairy 

 Farmers' Association. 



It is not generally realised what was the condition of the 

 milk supply of London as recently as 70 years ago, when nearly 

 all the milk then consumed was produced by cows in London 

 and its suburbs. Mr. E. C. Tisdall, an original and active 

 member of the British Dairy Farmers' Association up to the 

 time of his death, had himself milked the cows at Kensington 

 Park Farm in the fields where the Albert Hall now stands. 



The idea of bringing milk into London by rail appears to have 

 come first to Sir (then Mr.) George Barham about 1860. By the 

 year 1864 he had established the " Express Country Milk Co.," 

 and when the outbreak of cattle plague in 1865 threatened a 

 milk famine in London, it was largely through Mr. Barham' s 

 undertaking and his remarkable energy that such a disaster was 

 prevented. 



London, however, was growing rapidly, the demand for milk 

 was increasing, and the difficulty and danger of producing it in 

 town sheds were becoming more and more pronounced. Town 

 and country were thus for once brought together in a common 

 interest; for it must be remembered that no small number of the 

 London dairymen at this period were essentially dairy farmers, 

 possessing all the practical experience of their calling and also 

 those business methods and habits which life in the metropolis 

 engenders. It was to this rare combination in many of its 

 original workers that the future success of the Association was 

 due. 



The feeling arose that those engaged in the dairy industry 

 should associate more than had been possible in the past. After 

 two years of agitation in the press, a meeting was held on 

 24th October, 1876. at a Metropolitan Dairy Show inaugurated 

 by the Agricultural Hall Auction Co., Islington. At this meeting 

 Professor (then Mr.) Sheldon read a paper to open a discussion 

 on the desirability of forming such an association, and proposed 

 that one should be formed, with the title " The British Dairy 

 Farmers' Association." The resolution was carried unanimously, 

 and a Committee was appointed to act on the terms of the 

 resolution. 



