Live Stock. 



562 



[June 1906. 



of diet might be shown from its chemical 

 constituents and from the special nature of 

 the two sugars it contains. Moreover, its 

 value as a remedial agent, especially in 

 throat and bronchial troubles, is well known. 

 This may be due not merely to its emollient 

 nature, but also, perhaps, to a fact of quite 

 modern discovery. Most people imagine 

 that the sting apparatus of the bee is solely 

 to act as a weapon of offence and defence. 

 The truth is that its primary use is widely 

 different — viz., to inject into each filled cell 

 of honey before it is sealed ai minute drop 

 from the "poison-bag." The chief ingredient 

 of the liquid is formic acid, which acts as an 

 antiseptic, and prevents fermentation, which 

 would otherwise occur in the honey. Pos- 

 sibly it is this very small, but powerful, 

 element which has medicinal properties of an 

 advantageous kind. 



As to literature which may be recommended 

 for those who wish to pursue the subject, we 

 may mention Cheshire's two volumes on 

 "Bees and Bee-keeping," and Cowan's 

 admirable little " British Bee-keeper's Guide 

 Book." For those who wish for poetry 

 mingled with science there is, of course, 

 Maeterlinck's "Life of the Bee. — London 

 Times, April 24. 1908. 



MILK SUPPLY AND DAIRY SANI- 

 TATION. 



A recent number of the British Medical 

 Journal contains a useful and interesting 

 article on Milk Supply. 



The Central Hospital Council for London 

 which represents twenty hospitals appointed 

 a Committee to adopt measures calculated to 

 ensure the purity of the milk supplied to 

 these institutions. 



This Committee recommends that the milk 

 supply should be undertaken on the following 

 conditions : — 



1. That the milk shall be pure, genuine* 

 without any kind of addition (including pre- 

 servatives), with all its cream, and containing 

 at least 3"25 per cent, of butter fat. 



2. The hospital authorities are to be in- 

 formed of the name and locality of the farm 

 from which the milk is supplied, and the 

 farm should be open to inspection. 



3. That the cows supplying the milk shall 

 be in a good state of health, in proof of which 

 a Veterinary Surgeon's certificate is to be 

 produced. 



4. That the milk shall be strained and 

 cooled to the temperature of cold water — not 

 exceeding 60° at the farm, and there canned 

 and sealed with a die to be supplied by the 

 hospital, and that all cans shall be dust and 

 rain'proof. 



5. That the cleanliness of the milking 

 operation and of the milkers' hands be 

 guaranteed, and that the receptacles into 

 which the milk is put be properly cleansed 

 with a solution of boiling water and soda. 



6. That the milk shall not be pasteurized 

 or treated otherwise than being subjected to 

 the straining and cooling process referred to 

 above. 



The Editor of the British Medica l Journal 

 commenting on this last condition states: — 

 "Already, therefore, we have reached the 

 point at which the responsible representatives 

 of the chief hospitals in London consider that 

 milk can be delivered in good condition 

 without pasteurizing, simply by giving ade- 

 quate attention to cleanliness." 



With regard to sterilization and pasteuri- 

 zation of milk it must be stated that the pre- 

 vailing idea among medical men is that these 

 processes are undesirable and involve dangers 

 of their own especially to the health of in- 

 fants and children. Simple and clean milk 

 obtained under proper sanitary conditions is, 

 therefore, preferable to milk thus treated. 



The Committee mentioned above also 

 recommends the inspection of the cattle- 

 sheds, milking places, dairy and water supply, 

 and emphatically states that no hospital 

 should be supplied with milk from afarm which 

 has no proper water supply. The reporting 

 of any cases of contagious or infectious dis- 

 ease that may occur in the families of men 

 employed at the farm is also suggested. For 

 the general examination of milk the Gerber 

 fat-tester is recommended, and the use of the 

 creamometer is said to be misleading. 



The March number of the Veterinary Jour- 

 nal, in the portion assigned to Abstracts and 

 Reports, contains four articles on this and 

 allied subjects, which would amply repay 

 perusal. The one headed " Milk Sediments 

 or Dirty Milk in relation to Disease," which 

 is an abstract of Dr. George Kober's report, 

 is particularly instructive. Milk which yields 

 a visible sediment at the bottom of the bottle 

 after standing for two hours or less should be 

 rejected. This sediment is evidence of dirty 

 habits and is extremely suggestive of danger. 

 It is largely made up of excrementitious 

 matter from the cow, which adhering to the 

 udder of the animal gains access to the bucket 

 during the act of milking. The great danger 

 from milk of this class is the possible pre- 

 sence of ptomaines or toxins which would 

 render it a poison instead of a food. The 

 occurrence of this dangerous sediment can, 

 however, be entirely prevented by clean 

 decent methods without undergoing much 

 extra trouble or expense. 



With regard to milk in relation to disease 

 it may be mentioned that not only may it 

 carry contagion from the cow to the con- 

 sumer as in such diseases as tuberculosis and 



