July, 1908.] 41 



It is obvious that, in dealing with a 

 substance like this, which is very com- 

 plex in its character, there should be 

 some previous knowledge as to the 

 results which may be obtained by any 

 particular procedure, and at this point 

 it i.« well to state that the complex 

 nature of milk is far from being com- 

 pletely understood. As a consequence 

 we hear various opinions stated, even 

 amongst scientific observers. It is, for 

 example, asserted that complete sterili- 

 sation means the destruction of the 

 food properties which milk contains. It 

 has also been stated that the digestive 

 enzymes are completely destroyed by 

 sterilisation. If that is so, then it is 

 surely possible to replace these digestive 

 enzymes so as to again restore the diges- 

 tive properties. Whether that may be 

 attainable or not, however, has not yet 

 been determined, but this we do know, 

 that we must look upon milk, as indeed 

 upon all other dairy products, as belong- 

 ing to a class of foods, in which there 

 are no waste substances so far as the 

 human economy is concerned, and each 

 component part, separately or in com- 

 bination, is totally consumed within the 

 system. It is this fact that renders the 

 necessity for absolute purity a very real 

 one, and hence we come to the conclusion 

 that it is not only necessary for the 

 modern dairyman to understand the 

 composition of milk, but also to under- 

 stand its possible dangers, and whatever 

 methods may be available for averting 

 these. 



We are indebted to the United States 

 of America for the records of much labo- 

 rious investigation with regard to milk, 

 and it is a pleasing feature of the admin- 

 istration of agricultural matters in that 

 country that large subsidies are given 

 annually to various agricultural insti- 

 tutes and experimental stations, whose 

 efforts are, to a large extent, devoted to 

 the examination of milk and its pro- 

 ducts, and the investigation of every 

 possible problem which their manipula- 

 tion may involve. Considering, there- 

 fore, that so much is being done else- 

 where, it seems a reasonable plea to put 

 forward in our own country, namely, 

 that there should be State endowment 

 of research into the milk question. 



At the present day there are a certain 

 number of advanced milk dealers who 

 fully appreciate the value of modern 

 methods; but, on the other hand, the 

 great majority of dairy farmers object 

 to what they consider unnecessary inter- 

 ference with their business, and they 

 cannot realise the enormous dangers 

 which are associated with the milk 

 supply. There is a small minority who 



6 



Live Stock. 



deliberately attempt to derive profit out 

 of the milk supply by means of adulter- 

 ation. Such a class happily is small, but 

 their relative strength may be gauged 

 from the fact that the milk of London is 

 reported to be adulterated to the extent 

 of 12'8 per cent., and the butter to 10 per 

 cent. There is, of course, no other way 

 of dealing with these people except by 

 the rigid enforcement of laws against 

 adulteration, and the imposition of such 

 punishments as will retard others from 

 following these particular methods. 



The dairyman who would conduct his 

 business so as to satisfy the require- 

 ments of modern science must Pasteur- 

 ize all his milk, and as this is a process 

 which is capable of being misunderstood, 

 1 think that the best way to arrive at 

 a knowledge of the matter will be 

 simply to describe what takes place in 

 an up-to-date dairy. 



If we assume that milk has to be deli- 

 vered in a town where there are either 

 very few or no cow-sheds, then we must 

 proceed to the farm where the milk is 

 produced. Here much trouble may be 

 avoided by the proper attention to hy- 

 gienic conditions, as prevention is better 

 than cure in this matter, perhaps more 

 than in most others. The milk should be 

 drawn from the cow by attendants who 

 are cleanly in their habits, and the udders 

 should be cleansed before milking. In 

 some cases, even brushing of theanimals' 

 hides is resorted to, and in the Swedish 

 dairy to which we referred at the begin- 

 ning, which is tuberculosis-free, it is 

 necessary for anyone going into the 

 dairy to render their boots sterile by 

 dipping them into a solution of anti- 

 septic before proceeding inside. When 

 the milk is drawn, the first should, of 

 course, be either entirely rejected, or 

 should be dealt with separately, as it has 

 been shown that the first drawn milk is 

 teeming with bacteria. The milk, on the 

 other hand, in the interior of the udder 

 is perfectly sterile, and this even may be 

 the case, we admit, when an animal is 

 suffering from generalised tuberculosis. 

 If the milk is drawn under the condi- 

 tions suggested, and cooled at once by 

 means of refrigerating plant, then there 

 is little liability of its becoming dan- 

 gerous within a reasonable period. The 

 difficulty, however, is that in our large 

 cities the milk supply has to be obtained 

 from a long distance, and this involves 

 keeping the milk cool during transit. 

 That also is quite attainable by means of 

 refrigerated waggons, but the difficulty 

 then arises as to the cost of transport 

 under such conditions. The railway 

 companies naturally object to any 

 method of transport which will increase 

 their expenditure, and if such wagons. 



