Live Stock. 



44 



[July, 1908. 



able, as may be inferred from the fact 

 that a creamery to deal with the milk 

 from 500 cows per day, with a view to 

 making butter therefrom, would cost 

 for mechanical appliances alone some- 

 where about £1,000. 



There are many other developments 

 of modern dairying, such as the produc- 

 tion of special milk as Kumiss, carbon- 

 ated milk, which may yet have a future 

 before it when the effect of the carbonic 

 acid on the lactic fermentation has been 

 fully investigated. There is also, as is 

 well known, condensed milk, which is 

 really not milk at all, but which is a 

 manufactured article which has as its 

 basis cow's milk. It is an astonishing 

 thing to find that there are the equiva- 

 lent of 250,000,000 gallons, or the product 

 of 500,000 cows, imported annually into 

 this country under the name of con- 

 densed milk, and that this business is 

 carried on without any control what- 

 ever as to the sources of supply. There 

 is also a lot of milk being brought into 

 this country in the frozen condition, and 

 even during recent months whole milk 

 in the ordinary way, but so far without 

 any attempt at examination of the 

 sources of supply. This seems to be an 

 anomalous state of affairs when we 

 consider that there is so much talk of 

 rigid control of dairying in this country, 

 and when matters have reached such a 

 stage that the Minister responsible for 

 the control of the milk supply has 

 announced a very drastic measure in 

 connection with that business. Doubt- 

 less there will be some examination of 

 milk at the port of landing, but that, 

 under the circumstances, seems hardly 

 sufficient. There seems every likelihood 

 that the cowsheds' and milk-shops' 

 orders will be revised. The fact that 

 tnberculosis is capable of being trans- 

 mitted through milk will also be re- 

 cognised, and various proceedings will 

 be legalised, such as sampling the milk 

 at railway stations, and the visiting of 

 farms in the county, and the exten- 

 sion of wide powers to the county 

 councils in connection with the control 

 of dairies. Legal control is then the 

 only remedy for the dangers to which 

 milk is subject, and we find that 

 in many countries this stage has been 

 arrived at long ago. Take, for ex- 

 ample, Denmark, in which it is com- 

 pulsory to Pasteurise milk ; then again 

 we have Holland, where a splendid 

 system of control is in operation, 

 not only in connection with the milk 

 supply, but in connection with the 

 butter produce. There can indeed be 

 nothing finer in the way of control 

 stations than these admirable institu- 

 tions which exist at various towns 



thoughout the Netherlands, and which 

 exercise the functions of control stations 

 so as to ensure that butter produced in 

 the dairies of Holland will reach a 

 certain standard, and be free from 

 adulteration. Such institutions exist at 

 eight different centres in that small 

 country, and are equipped in a manner 

 which reflects the greatest possible 

 credit upon the Dutch Government. 

 Unfortunately, there is so far no com- 

 pulsory reference to these institutions, 

 but tbey have so well warranted their 

 establishment that there seems every 

 likelihood that they will be soon placed 

 in a position to control the total dairy- 

 ing and butter industry of the country. 



In butter control, indeed, there are 

 many lessons to be learned from other 

 countries. In this country we are un- 

 happy buyers of foreign butter to an 

 enormous extent, and we have made it 

 pretty clear that what is wanted here is 

 butter which is beyond suspicion. 

 Hence we have compelled butter-pro- 

 ducing countries to institute such sys- 

 tems of inspection and methods of exami- 

 nation as will ensure our getting what we 

 want. The fact, however, that from 

 time to time we get prosecutions show- 

 ing that butter, which we import, is 

 impure, demonstrates the fact that no 

 system which can be adopted anywhere 

 can be perfect. It would be, however, of 

 immense advantage if control stations 

 were instituted in the United Kingdom, 

 and if the dairying industry generally 

 was treated in a more handsome way 

 than it is at present. There ought to be 

 some system of reference to such institu- 

 tions in connection with dairy produce, 

 and it would pay the country to increase 

 the subsidies which are at present given 

 to a few agricultural colleges and some 

 county councils, in order to provide 

 competent instructors to proceed from 

 one centre to another demonstrating 

 what is the best practice in connection 

 with the dairy. 



As we have already shown, the whole 

 industry is in course of being revolution- 

 ised, and what is likely to occur when 

 the threatened legislation is brought 

 into force it is difficult to foresee. It is 

 likely that there will be a considerable 

 elimination of existing members of the 

 trade, not only in London, but elsewhere, 

 and the small distributor will be put out 

 of the business. That may seem a dis- 

 advantage and a cruel proceeding, but it 

 is impossible to conceive of any general 

 laws which can be inaugurated without 

 hurting someone. Let us hope, however, 

 that whatever may be the effect of the 

 contemplated laws, there will be general 

 co-operation amongst the members of the 



