5:4 



Cheap Milk Tests for Farmers. 



[dec, 



During the past summer several shipments of English and 



Irish hams were stopped by the Customs officials on entry into 



France, on the ground that the goods were 



Importation of falsely declared as of British origin, and 

 British Hams into , . ... A . 



France they were m reality American or 



Canadian hams. The difficulty has arisen 



owing to the fact that hams and bacon of British origin may 



be imported into France under the minimum tariff at the rate 



of 12s. 2d. per cwt., whereas Canadian and American hams are 



required to pay 20s. 46. under the maximum tariff ; in the case 



of hams coming through England there is an additional charge 



of is. 6d.,so that the excess charge on Canadian hams imported 



in this way as compared with English hams is 9s. 8d. per cwt. 



The Customs authorities in France assert that, in order to avoid 



paying the higher rate of duty, large quantities of American 



and Canadian hams are imported under the name of British. 



In several instances, however, hams undoubtedly of English 



origin were declared by the French experts to be Canadian, and 



representations on the subject were made to the Foreign Office. 



The Board have now been informed that in consequence of 



the^communications which have recently passed between His 



Majesty's Embassy and the competent French authorities, it is 



hoped that in future there will be no difficulty with regard to 



the importation of British hams whose origin is properly certified 



by documents legalised in the usual manner. 



In response to representations from the Board of Agriculture, 



most of the agricultural colleges in England are now prepared 



for a small fee, usually 6d., to determine the 



Cheap Milk Tests fat-contents of milk for local farmers. It 

 for Farmers. , . , , . c , . 



i should, therefore, be possible for dairy 



farmers, by means of carefully-selected samples, to watch closely 

 the seasonal and other fluctuations in the character of their milk, 

 and to take steps to maintain the quality at a satisfactory level. 

 Regular periodic analysis of the produce of individual cows 

 should also lead to the elimination of unsatisfactory animals, 

 and to the use for breeding purposes of the best members of the 



