98 
Totvn Milk. 
as tlaey can be in respect of the springs, as it is desirable 
that the milk be as little shaken on the journey as possible. 
— The French milkcans are about half the size of those used 
here. Our cans are much too larfj;e and too heavy to be loaded 
and handled by one man. Their shape too hinders close packing ; 
they are broad at the bottom and tapering towards the top. The 
French cans, from their cylindrical shape, can be packed with 
greater economy of space. The French milk trucks are very 
much like the narrow-guage sheep-truck used in this country, 
with two floors, one above the other — two tiers, in which a great 
number of cans can be packed, and there is a circulation of air 
all round them. On the other hand the Fiench cans are heavier 
per gallon of their contents than the English ; and it is not 
likely that the former will be adopted. 
It is a stipulation with the dealers that their men shall assist 
the railway porters in unloading the trucks, because the cans 
are too heavy to be handled by one person. The weight of a 
can filled with milk is nearly 2001bs. The trade has come to be 
of such an extent as to lead to the despatch of special trains for 
the purpose ; and the milk is brought to the various stations 
in time for them. One train arrives in London at a quarter to 
twelve in the forenoon — for the afternoon supply : and the 
second train arrives about half-past eight in the evening — for 
the next morning's supply. During the time of the greatest 
scarcity of milk, an arrangement was made for bringing cream 
from a distance so remote as Carlisle ; and that was done by 
the article being placed in small cans — much smaller than the 
French milk-can — and carried suspended in the truck ; but, 
when it arrived in London, it was found that the cream was 
reduced almost to the consistency of milk. That trade was there- 
fore abandoned. 
Mr. Brooks, in reply to the questions of the committee, stated 
that no other means are now taken by the railway company to 
develop the milk trade than the putting on of more trucks and 
eventually establishing special trains for it. He says that those 
who make complaint about the rates of carriage cannot have 
calculated the price per ton at which the company carry the 
milk, or they would have found that the milk, including the 
weight of the cans, is carried a distance of 100 miles for 
1*. per cwt. When the milk train arrives the dealers assist in 
the unloading of the vans, and the milk is carried away in the 
dealers' own conveyances. He was not aware of any other 
means by which the milk could be more promptly or more 
rapidly distributed than it is under the present system. 
Harrow-on-the-Hill, January, 1868. 
