592 
W. H. LOWE. 
The scandals and sensational reports of bad meat supplied 
to our soldiers in the Spanish-American war must have sug¬ 
gested the importance of an adequate veterinary inspection of 
animal food and what it would have meant to their health and 
the lives of the men serving in our army. 
A great deal has been said recently about milk inspection, 
but it seems to me that the authorities in a great many in¬ 
stances begin at the wrong end of this whole business. Instead 
of beginning by inspecting the milk, as is often done, they 
should begin by inspecting the animals, their stables, and the 
dairy generally. Every dairy should be under veterinary super¬ 
vision. A good cow, healthy and sound, properly stabled and 
properly fed, is going to give good, wholesome milk ; and a poor 
cow, unthrifty or unhealthy, improperly stabled and improperly 
fed, is going to give poor, unwholesome milk. 
The veterinary inspector should require good hygienic and 
sanitary conditions. The cows as well as the stables should be 
kept clean, the drainage and ventilation must be looked after, 
and the cows must have ample air space and light. Proper and 
good food and pure drinking water are essential. The milk as 
soon as drawn from the cow should be removed to another 
building, to be taken care of and prepared for market away from 
objectionable odors and injurious bacteria and germs. Not in¬ 
frequently healthy milk absorbs poisonous or disease germs be¬ 
tween the time it is drawn from the cow and the time it is 
delivered to the consumer. A few enterprising firms have done 
much to provide a wholesome milk supply, such as the Fairfield 
Dairy Company in my own State, but the general way cows are 
cared for and fed, and the way that milk is usually handled, is far 
from what it should be. The public need educating in this mat¬ 
ter and local boards of health should require proper veterinary 
supervision over dairies and the milk supply in every locality- 
I do not wish to tire you with a long paper, so will con¬ 
clude with the request that the relation of veterinary medicine 
to the public health shall be discussed as its importance de¬ 
mands. 
