The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1908. OUR MILK SUPPLY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2188, 12 May 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1908. OUR MILK SUPPLY.

Few people who givo the subject any consideration will find fault with the endeavor that in being made by the Agricultural Department to bring about groator cleanliness and bettor management in the dairies that supply factories and the public with milk. Naturally wo are chiefly concerned with the sources of the town supply and in this respect it is gratifying to have the assurance of the Chief of the local branch of the Agricultural Department that the dairies aro in fair order. There is not nearly sufficient attention given by the public to this important matter. Everyone, of course, believes in demanding purity in food and drink, but the fact is not sufficiently recognised that in milk more than in any other article of diet this is absolutely essential for -the simple reason that there is no moans by which disease can bo so readily disseminated as it oan through milk. To mention but one prevalent disease at lias only to ho pointed out that the- “Great White Plague,” as consumption has been fittingly designated, can be transmitted - from cattle to human beings through the milk supply and that bovine tuberculosis is .a comparatively common ailment to realise how great the danger is. Some years ago the famous German scientist, l)r Koch, ‘attempted to establish the fact that tuberculosis oould not ho so transmitted mid for a time -his statements “received credence, bu t the thorough experiments which have since been made by the world’s greatest scientists havo proved beyond a shadow of doubt tliat Dr Koch was wrong. This point should necessarily be emphasised as justifying the campaign which the Government officials are still waging against the spread of bovine tuberculosis. Apart, however, from this aspect of the question, it is obvious that in the case of a milk supply for a town absolute cleanliness.should bo demanded, yet liow far are we from getting thin? A visit to tile dairies alone can answer the question. Some of-the photographs which were ijKoivn: to our representative disclose ii state of affairs that can only lie described as shocking and disgraceful. Instead of the paved yard, concrete floor for shed, with ample water supply and well, kept dairies, one sees a yard that simply comprises a bog, through which the half-starved cows can with difficulty bo driven. They are yarded up into bails around which a few studs, with a stray batten nailed on here and there, do duty .for a shed, and the milk tins aro left to stand in a dirty old outhouse. In .such surroundings it i 3 quite impossible for oithor the oow that is to be miked or the mlker to bo in anything but- a filthy condition, and centaintly pure milk can never be obtained from such an atmosphere. We are told that those are not the dairies from which tile town gots its supply, but it is surely of exceeding detriment to the country that we should prejudice the reputation of the factory butter sent from this district by permitting tiho supplies to 'be taken from such contaminated sources. Aloreover, we are by no means satisfied that the dairies which supply the town aro all that i they should be. With the limited staff Hiat is available for inspection, is is almost impossible to examine all the dairies as frequently and as thoroughly as the circumstances warrant. The latest regulations of the Government contain many excellent provisions in these matters, having reference, not only

to tho conditions of the dairies, but also to tho inu.ilnor in which tho milk may bo distributed, but it is very problematical whether any serious attempt will bo made to enforce them. It is not no much new ragiiliitioim that aro needed in this matter ns moro efficient inspection. One aspect of tho question' that presents considerable difficulty is the fact that many email dairy farmers are only tenants holding properties on short leases. To compel such a dairyman to spend several hundred pounds in erecting an up-to-date milking shed with yard and sanitary dairy would I,? simply to compel him to make a present of these improvements to tho owner,, and it is not easy, on tho other hand, to place 'the responsibility upon the man who holds tho title. A good deal oan ho done in an educative manner by the officials of tlie Agricultural Department, for tlioro aro many dairy farmers who employ uncleanly and unprofitable methods through sheer ignorance. AATiatevor plan he adopted, anything tlio Department can do towards improving the purity of our mill; supply, whether for local, consumption or for factory purposes, is entitled to all possible support.