A MILK TALK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 298, 10 September 1908, Page 3

A MILK TALK.

f '. ' '.THE PRICE OF SAFETY. V WELLINGTON'PAY?; I -. .I'Tha ,milk, supply industry'. 1 is ; in. a very. Unsatisfactory .state;'' 'said an . officer:- of tlioAgricultural Department, the other day, • "and until- -ire- got' proper .depots-established • there will be littlo. real improvement - We want: proper depots, ' arid . also proper milk ... cans." ' :.. • . What is your'ideal of q milk can? - "It should have a tap sor that the , milk ... can bo drawn"oil - opening the- can admitting, die, street, dusts at every, house ~.;v p . the' roundj aad that tap. must be' single ' in. construction -so .'as to be easily withdrawn and ..cleaned.-, There', should also accompany this, can a sufficient number of. metal jugs, with. coversV-like-. hot-wafer jugs—in which to cover the milk from the tap to the cus : . tomer's door. -With such 'appliances there . should bo less.dirt at the bottom.of,the milk • in your jug morning." If, the jDepartment.'.were; .to standardise a • . proper outfit;--would-.,not- tho, milk .vendors aJI uso it?,fc'.-,- , r ., .. ... J'L b'elieye they'would; and, personally, I - Wish the Department -would' tako' the bold • course-of declaring 'sonio .proper milk cans as : being officially approved. Atpresent; .though a rank'vendor may' proVide himself .withv.the very best outfits,!ho cannot be quite sure that '■■■' '• the will -riot find something to , disapprove'of in . it." ' .- • You •'"think the, Department may, in time officially adopt a particular form of can ? .. "Well I hope so." .!■'.',!' . . , 'Having good depots and good methods of distribution,, what, would you do ,to ensure that'the milk is! good and free from disease .wh'en it "is ;firs't! put. into the cans? , -.'. "Well,, at the .depots there ;could bo. sam- . , pies! repeatedly . taken .for bacteriological a..aminatioh. !Any' discovery of. tuberculosis or . other disease, germs; should be followed 1 by a '■ /thorough overhauling of the dairy from which ;. the infected ; milk arrived. But if it bo held ' that milk may contain disease 'germs, and yet the samples examined perhaps not .show . . .them,- theji the next thing to do is to apply '.the tuberculin test op the cows themselves, and thus-get right home to the root of the trouble." .- ■ ■ What is the real treason why the Depart- , does not clear out tuberculosis by j the simple use of tuberculin ? "It's the expense. You know the, Govern'• ; ment is spending an awful lot of money a 1... ... ready on the, dairying.;industry.". , You think ; they fear that tho taxpayers ... would object to pay the'compensation? , , "I believo. so." . , How. much -would the ■ farmers want ? ~ "I believe they would willingly agree to have all their'herds tested, and the diseased animals destroyed if they got two-thirds , their nominal value." , . What would it cost Wellington to pay " this?. ■ . ' " . • "It would depend on the number of diseased , cows. in tho ■ herds. Mr. Gilruth, has said ». that at least 10 per cent.-of them are tuberculous. .Where -a whole ' herd 1 was - recently 1 tested near Wellington, 20 per cent, wero diseased. But I myself, think that 30 per cent. .of. the'dairy cows• are tuberculousi If we say,.however, that'there are 20 per cent.', then out of-the total of about '500 cows supplying -tho milk gf Wellington city, : 1000 would. be_condemned. If they were nominally worth £7'105.-each,' and the compensation !t would cost Wellington a total :of £5000." ...