CITY MILK SUPPLY.

Evening Star, Issue 21717, 11 May 1934, Page 12

CITY MILK SUPPLY.

TO THE JEDITOK. Sir, —Naturally you would oppose any suggestion made by our present mayor or Crs Jones and Munro, but there is such a thing as .ascertaining the facts before condemning any scheme. If the advice was taken of these men whom you term Radical the dairy farmer would be in a better position than he is in to-day; for one reason he would not have any bad debts on his books. There are several good points concerning the system they work under in Wellington. One cannot dispute, the quality of milk, and the council is a cash' concern. You can purchase any quantity of milk tokens, either pint or quart, but no tokens mean no milk, consequently the council is sure of its money and the farmer is sure of his, which you cannot say he is to-day. The milk in Wellington is delivered by horse-driven lorries, also making work for blacksmiths, wheelwrights, and drivers, not forgetting the harnessmakers and the men employed in the bottling of the milk in the council’s depot. So, apart from the excellent quality of milk, the Wellington City Council makes work for quit© a few men. The main point to be considered by the dairy farmer is the quantity of milk; the council has to have a guarantee of a certain amount of milk each day. You certainly put up a fine defence when you use the unimproved rating system as a defence, but if, as I have stated before, the dairy farmer’s money is sure each month he would he in a better position than he is in to-day.— l am, etc., Mac. ■ May 10.

TO THE EDITOR. Si.-, —I was very much interested in the City Council committee’s report on the subject of the milk supply to the city. This'is a very vital matter to all mothers and fathers of families. The report gives the salient features proved by the committee’s investigations briefly as follows:—(1) Bacteriological reports show a number of satisfactory results, but leave room for improvement in some of the samples tested, (2) The consumption of milk per capita from data available is below the minimum that should be accepted as sufficient, having regard to the value of pure wholesome milk as a form of desirable food. (3) The low price of butter fat now prevailing has induced many producers to dispose of their milk by retailing it on the local market. The committee,, whose work in this matter deserves great praise, is confronted with the problem of (a) ensuring an improvement in the purity of the milk; (b) increasing the use of pure and wholesome milk as a desirable and necessary article of food; (c) ensuring to the producer a price commensurate with the cost of production. When you solve the problem (a) you also solve (b) and (c). , But how are we to solve problem (a) —that is, ensure an improvement in the purity of the milk? It would appear from reports on the subject that sterilisation or pasteurisation may render milk fairly safe (and this is a debatable point), but it certainly has been proved that pasteurisation considerably reduces the dietetic value of the milk. From these conclusions it would appear that the only remedy (provided the cows are passed free of infection) is to pass the milk through a strainer that will take out all the impurities. Is it not possible for producers to procure a strainer here of this description? If so the problem is practically solved.—H am, etc., More Milk. May 11.