DUNEDIN MEAT SUPPLY. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10494, 18 October 1895, Page 3

DUNEDIN MEAT SUPPLY. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—ln the midst of the Rgitation going on jdat'how oh tha important question of & supply of sound meat for the people of Dunedin, it is gratifying to see medical men taking an interest in the matter. With some of their views I entirely a'jjrree But with others, from a practical point cf view, I beg leave to differ. On Thursday evening lsst, at a meeting of the SauiUry Institute, Dr Will struck the right nail on the head'when he drew attention to dieeate being communicated to meat after slaughtering by being conveyed to the nhops in uncovered carts through the dnsty ttreets of Ddnedin.' I need not ropecit the gruesome story, but refer the public to Dr Will's remarks as reported in the Times of 11th iß«t. But I would go further,'and pass a by-law to have all carts »nd waggons washed every time after use,' and e»ch provided with a good c(o»e canvas cover to shade the meat from the sun *nd protect it from all impurities. And during duet storms tha doors and windows of butchers' shops should bo cloud, and for the master of that thone of all provision and frnifc shops. It must ba borne iv mind that ; once dust cr soil bncoints attached to moat it can'f, be washed off. The saying that "cleanliness k next to godline-s " ifs p»rticularly applicable here.' Dr Roberts also gare an interesting address,' conveying much useful information ; but whan he cays tuberoulosis does not emaciate cattle' in the same way as ifc dcsiß human beings, having seen it otherwise, I thinkehe is somewhat out there. On Uia other hano", I am glad to see Dc Roberts holds that the true tource of cancer ha» not been discovered yet, and that he does not join in the semeJeJs cry that diseased me»t is the cause. The doctor7 * remarks all through will well repay a careful perusal. '

At a previons meeting held by the institute a medical gentlemiui rcss and taid that consumption was not nerediUry, but infectious; tbat cancer and consumption were caueed by eating diseased meat, and he would not attribute them to ,any other came, I confess such doctrine was news to me, but knowing that m&uy emir.ent medieil men hold a dittctent opinion I shall leave the matter to be settled by tho faculty themselves, and confine myself to a few-facts and queries. , For a long term of years I had on an average about 250 cattle and 25,000 sheep on my runs, and duriug all tho time I never had a case of cancer and only a very few cases of tuberculosis. In recent jeiis lung-worm, etranglei, or eoneumptioD appeared amongst my sheep. Lambs of varioui ages wer* ctiitfly affeced, and many ded. 000 lamb, just 14 d»ys old. ou bjing opened I fouiid to contain five or six strangulon» worms at the very outer extremity of one air tube of the long-. Now I wish respectfully to ask, was thit a ea*e of hereditary taint, or whst w*e it ? fily owa jopiniou at the time was that the lamb had become affected when ia an embryo state—loiig before it was yeaued. In taking up this matter, it is out of no desire to become a critic of other men's views, but rather tha"; tho truth should be told, and that the public may not be misled by speculative theories. And I can assure one and all that there is not the least fear of stock that are affected with the diseases I speak of coming forward to the fat market; ou the contrary, they b^ci>me poor, miserabla skeletons, whose diseased condition is telf-evident to all beholders, and many die before recovery sets

Those'who tell n« that diseeso may be lurking in the bsautiful, well-topped-up carcases of beef and muttou hanging in our butchers' shops are only hoixing us; but please keep in mind Dr Will's definition of the constituents of the Street dust.—l am, &v., Duuedin, October H. Wilteb Millzb