THE STOCK DEPARTMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 20

THE STOCK DEPART MENT.

DAIRY 'INSPECTION. THE DAIRY~REGIJLATIOX.S. (Fhoh Ovr Own Cobkespokdest.) WELLINGTON. January 11. Mr Gilruth, who leaves to-night, via Christchurch and Dunedin, to take up hie new duties in Melbourne, has been honoured with quite a number of farewell i 1 banquets and other functions, and it is 1 safe to say that New Zealand regrets to 10.-c him. and that he leaves behind him [ troops of fliends. ', It is now some 15^ years since he jointed ' the service of the New Zealand Government, and during all that period he has served the State with marked ability, and ' has proved, himself a capable organiser ■ and administrator. To a Post representaL tive this morning Mr Gilruth made some [ illuminating statements about dairy inspection and the recent much-discussed 1 dairy regulations. " Dairy inspection of a ! rery strict character," he said, '" if* a matter '< of prime necessity at the present juncture, as it has been a>nd always will be. The i reasons for this are twofold. First, there ! is the question of the health of the people, 1 and, second, the quality of the product : of this country. While the indifferent members of the community have a perfect right* to poison themselves if they co choose, they have no right to saddle others with the consequences of their apathy. The very fact that we have two , diseases — tuberculosis on the one hand, which is capable of being conveyed by i dairy produce to human beings, and mam- ■ mitis on the other hand, the microbe of vhich is closely associated, if not identi--1 tica'l, with those causing such diseases as ■ septic sore throat in children, puerperal fever in women, and erysipelas — alone indicates the need for thorough and sys- . tematic inspection of cows." He went on ! to say that so far as huma.n life and the , general credit of the country's exports I were concerned, the hygienic conditions > under which the cows, were fed. hou^-ed. aaxl milked were of the utmost import-

Mice. " The contamination, or raw material, which may result from, bad hygienic conditions, may be so acute as to be easily detected by a factory manager," said Mr Gi truth, " especially if the private supplier is not an influential director. At the same time the contamination may be there, and; may remain undetected owing to the germs not having multiplied to a sufficient extent. There is no doubt whatever that the results of deleterious additions may not become apparent until the produce is actually on the counter of the retailer in Great Britain. The freezing machine does not kill all the microbes, it only delays their increase. The recent dairy regulations" were not submitted to me in any shape or form, not even after they -were printed, and my opinion was not asked for. even by the Select Committee which considered the regulations daring the sitting of Parliament. Neither was the opinion of Mr Young, a member of my staff, who for a number of years was specially engaged by the authorities at Edinburgh- to supervise the milk supply of that city. What is wanted is that an inspector should have the power to eliminate, at least from supplying mdlk, all unhealthy cows, that cows should be milked under conditions such as will not permit of the likely contamination of the milk supply, and that the milk should be stored under similar conditions. The whole question is concerned with the condition of things, not so much the number of thdngs or their actual presence." "All inspection," Mr Gilruth added, "should bs under veterinary control. The veterinary surgeon is the only person who, in qualifying for his career, is compelled to study the hygiene of the lower animals, and he* must pass a-n examination in that before he acquires the right to practise. Therefore, it would seem obvious, in any country but this that an individual carrying out the work of dairy inspector should at least prove that he has a knowledge of hygiene, which is a prime essential in the prevention of disease in any animal, including man, and that a mam equipped in ths manner I have referred to would be the person to control these engaged iti the inspection of dairies. It is only by official work being entrusted to real experts, who are trained and have proved their capacity, that the taxpayer can xeoeive a guarantee that he is getting anything like the worth of his money." When questioned about the dairy inspectors who were appointed some tdsne back, Mr Gilruth said he knew nothing about them. Can you give any details of the training they had received.' the reporter asked. Mr Gibruth eaid he could not. Was this the fault of the men or yourself? Mr Gilruth replied "No. For years the men had cxaen anxious to receive a oouorse of training j from me, and I have been equally anxious to give it, with the provieo that I should control their work, which, of course, would include the application of the knowledge after it was received." Then why was nothing done? Mr Gilrufh said he was informed that the inspectors had too much other work to do — too much work, presumably, like rabbit inspection and other duties. On being pressed for an opinion as to the existing position, Mr Gilruth would only say that the veterinary division was required to investigate diseases, and .the vets, decided what an animal had Buffered from -when it was dead, but the men who decided what animals were euffeiing from when alive were men who had not passed an examination. He added that co far as tho officers of the department were concerned they had always shown anxiety to do their work in the best possible way, and he was sorry to leave the friends he had made in the Stock Department and other divisions of the service. Of Mr Reakes, who will be Mr Gilruth's successor, he said' they had been follow students a<t college, and, having in mind his own outspokenmsss, added, " Perhaps it is more a tribute to him than to TTiys&lf "thai^ ir-e have n-e-v^r- Ins*! oz3>e wocncl of disagreement since we became associated as officers of the New Zealand Government 12 years ago." » ' WELLINGTON, January 11. " Mr Gibrath, in an interview with a Poet reporter, gave details of the work of the Veterinary Department over the last 15 years. He said that blackleg has practically ceased. Contagious mammitis is fairly prevalent in dairying districts throughout the country. There are no legislative means of preventing the contagion spreading, although he has repeatedly urged legislation. Tuberculosis i 3 also prevalent, and Mr Gilruth says if it will ever be economically possible to eradicate the disease nbw is the time to do it No outbreak of anthrax lias occurred for four years, and swine fever has been stamped out.