'A went conducted dairy under such management as to inspire public confidence, and prepared to supply its produce at reasonable prices is undoubtedly a great desideratum for Shanghai. Experience has shown however that the business as hitherto managed is a precarious one, and many specially qualified have been prevented from undertaking it by the risks incurred. Diseases have from time to time broken out and caused such losses of stock as to offer great discouragements to the dairymen, at the same time curtailing Lhe supply of milk for the public and creating a feeling of uuensiness as to the character of that furnished, This feeling has had in many instances probably a good foundation in foot. The cow with the iron tail is proverbial, and the temptation to keep up regular supplies for customers might induce a resort to water to eke out the deficiency of the natural article. This would not be so objectionable, except in cases where the milk is required for the nourishment of infants and invalids, if the purity of the water used could be depended upon; but when the details of such operations are left to natives it is to be feared they would obtain the dilutent from the nearest sources. hey know not the difference from © sanitary point of view between purest filtered water and thnt taken from the filthiest ditches in which swarm the germs of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and other dandly diseases, and as its colour could be disguised by the whiteness of the milk would sce no reason why they should not use the latter as well as the former. Who can say that this would not solve the mystery of the fatal attacks which have carried offs many of our residents, and which could never be traced to any clearly ascertained cause Then there is the chance of milk from diseased cattle being united with that from healthy cows, and this is another great source of danger. Surely there is no matter more deserving of attention by those charged with the daty of keeping watch over the sanitary conditions of the place, and more clearly within their province than that of inspecting the milk which is supplied to residents, and the source from which itis derived. The inspection of markets, and of the fish, meat, and vegetables supplied for daily food is the daty of ove of the employes of the Counci why, then, should milk, which may much more readily be the vehicle for the introduction of the germs of disease into the system, be exempted from all supervision? Yet this appears to be the case. The Council are understood to disclaim having any control over the dairies outside the setilement, There is no more reason why this should be so than that they should have no control over the sale of meat from diseased animals. They certainly have the right to forbid the sale of milk in the settlement from suspected dairies, and the exercise of this right at any time would soon bring the owners to yield to municipal control and supervision if they were inclined otherwise to disallow it, There can be no greater mistake on the part of dairymen than to object to such supervision, and they should invite it and pay for it if necessary rather than repel it. Once Let it be known that a dairy is under the regular supervision of the Health Officer and every one would lnve confidence in it. The outbreak of disease in any public dairy cannot be kept secret for any length of time, and the greater the efforts to maintain secrecy the greater will be the suspicion attaching to the place and the more will the public lose confidence and its business fall off, Under proper inspection the news of such an outbreak would on the contrary be received with comparative indifference, and the community would feel that all duo precautions were being taken to pro-vent any danger of impure or questionable milk being palmed off upon them, The sooner therefore Uhat proper steps are taken in this direction the better for all concerned. Many of the community lave all along been under the impression that the dairies were more or less under the Municipal control, and secing in the regular reports of the Inspector of Markets no allusion lo the existence of disease among cattle have continued in ignorance, perhaps not always blissful, that cows were dying by the score in the very dairies from which they were receiving daily supplies of milk, It is not to be credited that the Inspector who is supposed to visit the slaughter houses in the neighbourhood should have failed to see these carcasses of cattle which ave perished by contagious disease, It is not to be credited moreover that having seen them, even if ho bad no intimation from other sources, ho should not have led to the discovery of the existence of an unusual amount of disease among cattle, TE so, could be not have reported it, even if the Council have no control over dairies Was it not clourly his duty to do so? Then why this absolute silence on so important a subject? If so indifferent in this direction, are his reports in other matters to be rolied upon? These are things which should be thoroughly sifted.
With regard to the organisation of dairies there can be no doubt that if the lessons of experience are properly made use of, arrangements might be effected for reducing the risk of losses by disease to much less than its pre. scyt limits. For some ranson this locality is peculiarly liable to a recarrence of epizootic diseases, and por-limps for the reason that proper precautions have not hitherto been taken stamp them out, The carcasses of cattle may have been carelessly buried or otherwise disposed of, and then the germs of the mischief remain dormant
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.