The question of a pure milk supply, discussed at the recent meeting of one of our foreign dairies and further in one of our leading articles, bee been before the population of Shanghai in many forms and shapes for the last 20 yeara, though not always in crystallized form. Its pertinence can be realized from the number of infringements of the existing rules and regulations, the perpetrators of which appear before the Mixed Cowt in answer thereto. The records of that tribunal show that in the years immediately previous to the past two, the offend ders charged with adulteration mainly by dilution to degrees ranging to 30 per cent., have been quite eniently dealt with by those sitting in judgment, the penalties varying 81 amounts irom $2 to $13, with aM occasional heavier sentence. Latterly the Court has been visiting the offence more severely, Yet oven such penalties og fines up to the maximum of $100, with the general average from $10 to $50 do not seem to have induced local recalcitrants to mend their ways.
The Chinese dairymen, delinquent before the law on these cha.ges, evidently do not fear a fine.. For example, a dispenser of milk sells on the average of 100 bottles daily at 18 cents per bottle 30 days per month for the grand average income of $540. It, as is often the case, 30 per cent. of the total is water, where from no one knows, the profit on the water alone is three-tenths of $540 or $162, plus his legitimate profit. The obvious answer to the question for him, whether it is worth while to "water," must be in the aflirmative—even 10 per cent water makes a handsome balance on the ledger. Penalties, prescribed by the Mumicipal By-laws, are not an effective deterrent to wrongdoing. True the licence may be annulled—another may act for the owner by a false bill of sale of the cattle concerned and the real owner may continue to receive the proceeds of water:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.