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256
1910]
Cowhouses.—The cowhouses now number only 5, as contrasted with
31 in 1892. Year by year they have grown fewer and fewer It is difficult
to understand the reason. It is true that many of them were anything but
satisfactory as places for the production of milk, but on the other hand it
must be acknowledged that others were quite suitable, and, indeed, much
better than those usually found on country farms. The Medical Officer of
Health has stated before now that he would prefer a properly regulated
London cowhouse to many that are associated with farms, because the former
are far better inspected by the sanitary authorities and, therefore, better kept
by their owners. They are more cleanly in every way; the only drawback
is to the animals themselves, which, once they enter the cowshed, never leave
it until they have run dry, when they are sold either for meat or to a farmer
for breeding purposes.
Although the five cowhouses are licensed to hold 125 cows, they, as a
matter of fact, only contain 43. It is to be regretted that one of the best
cowhouses in London that owned by Mr. George Arnold, 233, Seven Sisters
Road, which is licensed to hold 64 animals, and which for several years was
occupied to its fullest extent, does not contain a single animal. The proprietor
still continues to purvey milk on a considerable scale, but prefers to purchase
it from farmers. For years there has been great competition in the milk trade,
and cutting prices have largely obtained, so that the London owners of cows
have felt compelled, in order to meet the competition, to buy their milk from
farmers or wholesale dealers, as they found it was cheaper to do so than to
produce it in London.