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in the Board of Agriculture's leaflet, No. 146, which is:—
"It is a well-known fact that in the vast majority of cases
the milk given by the cows of this country exceeds in butter
fat and other milk solids the percentage specified in the
'Sale of Milk Regulations, 1901,' made by the Board of
Agriculture. It happens, however, occasionally, that for one
reason or another a cow may give milk which does not
contain those percentages (3 per cent, of butter fat and
8.5 per cent, of other milk solids); and in such cases the
dairyman, when prosecuted, is required to prove that the
milk is genuine. In order to avoid the trouble and annoyance
of a prosecution, farmers, dairymen and all other cowkeepers
are strongly recommended to have samples of the
milk of their cows tested from time to time. By this means
they will be able to watch the seasonal and other variations
in the fat contents of the milk, and by modifications in the
feeding, housing or time of milking their cows, and, if
necessary, by disposing of animals that give milk of low
quality, to keep the quality of their milk at a satisfactory
level. The Board have ascertained that, with the object of
assisting farmers in the direction indicated, most of the
Agricultural Colleges and Agricultural Departments of the
Universities have made arrangements for determining the
percentage of butter fat for a fee of sixpence per sample."
Food Inspection.—Frequent inspections at irregular
intervals have been made at fruiterers, fishmongers, fried
fish shops, butchers, and other places where food is prepared
and sold, as well as on Saturday afternoons and evenings
when stalls and barrows in the streets, particularly in the
Broadway and High Street, Merton, have been inspected.
In several instances the vendor's attention has been called
to the doubtful condition of fruit and meat exposed for sale,
which have in such cases been destroyed by the vendor.
One barrel of apples and five barrels of fish, purchased at
Billingsgate, were brought by retailers resident in the
Borough to me for inspection and destroyed at the refuse
destructor. This prevents the articles being exposed for
sale, as a certificate is given which enables the retailer to
recover from the wholesale dealer the amount paid for the
goods.
Petroleum Acts, 1871 to 1879.—These Acts provide for
the safe keeping of Petroleum which, when tested in the
manner prescribed in Schedule 1 of the Act of 1879, gives off
an inflammable vapour at a temperature below 73 degrees
Fahrenheit. The ordinary Petroleum Oil, commonly used
for burning in houshold lamps, flashes above 73 degrees
Fahrenheit, and is therefore exempt from the operations of
these Acts.
Twenty-two applications to keep Petroleum and one
for Carbide of Calcium were received during the year; three
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