London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1903
Report on the public health of 1903
This page requires JavaScript
Continued from previous page...
| No. of Cowshed. | No of Cows. | Cubic Capacity per cow, in cubic feet. | Paving and Drainage. | General Sanitation and Cleanliness. | Daily Milkings. | Cleanliness of Milking. | Treatment of Milk. | Destination of Milk. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49 | 560 | good | fair | 2 | fair | strained and cooled | Finsbury, Stoke Newington, &c. |
| 2 | 10 | 848 | good | fair | 2 | fair | strained and cooled | Finsbury. |
| 3 | 12 | 990 | good | fair | 2 | fair | strained and cooled | Finsbury. |
| 4 | 5 | 2154 | good | bad | 2 | fair | strained and cooled | Finsbury, City of London. |
| 5 | 22 | 2000 | fair | bad | 2 | not clean | strained and cooled | Finsbury. |
| 6 | 3 | 2000 | very good | fair | 2 | fair | strained and cooled | Finsbury. |
| 7 | 17 | 1100 | good | fair | 2 | fair | strained only | Finsbury. |
Most of the 118 cows at present stabled in Finsbury are
Shorthorns or their cross. It is the practice to purchase good cows,
and, on the whole, they are in good condition. Certainly the Finsbury
cows are in a much better condition than the general average
of cows in country cowsheds. This is due to three causes operating
in the Metropolis. First, good class animals come to the London
cowsheds, because the owners have to send them to the butcher
when dry, and, therefore, inferior animals are a poor investment.
Secondly, there is a very regular and thorough inspection by the
veterinary inspector of the London County Council. Thirdly, there
is no inbreeding. Consequently, general tuberculosis, which probably
affects more than 30 per cent, of milch cows in the country (McFadyean,
Delepine, etc.), only affects 20 per cent, in London, and whereas 2
per cent, of country cows have tuberculosis of the udder, only 0.20
per cent, of London cows have tuberculous disease of the udder.