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47
The distance travelled varies, but the milk may come from as
far as Cornwall, Scotland, or even the Continent, so that it will
readily be understood how contamination or deterioration of it
may arise. The average distance that the Lambeth milk travels
is from 100 to 200 miles, taking from 10 to 20 hours (or longer)
before finally being distributed to the customers. Roughly, 800
churns of milk are received daily at Vauxhall and Waterloo
Stations.
(a) Country Farms wherein the Milk is produced.
These farms may be, often are, from a sanitary point of view,
most undesirable, whilst the conditions under which the milk
may be collected are such as, at times, to baffle description. It
is the country sources of the milk supplies that need control and
supervision. A high standard of sanitation is required at the
farms in the country, and this can only be secured by a rigorous
carrying out of the Dairies, Cowsheds, and Milkshops Orders of
1885, 1880, and 1899, which are, .unfortunately, practically a
dead letter—at least, in many rural districts. In this connection,
the Local Government Board and the Board of Agriculture might,
with advantage, be petitioned to take such steps as will ensure
these Dairies, Cowsheds and Milkshops Orders being efficiently
carried out by all Sanitary Authorities (more especially in rural
districts), and, further, that in regard to the Metropolis, the Local
Government Board might be urged to consider the advisability of
the Board carrying out its statutory powers under Section 28 of
the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, by virtue of which the
Board may make such general and special Orders as the Board
may think fit, dealing with the registration of dairymen, the
inspection of cattle in dairies, the sanitary conditions of dairies,
the securing of the cleanliness of milk-vessels, the prescribing
of precautions to be taken for protecting milk against infection
or contamination, and the authorising of the London County
Council to make Bye-laws for any, or all, of the above purposes.
It is somewhat anomalous that Section 28 of the London
Public Health Act (which came into force on January 1st, 1892)
should have remained in abeyance up to the present day (an
interval of over 12 years), and that, consequently, the Metropolis
should have been deprived of up-to-date Orders (to be made by
the Local Government Board) and up-to-date Bye-laws (to be
made by the London County Council). The Local Government
Board having failed to make the Orders, the London County
Council has been unable to make the subsequent Bye-laws ; and
so the Metropolis is still dependent upon the Dairies, Cowsheds