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* Since 1904 a new system has been adopted, a special inspector being appointed
to carry out the duties under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts instead of, as
formerly, several of the district inspectors doing this work.
It will be noted that the percentage of adulteration during
1907 is considerably less than in 1906. There are two inferences
which may be drawn from this fact. One is that less
activity is being displayed, or, on the other hand, that
the rigid administration of the Sale of Food and Drugs
Acts which has been carried out in the Borough during
the past five or six years is now bearing fruit. I am satisfied
that the latter, however, is the correct inference to be drawn.
The steady increase in the number of samples taken, under the
instructions of the Council, has contributed, in my opinion, to
the increased efficiency of administration. For the past
two years the number of samples taken has reached the large
total of 1,000 in each year. During 1907, 85 per cent. of the
total number were milk samples. The importance of taking
a large proportion of milk samples is obvious, as this article of
food is by far the most frequently adulterated, and, forming as
it does the staple diet of infants and invalids, the need for