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necessary, things being as they are. Perhaps birth control would not
be frowned upon so much if steps were taken to stop the vulgar
flaunting in shop windows and easy sale of contraceptives.
Concerning milk as it is bought, a distinct advance has been made
in the year under review. Dr. Hill, at my suggestion, has advised
mothers at the Clinics to taste the milk every day before preparing the
child's food, and to complain at the dairy if it is not satisfactory. It is
reported that the milk has improved after this has been done. Mothers
are advised to press for delivery of the milk in sealed glass bottles, but
they are warned against purchasing milk where the bottle does not
bear the date of production on the label. The fact is that if milk is
thoroughly cleaned, then bottled, the absence of dirt delays souring.
Thus, if one enters a shop and asks for a bottle of milk it is far from
being impossible that a purchaser may run the risk of receiving a bottle
of milk which is several days old : this, of course, might conceivably
happen where the vendor did not sell much milk and where the
purchaser sees no label stating the date of production. I warn people
not to buy bottled milk in shops where there is no label on the bottles
stating the day of production.
Dr. Hill reports as follows: Most retail milkmen are willing to
deliver the milk in glass bottles, and the practice of calling it "nursery
milk "and charging Id. extra per pint is now being dropped. Some
roundsmen, possibly because they find that the extra weight of the
bottles involves extra work in distribution, declare that the milk is
exactly the same as that which they have in their cans. So it should
be, but it is not exposed to contamination in the street if delivered in
a glass bottle with a sealed cap over it.
I have been sometimes told that the glass bottles are simply filled
up from the can in the street, and have, in fact, seen this done (but not
in Deptfoid). Such practice should be absolutely forbidden. It is
desirable that in addition to the ordinary cardboard disc in the neck of
the bottle a complete cap should be placed over the top of the bottle,
and it should be sealed down before it leaves the farm. The date of
production should also be stated. Less valuable fluids (e.g., whiskey,
etc.) are always sold in sealed bottles. This is more necessary in the
case of milk owing to the risk to infant life.
In dealing—as a customer—with two well-known firms in East
Ham I found that the milk supplied to me in glass bottles, after I had
made serious complaints to the management, was very much better in