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31
which is a compound of boracic acid with soda, can be
detected in a similar manner, the addition of a few drops
of strong sulphuric acid being made to free the boracic
acid from the soda.
At the Commission mentioned above, Mr. de Hailes, analyst
to the Dairy Trade Protection Society, gave an account of the
means by which milk was brought from distant places to
London and insisted that preservatives must be used. As for
cold storage he said that many farmers were without the means
for adopting it. He was aware, he said, that some milkmen
make a great point about not using preservatives, but they were
careful to get their supplies from farms within a short distance
of London. He would not like to say that it was impossible
to supply milk to London for a greater distance than forty
miles without preservatives, but he would say that the milk
trade, as at present carried on, could not be carried on without
preservatives. He saw great practical objection to vendors
being required to make a declaration to each purchaser of the
presence of preservatives, especially in view of the manner in
which the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts were administered,
although he should have no objection to a notice being
exhibited in a shop saying that the milk sold there was
preserved. He also saw objection to a declaration in each
case when butter with a preservative was sold.
Black Smoke and Noxious Fumes.
During the year strict observation has been kept upon the
chimneys of the various factories and workshops within the
district, with a view to minimising these nuisances. When the
wind blows in a certain direction we get all the ill effects of the
smoke from Messrs. Doulton and Stiff's chimneys on the other
side of the river, and complaint was made of the same during
the year. During last Session a Member of Parliament asked
the Home Secretary to require manufacturers in the neighbourhood
of the Palace of Westminster to consume their own smoke,
as the Committee rooms, the Terrace, and the dining-rooms of
the House of Commons are often filled for hours with most
unpleasant fumes. Amongst the offenders during the year were
the Army & Navy Auxiliary Co-operative Stores, the Westminster
Electric Supply Corporation, Hyde Park-couit, Royal
Palace Hotel, Queen Anne's-mansions and Niagara, and the
owner of a laundry in Church-street for causing noxious fumes
to escape from the chimney shaft. Watch was kept on several
other buildings and the owners cautioned as to the necessity of
their discontinuing the nuisance. The Hon. Rollo Russell, in