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account. The above account does not specify 108 cows belonging
to one owner which either were sent away to be killed, or died,
or were condemned and slaughtered in little more than a week. The
following are believed, however, to be accurate particulars of the
case of one cowkeeper. The total number of cows kept was 18,
all of which had been housed in the sheds for four months; no
diseased or infected cow had been brought there. On October 1
one was ill, but the malady was believed to be pleuro-pneumonia,
and the beast was “sent away” at once; very shortly, three more
were evidently poorly and were “sent away”; then four were
condemned and “sent away as diseased”; one recovered; the
remainder were all sold as healthy to butchers. The cow that
recovered gave excellent milk throughout the winter, and when
her milk ran dry she also was sold to the butchers.
At any rate, some effects are pretty certain; three of the best
cow-yards are now disused and the number of cows in the Parish
at present only about 100. Cow-keeper3, nevertheless, would add
to their stock if they dared, because town milk fetches so high a
price.
The question of town dairies is like that of town slaughterhouses.
Can the milk be brought in a sweet state from the
country? At present, this question cannot be considered satisfactorily
settled. When milk is brought a distance of 50 to 100
miles, that which is delivered to the consumer about three or four
in the afternoon has been milked early in the morning, eight, ten
or twelve hours before delivery, whilst that which is delivered
early in the morning was milked on the previous afternoon, probably
fourteen to sixteen hours before consumption. This milk
may taste sweet when cold, but is apt to curdle when boiled.
For our own parts, looking at the safety of young children
during hot weather, we can but hope that a sufficient number of
cows will be maintained for the present in town to give them
milk sweet, newly milked, and that has not been much shaken.
Spite of the outcry against London cow-sheds, and the fact that
some may have been kept unwholesomely, there is no doubt but
that, on the whole, they contained better cows, better fed and
better cared for, which gave better milk daring the nine winter
months, than any like number of cows elsewhere. By all means
let them bo removed from streets and mews ; but it is clear that
they ought, during hot weather, to be within easy distance of the
children, for whom their milk is most essential.
The Marine Store Dealers.
There are 26 in the Parish, all incessantly visited by Mr.
Grant, and kept as harmless as their nature admits. Still it were
much to be wished that the legislation as to licenses, &c., which
has been extended to cow-sheds, slaughter-houses, and bakehouses,
could be extended to this business also.
Water Analyses.
The analyses of the water supplied to the Parish by the
Chelsea and Grand Junction Companies, show a uniform, and, on