London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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St Pancras 1905

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, London, Borough of]

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The following table shows the number of animals found to be diseased, nature of disease, &c.:—

No.Description of Carcase.Disease.Where Affected.How Disposed of.
2PigsTuberculosisCarcase and OrgansDestroyed by burning at the Dust Destructor.
2Sheep(Killed in a dying condition)" "" "
1Lamb(Killed in a dying condition)" "" "
5OxenAbscessLivers" "
2OxenFlukes" "
1OxAbscessLungs" "
2SheepEchinococcus VeterinorumLungs and Livers" "

Licensed Cowsheds.—I paid 94 visits to tlie licensed cowsheds, and only on
few occasions did I have to call the owners attention to the By-laws.
Milkshops.—I made 403 visits to milkshops, and, with ten exceptions, found
the milk vessels generally satisfactory. During these visits I found 25 persons
selling milk without being registered in accordance with the Dairies, Cowsheds,
and Milkshops Orders.
Sale of Food and Drugs Acts.—I obtained 375 samples of articles of food and
drugs for analysis by the Public Analyst, of which 50 were adulterated.
Of the samples of milk 42 were taken promiscuously at the St. Pancras (M.R.)
and King's Cross (G.N.R) Stations, and only one sample found to be
adulterated and this to the extent of one per cent. only.
I have kept special observations at the railway stations, both in the night
and day, of the methods of the men in the milk trade. I found it was the
common practice of the men to remove the warranty labels from the churns.
I have seen men in the employ of some wholesale milk dealers, who attend for
the milk consigned to their firms, dip out a certain quantity of milk from each
churn, and then replace the amount removed by other milk; I have seen
separated milk used for this purpose. In a good many cases milk is mixed
on the stations, then a number of churns are taken away by the carman to
serve his customers, in some cases the remainder of the churns are left for
hours on the station unlocked and unsealed, therefore left unprotected. If a
sample of milk was taken from one of these men and found to be adulterated
a certain farmer's name no doubt would be given as having supplied the milk
under warranty, and the wholesale firm's defence succeed.