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42
satisfactory condition before the applicants' names were placed on
the Register. Two premises changed hands during the year and, as
their condition was in every way satisfactory, the new occupiers
were placed on the Register.
One of the retail purveyors of milk mentioned above is also a
wholesaler.
During the last five years a great improvement has taken place
in the character of the places where milk is sold and also in the
manner in which it is handled. This change has taken place as
a result of the acquisition of some of the old premises by a large
company, owing to trade competition and also because of the
pressure brought to bear on those handling milk by the public
health department. For the same reasons bottling of milk in the
district has become the rule and only a small quantity of milk is
retailed from open cans. Further, it may be said that at least
80 per cent. of the milk supplied in the district has been pasteurised
by the "positive holder" method, to which reference will be made
later, and bottled. A proportion of the remaining 20 per cent.
is pasteurised by the "flash" method, particularly in the warmer
months of the year.
The Milk and Dairies (Consolidation) Act which came into
operation on the 1st September, 1925, together with the Tuberculosis
Order which had been suspended during the war, should,
when Orders have been made under Section 1 of the Act, do much
to improve our general milk supply, particularly its quality as it
leaves the cowshed. If these Acts and Orders are administered in
a thorough manner, especially by the County Councils, whose duty
it is to supervise production of milk in the country districts, a
marked improvement should be effected in a few years. The
natural result of this improvement is sure to be greater confidence
of the public and an increased consumption of milk. It will
therefore be greatly to the advantage of the farmer if he recognises
his responsibility and carries out the improvements which are so
much needed on his part.
No action has been taken with regard to tuberculous
milk, but proposals are being put forward for the regular examination
of milk for the presence of the bacillus of tuberculosis so as to
stimulate and assist County Councils in carrying out their duties
under the Milk and Dairies (Consolidation) Act,