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The motto of the Fecamp Depot is "Fautede Mieux;" that of
the Woolwich Depot is " Second Best " to mother's milk.
Further, the object of the Depot is not to compete with the
milk trade. The Act under which the Depot is established prevents
the sale of milk for use by any but children under 2 years of age,
and the milk is chiefly intended for children under 12 months of
age, though, no doubt, many children from 1 to 2 may use it with
advantage. The working classes, of whom the great bulk of the
population consists, are entirely unable to pay the trade charges for
modified milk. At present, about half the infants in the Borough,
who do not have the breast, are fed on condensed milk. It is thus
seen there will be practically no competition with the trade in fresh
milk. The Depot seeks to supply pure modified milk free from
germs, at the same price as ordinary milk; no trader can do this.
It follows that the Depot will not and cannot be a paying concern,
but as the number of its customers is necessarily limited, it
cannot, on the other hand, appreciably increase the Borough Rates,
and the small additional charge on these will be amply compensated
by the gain in human life.
The Depot consists of a small shop with counter where the
customers will be supplied with the milk ; a large room in which
are carried out the processes of Pasteurization, cooling and bottle
washing ; and a daily where the milk will be tested and modified
and the bottles filled. The boiler is situated in a small separate
room, and another room will be used for weighing babies, in order
to see if they are making satisfactory progress, and if the milk
supplied is suitable for them. All these rooms are on the ground
floor and communicate with each other. The walls and floor of the
shop, working room and dairy consist throughout either of cement,
concrete, or tiles, and are thus capable of being thoroughly washed
at any time with water. The walls of the dairy are tiled throughout,
but in the other rooms the tiles only reach to a height of about
6 feet, the upper part of the walls being of cement, painted over.
Any water falling on the floor passes swiftly, by channels, to the
outside, where it discharges over a properly disconnected gully.
The rooms are well lighted and ventilated, but at the same time
are carefully protected from the entrance of dust.
The Sterilizer will allow 576 bottles to be Pasteurized at one
time; it consists of a circular wrought iron chamber, 4 ft. long
and 4 ft. in diameter, insulated and fitted with a door held in
position by screw dogs, and with a suitable joint, which makes it
steam tight. It has an iron trolley on which the bottles are placed ;
this runs on rails. The sterilizer is fitted with a sparge pipe discharging
the steam at the bottom along the whole length; it is
also fitted with a steam pressure gauge, safety valve, and two
thermometers.
The Cooling Tank is made of one-eight plate galvanized
iron, all corners rounded, without any sharp angles. The plates
are fused together by a special process, there being no rivets used.
A perforated copper coil is fixed at the bottom underneath a
movable rack by which the steam and water enter, and three