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60
milking stool); the sanitary state of the cowsheds and dairies;
the provision of suitable facilities for personal washing by
the milkers; the provision of suitable apparatus for cooling
and storing the milk and the cleansing of milk utensils, and
the regular and systematic removal of all manure from the
immediate vicinity of the cowsheds and dairies. The education
of the milkers is a slow process by reason of the
traditional habits and customs of farm workers, but, in spite
of this, words in season, tactfully and patiently given by the
inspector, are producing a very definite improvement.
Dairymen and Purveyors of Milk. It will be inferred
from the preceding paragraph that only a very small proportion
of the milk sold in Woolwich is produced in the
Borough. Most of it comes by rail, from the milk-producing
countries, in churns, many of which are of an obsolete and
unsuitable pattern and are not provided with proper lids with
rims that overlap the top rim of the churns. In consequence,
a dirt trap is formed which facilitates the contamination of
the milk while in transit. Fortunately these churns, as they
go out of use, are being replaced by the more efficient kind.
The majority of the milk purveyors in Woolwich sell
from general shops, but there are some large dairies provided
with proper and suitable apparatus for dealing with large
quantities of milk, and there is evidence that these will gradually
replace the general shop as a milk store, except possibly
in the poorer districts, where the general shop, which provides
for the sale of small quantities of food, including milk, to the
casual and very poor, serves a useful purpose.
All the dairies are inspected monthly, and care is taken
to ensure that a high standard of purity of the milk is maintained
and that cleanliness is observed in connection with the
utensils and the premises. Bottles are being used in
increasing numbers for the distribution of milk, not only by
the purveyor in a big way of business, but also by the smaller
man. When proper methods are adopted this system presents
many advantages to the dairyman and to the consumer,