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18
ventilation was insufficient and the shed and its surroundings were in a
filthy condition. Add to this the fact that the cows were kept in the shed
the whole of the 24 hours, and you have a series of conditions which are
most favourable for the existence of disease amongst the cattle and for contamination
of the milk. The state of another shed belonging to the same
Dairy was very nearly as bad as the one I have described, and the general
arrangements connected with the business of the Dairy were about as bad
as they could be. This was without doubt the worst Dairy in the District,
and owing to the action of the Sanitary Committee, I am glad to say that
the business there has been discontinued and the premises are not likely to
be again registered as a Dairy and Cowshed unless some radical alterations
are effected. Due notice has been served upon the occupiers of those
sheds who failed to comply with your Regulations, and in the
greater part the dairymen and cowkeepers are endeavouring to comply with
the terms of the notice served, and as you have decided to take legal action
in those cases where 110 attention has been paid to the notices, I hope before
long to see every shed in the District in a much better condition than was
the case when I first inspected them. It is very desirable that the Local
Government Board should have the power to cause the adoption of the recommendations
laid down in the report of the Royal Commission on Tuberculosis
of 1896, as by this means there would then be a uniform series of
regulations throughout the whole country.
Drinking Water.
At the end of this report there is appended a list of wells, together with
the result of the examination of the water and the action taken. You will
notice that that the analysis of the water in the early part of the year was
carried out in a qualitative manner, but as your former Medical Officer
pointed out, and as I explained to the members of the Sanitary Committee
a qualitative examination in the case of drinking water is practically useless.
Owing to the absence of a laboratory of your own, all waters for examination
have, since the month of June, been sent to an Analyst in London, and
the action subsequently taken has been based upon his report.
The samples I have hitherto forwarded for analysis have been taken
either from wells where the immediate surroundings led me to conclude that
the water might be gravely polluted, or in cases where the water was complained
of by the user of the well.