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SUPPLYING MILK DAIL

5th April 1935, Page 50
5th April 1935
Page 50
Page 51
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Page 50, 5th April 1935 — SUPPLYING MILK DAIL
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TO 150,000 CHILDREN THE Milk Act (1934), which came into force on November 5 last, is a " permissive " Act under which education authorities are empowered to provide daily milk for children receiving education in the board schools under their control. The education committee of Glasgow Corporation was one of the first authorities to take advantage of the powers and arrangements were immediately put in hand for the distribution of milk. Some little delay occurred while the question of pasteurization was under consideration,

but it was finally decided that, as the milk would be drawn from a large number of farms, all supplies should be pasteurized before being delivered to the schools.

. The delivery of the milk was started on March 4, and each child is provided with a bottle containing i pint,

for which a charge of id. a bottle is made, this being half the retail price. In the case of necessitous children, of whom there are 47,000, the milk is supplied free of charge. Wherever possible, the children receive their milk at 10.40 a.m., that is, just before the morning "break."

The collection, pasteurization, bottling and delivering of the necessary quantity of milk is an undertaking of considerable magnitude, because 180 schools, with a total of approximately 150,000 children, are included in the scheme. The contract for the supply of the milk 1532 was divided between three concerns, the Scottish Cooperative Wholesale Society, Ltd., being awarded 50 per cent. of the contract, and East Kilbride Dairy Farmers, Ltd., and H. and H. Kennedy, Ltd., each receiving 25 per cent. The methods adopted for dealing with the milk contracts vary, although there are naturally many points of similarity.

The S.C.W.S., Ltd., supplies 124 of the schools and the deliveries amount daily to nearly 75,000 bottles, with a total quantity of 3,075 gallons. The supplies are drawn from two of the co-operative creameries situated

in East Kilbride and Kilmarnock respectively, the latter, known as Witchknowe Creamery, being one of the most up-to-date plants of its kind in the country.

In the case of the Witchknowe Creamery, the milk is collected from various farms in the surrounding districts, partly byrthe S.C.W.S. lorries and partly by other means. It is there pasteurized, bottled and then delivered to Glasgow by road. The vehicles used for this purpose are two Albion 5-ton lorries, one of which hauls a trailer, an Albion forward-control 3-totiner, and a Leyland 10-former, also with a trailer. The two machines with trailers run into the S.C.W.S. garage in Scotland Street, Glasgow, where the trailer loads and, in the case of the Leyland, part of the main load, are transferred to a 2I-ton Halley and four horsed carts, the last-named being used for delivering to schools adjacent to the garage.The machines, when they have "dropped "their trailers, make deliveries to the schools, together with the other vehicles from the Witchknowe Creamery.

At the S.C.W.S. East Kilbride Creamery the process is similar, except that the farmers themselves deliver most of the milk to the creamery. The vehicles operating from East Kilbride include a Leyland 8-tonner, 4-ton Leyland, a 4-ton Halley, and an Albion forwardcontro1,2i-tonner, which proceed direct to the schools.

Supplies to the schools start at 6 am, and all bottles must be delivered before 10.30 a.m. The men then have breakfast, after which they again make their round of the schools to pick up the empties and proceed back to the creameries, the trailers (now loaded with empties from the horsed carts) being collected at the garage by the vehicles which brought them from the creamery. The Witchknowe Creamery supplies the Govan, Tradeston, Springburn and Hillhead areas, whilst the East Kilbride depot delivers to the Maryhili, Cathcart and Pollok districts. • The milk is carried in wood cases, each containing 30 bottles and weighing approximately 47 lb. when filled and 35 lb. when empty. In order to speed up the deliveries, extra men are drafted to the lorries when they arrive in Glasgow, and in cases where the schools lie back some distance from the streets, each lorry carries a small barrow.

The Kennedy concern adopts special measures to deal with its portion of the contract, which amounts to 36,700 bottles. The company's Poloc Creamery is situated about three miles from the centre of Glasgow, and the milk, in cans, is delivered to it from the farms by contractors. It is poured into weighing tanks and then pumped to the pasteurizing platform, where it passes over a preheater which raises the temperature to 100 degrees. it then goes on to a rotary clarifier, which removes any foreign matter, after which it passes on to the heater, a jacketed tank, where it is raised to 145-150 degrees and kept in motion by means of an agitator.

It is maintained at this temperature for 30 minutes in one of a number of thermostatically controlled holding tanks, which are brought into action in turn, one being in process of filling, while another is lying full and a third is emptying. These tanks are equipped with re

cording thermometers, so that a close check can be kept on the work. The milk is then allowed to drain over cooling pipes, which chill it to a temperature of approximately 48 degrees, and passes on to the bowls of the filling machines.

When the lorries arrive back with their cases of empty bottles they are unloaded on to a special platform beside the combined bottle-washing and filling apparatus. The bottles are loaded on to an endless chain in two banks, whilst a separate conveyor in the centre of the machine is used for the crates. Bottles and crates then pass through a washer and steamer, and are delivered thoroughly clean and sterile at the other end. The bottles travel along small conveyors to the filling section of the machine and thence to the capping device, so that neither milk nor bottle is handled until it is being placed in the washed crates.

The Kennedy company has had some special galvanized-iron carriers made for the school-milk business. The carriers are formed with projections at the top, which fit into the under-side of the next crate in a stack, so that they form a neat rectangular load. The body dimensions of the new Albions are arranged to snit the standard load of carriers. The crates carry 24 bottles and weigh 32 lb. when full, so that they are light enough to be handled by the bigger children, a point which will be referred to later.

The company delivers the milk by means of two of the new Albion 4-tanners, which are able to travel at a maximum legal speed of 36 m.p,h., an Albion 2-2i-ton B34 forward-control model and a Commer Raider, whilst the milk for the nearby schools is handled by two horsed carts mounted on pneumatic tyres. Each of the bigger lorries carries milk for approximately 13 schools and the Kennedy concern delivers to 51 schools in all, situated in the Bridgeton, Camlachie and Gorbals areas. In order to minimize delay at the schools, the cabs of the new Albions have special seats over the engine, where three boys can be carried. This feature is illustrated on the previous pages.

East Kilbride Dairy Farmers' creamery is situated near Bridgeton Cross, Glasgow. In this instance, both the collection and distribution of the milk is carried out by the dairy and a large fleet of motors is in use. Most of these machines are Albions of various types, with smaller numbers of Halley, Ford and Morris-Commercial vehicles. The milk is picked up in cans from the outlying farms and brought to the creamery. The cans are run down a conveyor to tanks, where the milk is weighed and then pasteurized and bottled, as previously described. Here, again, there is every evidence of scrupulous care. and samples of every delivery are sent to the laboratory to undergo searching tests for quality, cleanliness and freedom from infection.

T h e schools served are in the Bridgeton a n d Shettleston areas, and in the Central, Kelvingrove and Partick districts. The process of

handling the milk is similar to that described above and deliveries are made between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. each day, the empties being collected from 11 a.m. onwards. The vehicles used for this work are three Albion 40-45cwt. machines and a Morris-Commercial 30-cwt. outfit. One of the Albions has a van body, which is rather unusual for this type of work. 'The lorries carry barrows to speed up deliveries at the schools. The crates used by the East Kilbride Dairy Farmers, Ltd., are of the normal wood type holding 30 of the i-pint bottles and weighing about 40 lb. when full.

At the premises of all three suppliers, the work is carried out systematically, because the milk requirements remain practically uniform from day to day. Thus, apart from breakages; the same bottles are used day after day, arriving back in the afternoon in time to be washed and filled with the milk which has been collected and pasteurized during the day. After filling, the bottles are put into cold storage until they are delivered the following Morning.

The handlinz of the milk in the schools presents quite

a problem, for some of the buildings are four storeys high, and seven or eight crates may be required on each floor. Selected boys and girls in senior classes assist in the delivery of the milk to the various cIa4`4!-rooms, in. the distribution among the pupils, and in the collection and return of the empty bottles.

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Locations: Glasgow, Kennedy

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