MILK. 491 
promoter of nutrition. A liquid extract thereof can be procured 
from our manufacturing chemists. It assists capitally in 
augmenting the flow of breast-milk for mothers. 
Pure, good Milk, becomes naturally converted into curds and 
whey, by standing until sour, but even then it is salutary, and 
wholesome. But if boracic acid is used, the souring process is 
arrested injuriously, the milk becoming converted into a tasteless, 
mischievous, and quickly-putrefying fluid, which is apparently 
all right as long as kept cold, but when subjected to any degree 
of heat gives off a very offensive odour. The preservatives 
employed by unscrupulous vendors for preventing sourness in 
stale Milk are salicylic acid, borax, boracic acid, and formalin, 
these being potential drugs, and destroyers of germs. Some- 
times starch, and gelatine, are used for thickening milk which 
is to be sold as cream. ‘“ At one time,” says a grimly humorous 
moral of to-day, ‘‘ the man ate the cream: now they cremate the 
man!” It is to be borne thoughtfully in mind that cows’ Milk, 
in whatever form or condition other than that of “new” from 
the udder, is an incomplete and defective kind of food. As to 
allowing any preservative therewith, even borax, if compara- 
tively safe when in a very limited quantity, there is a danger 
of getting this to excess, because of its use in several repeti- 
tions altogether ; first at the farm, then by the middleman, 
next by the retailer of butter and milk, finally, too, in the 
kitchen ; so again likewise with the bacon, or fish ; and though 
in each case the amount employed may be small, yet in the 
aggregate the total will be harmful, resulting in kidney mischief, 
whitlow of fingers, or some other morbid affection. 
“These chemicals are preferred because they do not with- 
draw water, as salt does, whilst, furthermore, they retain 
the natural colour of the food-substances.” But it has been 
repeatedly shown that the use of borax in this way is calculated 
to induce a diseased state of the kidneys. Dr. Harrington has 
experimented on cats for clearing up the question. Twelve 
cats were selected, of which one received no preservative ; six 
received borax in varying amount, and four received other 
preservatives). Of the six cats who took borax, one died at 
the end of six weeks, whilst the others survived to 133 days, 
more or less. Of these six cats five showed mischief done to 
the kidneys. : : 
Professor Koch, of Berlin, when speaking about infection by 
