COMMERCIAL FEEDING-STUFFS 267 



TABLE LIV. COMPOSITION OF THE MILK OF MAMMALS (PER CENT) 



*Van Slyke. 



The milks are arranged in the order of their richness, 

 the dry matter present varying from 24.54 to 10.2 per 

 cent. Those containing a high proportion of total solids, 

 particularly those from the bitch and the ewe, are espe- 

 cially rich in proteins and fat, the percentages of sugar 

 being less than half those in the poorer milks. It is note- 

 worthy that the proportions of proteins and fats in the 

 milk decrease, and the percentage of sugar increases, as 

 the total solids diminish. Two-thirds of the solids of 

 mare's milk is sugar, the proportion of this constituent 

 in the dry matter of an ewe's milk being only about one- 

 eighth. 



If we assume that the milk of each species is best 

 adapted to its own progeny, it follows that when the 

 young of other species is fed the milk of the cow, as 

 is so often done, this milk should be modified so far 

 as possible to simulate that provided under natural con- 

 ditions. When, for instance, cow's milk is fed to a colt, 

 it should be diluted and have its content of milk-sugar 

 increased; or when lambs are given cow's milk it may 

 well be made richer, by the addition of cream, perhaps. 



