40 MILK [in 



grape-sugar or lactose. Colostrum further differs from 

 normal milk in containing more ash, and in the com- 

 position of this ash. Nearly one-half of it (41*43 

 per cent) consists of phosphoric acid, as against 

 about 27 per cent in the ash of normal milk. 

 Globulin has been found in colostrum to the extent 

 of 8 '3 per cent (Emmerling), and such bodies as 

 lecithin, cholesterin, urea, and nuclein have also been 

 found in traces. Its composition, however, is a very 

 variable one. It has been found immediately after 

 birth to contain from 24 to 32 per cent of total solids. 

 In three or four days, however, it becomes very 

 similar to ordinary milk. Occasionally, even after 

 the lapse of a fortnight, its peculiar properties do not 

 entirely vanish. In appearance it is a turbid liquid, 

 of a viscous or slimy nature, possessing a yellowish 

 colour, a strong and peculiar smell, somewhat saltish 

 in flavour, and, as a rule, a somewhat weak acid re- 

 action. When boiled it coagulates, on account of the 

 high percentage of albumin it contains. Rennet 

 does not coagulate it, or, if it does, only very imper- 

 fectly. The fat of colostrum has a higher melting- 

 point than the fat of normal milk, and is also dis- 

 tinguished from it by its peculiar smell and flavour. 

 The large percentage of albumin it contains makes it 

 a very nutritive and easily digested food for the 

 young calf. Indeed, it seems to exert a special 

 action on the alimentary canal. There are no grounds 



