172 MILK [xi 



of iron in the latter is about six times that in the 

 former. This has been explained on the ground 

 that the amount of iron in the body of the young 

 is relatively much greater than in the body of the 

 adult ; that, in short, iron is stored up in the body of 

 the young for future use. Milk has also been found 

 to be richer in potash and poorer in soda than the body 

 of the sucking animal. Another point which renders 

 milk less suitable for adults than for young is its 

 extremely bulky nature, and the fact that it contains 

 an excess of fat. A greater proportion of water and 

 fat is required in the food of the young than in the 

 food of the adult. It has been calculated that, if one 

 were to live on a milk diet alone, eleven pints per 

 diem would be required to be consumed in order to 

 afford proper nourishment. 



Comparing it with such a food as lean beef, it 

 may be said that 1 Ib. of beef contains about the 

 same quantity of actually nutritious materials as a 

 quart of milk. The food which comes nearest milk 

 in the amount of nutriment it contains is oysters, 

 which are practically of the same nutritive value as 

 milk. There can be no doubt, however, that while 

 milk is perhaps not suited to act as the sole food of 

 the adult, it is one of the best and cheapest articles 

 of diet we possess, and should be far more widely 

 used than at present is the case. It is one of the 

 most convenient, useful, and inexpensive sources of 



