88 THE MILK QUESTION 



portance of these facts is self-evident. Every nursing 

 mother knows how careful she must be with her diet in 

 order not to harm the baby. 



Cows are good botanists, but their judgment cannot be 

 relied upon so far as the baby is concerned. Cows in pas- 

 tures may feed upon objectionable or poisonous weeds. 

 Some of these poisons may pass into the milk. Such milk 

 may be injurious to infants, especially in the summer-time. 

 Herds producing certified milk are under no circumstances 

 allowed to graze. 



Advantage has been taken of these facts to reach certain 

 conditions of the baby through the cow. Thus at one time 

 one of our best dairymen, producing a high-grade milk for 

 babies, found that most of the infants were constipated. 

 This trouble largely disappeared when a portion of ensilage 

 was added to the cow's ration. 



It is generally believed that cows fed upon mouldy grain 

 will cause diarrhoea and vomiting in persons who partake 

 of the milk. Many such instances are on record. 



Milk may contain beneficial as well as harmful sub- 

 stances. Thus the milk contains antitoxines, opsonins, 

 agglutinins, lysins, and other antibodies, some of which 

 must be of great use to the baby. It is supposed that in- 

 fants raised on cow's milk have less resistance to certain 

 diseases because cow's milk does not contain some of the 

 protective antibodies found in mother's milk. 



