PASTEURIZATION 219 



knowledge of the disease has made this apparent. Those 

 who believe the disease is increasing attribute this fact to 

 the use of dried proprietary infant foods and the increas- 

 ing use of heated milk. 



The proper treatment of infantile scurvy gives almost 

 miraculous results. " Within a few hours a pitiable, suffer- 

 ing little paralytic is transformed to a contented baby wav- 

 ing its arms and legs in the sheer joy of living." This may 

 be simply brought about by the use of fresh milk, fruit 

 juices (orange, grape, or pineapple), beef juice, egg albu- 

 men, or puree of potato, according to the child's digest- 

 ive capacity. Scurvy is thus not only readily preventable, 

 but amenable to treatment, and it would seem that those 

 who have to choose between the use of a doubtful milk 

 with its serious consequences, and the remote possibility 

 of scurvy as a result of pasteurization, should not hesitate 

 long in the choice. 



I have made a careful compilation from the literature of 

 the results of raising children upon heated milk, and find 

 hundreds of instances recorded, especially by French 

 observers, to the effect that children flourish well upon 

 heated cow's milk and without the production of scurvy. 

 But in view of the fact that scurvy is either rare or not 

 recognized in France we must examine these figures crit- 

 ically. 



Some of this evidence follows : 



Variot l in a recent communication sums up his expe- 

 rience with the use of heated milk for infant feeding as 

 follows : 



At the dispensary of La Goutte de Lait de Belleville, which 

 I have directed since 1892, we have distributed for twelve years 

 in the poorest quarters of Paris about four hundred thousand 

 bottles of sterilized milk to more than three thousand in- 



1 Variot, M. G., " Valeur nutritive du lait de vache sterilise a 108 

 pour I'allaitement artificial." Comp. rend, des stances de VAcad. d. Sci., 

 vol. 139, 1904, p. 1002. 



