MILK IN ITS RELATION TO INFANT FEEDING 585 



likely, however, that the difference in the size of the curds 

 i by the two types of milk is due to the difference in the 

 ity and quantity of their salts and probably also the difference 

 teir reaction, cow's milk being slightly more acid than human 



n still other ways do human and cow's milk show marked 

 rences. Human milk contains a diastatic ferment which has 

 power of splitting starch into maltose and dextrose, and a 

 plitting ferment, lipase, which is more active than in cow's 

 . Human milk also has more antibodies than cow's milk 

 ;tor thought to be responsible for the immunity of breast-fed 

 [ren to many infectious diseases during their nursing period. 

 Whatever the differences between human and cow's milk, one 

 is indisputable, and that is that human milk is far better for 

 human infant than cow's milk. It therefore behooves every 

 ler to nurse her child unless special conditions make it im- 

 ible or inadvisable to do so. Artificial feeding has to be re- 

 ad to when the mother is suffering from an exhaustive disease, 

 [ as advanced tuberculosis, carcinoma, or chronic nephritis, 



a constant loss of protein in the urine, the strain of another 

 ;nancy, or the drying up of the breast milk. In cases of this 

 [ the child must be fed on cow's milk. The vital question 

 i arises as to the best modification of cow's milk that will 

 e it approach as nearly as possible the composition of moth- 

 milk. 



flllk Modification. There have been many ways suggested 

 nodifying cow's milk so that it approximates mother's milk, 

 plan most commonly employed for many years has been the 

 ion of cow's milk and the addition of sugar and cream to the 

 ure. In the main, two methods have been followed in the 

 ification of milk. One is based on the percentage principle 

 the other on the principle of the caloric value of the two kinds 

 ilk. 



lie modification of cow's milk on a strict percentage basis 

 been standardized by the late Dr. Rotch, of Boston, who 

 crated the methods of Biedert and Meigs. The principle of 

 percentage system is to modify cow's milk in such a way as 

 take the protein, fat, and sugar equal the amount present in 

 an milk. To accomplish this it is first of all necessary to 

 ;e the milk so that the protein content is not more than 1.5 

 per cent. Enough fat in the form of cream is added to make 

 or the amount of fat lost through dilution. Enough sugar is 



added to the mixture to bring the sugar content to 6| or 7 

 cent, of the total, the exact percentage depending upon the 

 s of the infant. An illustration will make this clearer: 



