MILK. 



191 



CHAPTER XV. 



MILK, 



Milk is an exceedingly complex compound liquid. It 

 is a saccharine and caseous solution, having a slightly 

 alkaline reaction caused by the presence in it of a small 

 quantity of free soda. It also contains some little albu- 

 men, which varies, sometimes considerably, and this 

 albumen gives to it a more or less viscous character. It 

 has the following average composition, as given by Bec- 

 querel and Vernois. 



Composition of Milk of Various Animals. 



As milk is seen to vary considerably in different races 

 of animals, so it varies quite as much in different indi- 

 viduals of the same race. Thus Dr. Sharpless of Massa- 

 chusetts, in a paper presented to the American Academy 

 of Arts and Sciences, gives the following analyses of 

 different samples of cow's milk : 



Analyses of Cow's Milk. 

 ~ No. 4. 



Sugar .. 

 Caseine . 

 Ash.-.. 



Fat 



Water . . 



4.82 



3.54 



.57 



2.71 



In my own dairy I have found the fat in the milk to 

 vary from 2.15 to 6.38 per cent in different cows. The 

 wide variations show how easily a dairyman may lose 



