CHAPTER VIII 



THE BUILDING MATERIALS OF JACK'S HOUSE MILK 

 AND ITS PRODUCTS 



IF a carpenter were not familiar with the pine, 

 hemlock, and other woods used in his work, what 

 a poor builder we should think him ! How much 

 more necessary it is for us to know all that is possible 

 about the foods we supply our bodies. Perhaps 

 our oldest and best food friend is milk. What build- 

 ing materials does this useful white fluid furnish us? 



While the proportion of the different materials 

 varies according to the breed of cow and the time 

 of year, it is usually about as follows : nearly seven- 

 eighths water, about one twenty-fifth fat, a little less 

 proteid than fat, about one-twentieth sugar, and the 

 remainder various mineral salts. The fat of milk 

 forms from one-fifth to two-fifths of the cream, and the 

 casein, of which cheese is made, is the proteid. 



In spite of its large amount of water, milk is the most 

 perfect food, because it has all the necessary elements 

 in such form that they can be readily digested and 

 taken into the blood. Some people have trouble in 

 digesting milk, but if lime-water is added the dif- 

 ficulty is often removed. Many young babies live 



32 



