June 24, 1887.] 



sciEJsrcm 



603 



cows which furnished the milk-supply to the city. 

 In the excellent sanitary condition of the cattle to 

 whom this distillery slop was fed, we had a re- 

 markable contrast to the asserted method of feed- 

 ing in the stables attached to distilleries. At that 

 time the milk-supply of Scotland was supposed to 

 be of very superior quality as compared with that 

 of ordinary city supplies ; and I certainly could 

 find no fault with the milk drank at the hotel 

 tables, with that observed in the hands of the dis- 

 tributer, or with the milk observed in the byre at 

 milking-time. 



I may perhaps be allowed to assume to myself 

 sufficient experience to be justified in offering the 

 opinion that it is probable that a discussion of the 

 sanitary surroundings of a herd is of more im- 

 portance than that of the character of the food 

 used, including in the term ' sanitary conditions ' 

 the effect upon the health of injudicious feeding. 

 In support of this view, I would refer to experi- 

 ments reported in the ' Fourth annual report of 

 the New York agricultural experiment-station, 

 for 1885,' pp. 16-34, wherein the adding of vine- 

 gar to food in condimental quantities was fol- 

 lowed by increased appetite in the animals, and 

 produced no observable detrimental effect upon 

 the products. This conclusion is corroborated by 

 various experiments with ensilage (always in an 

 acid condition), wherein it was found that when 

 ensilage was used in condimental quantities there 

 was increase of appetite and no injurious effect 

 upon product. On the other hand, when ensilage 

 was fed exclusively, there was perhaps a detri- 

 mental effect to be observed upon nutrition, ap- 

 parently coming from the inability to eat a suffi- 

 cient food-supply, and no detrimental effect to be 

 observed in the milk yielded. 



My opportunities have not been such as to en- 

 able me to form a judgment in regard to the 

 healthfulness of milk, for such data can only be 

 obtained through actual trial and experience ; but 

 if testimony has any weight, the using of milk 

 from distillery-fed animals, including in this term 

 not only the food-supply but the unsanitary con- 

 dition, must be extremely detrimental to health. 

 We hence have offered in your questions two dis- 

 tinct problems : 1. The practical problem concern- 

 ing the use of distillery waste as used in connec- 

 tion with unsanitary conditions ; 2. The scientific 

 problem as to whether this assumed injurious 

 condition of the milk is derived primarily from 

 the food, or from the conditions under which the 

 food is fed, including the problem of injudicious 

 feeding. 



[H. C. DUNAVANT, M.D.] 



My opinion, based on chemical and physiologi- 



cal reasoning, is, that swill-fed cows could not 

 give wholesome food in the way of milk. 



[S. W. Abbott, M.D., secretary Massachusetts state board 

 of health, Boston, Mass.] 



Chemical analyses will not settle the question. 

 There can be no doubt that milk may be produced 

 which is unfit for use, and at the same time may 

 contain an unusually large amount of milk solids. 

 Experiments in Hamburg in regard to the milk- 

 supply from certain model stables or dairies have 

 shown this to be true. My opinion as to the whole- 

 someness of distillery swill as food for cows is that 

 it is bad. The principal nutritious portion of the 

 grain has already been withdrawn for the pur- 

 pose of supplying the necessary elements for con- 

 version into alcohol in the product of the distil- 

 lery, and the cows are thus defrauded of that 

 which is their natural food. 



Analyses. 



In answer to the qviestion, What analyses can 

 you give of milk obtained from cows fed on 

 distillery swill? the following replies were re- 

 ceived : — 



[S. Eatton Pekcy, M.D., New York academy of medicine, 



1858.] 



[Professor Simon, Baltimore, Md.] 



Of many samples of milk examined, I will give 



here the average result of six samples ; specific 



gravity, 1.029: — 



Fat 3.77 



Caseine 4.44 



Milk-sugar 4.56 



Ash 0.76 



Water 86.47 



100.00 



