MILK FOR INFANTS 405 



tically half water. Water is the great " joker " in the whole 

 food study. Good sanitary milk of 4.0 per cent fat at 12 cents 

 per quart (6 cents per pound) furnishes food for one-third 

 to one-half the price per pound that is regularly paid for 

 meat foods. 



Certified milk costs too much for most purposes, however, 

 because of the excessive amount of labor required in its produc- 

 tion. Those having healthy young children to feed may find 

 that sanitary milk selling at ten to twelve cents per quart is 

 equally as valuable and considerably less expensive. Ordinarily, 

 plain market milk at 7 cents per quart furnishes food, even for 

 the adult, at practically one-half the cost per pound of 

 smoked ham. 



This same question may easily be expressed in other terms, 

 as shown in the following table : 



Value of Milk When Compared with Other Foods 



Retail Selling In Comparison 



Kind of Food Price Milk is worth per Qt. 



Porter house steak 30 cents per pound 20 cents 



Round steak 20 cents per pound 16 cents 



Ham 25 cents per pound 16 cents 



Eggs 30 cents per dozen 21 cents 



Oysters 40 cents per quart 50 cents 



All of the a^oove refers to the use of milk by those who 

 consume other foods and take milk as supplementary or as an 

 adjunct to the regular meal. 



Milk for Infants. — Infants, while too young to readily digest 

 starch or endure cellulose, must of necessity live largely or 

 wholly upon milk. The substance of the bones and muscle 

 grown by the child during this period must come from the milk 

 used. It has now been conclusively shown that the chemical 

 composition of the milk consumed determines the composition of 

 the flesh produced from it. The ratio or proportion of muscle 

 to fat in the experimental animal bore a constant relation to the 

 ratio of the protein to fat-producing elements in the milk con- 



