62 



WOMAN'S MILK. 



"Woman's milk differs from the milk of animals, especially 

 cows, not merely as regards the relative proportions in which the 

 various constituents are present. There exist in some of these 

 constituents marked differences regarding their chemical proper- 

 ties. The albuminates of woman's milk, for instance, behave dif- 

 ferently towards precipitauts. "Woman's milk contains, according 

 to the latest investigations of P. Kadenhausen, no casein, but albu- 

 men, protalbumen and peptone, as they are found in the blood. 

 This is the cause of the alkaline reaction of woman's milk. The 

 milk loses its alkalinity, and shows then an amphotere reaction 

 only, when larger quantities of protalbumen occur. The butter 

 globules are in greater part free. "With regard to these two points, 

 woman's milk differs considerably from cows' milk, which is very 

 rich in protalbumen. To these differences must be added, that 

 woman's milk sours but slowly on account of its great alkalinity, 

 and that the sugar predominates over the albumen. 



The keeping qualities of woman's milk are such, that author 

 has kept such milk during the summer, and during the winter near 

 a stove, for from six to eight days before it curdled. 



The appearance and composition of woman's milk differ con- 

 siderably. Figures stating the composition are necessarily aver- 

 ages from a large number of examinations. 



The secretion of woman's milk and its composition are con- 

 siderably influenced by many circumstances, and more so than in 

 the case of animals. 



L. Fleischmann (Klinik der Faediatrik, vol. 1.) mentions the 

 following : 



1. Individual differences exert a certain but not a great influ- 

 ence upon the secretion and composition of the milk. Large breasts 

 by no means indicate that the milk secreted by them is of good qual- 

 ity, as has been clearly demonstrated by the milk examinations \m- 

 tertaken by the author at the Bureau Central des ISTourrices in Paris. 

 Lean but well-nourished wet nurses produce frequently a richer 



