36 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



scientist that from henceforth, owing to some revo- 

 lution in the physiology of the female sex, it would 

 be necessary to take the human fcetus from the 

 womb at an early stage of its development and 

 develop it by artificial means, in order to pre- 

 serve the continuity of the race. Yet, one of 

 the greatest living authorities, Dr. Henry Dwight 

 Chapin, insists that "During the suckling period the 

 infant should be looked upon as being a fcetus and 

 not as a perfectly formed human being." ^ In sup- 

 port of this view. Dr. Chapin cites the fact that 

 among the lower forms of animal life there is often 

 no placental connection between the mother and 

 her young, but a mammary attachment, the foetus 

 growing fast to the teat and being nourished until 

 it has acquired the power to suck independently, 

 when it ceases to be adherent to the teat and sucks 

 at will." Naturally, the baby is physiologically 

 dependent upon its mother long after birth, for 

 nourishment, as completely as during the foetal 

 stage of its development. In other words, to quote 

 Dr. Chapin again, "From a physiological standpoint 

 the artificially fed baby is a premature child, and 

 anjiihing but maternal milk is foreign to its digestive 

 tract;" ^' for it must be borne in mind that the 

 human mother, like all mammals, furnishes her 

 infant with milk suited to it at the various stages of 

 its growth. The character of her milk undergoes 



