54 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



are about equally near mother's milk, the slight' 

 deficiency of fat in the first being about the same as 

 the slight excess in the second. Next in order comes 

 goat's milk, so that we may value them in the fol- 

 lowing order: (1) cow's milk; (2). camel's milk; 

 (3) goat's milk. In carbohydrates all three are 

 notably deficient, but the camel is nearest, with the 

 cow second and the goat third. 



The tremendous excess of protein and fat in the 

 milk of the reindeer as compared with human milk 

 and that of all other animals included in the table 

 would seem to render its use as human food im- 

 possible. But it is extensively used by the Lap- 

 landers," various Eskimo tribes along the coasts of 

 Siberia," and, to a limited extent, by the Eskimo 

 tribes in Alaska since our own government intro- 

 duced the reindeer there nearly twenty years ago 

 to provide the people with some protection against 

 possible famine." Whether the milk is ever given 

 to infants, and, if so, to what extent and in what 

 manner it is modified, I have been unable to as- 

 certain. Nor have I been able to obtain any analysis 

 of the milk of Eskimo or Laplander women to com- 

 pare with that of reindeer milk. It is not improbable, 

 I think, that the difference between the two is very 

 much less than our figures suggest. The reindeer 

 is a native of the coldest climates and nflbds the 

 seemingly excessive fat for heat. We know that 



