62 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



any other animal,^' so the milk of a goat, freshly 

 drawn from the udder, was regarded as a cure for 

 pains of the heart,^* while the milk of a white goat 

 was regarded as having special properties as a ciu-e 

 for many ills.^' 



All things considered, then, the neglect of the goat 

 as a milch animal, especially as a provider of milk for 

 infants, is very much to be deplored. The animal 

 seems to be altogether weU fitted to be the wet-nurse 

 of the human infant, much more so than the cow, 

 and it is a great pity that ignorance concerning its 

 habits and qualities should stand in the way of its 

 more general emplojntnent. That an extensive use of 

 its milk in place of that of the cow would lead to a 

 considerable reduction in the enormous mortality 

 from the various forms of tuberculosis which affict 

 infants is highly probable, indeed, practically certain. 

 It is to be hoped that the Department of Agriculture 

 at Washington, and the several state bureaus, will 

 see fit to make known the truth concerning the much 

 maligned goat, and to encourage its breeding and use 

 for milch purposes. 



HI 



Cow's milk, then, is the staple diet of a very large 

 part of the infant population of this and other coun- 

 tries. Moreover, the number of children fed upon it 

 is continually increasing. No matter how earnestly 



