TILTH AS infants' FOOD 117 



authorities in the world that 1000 bacteria per cubic 

 centimeter marks the limit of safety in considering 

 cow's milk as a food for infants ! 



VII 



It is, of course, true that milk containing very few 

 bacteria may he more dangerous than milk containing 

 an extraordinarily large number. Among the millions 

 it is quite possible that there will not be a single 

 pathogenic germ. On the other hand, among the 

 bacteria in the milk which contains very few there 

 may be no harmless ones, practically all being active 

 pathogenic germs. It is quite conceivable, however 

 improbable it may be, that a sample of milk might 

 contain only a single bacterium, and that prove to be 

 one of the most virulent and deadly kind, such as a 

 tubercle bacillus ; while, on the other hand, not a single 

 bacterium known to be harmful might be found in a 

 sample of milk with a bacterial count running into 

 the tens of millions. These are all extremely im- 

 probable happenings and certainly do not describe 

 any conditions ever recorded in actual experience. 



It is also true that many of the worst pathogenic 

 germs may be taken into the digestive tract without 

 infecting it in any way, just as we breathe millions 

 of them sometimes in badly infected air and remain 

 uninfected. Impaired digestion, lowered vitality, 

 slight intestinal disturbances, predisposing weakness, 



