200 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



gressive leaders of the movement, like Dr. McCleary 

 of Battersea, are also urging the necessity of controlling 

 the whole process of production as well as the distribu- 

 tion of the milk, — regulating and managing every step 

 taken, from "the cow to the child's bottle." " 



In Battersea and some other places the mothers 

 are provided with cards upon which to record the 

 changes in the weight of their babies, and they are 

 urged to bring them to the depots to be weighed at 

 least once a week. It seems, however, that British 

 mothers do not as yet take kindly to this idea, and very 

 few infants are brought to the depots for that pur- 

 pose. Possibly they could, by means of simple lec- 

 tures and friendly talks in their homes, be interested 

 in this and awakened to. a realization of its importance ; 

 or something might be done in the way of stirring 

 up a healthy local rivalry among mothers, for it is 

 well known that, once they are started, mothers are 

 very proud of the gains made from time to time in the 

 weight of their babies. 



So far as I know, there is no municipal infants' 

 milk depot anywhere which is entirely self-sustaining. 

 The aim is to supply milk at a very low cost and of a 

 high standard of excellence. Naturally, there is a 

 good deal of expense attached to the botthng and clean- 

 ing of bottles when, as is generally the case, the milk 

 is put up in small bottles, each holding the proper 

 amount for a single meal. Wire baskets are supplied 



