236 THE COMMON SENSE OP THE MILK QUESTION 



direct evidence in support of such an objection, owing 

 to the extremely deUcate nature of the investigations 

 which would have to be pursued in order to obtain 

 it. I have submitted the matter to upwards of fifty 

 physicians in England and this coimtry and received 

 replies from forty-three. Of this number nine did not 

 "care to express an opinion"; two thought "such a 

 result likely," but had no personal knowledge of any 

 case in which such an effect had been produced ; one 

 was "opposed to all such socialistic foUy" as infants' 

 depots ; the other thirty-one were unanimous in say- 

 ing that they had no fear of such a result. All the 

 physicians questioned were men whose practice gives 

 them an opportunity to note the work of the infants' 

 depots, and, while the consensus of their opinion is 

 not conclusive evidence, it has, I think, considerable 

 value. It is scarcely likely that such effects could be 

 produced in any considerable number of cases with- 

 out being noticed by some of the men whose replies 

 are included in the above summary. 



And if we may meet a priori argument with a 

 priori argument, it seems highly improbable that the 

 infants' depots discourage breast-feeding in any way. 

 In practically every case, when a mother makes 

 application to have her child supplied from the in- 

 fants' milk depot, she is questioned as to her reasons 

 for not nursing the baby herself, and warned that the 

 milk supplied by the depot is only a poor substitute 



