ABNORMAL MILK. 55 
consistency. It is a food which the newly born calf should not 
be deprived of, as it seems to be specially suited for the digestive 
tract of the young calf. 
It will be seen from the above table that the water content 
of colostrum is less than that of normal milk. The fat content 
is a ittle lower than that of normal milk. The most striking 
characteristics of colostrum, however, are the low content of 
sugar, and the large amount of albumen. Of the latter substance 
very little is present in normal milk. The mineral constituents 
of colostrum also run quite high. The specific gravity of 
colostrum varies from 1.046 and 1.079. When boiled, the 
nitrogenous matter coagulates. The colostrum is not considered 
to be suitable for food until about four days after parturition. 
Whenever it can be boiled without coagulating, it is claimed 
to be safe to use. At times a cow’s udder becomes inflamed 
after calving. In such cases the abnormal qualities of the 
cow’s milk will extend over a greater period of time than that 
mentioned above. 
Salty Milk—The average chemical analysis of salty milk as 
calculated from results obtained by the analysis of such milk 
from four cows given by Boggild,* is as follows: 
Waters girs 5 dhe ee deh Dea leweert ks 91.09 
ati eeticeash® 2abe Gal, Gey Males a ede aece 124 2.09 
Nitrogenous matter....... ...... 0... 2.90 
US ieee he <Sagnees Sieg eee 3.01 
ASM eth ede chat lee ete hee er 85 
It has an average specific gravity of 1.0244. 
Salty milk does not occur very often, but whenever it does 
occur, it is difficult, and, so far as known, impossible to cure 
without drying up the cow. Two samples of such milk have 
recently come within the author’s notice. It had the appear- 
ance of normal milk, had a foul smell, and very salty taste. 
* Maelkeribruget in Denmark. 
