83 
form for supporting us in health and strength. 1,000 parts 
of milk is found to contain — 
Water 857 
Butter 39 
Caseine 70 
Sugar 28 
Salts 6 
1,000 
It would appear at first sight that this large per centage 
of water would render the milk very inferior as an article of 
diet; but when we inquire into the composition of flesh, 
potatoes, and other articles of food, we find the per centage 
of water in them very little smaller than named above. The 
lean part of butcher's meat contains no less than 74, and 
potatoes no less than 84 per cent, of moisture. Hence the 
difference is more imaginary than real. 
Seeing, then, that milk contains all the elements of the 
human body in a state very little more diluted than we find 
them in our ordinary animal and vegetable food, let us now 
inquire if that valuable animal, the cow, is not capable of 
producing them for us at a much cheaper rate, and in larger 
quantity, in this form, than she could do in the form of fat 
and flesh ; for, considering the ultimate object of agricul- 
ture to be the production of the largest amount of food from 
the smallest space of land, this question becomes one of con- 
siderable importance; for should the cost of producing a 
given weight of nutriment in milk be only half of that 
required to produce the same amount in butchers' meat, 
then it will become the duty of every farmer to facilitate 
the more extensive production of this commodity, so that 
all may be able to partake of its advantages. 
It is now well understood that all the nutritive and 
respiratory principles required for the existence and sup- 
port of animal life are formed principally by plants. The 
vol. in. f 2 
