730 
in its salts, and that the child requires of them 0.07 and 0.025 per 
cent, respectively, in its food. 
This, however, may be said to be true only when lactation is well 
established. During the first weeks of lactation the percentage of 
mineral salts present is higher than this, which may have the effect 
of increasing the reserve supply. As these salts are present in whole 
cow’s milk in the proportions of 0.17 and 0.05 per cent, it will be 
seen that the dilution of condensed milk as given above reduces them 
to infinitesimal amoimts, in the case of the first dilution 0.00309 and 
0.00085 of each. Xor does it necessarily follow that an amount of 
these salts similar to that furnished with human milk will be adequate 
when supplied in conjunction with other foods, as much depends upon 
the conditions governing absorption in the alimentary tract. In the 
case of the proprietary foods, scurvy has been met with in those cases 
where they have been used as a complete substitute for milk. In some 
of these foods, such as Xestle’s, Eskay’s, Ridge’s food, and Imperial 
Granuni, the amount of inorganic salts present, differing but little 
or being much less than those in condensed milk when diluted to the 
extent required for use, predicates a similar condition on their part. 
TThen we come to consider artificial foods in general I think we are 
justified in assuming that they should contain an amount of inorganic 
salts at least equal to that of the food, i. e., cow's milk, which has 
been the most successful in the artificial feeding of infants. When 
we reduce cow’s milk to the basis of the relative proportion of its 
solid constituents to each other we find that cow’s milk has the fol- 
lowing average composition: 
Per cent. 
Fat 31. .25 
Sugar— 
Proteid. 
Salts 
35. 16 
27.31 
6. 25 
100. 00 
There seems to be no proprietary food on the market that ap- 
proaches cow's milk in the respect of its content of inorganic salts in 
proportion to its other ingredients, the nearest being in the case of a 
food (Garnrick's) which contains 4.42 per cent of inorganic salts, and 
of which considerably over one-half of its content of carbohydrate is 
insoluble, a condition which must certainly be taken into account 
when considering the availability of such salts for absorption. 
We may, therefore, with reason, I think, dismiss our fears of the 
production of infantile scurvy by the use of sterilized or of pasteur- 
ized cow’s milk, administered in suitable quantities, provided its in- 
organic salts are not reduced too greatly by dilution nor its fat con- 
tent excessive (over 3 per cent). If these conditions are complied 
with, I am convinced that the dangers of scurvy from its use have 
