663 
sisting of various sorts of grain, groats, and bread. The guinea pigs 
did not get the disease when fed upon a one-sided diet consisting of 
fresh cabbage or fresh potatoes, whereas it was produced by dry 
potatoes; that is, the disease originates in guinea pigs as well as in 
man as a result of a diet confined to some special nutriments. 
Holst and Frolich also observed that the disease in guinea pigs is 
favorably influenced by different sorts of nutriments known from 
human experience as “ antiscorbutics.” They found, however, that at 
least one of their nutriments, viz, cabbage, loses a deal but not all of 
its preventive power when boiled for half an hour at 110° C. There 
is no evidence to show that moderate heating, such as is used in the 
pasteurization of milk, in any way affects the scorbutic or antiscor- 
butic qualities of a food. 
Infant mortality . — It is now well established that the large major- 
ity of infantile deaths is caused by gastro-intestinal diseases. Fur- 
ther, that this great fatality occurs especially among artificially 
raised infants, and finally that the vast majority of cases and deaths 
from bowel troubles in children occur during the heated term. The 
infant mortality in all countries is shockingly high. This is shown 
to be unnecessary by the fact that infants who are well cared for 
show a relatively low mortality. Defective feeding is the active 
cause of this high mortality, while heat, humidity, and bad surround- 
ings are contributary causes. It must be remembered that the normal 
intestinal mucous membranes are permeable to bacteria, and more so 
during the period of infantile than of later life. Hence one of the 
great dangers of using bacteria-laden milk. While the factors in- 
volved in this “ slaughter of the innocents ” are numerous, primarily 
or secondarily they depend upon the activity of micro-organisms. 
Freeman® believes that the decline in the infant mortality in the 
United States during the last ten years, and especially in New York 
City, is due for the most part to the decline in mortality from sum- 
mer diarrhea, and states “ that the general adoption of pasteurized 
and sterilized milk for infant feeding is by far the most important 
agency.” A definite example of the diminution in mortality from 
pasteurizing the milk occurred in the infants’ hospital at Randalls 
Island, where the mortality in 1897, with raw milk, was 44.36 per 
cent, while in 1898, with pasteurization of the milk, it was 19.80 per 
cent. 
Numerous similar instances of the beneficial effect upon infant 
mortality and morbidity are found in the literature. 
A reduction in the infant mortality may be accomplished without 
the heating of the milk. This has been shown by Doctor Goler, who 
conducted an aggressive campaign to improve the milk supply for 
® Freemau, Roland G. : Medical News, Sept. 5, 1905. 
