376 M I 
the bitch, and feveral other quadrupeds, it is arranged 
through the whole courfe of the abdomen. The glan¬ 
dular lubftance which conftitutes this organ is called the 
mamma: that projedling portion of the mamma, from 
whence the milk ifiues, being called the papilla, or nipple. 
The mammae are more or lefs in number in different 
animals, according to their number of young, fome hav¬ 
ing as many as ten, others but one. In the human fub- 
jeft the mammae are two, each having one nipple. In 
the cow but one mamma, with four nipples. This organ 
in all animals appears deftined to furnifh their young 
with nourifhment, till their own digeftive organs are ca¬ 
pable of performing their funftions. Hence we find the 
period of laftation in animals to commence when they 
bring forth their young. This fliows a ftrong connexion 
between the iecretion of milk and the uterine aftion. 
All this may eafily take place from the great connexion 
between thole branches of nerves which are bellowed 
upon the mammae and the uterus. 
According to Dr. Cullen, milk is a conne&ing and in¬ 
termediate lubftance between animals and vegetables. It 
feems immediately to be fecreted from the chyle, both 
being a white liquor of the fame conliftence : it is molt 
copioully -fecreted after meals. In mod animals who live 
on vegetables, the milk is acefcent; and it is uncertain, 
though at the fame time no obfervation proves the con¬ 
trary, whether it is not fo likewife in carnivorous ani¬ 
mals. Milk being derived from the chyle, we thence 
conclude its vegetable nature ; for in thole who live on 
both promifcuoully, more milk is got, and more quickly, 
from the vegetable than the animal food. Milk, how¬ 
ever, is not purely vegetable ; though we have a vege¬ 
table liquor that refembles its tafte, conliftence, colour, 
acefcency, and the feparability of the oily part, viz. an 
emullion of the nuces oleofie and farinaceous fubftances. 
But thefewant the coagulable part of milk, which feems to 
be of an animal nature, approaching to that of the coagu¬ 
lable lymph of the blood. Milk, then, feems to be of an 
intermediate nature between the chyle taken up from the 
inteftines and the fully-elaborated animal fluid. 
Its contents are of three kinds: ill, An oily part, 
■which, whatever may be faid concerning the origin of 
other oils in the body, is certainly immediately derived 
from the oil of the vegetables taken in; as with thefe 
it agrees very exactly in its nature, and would entirely, 
if we could feparate it fully from the coagulable part. 
Another mark of their agreement is the feparability, 
'■which proves that the mixture has been lately attempted, 
Tut not fully performed. 2dly, A coagulable part. 3dly, 
Much water accompanies both, in which there is dift'olved 
a falinel'accharine fubftance. Thefe three can be got fe- 
parate in cheefe, butter, and whey; but never perfe£lly 
fo, a part of each being always blended with every other 
part. More minutely coniidered, we fliall find the con¬ 
stituents of cows' milk as follows : curd ; ferum or whey, 
which confilts of water; gelatine; fugar of milk, or mu- 
caceous faccharine matter; muriats of foda and potalh ; 
fulpliat of potalh, and the phofphats of lime, magnefia, 
and iron; butter, confiding of an oxygenated oil, com¬ 
bined with a little ferum and cafeous matter. In the 
year 1813, C. F. Swartz publilhed an inaugural diflerta- 
tion at Kiel on the analyfis of milk. From 1000 parts 
of cow’s and of human milk he obtained the following 
Jubilances: 
Cow’s Milk. 
Human Milk. 
Phol'phat of lime - - 
1-805 
2*500 
Pholphat of magnefia 
C170 
0*500 
Phofphat of iron - 
0 - 032 
0*007 
Pholphat of foda 
- 0.225 
0*400 
Muriat of potalh - 
1-350 
0*700 
Lailat of loda - - 
- 0-115 
0*300 
3'^97 
4*407 
Nothing is more compipn 
, from what hjts been faid of 
L K. 
the immediate nature of milk, than to fhppofe that it 
requires no affimilation; and hence has been deduced 
the reafon of its exhibition in the molt weakly ftate of 
the human body. But, wherever we can example milk, 
we always find that it coagulates, fuffers a decompofi- 
tion, and becomes acefcent. Again, infants, who feed 
entirely on milk, are often troubled with erublations, 
which every body obferves are not of the fame quality 
with the food taken ; and therefore it appears, that, like all 
other food, milk turns naturally acefcent in the ftomach, 
and only enters the chyle and blood in confequence of a 
new re-compolition. It approaches then to the nature 
of vegetable aliment, but is not capable of its noxious 
vinous fermentation, and therefore has an advantage 
over it; neither from this quality, like animal food, is ip 
heating in the ftomach, and produdlive of fever; though 
at the fame time, from its quantity of coagulable matter, 
it is more nourifhing than vegetables. 
Milk is the food moll univerfally fuited to all ages 
and Hates of the body; but it feems chiefly defigned by 
nature as the food of infants. When animals are in the 
foetus ftate, their folids area perfedl jelly, incapable of an 
aflimilatory power. In fuch a ftate nature has perfedtly- 
aflimilated food, as the albumen ovi in the oviparous, and 
in the viviparous animals certainly fomewhat of the fame 
kind, as it was neceflary the veflels Ihould be filled with 
fuch a fluid as would make way for an after-aflimilation. 
When the infant has attained a confiderable degree of 
firmnefs, as when it is feparated from the mother, yet 
fuch a degree of weaknefs Hill remains as makes fome¬ 
what of the fame indication neceflary ; it behoves the in¬ 
fant to have an alkalefcent food ready prepared, and at 
the lame time its noxious tendency to be avoided. Milk 
then is given, which is alkalefcent, and, at the fame time, 
has a fufficient quantity of acidity to correct that alkalel- 
cency. As the body advances in growth, and the alka¬ 
lefcent tendency is greater, the animal, to obviate that 
tendency, is led to take vegetable food, as more fuited 
to its ftrength of aflimilation. 
Dr. Cullen obferves, that milk is fuited to almoft all 
temperaments ; and it is even fo to ftomachs difpoled to 
acefcency, more than thofe fubftances which have under¬ 
gone the vinous fermentation ; nay, it even cures the 
heartburn, checks vinous fermentation, and precipitates 
the lees, when, by renewal of fermentation, the wine hap¬ 
pens to be fouled. The wine-merchants know very well 
the ufe of Ikimmed milk, which makes an innocent and 
efficacious forcing for the fining down of all white wines, 
arracks, and fmall fpirits ; but is by no means to be ufed 
for red wines, becaul’e it dil'charges their colour. Thus, if 
a few quarts of well-lkimmed milk be put into a hoglhead 
of red wine, it will foon precipitate the greater part of tlife 
colour, and leave the whole nearly white; and this is of 
known ufe in the turning of red wines, when pricked, into 
white ; in which a fmall degree of acidity is not (b much 
perceived. Milk is, from this quality of difcharging co¬ 
lour from wines, of ufe alfo to the wine-coopers, for the 
whitening of wines that have acquired a brown colour 
from the calk, or from having been haftily boiled before 
fermenting; for the addition of a little Ikimmed milk, in 
thefe cafes, precipitates the brown colour, and leaves the 
wines almoft limpid, or of what they call a water whitencjs, 
and is much coveted abroad in wines as well as in brandies. 
As milk is acefcent, it may be rendered lometimes pur¬ 
gative by mixing with the bile; and fome examples of 
this have been remarked. More commonly, however, it 
is reckoned among thofe foods which occalion collivenels. 
Hoffman, in his experiments on milk, found that all 
kinds of it contained much water; and, when this was 
diflipated, he found the reiiduums very different in their 
l'olubility. But we mull not thence conclude, that the 
lame inlolubility takes place in the ftomach ; for extraits 
made from vegetables with water are often very inloluble 
fubftances, and hardly diffulible through water itlelf; 
therefore, in Hoffman's extrails, if we may fo call them, 
