ADecimberPam'}  Substitute  Infant-Feeding.  581 
lithium  carbonate.  By  estimating  the  lithium  as  lithium  phosphate, 
the  result  shows  that  the  article  contains  18-42  per  cent,  of  lithium, 
which  corresponds  to  97-39  per  cent,  of  lithium  carbonate. 
Lithium  carbonate  contains  18-918  per  cent,  of  lithium. 
Lithium  bicarbonate     "       10  294  "      "      "  .  " 
Lithium  carbonate  requires  about  75  parts  of  water  at  150  C.  for 
solution,  but  when  it  is  suspended  in  water  and  a  current  of  carbon 
dioxide  introduced  until  saturation  results  20  parts  of  such  water 
will  dissolve  one  part  of  the  chemical.  It  is  generally  believed  that 
the  increased  solubility  is  due  to  the  formation  of  lithium  bicarbon- 
ate. On  allowing  such  a  solution  to  evaporate  spontaneously  or 
even  with  the  application  of  a  small  amount  of  heat,  there  will  be 
formed  prismatic  crystals  or  crystalline  crusts,  but  these  crystals 
have  never  yet  proved,  on  analysis,  to  be  lithium  bicarbonate,  but 
always  the  normal  salt.  In  fact,  this  same  procedure  is  usually  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  preparing  pure  lithium  carbonate. 
From  the  above  results  and  our  general  knowledge  there  is  only 
one  deduction,  viz.,  that  the  article  supplied  in  this  case  for  lithium 
bicarbonate  is  nothing  but  crystallized  lithium  carbonate,  and  in  all 
probability  this  is  the  only  chemical  that  has  ever  been  supplied 
for  lithium  bicarbonate. 
SUBSTITUTE  INFANT-FEEDING.1 
Henry  Dwight  Chapin,  M.D., 
Professor  of  Diseases  of  Children  at  the  New  York  Post-Graduate  Medical 
School  and  Hospital,  New  York  City. 
The  question  of  the  home  preparation  of  an  infant's  food  is  one 
that  occasions  more  or  less  difficulty  to  the  average  practitioner. 
Very  little  disturbance  of  digestion  is  caused  by  average  breast  milk, 
but  when  it  comes  to  bottle-feeding,  trouble  often  appears,  and  here 
the  physician  has  abundant  opportunity  to  show  his  knowledge  ol 
dietetics.  There  is  no  end  to  the  number  of  the  so-called  "  perfect 
substitute  for  mother's  milk  "  that  are  widely  advertised,  but  the 
mainstay  of  successful  bottle-feeding  is  good  cow's  milk.  Anything 
else  must  be  only  a  temporary  substitute.    The  infants  who  cannot 
iJour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  1900  (xxxv),  p.  71. 
