Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
July  1, 1874.  J 
Varieties. 
343 
No. 
Date  of  analysis. 
Total  Solids. 
Fat 
Ash. 
1 
April  30th,  1874. 
12  48 
3'6 
•7 
2 
May  1st, 
12  37 
3-6 
•7 
3 
"  2nd, 
1218 
36 
•7 
4 
"  4th, 
12-12 
36 
•7 
5 
"  6th, 
12  09 
36 
•7 
6 
"  8th,  11 
12  07 
36 
•7 
7 
"  12th,  " 
1197 
3-52 
•7 
8 
"  18th,  " 
11-97 
3'4 
•7 
It  will  be  seen  from  these  experiments,  extending  over  a  period  of 
three  weeks,  that  decomposition  does  not,  in  an  average  sample,  pro- 
ceed at  a  very  rapid  rate  ;  and  that  in  an  analysis  made  even  after 
two  or  three  days  the  error  would  be  inappreciable. 
It  was  suggested  to  me  that  if  milk  which  had  become  sour  were 
neutralized  with  soda,  the  volatile  acids  formed  would  be  retained 
instead  of  being  volatilized  by  the  heat,  and  that  the  solid  residue 
would  therefore  not  suffer  loss.  On  trying  this  plan,  however,  no 
difference  was  obtained  from  previous  results. 
But  there  is  one  source  of  loss  to  be  guarded  against  when  milk 
becomes  very  old,  and  that  is  the  deposition  of  mineral  matter  of 
some  kind  on  the  sides  of  the  containing  vessel,  to  which  it  adheres 
very  firmly ;  under  the  microscope  it  has  a  distinct  crystalline  struc- 
ture, but  at  present  I  have  not  been  able  to  determine  the  exact 
nature  of  the  compound. 
Oatmeal,  Bone  and  Muscle. — Liebig  has  shown  that  oatmeal  is  almost  as 
nutritious  as  the  very  best  English  beef,  and  that  it  is  richer  than  wheaten 
bread  in  the  elements  that  go  to  form  bone  and  muscle.  Professor  Forbes,  of 
Edinburgh,  during  some  twenty  years,  measured  the  breadth  and  height,  and 
also  tested  the  strength  of  both  the  arms  and  loins  of  the  students  in  the  Uni- 
versity— a  very  numerous  class,  and  of  various  nationalities,  drawn  to  Edin- 
burgh by  the  fame  of  his  teaching.  He  found  that,  in  height,  breadth  of  chest 
and  shoulders,  and  strength  of  arms  and  loins,  the  Belgians  were  at  the  bottom 
of  the  list;  a  little  above  them,  the  French  ;  very  much  higher,  the  English  ; 
and  highest  of  all  the  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish,  from  Ulster,  who,  like  the  na- 
tives of  Scotland,  are  fed  in  their  early  years  with  at  least  one  meal  a  day  of 
good  milk  and  good  oatmeal  porridge. — Sanitarian  for  June. 
