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18
Most mothers, by this time, know that babies should preferably
be fed on the breast, and if breast milk is lacking, scanty, or of
poor quality, on diluted cow's milk or diluted condensed milk.
The proffering of unsuitable substances like raw baoon, raw
mutton fat, toffee apples, fine oatmeal, boiled bread, or chipped
potatoes, is often due to laziness, weariness, carelessness or
poverty. The mother is too tired or too lazy to breast feed, or
having- no breast milk is too poor or worn out to buy cow's milk,
so, taking the line of least resistance, she gives the baby the "first
thing that comes handy."
On the other hand, there are still a few mothers who are obsessed
by preconceived ideas that breast milk is "not strong enough,"
that cow's milk is "never twice alike," that breast milk and cow's
milk "will not mix," that cow's milk for babies should be "from
one cow," and until that one errant and belated cow has been
defined and stalled, no cow's milk should be used. They are
influenced by these and other crude notions which move uncensored
from mind to mind in London's underworld.
These are the mothers who buy patent foods, "tops and
bottoms," rusks, or patent biscuits. If these commodities are
expensive and alleged to be used by royalty—the more the mothers
value them and foolishly use them.
Many Italian mothers use patent foods sent specially to London
from Italy.
Exact ideas as to how and when the baby should be fed are
very important. Some mothers feed their babies "little and
often," and assert that it suits them better. One mother had
very vague notions as to the degree of dilution to which she should
Sibject the cow's milk. She just made it a "little bluish."
Another, who preferred the "rich, yellow milk of London," used
to add water until the mixture was the "same colour as the fog."
Some mothers, when the child does not take its food well,
endeavour "to help the baby" by giving it repeated doses of
castor oil.