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18
effort to take full advantage of these means should determine the
granting and renewal of such licenses
The brands of condensed milk purchased by mothers for feeding
their babies is very often what is known as machine-skimmed milk,
with at least 70 per cent. of the fat abstracted; and there is a relatively
small sale for condensed whole milk. It is difficult to believe
that maternal ignorance is so fundamental that this milk is bought
under the impression that it is suitable for a baby's nourishment;
and one cannot refrain from concluding that in many cases the cheapness
of the material is made to outweigh proper considerations for
the child's bodily welfare. It would be a most useful piece of legislation
if alt machine-skimmed milk in tins had to be labelled, in bold
plain letters, as "unsuitable for the feeding of infants."
In accordance with the instructions of the Council I attended
the Conference upon Infantile Mortality, which was held in London
on the 13th and 14th June. The Conference was a very largely
attended one, and the resolutions passed were of such importance
that it seems desirable to introduce them in this Report.
1. That the Education Department be urged to add instruction in
Elementary Hygiene with reference to the dietary and rearing of
infants, to their present scheme for systematically training girls in
the senior classes in the practice and principles of personal hygiene
2. That, in the opinion of this Conference, immediate legislation
is required, enabling Sanitary Authorities to establish or support
depots for the supply of pure, or modified, or sterilised milk, and to
defray any cost out of the monies available for public health purposes.
3. That, in view of the information submitted, the Conference is
of opinion that all still births should be notified within 48 hours to
the Medical Officer of Health of the district in which they occur,
and that no burial should take place without a medical certificate.