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taken to safeguard the milk from pollution before it reaches the
depot. It is true that the process of pasteurization destroys the
bacteria in milk, but it is important that no poison is manufactured
in the milk before its sterilization. The milk, after being cooled,
is placed in sealed churns, and conveyed in these churns to the
depot.
The milk is prepared at the depot by mixing it with a suitable
proportion of water, &c., for children under six months, but those
over that age receive unmodified milk.
After modification, the milk is bottled, and sterilized. The
milk is distributed in bottles sufficiently large to contain enough
food for one meal. The bottles are supplied in wire baskets, each
basket holding from 6 to 9 bottles, and containing a twenty-four
hours' supply. The next day the basket of empty bottles is returned,
and a fresh supply obtained. Each bottle represents one
meal, and is not to be opened until required for use, thereby preventing
home contamination of milk by storage in an insanitary
pantry or kitchen. Teats are provided for use with each bottle
The charge is usually from 1/6 to 1/9 a week, according to the
age of the child.
In the Straus Milk Charity, two kinds of milk are supplied,
pure pasteurized milk in 8 ounce bottles, and modified milk for
infants. Dr. Straus endeavours to obtain milk as pure as possible,
and it is certified by the New York Milk Commissioners and visited
by the veterinarian of the New York Board of Health. It will
thus be observed that whatever the agency is, the supply of pasteurized
milk means much more than the simple heat of the milk. It
involves the supervision of the supply. But in most instances,
it goes further than this, and includes a supervision of the infants
fed. For instance, in Battersea, care is taken to admit to the depot
only those infants for whom satisfactory breast-feeding is impossible
to obtain. Domiciliary visits are paid by Health Visitors, and in
some places it is claimed that breast feeding has increased through
the establishment of a milk depot. It is often true that many women