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mother's milk was so poor that the child was wasting and its food
had to be supplemented ; 7 were twin children. In only three cases
of married women did the mother's occupation prevent her suckling,
but 6 children were illegitimate and no doubt in most of these the
mother was obliged to go to work to support herself. It must be
remembered that the milk was never supplied to a child not already
weaned without a doctor's certificate so there was no encouragement
given to discontinue breast-feeding.
Social Condition of Parents. The social condition of the parents
who came to the Depot for milk is best indicated by the number of
rooms occupied by each family. Out of "295 cases in which information
was obtained, 14 families occupied one room only per family, 75
occupied two rooms, 79 three rooms, and the remaining 127 four or
more rooms. Thus considerably more than half the families were
living in tenements of one, two, or three rooms. The largest number
of families proportionately to population lived in St. George's and
Glyndon Wards. Both these facts shew conclusively that the Depot
is being used by the class who most need it, when they can afford to
pay for it.
Age of Infants taking Depot Milk. This is an important matter
as affecting the death-rate of the children fed, for the infantile
death-rate rapidly diminishes with the age of the child. Twice as
many children die in the first three months as in the second three,
and twice as many in the first six months as in the second six. The
average age when commencing was 2'9 or a little under three months.
We have seen that the average duration of taking the milk was three
months ; it follows then that the average age of infants taking the
milk was 4½ months. In Finsbury the average age on admission was
3½ months, in Battersea 4 months, and in Liverpool 4½- months.
Health of Infants commencing the Milk. Of 313 children who
had Depot-milk in 1907,170, considerably more than half, were ill or
in delicate health at the time of admission; 5 were tuberculous, 9
had whooping-cough or measles, 14 diarrhoea ; 16 were wasting ; 42
had indigestion (indicated by vomiting, colic, &c.); 11 were prematurely
born, and 58 were delicate or not thriving. Such children
could not, of course, be expected to thrive like average babies, and
would, under ordinary circumstances, have a very high death-rate.