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161
arc found in Woolwich to have removed and many to have left the
Borough; it is consequently impossible to find out how many have
died.
18 deaths in all occurred, among the 313 children fed last year,
while on the Depôt, and 4 deaths occurred within a month of leaving
the Depôt. A full list of these is appended. It will bo seen that 6
died within a week of coming on the Depôt, indicating that they did
not have the milk long enough to be of any value.
An effort was made to follow up 70 children who had been on the
Depôt for at least one month and had left. 43 were found to be
living and 3 dead, the remainder having removed and left no address.
Careful study of the question, and of the reports of other milkdepôts,
convinces me that no death-rate can be given for a milkdepôt
which is in any way comparable with the general infantile
death-rate.
Even if all the children could be followed up to the end of the first
year—which is impossible in Woolwich—the fact would remain that
the Depôt children are a specially selected class of mostly delicate
children, at a particular age, and that they do not usually remain on
the Depôt long enough to enable the effects of Depôt-feeding to be
compared with those of ordinary feeding. Dr. McCleary, who inaugurated
the first London Depôt, came to the same conclusion. It
would be, therefore, misleading to attempt to give a death-rate.
Before any comparison can be made between Depôt children and
other hand-fed children it will be necessary to know the death-rate
of hand-fed children in each month of the first year, and at present
there are no such statistics available.
Meanwhile, I can only express my own strong opinion, based on
personal observation, that the chances of life of hand-fed children
are very greatly increased by being taken on the Depôt, and that
many lives were saved last year through this means.
The following are some of the cases on which this opinion is
based :—
259. C.A.L. (male), born August 15th, 1907; child of a domestic
servant; had been much neglected before its present fostermother
took charge of it on 15th September, 1907. She at once
put it on Depôt-milk; it was then in an emaciated condition