View report page

11
Mal-nutrition. 46. Thirdly—Mal-nutrition, from "want of breastmilk,"
and from improper artificial feeding, is undoubtedly another cause of
infant mortality. The " want of breast-milk" indicates a fault in the
mother, either of structure, health, or secretory function, or possibly of
neglect and its consequence,—inadequate nourishment. These matters come
more particularly under the care and direction of the personal medical
attendant
The Evils of Artificial Feeding.
47. The evils of artificial or hand-feeding, however, demand the
consideration of the Medical Officer of Health. I therefore deem it
desirable to make a few remarks upon this subject.
48. I propose to give the results of some inquiries into the qualities of
the cows' milk sold in this neighbourhood, as well as of the various kinds
of farinaceous food in most common use. The composition of the various
specimens of cows' milk, cited in the Table No. 11, was determined in the
usual way, by the help of the lactometer and the specific gravity bottle.
The quantity being the same in each instance, the weight of each sample
was determined at first, and again after the skimming of the cream, and
after the removal of the caseum. The caseum likewise was filtered, dried,
and weighed. Only the more important facts, in relation to the cheese and
the butter, are noticed in the Tables.
The Composition of Cow's Millc freshly drawn, 49. The constituents
of three samples of genuine Cow's Milk, drawn direct from the udder, were
in the following proportions:—

50. Having thus obtained a standard for comparison, I examined 17
specimens of milk, as sold by retail, in the shops of the district. The
following Table shows the results, represented in the more common way,
as ascei-tained by the specific gravity bottle and lactometer.