The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1909-01-01
MILK FOR BABES.-BUT.
TERMlLk FOR ADULTS


water, and planting them in q soil
made favorable by improper feeding,
lack of fresh air, bathing and ex-
ercise. Not even cereal starch kills
more infants between the ages of one
and six than does milk in the first two
years.
Cows milk differs materially from
the infants natural food, containing
twice as much proteid and only about
half as much sugar, but the danger
lies more in the contamination of the
milk sold in the cities. Fortunately
good work is being done in many
places to remedy this evil.
Milk is called the perfect food be-
cause it contains all the elements nee
essary for the growth of the infant,
and in the proper proportion. But the
physical constitution and development
of the infant differ much from those
of the adult, and the food should diff.
fer accordingly.
The growth of the infant in the
first six years is rapid, and large
proportion of lime is necessary to
build the bony framework. Milk is
in this respect an appropriate food for
the infant and inappropriate for the
| adult. The lime of milk being little
needed for maintaining the bony
framework of the adult, is largely de.
posted in the arteries, contributing to
the distinctive disease of old age
hardening of the arteries.
The prime cause of hardening of the
arteries, which is also a cause OF
heart failure" and of certain forms
of insanity, is auto-intoxication, or self
poisoning, resulting from the alb
sorption Of waste matter from the
lower part of the alimentary canal, OF
which I shall have more to say in deal
ing with Bread" in a subsequent ar
ticle.
Deficiency of iron in the blood of the
adult is serious; the percentage OF
iron in cows milk is small, CORE
spending to the nervous inactivity Of
| the infant. In this particular milk is
a very unsatisfactory adult diet
though it sustains life indefinitely.
But the unsuitability of milk to the
adult is more evident on comparing
the infant with the adult anatomy and
physiology: In the infant, for in
stance, the upper part of the alimen
tary canal is almost a straight tube
allowing the milk to pass quickly to
the intestine, which is adapted to its
digestion. The adult stomach is a
deeply curved pouch, which in certain
abnormal conditions retains the food
for several hours longer than the
proper time for digestion. The fer
| mentation of milk alone is not always
serious, but the fermentation of meat
cereals and fruits in the stomach
through the agency of milk, leads to
serious results.
The proportion of iron in the blood
is very small, but very important
When it is found to be deficient, it is
very difficult to supply it. Probably
it's best source is the brown part OF
wheat which is excluded from ou1
fine patent white fours, of which we
shall speak later. Grapes, the
brown part of wheat, cabbage raw
and lettuce readily supply iron
1t has been found that persons living
exclusively on milk lack "sand," a
! quality which the infant never needs
to display, since it is absolutely de-
| pendent.
In the infant the liver is relatively
much larger and more active than in
! the adult. In a number of cases in
| which the results of an exclusive milk
diet were found to be injurious, the
liver was weak and inactive, as indi
Gated by sallow skin, jaundiced eyes
| and internal Indications. In such
cases, as rule, unfermented grape
| juice, pineapples, lemons and oranges
are Indicated. Sweet milk is always
injurious in these cases in adults
In flesh-eating animals the stomach
| and liver are much larger in proper:
| ton than in the vegetable-eaters. An
| apparent exception is found in the
Illuminating animals, like the cow
which gathers large quantity of food
and stores it in the first of a series OF
stomachs for future chewing. The de-
velopment OF the food tube indicates
the food adapted to the animal. Al.
! though the infant digestive organs are
better adapted to milk than the adults
they are not perfectly adapted to
cows milk. To feed a. dog or child
of two years on. what we eat our
selves" indicates sympathetic but
thoughtless disposition.
Sterilized or boiled milk is open to
the same objection as roasted peanuts
Its vitality, its real life-giving quail
ties are largely destroyed.
It Is most unfortunate that our peo
pie are ignorant of the value of goats
milk, especially for infant feeding
The goat is the healthiest of all ami
mails and the slowest to degenerate
when domesticated. Rarely, if ever
is the goat known to contract tuber
! culosis or any other disease. The
milk is superior in every way to cows
and the poorest can own poor Man's
cow" which can be fed on the potato
peelings, cabbage leaves or anything
else that is cean.
Hardly any other food is compat
ible with milk, except uncooked
whipped eggs, rice or toasted bread
Flesh meat, being stomach food, IL
particularly inharmonious with milk
The Jewish instructions on diet pre-
| kibit eating meat and milk together.