Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1915-02-10
BABY FOODS.

OF all the species that inhabit thi'
earth the human appears to be thu
only one not able completely to NEE
the obligations and fulfill all thu
| functions of parenthood. 1t Is notori
GUS and regrettable fact that a very
large and constantly increasing per
centage of infants have to be artificial
| ly fed solely because of the functiona
inability of mothers to deliver mill
either in sufficient quality or guam
tity to supply the nutritive needs Of
| the child.
Women of hardy country stock and
women of savage tribes are rarely II
ever troubled by inability properly to
nourish their babies at their breasts
but in our towns and cities the trouble
grows apace and has come to consti
tute the chief peril of infancy. How
great this peril actually is may per
haps best be comprehended by noting
certain evidence obtainable from the
published statistics of the city OF
Berlin, where all foodstuffs and, IN
fact, everything pertaining to the
physical welfare of the people are OBJ
jects of rigid scrutiny and are sub
jected to the most comprehensive and
thorough modern scientific supervisio.
by the duly constituted authorities.
According to the Berlin official death
returns for a given year, this evil
dence shows that. while the mortal
ity among breast fed infants was To
per cent, 1t rose to. 48.1 per cent
among the bottle fed babies.
Germany leads the world in chemis'
try, In science and in scientific meth.
DDS in general, and inasmuch as the
government is more or less paternal
and because It considers every healthy
child national and military asset, 1t
is very reasonable to assume that the
prepared foods, modified cows milk
and any and all other substitutes for
the human milk were undoubtedly as
pure and wholesome as 1t would be
possible for human agency to make
them. Hence the difference between
7.6 per cent anu 48.1 per cent repre-.
sents an approximate minimum death
forfeit incident to artificial feeding
what may reasonably be considered
an irreducible minimum penalty levied
as natures protest against human
stupidity.
Cows milk is the basis Of practical.
ly all human milk substitutes. That
it is woefully defective basis is
proved by the fact that man is ad
justed to scale requiring doubling
of the body weight within approx
mately five months or $50 days after
birth, while the cow doubles its body
weight within At days after birth.
In view of what we know about the
absolute correspondence among things
everywhere throughout the universe
the following statements by Bunge are
highly significant in this connection:
"In one woman during the first month
after birth the milk contained IL per
mile proteid, whereas in the tenth
month the amount had dropped to
nine mile, the proportions of ash hav.
ing likewise decreased" The diminu.
ton of proteid in the milk as lacta-
ton proceeds has also been observed
and tabulated by other authors for
man and animals.
If not even a wet nurse can com.
pletely replace the mother unless her
infant has been born on the same day
as her foster child" is 1t reasonable
to expect that COW may be fit sub
stitute? Obviously it is futile to hope
that any chemist will ever evolve a
formula for the successful modiflca-
ton OF cows milk to the human baby |
needs. And the baby dependent on
the cow and a bottle will ever be |
to the same extent as Is |
the chick having a kerosene lamp |
Tor a foster mother-approximately 40
per cent, plus.
: In the broad sense of the term the
secret of healthy plants and abundant
crops is known to depend on ade-
1uate nutrition, and the key to healthy
animal life is the same. Funk's re-
cent demonstration of the vitamines,
hose complex proteins, minute guam.
ities of which are absolutely neces-
,ary to life, throws quite a new light
in the food question and makes a
ogical consideration Of tabloid meals
orever impossible. The logical line
# progress is, not. in devising substi-
utes. but in building up the natural
'upply. IS =
Less time given to wrangling over
he respective merits of pasteurized,
terrified or raw cows milk, Of patent
,aby, foods and refrigeration, and
nore thought given to the mother at
he right time. is the solution OF the
,roblem. An adequate supply OF
laturaf mothers milk gives the best
Ieritage any baby can have. |