Improvement in or relating to the Treatment of Milk for the purpose of Suiting it to Individual Digestions.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 26th June, 1896-Accepted, 1st Aug., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in or relating to the Treatment of Milk for the
purpose of Suiting it to Individual Digestions.
A communication by GEORGE HIRAM WALKER, Lithographer, of Boston, in the
County of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
GUSTAVUS EDE GORDON, Chemist, of Boston, aforesaid, and JOHN HOWARD
WATERHOUSE, Chemist, of Malden, in the County of Middlesex and State of
Massachusetts, aforesaid.
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND M.I.M.E., of the Firm of W. P. Thompson & Co.,
of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street, Manchester both in the County
of Lancaster, 118 New Street, Birmingham in the County of Warwick and
322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has relation to the treatment of milk for the purpose of exactly
suiting the same to the individual digestions of consumers in the nursery, sickroom
and elsewhere.
It is well known that while original milk is a suitable, and in some cases a
complete, food, it is in many cases unsuitable to peculiar digestions, physical
conditions, age, etcetera, particularly of infants.
It is furthermore known that milk varies as to the proportions, or richness,
poverty, etcetera, of the general parts into which it is readily divisible or separable,
as the conditions, food and breed of the animal varies, so that different original
milks have different effects with the same human digestions.
It is the object of this invention to so treat milk as to render it suitable for use
as an article of food to each and all particular and peculiar cases in the nursery,
sick-room and elsewhere, whatever may have been the proportions, or richness,
poverty, etcetera, of its general parts originally.
To these ends the invention consists in the improvement in the art of treating
milk, comprising the following acts or steps, namely, separating or dividing
original milk into two fluids (first) milk containing all the fat, and (second) milk
without fat, each of which fluids is made to contain a definite and known percentage
of the milk constituents; preparing or producing a fluid solution of water and
sugar of milk in definite proportions of each; then re-combining these fluids into
milks in accordance with a particular requirement, all as is hereinafter fully
described and claimed.
In carrying out the invention, fresh milk is taken, and by suitable machinery
and formulæ, separated or divided into two special parts, as, for example, into
(a) milk containing all the fat, with a definite known percentage of fat, albume-
noids, sugar of milk, mineral matter and water, and (b) a milk without fat but
with a definite and known percentage of albumenoids, sugar of milk, mineral
matter and water. Then a third fluid, namely, a solution of sugar of milk and
water in definite percentages of each, is produced, either by treating a quantity of
the original milk, or by combining sugar of milk already obtained with distilled
water in a certain predetermined ratio.
The proportions of such constituents are then varied as they may differ from
what is required in particular cases, by adding thereto or subtracting therefrom,
according to what is prescribed for each individual, thus representing the
prescription written for the use of the consumer.

page_text: For example, if it should be desired to use the milk as a substitute food for
human breast milk, and that it should contain 4 per cent. of fat, 7 per cent. of milk
sugar, 1.50 per cent. albumenoids, 0.25 per cent. mineral matter, and 87.25 per cent.
water, in re-combining the fluids containing these constituents after separation,
they will be employed so as to produce the aforesaid required proportions,
whatever may have been the portions in the fluids as they were separated.
By this process, pure milk can not only be supplied from day to day of a
uniform percentage of its constituent parts, but these parts are changed so as to
suit the peculiar physical conditions of particular persons.
The invention is not, of course, confined to the extent of division and subdivision
of parts into which the original milk may be separated since this may depend
upon circumstances governing particular cases.
Nor is it limited to any precise mechanism or certain steps for separating the
milk as it may be accomplished in any of the well known ways that may be desired,
the essential feature of the invention being the separating of milk into fluids each
containing a stable and definite percentage of milk constituents, and re-combining
those fluids in accordance with a particular prescription.
It is not the purpose of this invention to produce an artificial milk, but on the
contrary to change a body of original fresh milk so as to produce the proportions
of the constituents thereof in accordance with a physician's prescription. In so
doing, it may frequently be unnecessary to combine all three of the fluids, but to
combine two of them in such proportions as will produce a milk possessing its
constituents in the percentages called for by the particular prescription.
It is to be observed that by the present invention, it is not required to rely
upon "one cow's milk" but milk can be regulated so as to suit any particular case
of digestion, whether coming from one or more cows, and always secure the same
grade of pure milk. This is the essential feature of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, 1 declare that what I claim is :-
The improvement in the art of treating milk which consists in dividing or
separating a quantity of original milk into (a) milk containing all the fat, and
(b) milk without fat, each of which fluids is made to contain a definite and known
percentage of milk constituents, preparing or producing a third fluid containing a
definite and known percentage of sugar of milk and of water, and then
recombining these fluids in accordance with a particular prescription or
requirement.
Dated this 25th day of June 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.