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Milk, Constituents of

As simple food, milk is the most perfect and the one likely to sustain life longest. Its chief constituents are casein, sugar of milk, milk fat and phosphates; and these constituents are sufficient to support and keep in good health children and animals without other food.

The quality of cow's milk depends not only upon the breed but the feeding of the animals; where these have a poor and watery diet, the milk being deficient in solids and vice versa. In England it is but rarely that any but cow's milk is used, but in other countries the inhabitants depend upon the milk of other animals.

Thus, in Norway, Sweden and Denmark sheep's milk is used, in Tartary mare's milk, in Switzerland and Spain much of that of goats and in Iceland that of the reindeer. But from whatever animal obtained, the constituents are the same and the proportion of these have but little variation.

CONSTITUENT PARTS OF 1 PINT OF COW'S MILK. ... ... ... ...

Water Casein ... ...

Milk fat ...

Milk Sugar ... ...

Mineral matter ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... oz. grs. 17 330 0 370 0 333 1 22 0 72