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King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 607, 1 October 1913, Page 2

published at the year on Juried Milk subject must bo of IHHHhBPr in many quarters. Some have suggested that we should reprint them at once. As it is of the utmost importance that babies, if, artificially fed, should have their food properly proportioned arid approximated as closely es possible io mother's milk, we are. printing the articles again. DRIED ftiiLK. The following letter has been received from the proprietors of Glaxo :oncerning the' use of "dried milk" in baby-feeding, and I am glad to publish it verbatim, although the views expressed are not in accord with the teachings of the Society for the Health of Women and children: — LETTER CONCERNING GLAXO. Wellington-, Jan. lGth, 1911. To "Hygeia." Dear Maciam, — i should be very pleased if you could make an appointment to meet me, either at my office or elsewhere. 1 have been watching your articles on Baby Food for some time with a considerable amount of interest. I have been in personal communication with Drs Hutchinson and Still in London, and I think I know something about milk. You ars aware that we are making dried milk in large quantities; but I gather from your article of January 14th that you have not had "Glaxo" brought under your notice. This is a variation of the milk, and probably if I use the word "humanised" aa you have used it, you will understand that on analysis it (Glaxo) would give almost the same composition as human milk. Apart from this question, the point that interested me most was your statement "The 'life' bas been heated out of them." (That is, out of dried or otherwise Condensed Milk.) Now, this is a point that Dr Somerville, of King's College London, studied for over six months, and he was unable to make this statement. I am sure he, as well aa myself, would be glad to have your authority for the above statement. Have you ever, after liquefying the Dried Milk, tried to use rennet with it? I would also be pleased to know what authority you have for saying that the living principles are lacking in the Dried Milk. If you could give me half an hour to see the various reports of the Board of Health, Pinsbury, and many others from leading baby doctors in England I think I could convince you that the preparation of "Glaxo" is manufactured absolutely to fill all the requirements you desire. I also notice that you make use of the words —"the baby digested completely." Well, I would like to point out that the highest authorities that we consulted, and under whom we are acting have pointed out to us that facts are not digested in the ordinary sense, but are absorbed. That is why "Glaxo" ia a much better preparation, and much easier of digestion, than any "humanised " milk. The character of the cream has been changed into a fat and the proteids are absolutely soluble and digestible. This latter fact has been proved in the leading London hospital, both no babies and also in an articfiial stomach. We could b)ast that there is no residue to be found in using Dried Milk as there would be in using even humanißßd milk. The difficulty of the digestion of the proteids is absolutely overcome. 1 Would ike to have your assistance in placing this article more firmly on the market in New Zealand. We have not bothered with it so far here. We are using all our efforts in Great Britain, where the population is greater. I hope this letter has not wearied you, but I have a good deal more to say and 1 would like an opportunity of saying it.

REPLY BY "HYGEIA." In the second paragraph of our correspondent's letter he says that his firm makes Dried Milk on a large scale, that he has been "in personal communication with Dr Hutchinson and Still in London," and that he thinks he "knows something aboui milk." Hero and in the rest of the letter is conveyed the confident assertion not only ox an extensive knowledge with regard to miik in general, but also the conviction of the writer that more weight and authority should be attached to Iris ideas on this subject than to what has been said regarding the use in infant feeding of dried and otherwise condensed milks in Our Babies column' —'from which lie differs, especially regarding the claims of the particular Dried Miik which his firm manufactures —viz,, Glaxe. The citation of the names of Drs Hutchinson and Still, of London apparently again referred to in paragraph 7 as "the highest authorities whom we consulted, and under whom we are acting") is clearly intended to convey the 'mpression that these well-known physicians are with the makers of Glaxo, and at variance with what appeared in tin's coiunm. In reality as I shall show presently, the reverse is the case, !■] But, even if two eminent doctors did range themselves against the facts and laws of nature, and the findings of science, the truth would he in no way affected thereby. It is always a mistake to cloud a simple issne by the time introduction of misleading or irrelevent matter pretending to confuse rather than throw light on points under consideration. A a Professor Stanley Jervon3 says in his book on "Logic" (when dealing with the subject of fallacious arguments)—"whoever uses what in known as argumentum ad hominem—that is, an argument which rests not upon the merits of the ease, but the character or position of those engaged in it—commits this fallacy." However, as I have ventured to hint, j Drs Hutchinson and Still are not in I

ggflgWESiuiipleß o<i?>ijtetiop,'" Hutchinson giv - - showing the chemical cor.if ■ ■ •-' the "Humanised Milk" :-u -■;>' ... ; ;. the Aylesb.iry Dairy C\. oi ~:•■;■:■■:•. as compared with mnnre'o ::\.-r i-'x.t----drtrd—viz., the milk of {.!;;• human mother. 1 had three column:- showing ropsec.tivsly—- 1, the comporfiimn of "humanised milk." pi eu:r.v>,-; j :l nre:..'d.i'.icG with the reeipj giv.m by the Society for the Health <u Woni.v.i and Children; 2, the eomynjitmn of Giaxo, an given on page "n"' oi 1 1 \; Cbmo liaby Book"; ami :k cow"? n.ik'-. Tim average composition of viirif-us milks:- — Aylesbury No. 1: Pi-oiei.l 1.0. fat 4. sugar of re ilk 47. A\ it mury No. 2 : Proteid 2.2, fat :>. ii. sugar of milb ;j,2. Humr.n milk Proteid 1.5, fat ?t.r> sugar of milk (1 .". N.Z. Society's humanized mil!;: Proteid 1.3 to 1.4, fat 3.,1 to 4, pih:at- of milk G to 7. Gla>:o: Proteid o, fat 3.5, sugar of milk fi.IS. Cow's mils: Proteid 3.2, fat :\.9. sugar of milk 5.1. The percentage of proteid in human milk given in the above table is somewhat higher than the figures a*rivtsd at by very pxtenaive analyses of mother's milk made during the last ten year?. Thus the average is given by Professor Raudnitz, oi Prague, as commonly varying from 1.1 to 1.5 per cent.; or, say, an average of 1.3 par cent.—in other words, from a third to a half of the proportion found in Glaxo. Glaxo is therefore not* properly speaking, a humanised" nilk. On comparing the Glaxo column with the cow's milk column, it will be at once realised that the trace of sugar of milk and cream added by the manufacturers does not cause the composition of this particular form of Dried Milk to vary appreciably from ordinary uncodified dried covf's milk. Com meriting on the Aylesbury Co.'s Humanised Milk Dr Hutchinson says: —The first contains too little proteid andthe second rather much. No. lis intended for young and delicate infants, N0.2 for those who are older and stronger. We saw, however, that human milk does not tend to get richer in proteid as lactation proceed?, and for that reason the preparation of a stronger milk for older infants is not physiologically sound." Seeing that Dr Hutchinson pronounces it phyisologically unsound" to give a baby 2 p9r cent, of proteid (on the ground that 2 per cent, is too much), how can he possibly approve of Glaxo, which shows on analysis 3 per cent.?