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 FANT FEEDING 
 
 By PROF. EDGAR EVERHART, A. M., Ph. D. 
 
 Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas. 
 
 READ BEFORE 
 
 The Texas State Geological and Scientific Association, 
 
 Tuesday, May 17, ii 
 
 Compliments of 
 \ EDGAR EVERHART. 
 
OFFICERS 
 
 texas state 
 
 Geological and Scientific Association. 
 
 TRUSTEES. 
 
 HON. RICHARD COKE, Waco. 
 HON. J. H. McLEARY, San Antonio. 
 HON. CHARLES STEWART, Houston. 
 WM. BRAMLETTE, Esq., Austin. 
 HON. W. R. BAKER, Houston. 
 
 GENERAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 G. W. Kidd, President. E. P. Hill, Vice-President. 
 
 E. T. Dumble, Secretary. A. C. Gray, Treasurer. 
 
 Rev. D. MacGregor, Henry Cline, 
 
 C. LOMBARDI. 
 
 PRINCIPAL OFFICE, HOUSTON, TEXAS. 
 

 PAPERS READ 
 
 Infant Food and Infant Feeding. — By Edgar Everhari, A. 
 M., Ph. D., Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas. 
 
 From various causes, it happens that a large percentage of infants 
 are deprived of their natural nourishment, and it becomes necessary 
 to resort to some substitute to sustain life. This deprivation of their 
 natural food is sometimes complete, but more often it is only partial. 
 It is difficult to say whether this percentage of infants deprived of 
 mothers' milk is on the increase or not. Judging from the number 
 of so-called Infant Foods on the market, the number of children who 
 derive at least a part of their sustenance from this artificial source 
 must be much greater than is commonly supposed. In many cases, 
 no doubt, it is absolutely impossible for the child to obtain nourish- 
 ment from the mother. Under such circumstances, of course resort 
 must be had to some other food. Whenever the food is other than 
 that provided by nature, too much care cannot be exercised in se- 
 lecting that which most resembles, in its chemical and physiological 
 properties, that most suitable of all infant foods — mothers' milk. 
 
 The importance of the question of substitutes for mothers' milk 
 can hardly be overestimated. The mortality among infants is enor- 
 mous. Until the present time, but few statistics have been taken 
 with regard to the diet of infants who have died during the first year 
 of their existence. It has been stated that, of 800,000 deaths that 
 annually occur in the United States, 500,000 of them are infants. 
 This statement, however, is not based upon anything more substan- 
 tial than a reasonable supposition. It is practically impossible, with 
 the present state of the enforcement of the laws, to give, with accu- 
 racy, such statistics. In Germany, where the taking of various 
 statistics with regard to deaths, births, marriages, etc., is strongly 
 insisted upon by the government, the following table has been 
 recently issued with regard tQ the nourishment of infants; Of every 
 
2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 1000 children nourished by mothers' milk, 610 exhibited good health, 
 190 moderate health, 118 bad health, and 82 died by the end of the 
 first year. Of 1000 infants nourished by the milk of a wet nurse, 
 260 had good health, 254 moderate health, 306 bad health, and 180 
 died by the end of the first year. Of i 000 infants raised on artificial 
 foods, 90 exhibited good health, 147 moderate health, 253 bad 
 health, and 510 died by the end of the first year. In other words, 
 the mortality among children raised on infant foods was over six 
 times greater than when nourished by mothers' milk. In the case of 
 wet nursing the mortality was twice as great. Such enormous differ- 
 ences can be due only to the fact that artificial feeding, as at present 
 practised, is in no sense a substitute for mothers' milk. The charac- 
 ter of infant foods sold in Germany is substantially the same as of 
 those sold in this country, and it is but fair to presume that the same 
 difference in the death rate obtains here. 
 
 In the discussion of such a question as the value of infant foods, 
 so many considerations arise, both of a chemical and of a physiolog- 
 ical character, that to avoid error in drawing conclusions one must 
 proceed with great caution. It is true that some children thrive on 
 certain foods, and seemingly are in as good health as though sustained 
 entirely by the mothers' milk, but it would be quite erroneous to 
 suppose that such foods would be suitable for all children. 
 
 The only certain way we have for arriving at a conclusion with 
 regard to the value of an infant food, is to compare it with mothers' 
 milk. No one can deny that mothers' milk is the only perfect food 
 for infants, and whenever a child is so unfortunate as to be deprived 
 of that blessing, it becomes the duty of its natural protectors to pro- 
 vide it with a food approaching in its composition as nearly as pos- 
 sible that perfect type. , The food of young animals is radically 
 different from that of the older of their kind. No farmer would ex- 
 pect to raise young calves by turning them out to graze when only a 
 few days old. Yet for calves there is not a greater difference between 
 fresh grass and cows' milk than there is for infants between starchy 
 food and mothers' milk. 
 
 For the proper support of human life, five different kinds of food 
 material are necessary, viz: water, nitrogenous matter, carbohydrates, 
 fat, and mineral salts. When one of these five fails, perfect health is 
 not possible. Mothers' milk, and in fact the milk of all animals, 
 contains these five constituents. Milk is, therefore, regarded as a 
 perfect food. The lacteal secretion varies considerably in different 
 animals, not only in the percentage, but also in the character of the 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 3 
 
 various ingredients. It has only been in recent years that correct 
 methods of analysis have been discovered, so that correct ideas with 
 regard to the composition of the various milks could be formed. 
 Even at the present day one frequently meets with false statements 
 from those highest in authority on the subject. For example, sonic 
 of the best medical authorities assert that the great difference between 
 woman's milk and cow's milk lies in the fact that the latter contains 
 more solid matter, particularly more nitrogenous matter and fat. 
 This statement is not borne out by chemical analysis, for the average 
 percentage of solid matter in cow's milk is 12.3, while in woman's 
 milk it is 13.3. The average fat in woman's milk is 4.01 per cent., 
 and in cow's milk, 3.75 per cent. 
 
 Another popular idea is that asses' milk is most similar in compo- 
 sition, qualitatively and quantitatively, with woman's milk. Whether 
 this be true or not, I am not prepared to say. The only evidence I 
 can find in support of the statement is an analysis made by Doyerc 
 in 1846, in which he makes the nitrogenous matter comparable with 
 that of woman's milk. But even in Doyere's analysis there are 
 marked differences between the two. 
 
 Before going into the discussion of the various infant foods now in 
 general use, it may be well to consider for a few moments the func- 
 tions of the various constituents of milk in the sustaining of infant 
 life. One or two of these food materials play a different role in infant 
 life from what they do in that of older persons, and for that reason 
 especial consideration should be given them. 
 
 Probably the most important part of any food, whether for infants 
 or for persons of maturer age, is the nitrogeneous portion. The 
 nitrogenous matter serves to build up all the tissues and fluids of 
 the body, and under some circumstances, also serves as a source of 
 animal heat, as well as a fat producer. However, its chief function 
 is to supply the material from which come the tissues and fluids of 
 the body. The importance of the proper kind of nitrogenous sub- 
 stance supplied to children should be a matter of careful considera- 
 tion. Too often no distinction is made between the different kinds 
 of this food constituent, though there is no other food constituent 
 that exhibits such great diversity of both chemical and physiological 
 properties. The relative digestibility of the nitrogenous constituents 
 of many foods has been made the study of many careful experi- 
 menters. The results obtained by these investigators have thrown 
 much light upon the subject of digestion, and enable the physiolo- 
 gist of the present day to discriminate between different foods in a 
 
4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 manner that was entirely impossible no longer ago than thirty years. 
 
 We are chiefly indebted to the Physiological Institute of Munich, 
 Germany, for the many laborious and pains-taking experiments under- 
 taken with a view of solving the question of digestion. These ex- 
 periments covered a period of many years, and dealt with the diges- 
 tion of most foods, under most dissimilar circumstances. With 
 respect to nitrogenous substances, it was found that the difference in 
 the digestibility of those of vegetable and animal origin is largely in 
 favor of the latter. 
 
 The sugar of milk belongs to a class of food constituents that have 
 the generic name of carbohydrates. In the food of adults the carbo- 
 hydrate is not sugar, but starch. The digestive organs of man con- 
 tain several distinct principles that are capable of converting starch 
 into sugar. This last substance is the final state into which starch 
 enters before assimilation by the system. In the case of infants, 
 those juices capable of acting on starch are entirely wanting. There 
 is no ptyalin in the saliva, nor is there any diastatic ferment in the 
 pancreas, by means of which starch can be changed into glucose. 
 The consequence of giving a child starchy food, therefore, would be 
 not only useless, but injurious. We all know what effect substances 
 which we can with difficulty digest have upon adults; what therefore 
 must not a child suffer who is compelled to take into its system ma- 
 terial that has to make its way through entirely unchanged. We 
 rebel whenever our saleratus contains terra alba, although the percent- 
 age is very small, yet many have no hesitation in giving to infants 
 foods whose solid matter sometimes consists of over 50 per cent, of 
 indigestible starch. The function of carbohydrates in the human 
 system is to maintain animal heat, and to spare the consumption of 
 nitrogenous matter. The carbohydrate in the case of infants is a 
 peculiar kind of sugar, called milk sugar. 
 
 One of the most important of the food constituents, and one which 
 seems most systematically neglected in every infant food made, is 
 the fat. The function of fat in the animal economy is to maintain 
 animal heat, to save unnecessary use of nitrogenous matter by the 
 system, and finally to build up the fatty portions of the body by 
 direct addition. In the case of infants, fat not only serves these 
 purposes, but it also evidently has another important duty to per- 
 form. In the examination of the fasces of persons after the period 
 of complete dentition, it has been found by chemical analysis that, 
 when the digestion is normal, very little unchanged food passes 
 through the body, and that which is unchanged usually bears some 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 5 
 
 simple relation to the food consumed. With nursing children, how- 
 ever, under like circumstances, it has been found that the solid sub- 
 stances in the faeces consist of about 40 per cent, of fat, and 35 per 
 cent, of mineral matter, with sometimes a little unchanged milk 
 sugar. This being the case, fat must have a special function to per- 
 form in the intestines. The most likely supposition, and it is merely 
 a supposition, is that the fat acts as a lubricant, and renders the pas- 
 sage of the food easy and smooth. It is a curious (act that many 
 writers on the subject of infant feeding fall into the error of ascribing 
 a small percentage of fat to woman's milk, whereas the result of 
 hundreds of analyses show that the average percentage is considera- 
 bly greater than it is in cow's milk. 
 
 The only other constituent of milk that need be noticed is the 
 mineral matter. This is very similar in quantity, as well as in qual- 
 ity, to the mineral salts found in cows' milk. This mineral matter 
 is especially characterized by the comparatively large amounts of 
 potash salts, and of phosphates. This mineral matter of course 
 serves an extremely useful purpose; but it is not of such vital import- 
 ance in this connection as are the other constituents of this food. 
 
 It would seem most natural that when the supply of mothers' milk 
 failed an infant, recourse would be taken to cows' milk, as being the 
 food most like that of its natural nourishment. This was probably 
 formerly the case; but of late years one generally resorts to one or 
 another of infant foods, of which there are seventeen different kinds 
 that are well known. 
 
 Of course the best possible food for a child is that provided for it 
 by nature, and the best substitute when that fails is that food most 
 like it in chemical and physiological properties. Before we are able 
 to make any comparisons between the various foods, of course it is 
 necessary to have complete and exhaustive analyses. Many analyses 
 have been made of woman's milk, more or less complete. The first 
 thing that strikes the reader of these analyses is the great difference 
 in the chemical composition of this kind of milk. Some of the 
 earlier of the analyses given are erroneous, no doubt, because there 
 were then known no good methods of analysis. This will account 
 for the great difference between analyses of later and earlier date; 
 but there are differences among the analyses made in recent years. 
 These differences are probably due to two causes: first, because of 
 the different circumstances under which the milk may have been 
 withdrawn from the breast, the first, middle and last portions of milk 
 being very different in composition. The chief reason of these dif_ 
 
6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 ferences, however, lies in the fact that the milk of woman is less sus- 
 ceptible to influences of food, and more dependent on what we may 
 call temperament, than that of any other animal. During the past 
 few years careful attention has been given to these points, and phys- 
 iologists seem to agree that the average composition of woman's 
 milk is about as follows: 
 
 Water 86.75 
 
 Fat 4.00 
 
 Milk Sugar 6.99 
 
 Nitrogenous substances 2.05 
 
 Mineral salts 21 
 
 Total solid substances — 13-25. 
 
 In the variation of the percentages of the various constituents of 
 woman's milk, there is the greatest difference in the nitrogenous sub- 
 stances, and the least in the milk sugar, while the fat occupies a 
 place between the two. 
 
 While the percentage of the nitrogenous substances varies consid- 
 erably, they never vary in their chemical composition, and are dif- 
 ferent from the nitrogenous substances generally found in animals or 
 vegetables. They are especially characterized physiologically by 
 their easy digestibility, and by the fact that the acid juices of the 
 stomach do not precipitate them as clots of large size, but as small 
 light flakes. This last phenomenon may account somewhat for their 
 easy absorption by the system. This absorption is so complete that 
 only the smallest traces of the nitrogenous matter of woman's milk 
 escape assimilation. Chemically, also, these substances differ greatly 
 with the corresponding food constituents found in the milk of other 
 animals. It is unnecessary here to recite those differences at length. 
 Woman's milk contains no casein, the cheese-forming constituent of 
 cow's milk, but considerable quantities of soluble nitrogenous sub- 
 stances which cannot be precipitated in alkaline solution. The 
 terms casein and albumen are so indefinite, and have such different 
 meaning from what is usually given, that I prefer using the general 
 term, nitrogenous substances, wherever possible. By casein is usually 
 meant that nitrogenous substance precipitated from milk by means 
 of dilute acid, without the aid of heat, while albumen is the portion 
 which is thrown down by boiling after the removal of the casein. In 
 woman's milk the first is only a small fraction of the latter. Strictly, 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 7 
 
 neither of these two terms is the proper one; still they will suffice for 
 making clear certain distinctions. 
 
 The carbohydrate, milk sugar, found in woman's milk, does not 
 differ, either chemically or physiologically, from milk sugar derived 
 from any other source. It differs from cane sugar in being less 
 sweet, and in certain chemical reactions. Milk sugar can easily be 
 obtained, being a regular article of trade. This fact has a certain 
 importance, because the preparation of an artificial food requires a 
 percentage of milk sugar comparable with that of woman's milk. 
 The maintenance of the animal heat of infants is due largely to the 
 high percentage of milk sugar. This is evidenced by the fact that 
 nearly all of the sugar is consumed by the infant system, while the 
 fat, which, weight for weight, in the bodies of adults, is capable of 
 producing much more heat than the carbohydrates, is, as we have 
 seen, passed off to a large extent unassimilated. In foundling hospi- 
 tals great difficulty is experienced in maintaining the animal heat of 
 the infants. This probably is largely due to the small percentage of 
 sugar usually found either in infant foods or in cows' milk. 
 
 The fats of woman's milk have never been investigated — at least 
 no mention of the fact is to be found in recent literature. They do 
 not differ in external physical properties from the fats usually found 
 in other milks. The fat, as well as the sugar, of woman's milk, there- 
 fore, can be easily substituted. 
 
 Having thus taken a brief glance at what woman's milk is, and the 
 functions of its constituents, it will be possible for us to consider 
 intelligently the question of the artificial feeding of infants. It must 
 be a self-evident fact that the most perfect substitute for woman's 
 milk is that food which most resembles it, not only in chemical per- 
 centage and composition, but also that which exhibits the most sim- 
 ilar physiological properties. 
 
 During this past year all the infant foods on the New York market 
 were ordered for the laboratory of the University. Seventeen differ- 
 ent infant foods were obtained. These, with one or two exceptions, 
 were analyzed by some of the students, as well as by myself. The 
 results of these analyses will be seen in a subsequent 'table. The 
 different foods may be divided into two classes, those containing 
 starch, or starchy foods, and those containing no starch, or Liebig 
 foods. The starchy foods greatly exceed in number the Liebig, 
 though probably more of the latter are sold. Farinaceous foods may 
 be subdivided into two classes, viz: those prepared with the addition 
 
H PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 of milk, the so-called milk-foods; and secondly, those not so pre- 
 pared. The following different kinds of foods were analyzed: 
 
 FARINACEOUS FOODS. 
 
 ' Ridge's Patent Food. 
 Neave's Food. 
 Imperial Granum. 
 Ijrj , _, %jr .„ Robinson's Patent Barley. 
 
 ^ Baby Sup, No. i. 
 Baby Sup, No. 2. 
 Savory & Moore's. 
 Hawley's. 
 
 f Nestle's. 
 I Anglo-Swiss. 
 With Milk. Milk-Foods. \ Franco-Swiss (Gerber's.) 
 
 Wells, Richardson & Co.'s. 
 ^ Carnrick's. 
 
 NON-FARINACEOUS. 
 
 f Mellin's. 
 
 j- ■ , . p , J Horlick's. 
 
 * * I Keasby & Mattison's. 
 
 V 
 
 Loeflund's. 
 
 Some of the farinaceous foods claim, in their circulars, to be Lie- 
 big foods; however, chemical analysis reveals the presence of con- 
 siderable amounts of starch, and therefore their proper place is 
 among the farinaceous foods. 
 
 Ridge's Patent Food, the first on the list, consists of a specially 
 prepared wheat flour. The flour composing it is cooked by a steam 
 heating process, which it is claimed largely converts the insoluble 
 and indigestible' starch into soluble and digestible dextrine. Practi- 
 cally, however, its conversion is only partial; the amount of soluble 
 carbohydrates, as shown by analysis, is only 6.60 per cent., while the 
 starch is 74.70 per cent. These figures show but little difference in 
 composition from the original flour. The percentage of nitrogenous 
 substances in Ridge's food is about that of good wheat flour. 
 
 Neave's Food is likewise a product of wheat flour, and is used 
 more frequently in England than in this country. It consists of 
 coarsely ground flour. It is distinguished by a large percentage of 
 starch. Its properties are similar to those of like preparations. 
 
 Imperial Granum. This infant food is said to be principally the 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION". 9 
 
 gluten derived from a superior growth of wheat. As a matter of fact, 
 Imperial Gratvum consists of baked wheat Hour. Its percentage of 
 nitrogenous substances (gluten) is not above 1 1 — about the average 
 of ordinary flour. Its percentage of starch is very high, while that 
 of the soluble carbohydrates is very low. Its nutritive value is about 
 equal to that of ordinary fine wheat flour. 
 
 Robinson's Patent barley consists of finely ground barley flour. 
 Although recommended as an infant food, it contains but little nutri- 
 ment except starch. Its percentage of nitrogenous substances is low, 
 as is also that of the soluble carbohydrates. 
 
 Baby Sup, No. 1, claims to be an excellent substitute for mothers' 
 milk; really, it is nothing more than oatmeal partially malted. The 
 effect of the malting is to somewhat lower the percentage of starch, 
 and to correspondingly increase the amount of soluble carbohydrates. 
 This food is specially distinguished by the large amount of cellulose 
 it contains. Cellulose is a constituent of the whole grain of the 
 cereals, and is not only indigestible, even by adults, but it actually 
 prevents the assimilation of the nutritive parts of flour by the system. 
 Its presence in an infant food is certainly not beneficial. 
 
 Baby Sup, No. 2, consists of wheat flour, malt, and mineral salts. 
 The analysis shows the starch to be more perfectly changed to sugar, 
 etc., than in Baby Sup, No. 1. It requires to be cooked for half an 
 hour to effect complete conversion. It is doubtful if such cooking 
 will transform much of the starch into soluble carbohydrates, and it 
 certainly will have no effect upon the large amounts of cellulose that 
 the food contains. 
 
 Savory & Moore's Infant Food is very like in composition to the 
 last, except that the conversion of starch in it is more complete. 
 The directions given for the preparation of this food will not bring 
 about any further chemical change in the constituents of the food. 
 
 Hawley's Food is most like a Liebig's food of any of the preceding. 
 It contains only a small percentage of starch, while the amount of 
 soluble carbohydrates is proportionally great. 
 
 The last four foods are sometimes classed as Liebig's foods, but 
 that classification must be improper, as one of the prerequisites of 
 such a food is, that it should contain no starch. All of these four 
 contain comparatively large amounts of starch, even when cooked. 
 
 The consideration of these pure farinaceous foods, in their relation 
 to woman's milk, will be left until after a brief description of the so- 
 called Milk Foods. Both classes have the same general characteris- 
 tics, and consequently can be treated at the same time, 
 
 2p 
 
TO PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 MILK FOODS. 
 
 As the name indicates, these foods contain the constituents of milk. 
 Probably all milk foods are prepared in pretty nearly the same way. 
 As generally understood, this preparation consists in the baking or 
 heating of various kinds of flour, then grinding the baked mass, mix- 
 ing it with condensed milk, and finally in heating the whole mixture 
 to a certain temperature for a certain length of time. In one of 
 these milk foods it is claimed that the cow's milk used in its prepar- 
 ation has been subjected to the action of extract of pancreatin. In 
 other respects all the five foods are very similar. By the process of 
 torrefaction to which the flour in these foods is subjected, the fat, 
 cellulose and mineral salts contained therein suffer no material 
 change. • The starch undergoes a partial decomposition, with the 
 formation of some dextrine. The nitrogenous constituents of the 
 flour, however, undergo the greatest alteration. They are changed 
 very considerably in their composition. A portion becomes coagu- 
 lated, while the gluten can no longer be recognized as such. It can- 
 not even be separated by washing from the starch. This change in 
 the nitrogenous substances is not a kind of artificial digestion, but 
 rather a chemical decomposition. If the heat be applied for a long 
 time, there ensues an actual loss of nitrogen, by volatilization. 
 
 The milk foods are certainly an improvement on the ordinary far- 
 inaceous foods, but they are far from being substitutes for mothers' 
 milk. One of the chief recommendations of these foods is, that 
 when prepared for use, the presence of the farinaceous matter pre- 
 vents the coagulation in clots of the cows' milk employed. This 
 phenomenon is also exhibited by the ordinary farinaceous foods, but 
 in the milk foods the previous heating of the cereals prevents the 
 formation of an objectionable mucilaginous mass characteristic of 
 the others. 
 
 The five milk foods analyzed exhibit the same general character- 
 istics. Wells, Richardson & Co. have a milk food that has evidently 
 had but a small amount of milk used in its composition; it consists 
 chiefly of the flour of cereals. 
 
 Nestle's, Anglo-Swiss, and Franco-Swiss milk foods differ but very 
 slightly in composition. Carnrick's food has a somewhat higher 
 percentage of nitrogenous matter than the other four in this class, 
 but it has less soluble carbohydrates. This food, it is claimed, con- 
 sists of 50 per cent, of milk solids, and 50 per cent, of wheat flour. 
 A very simple calculation will show that this claim is false, unless 
 
GEOLOGICAL and SCIENTIFIC association. i 1 
 
 perhaps skimmed milk were used in its preparation. Were the com- 
 position as represented, the percentage of fat would be 15.74, where- 
 as analysis shows it to be but 6. 
 
 There is, among others, one very serious objection to the use of 
 any of the foregoing substances as infant foods. This objection is, 
 the presence of starch. As will be seen in an accompanying table, 
 the amount of starch introduced by the addition of the farinaceous 
 compound to the infant food, amounts on an average to 32 per cent, 
 of the total solids. That is, the infant has to take into its system 
 food adulterated by useless and injurious material to the amount of 
 nearly one-third. Starch is not only injurious by reason of its scarce- 
 ly appreciable digestion by the infant organs, but often it gives rise 
 to a species of fermentation that is very objectionable; that is, the 
 butyric acid fermentation. This is a fruitful cause of many of the 
 intestinal diseases of childhood. 
 
 The great chemist, Liebig, declared that infants, before dentition, 
 are incapable of digesting starchy food. This conclusion of Liebig's 
 has been confirmed and strengthened by the experiments and obser- 
 vation of later investigators. No food containing starch should, un- 
 der any circumstances, be fed to young infants. It is but justice to 
 state that some of the manufacturers of milk foods acknowledge that 
 very young infants do not thrive on their preparations, which are 
 designed for children of larger growth. 
 
 In the last class of infant foods — Liebig's Foods — it seems at first 
 glance that more value ought to be attached to them than to the 
 preceding classes. This is true, in so far as they contain nothing so 
 strikingly injurious as starch. They are injurious only in that they 
 give so little nutriment to the child, and hence are to be considered 
 rather as useless, than as so very harmful. 
 
 These foods are prepared according to a formula first given by 
 Liebig. This preparation consists, in short, in the complete conver- 
 sion of the starch of flour into maltose and dextrine, by means of the 
 diastase in barley malt. After carrying on this process of sacchari- 
 zation for some time, at ordinary temperatures, the whole mass is 
 heated to a temperature considerably above that of boiling water. 
 The residue is exhausted with water, evaporated to dryness, and 
 sold as a Liebig's food. So far as is known there are but four true 
 Liebig's foods now on the market. They are Mellin's, Horlick's, 
 Keasby and Mattison's, and Loeflund's. These all closely resemble 
 each other in chemical and physiological properties. The chief dif- 
 
12 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 ference to be observed is that Mellin's and Horlick's contain less 
 water, and are dry substances, while the two other are very viscid 
 liquids. All are characterized by a sweet taste, and all dissolve 
 nearly entirely in water. During the process of preparing these 
 foods much of the nitrogenous matter becomes insoluble, and is lost 
 during the manufacture, as is also nearly all the fat. Thus Liebig's 
 foods consist essentially of water, sugar, a trace of fat, some nitro- 
 genous substances and mineral salts. The mineral salts are largely 
 due to the addition of carbonates of the alkalies during the process 
 of manufacture. 
 
 The claim of the manufacturers of Liebig's foods is that, by their 
 addition to cow's milk, the resulting mixture has very nearly the 
 same composition as woman's milk, and that the relative digestibility 
 of the two is about the same. This claim is not borne out by facts. 
 The only indigestible part of cow's milk — that is, the only portion 
 differing at all from woman's milk — is the nitrogenous portion. This, 
 as was said before, coagulates in clots in a child's stomach, while the 
 corresponding constituents of woman's milk coagulate in flakes. The 
 addition of the Liebig's food to cow's milk, instead of remedying the 
 evil, only aggravates it. In a series of experiments conducted in the 
 laboratory of the University of Texas, it was found that when Mellin's, 
 Horlick's, Keasby & Mattison's, and Loeflund's foods were prepared 
 for use according to directions, the addition of a dilute acid superin- 
 duced the formation of clots from ten to twelve times as large as those 
 produced in cow's milk diluted to the same degree, and only differing 
 from the above preparations in the absence of the Liebig's food. 
 When cow's milk is diluted, the coagulum formed is much smaller 
 than is the case with undiluted milk. However, the difference in the 
 digestibility of the two milks is not, by any means, entirely due to 
 the character of the coagulum formed by the juices of the stomach. 
 The real difference lies in the different character of the nitrogenous 
 constituents of cow's milk and woman's milk. The Liebig's foods 
 have no action whatever on the character of the nitrogenous sub- 
 stances found in milk. In the feeding of infants with Liebig's foods 
 70 per cent, of the nourishment given to the child is due to the fresh 
 milk with which it is mixed, while only 30 per cent, is contributed by 
 the Liebig's food, and of this 30 per cent, nearly 27 per cent, comes 
 in the form of sugar, leaving but 3 per cent of the real nourishment 
 due to the infant food which has been added to the cow's milk. 
 
 Even the added sugar, which serves to keep up the animal heat, 
 occurs in quite a different form from what it does in cow's milk. As 
 contained in the Liebig's food it is either maltose or dextrine, neither 
 
OK.OI.OCICAI. AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 
 
 13 
 
 of which substances occurs in milk. It has not been proved physio- 
 logically that they undergo the same transformations in the system 
 that milk sugar does, and hence they cannot be regarded as fully 
 equivalent to the latter. 
 
 In the following table will be found the results of the analyses of 
 seventeen different infant foods: 
 
 *l 
 
 w in 
 
 2 n i 
 
 » 
 
 pr 
 
 — •("DC 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 -1 
 
 
 
 
 cr 
 
 "5 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 lose 
 geno 
 
 
 p 
 
 
 p; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cr 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CD 
 
 
 
 Br- 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 *< 
 
 
 cr 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 
 1/3 
 P 
 
 
 
 
 
 O) 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 cfl 
 
 
 n 
 in 
 
 
 Ridge's Patent Food.... 6.30 1.00 6.60 74.70 10.60 0.28 0.52 
 
 Neave's 5.10 75-5° I 4-7° 3-5° 1.20 
 
 Imperial Granum n-5° 0-64 5.73 70.02 10.91 0.20 1.00 
 
 Robinson's Patent Barley. 10. 10 0.97 4.1 1 77.76 5.13 1.93 1.93 
 
 Baby Sup, No. 1 6.54 1.08 14.55 60.80 9.60 6.25 1.18 
 
 Baby Sup, No. 2 n-5° °-6o 22.00 52.40 8.00 4.30 1.20 
 
 Savory & Moore's 8.34 0.40 44.83 36.36 9.63 0.44 0.89 
 
 Hawley's 6.60 0.61 76.54 10.97 5.38 .... 1.50 
 
 Nestle's Milk Food 6.55 4.34 42.89 34.41 9.61 0.43 1.77 
 
 Anglo- Swiss Milk Food. . 6.50 6.00 46.00 28.00 11.20 0.38 1.92 
 
 Franco-Swiss Milk Food. 4.96 4.58 44.58 32.93 13.01 0.50 1.40 
 
 W.,R. & Co. 's Milk Food. 7.20 1.25 32.05 46.90 10.40 0.40 1.80 
 
 Carnrick's Soluble Food. 4.20 6.06 29.35 4 2 -°5 I 5- I 5 OI 9 3-°° 
 
 Mellin's 5.97 0.17 81.95 9.56 2.35 
 
 Horlick's 4.40 0.08 86.20 .... 8.04 .... 1.28 
 
 Keasby & Mattison's .... 28.40 .... 70.50 .... 0.20 .... 0.90 
 
 Loeflund's 32.00 .... 62.61 .... 3.54 .... 1.85 
 
14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 The analyses of these various foods represented in this way con- 
 vey but little idea of their worth. We see that some contain more of 
 one constituent than others, but no idea can be obtained of the 
 value of these food stuffs until they are prepared ready for the nurs- 
 ing bottle. 
 
 It is a little strange that while all these various foods claim to 
 make an aliment nearly or quite similar to woman's milk, yet 
 in only one instance is there any attempt made to show this simi- 
 larity. This exception is in the case of Mellin's food, and even 
 there the example chosen is the receipt given for food for children 
 over three months old. Even taking the figures given in this exam- 
 ple, a close comparison will show striking differences, especially in 
 two of the most important constituents, viz: The nitrogenous sub- 
 stances, and in the fat, the former being over twice as great as found in 
 woman's milk, and the latter but a little more than half the required 
 amount. As nearly all the nitrogenous matter and the whole of the 
 fat thus given are derived from the cow's milk used, it does not ap- 
 pear why one cannot produce just as good, if not a better food* by 
 adding a little sugar and water to fresh cow's milk. 
 
 To obtain a clearer conception of the exact value of these infant 
 foods, I have made the following table, which shows the percentage 
 composition of each infant food, when prepared according to the 
 printed directions on each bottle or can. To make my meaning 
 more clear, the following table shows the composition of each infant 
 food as consumed by the child. 
 
 The figures were obtained by simple mathematical calculation. 
 On each package are printed directions for preparing the food; that 
 is, one is to take so much of the food, so much of water, and so much 
 of milk. Now if we know the average composition of cow's milk, 
 and the composition of the infant food, it is only a question of multi- 
 plication and division to find out exactly what the child takes into 
 its stomach. 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 
 
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l6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 The first most striking result brought out by these calculations is 
 the enormous difference between the total amount of solid matter 
 contained in mothers' milk and in the prepared infant foods. Hard- 
 ly any of these foods contain much more than half as much as is 
 present in woman's milk. If we leave out of consideration the 
 starch in the first thirteen of these foods, as ought to be done, be- 
 cause starch is in no sense a food material for infants, not one of the 
 foods contains half as much solid matter as is to be found in 
 woman's milk. In other words, in order for an infant to obtain as 
 much nourishment as is contained in one pint of woman's milk, it 
 will be compelled to drink from two to five pints of these foods, and 
 in the case of Robinson's Patent Barley, would have to drink nearly 
 twenty pints, or two gallons and a half. 
 
 The same discrepancy would be shown in the Liebig's foods, did 
 they not derive a large portion of their nutritive properties from the 
 milk used in diluting them, and were they not themselves principally 
 sugar. 
 
 When we consider such great dissimilarities between the natural 
 and artificial foods of infants, it is a wonder that so many children fed 
 upon the latter survive. Viewed in the light thrown upon them by 
 chemical analysis, and considered from a physiological standpoint, 
 it is surprising that foods of such a character can find recommenda- 
 tions from any one. AVhen we read among the directions printed on 
 some of the labels, that for constipation increase the amount of the 
 infant food, while for diarrhoea increase the amount of water, we 
 cannot help translating such recommendations in this way: For con- 
 stipation, irritate the stomach a little more; while for diarrhoea, 
 starve the child a little more. 
 
 This great difference between the natural and artificial food is also 
 strikingly shown in the consideration of the individual constituents. 
 In woman's milk, for instance, the average amount of fat is 4 per 
 cent. Notwithstanding the great variation in the percentage of fat 
 in woman's milk, it is never less than 2.10, while nearly always it is 
 much greater than this amount. In none of the foods prepared for 
 use is the percentage of fat as high as 2.00; on the contrary, it runs 
 from 0.06 to 1.85. The importance of large amounts of this food 
 constituent has already been mentioned. In the case of the carbo- 
 hydrates even, in no instance does the percentage run up as high as 
 in woman's milk. The child, therefore, can scarcely keep up the 
 necessary heat in its system by the use of such foods. 
 
 In the nitrogenous substances, also, is the percentage much lower 
 than is called for by the normal food. 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 17 
 
 It is hardly necessary to dwell upon the differences as exhibited 
 by the last table. They speak for themselves. Were the constitu- 
 ents of these foods exactly the same in composition as those of wo- 
 man's milk, yet if an infant be fed on them according to directions, 
 it would still have insufficient nourishment. 
 
 It might be asked why not increase the total amount of solid mat- 
 ter by increasing the amount of infant food used. This cannot be 
 done in the case of the farinaceous foods without increasing the per- 
 centage of starch so much that it would actually form a pap, and not 
 a liquid. In the case of the Liebig's foods, this cannot be done 
 without using cow's milk entirely, which would render the percent- 
 age of nitrogenous substances too great, and besides would be only 
 equivalent to an addition of sugar to cow's milk. 
 
 To make a resume, it would appear, both from physiological as 
 well as from chemical grounds, that none of the infant foods now on 
 the market can be regarded as a proper substitute for woman's milk. 
 The reasons for arriving at this conclusion are as follows: 
 
 1. No infant food, as now sold, can be made up, either with or 
 without the addition of cow's milk, so as to produce a liquid having 
 as great an amount of total solids (13.75 per cent.) as are in woman's 
 milk, unless indeed such total solids consist of such an injurious sub- 
 stance as starch, or the casein of cow's milk. 
 
 2. Not one of these infant foods is composed of nitrogenous mat- 
 ter that is as easy of digestion as is that of woman's milk. The chief 
 source of such nitrogenous matter is cow's milk, and not the foods 
 themselves. The fact that starchy matter prevents the formation of 
 clots in cow's milk is no reason for introducing a still more indigest- 
 ible substance in a child's stomach than would be the clots them- 
 selves. Besides, the formation of a clot is not the only reason of the 
 greater indigestibility of casein. 
 
 3. The percentage of fat is uniformly too low for the requirements 
 of the infant organism. 
 
 4. Because the soluble carbohydrates, even when present in large 
 amounts, are different in chemical properties, and most likely also in 
 physiological, from the milk sugar contained in woman's milk. 
 
 5. Chiefly because the great majority of infant foods introduce a 
 substance into the stomach of the child which is never found in wo- 
 man's milk, and which we know by direct proof cannot be assimi- 
 lated by the digestive system of an infant. 
 
 3p 
 
l8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 6. In those cases where there is an approximation to woman's 
 milk, this approximation is due to the use of cow's milk. The use 
 of such foods as Liebig's are not so objectionable as the farinaceous; 
 they are only useless, because their only function practically is to 
 increase the percentage of the carbohydrates. This increase can be 
 as well and more cheaply made by the addition of a little ordinary 
 sugar, or still better by milk sugar. The addition of Liebig' - s food 
 does not change the character of the nitrogenous matter of cow's 
 milk, either before or after it is taken into the stomach. 
 
 The question now arises, What can be used as a substitute for wo- 
 man's milk? The answer to this question was made six years ago, 
 at a meeting in Salzburg of some of the leading physiologists and 
 physicians of Germany. They decided that, while cow's milk, as 
 such, could never become a perfect substitute for woman's milk, still 
 it vvas the food that most closely resembled it in chemical and phys- 
 iological properties. The greatest dissimilarity between the two is 
 the difference in the properties of the nitrogenous substances, and in 
 the difference of the amounts of the other different milk constituents. 
 The first difference has been sufficiently dilated upon. The last dif- 
 ference will be most clearly indicated by the following table, which 
 gives the average composition of woman's milk and of cow's milk: 
 
 Woman's Milk. Cow's Milk. 
 
 Water. . . 86.75 87.70 
 
 Fat 4.00 3.74 
 
 Sugar 6.99 4.50 
 
 Nitrogenous substances 2.05 3.42 
 
 Mineral salts 0.21 0.64 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 
 Were the physiological properties of the nitrogenous constituents 
 of the two milks identical, the composition of an artificial human 
 milk from cow's milk would not be difficult. By a proper admixture 
 of milk, water, cream and milk sugar, such a milk could be com- 
 pounded so as to approximate very closely to woman's milk. When 
 cow's milk is somewhat diluted with water, the formation of clots is 
 avoided to a considerable extent, and the rapidity of the digestion of 
 the nitrogenous matter proportionately increased. In the infant 
 foods previously considered, the most unsuitable were those that 
 used the least cow's milk in their preparation, while those that were 
 nearest to woman's milk in composition used the most. 
 
GEOLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION. 19 
 
 If we take tlie average compostion of cream to be: 
 
 Water 65 .5 1 per cent. 
 
 Fat 26.75 " 
 
 Milk sugar 3.52 " 
 
 Nitrogenous substances 3.61 " 
 
 Ash 0.61 " 
 
 We can readily form a milk whose composition, as far as percent- 
 ages are concerned, and also as far as physiological characteristics, 
 except in the case of the nitrogenous matter, very closely resembles 
 human milk. Such a milk, compounded in the laboratory, gave the 
 following composition. It is placed side by side the analysis of an 
 average sample of woman's milk, and was made according to this 
 formula: 
 
 Cow's milk 1 pint. 
 
 Water ^ pint. 
 
 Cream 5 tablespoonfuls. 
 
 Milk sugar ...3 tablespoonfuls. 
 
 Analysis gave: 
 
 Woman's Milk. Artificial Milk. 
 
 Water 86.75 P er cent. 86.67 per cent. 
 
 Fat 4.00 " 4.00 " 
 
 Milk sugar. 6.99 " 7.00 " 
 
 Nitrogenous substances 2.05 " 2.00 " 
 
 Ash 0.21 " o. 
 
 00 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 
 A milk prepared according to this formula is certainly much supe- 
 rior to any infant food, because it so much more nearly resembles 
 woman's milk in its composition, the only difference being in the 
 case of the nitrogenous substances, which, though present in the 
 proper amounts, are still chemically and physiologically different 
 from those of woman's milk. Another difference, though of less im- 
 portance, is that woman's milk is uniformly alkaline, while cow's 
 milk is uniformly acid a few minutes after withdrawal from the udder. 
 This difference can easily be remedied by the addition of a suitable 
 alkaline salt. 
 
 The true solution of the problem lies in the changing of the nitro- 
 
20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TEXAS STATE 
 
 genous substances of cow's milk in such a way that they will be read- 
 ily digested, and at the same time will lose none of their value as a 
 food. It can be said that this problem has been solved. Dr. Pfeif- 
 fer, of Wiesbaden, proposed to use an extract of pancreatin to cause 
 a partial digestion of the casein of cow's milk before its introduction 
 into the stomach of an infant. One of the constituents of the pan- 
 creatic juice, trypsine, has the power of partially digesting the casein 
 of cow's milk, with formation of peptone, a nitrogenous substance 
 easily digested, non-coagulable by acids or heat, and possessing nu- 
 tritive qualities fully equal to those of like substances. Having this 
 ferment at our hand, we need no longer resort to the use of a so-called 
 infant food, nor to the less injurious artificially prepared cow's milk 
 just mentioned. 
 
 If the proportions of milk, water, cream, and milk sugar given just 
 above be treated with a little extract of pancreatin for a few minutes, 
 we can obtain a milk almost identical in every respect with average 
 human milk. Some manufacturers have availed themselves of this 
 scientific discovery, and now offer for sale a compound consisting of 
 milk sugar, extract of pancreatin, and an alkaline carbonate. This 
 mixture, when added to milk and cream in the proper proportions, 
 gives a milk that is probably as perfect a substitute for woman's 
 milk as is possible to be made. Nothing, however, can fully replace 
 the mother's milk itself. 
 
 This discovery of the peptonizing of cow's milk, for the purpose of 
 preparing an artificial human milk, is certainly one of the most im- 
 portant contributions made to physiological chemistry for many a 
 year, and it will doubtless be the means of saving the lives of many 
 children. 
 
 The great mortality among children fed by the infant foods suffi- 
 ciently corroborates the evidence against them, furnished on theoret- 
 ical chemical and physiological grounds. Whether the peptonized 
 milk will stand the test of time, cannot be foretold. One can only 
 say that, if we interpret science aright, it promises to be a very boon 
 to infants. 
 
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