Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

42

Materia Alimentaria

Milk

part is less in women, when living on vegitables. Milk. In what manner is the milk secreted, from its resemblance to chyle it has been supposed to pass immediately from the Lacteals to the mamma, and not to be secreted from the general mass of blood. I have already given my opinion, the odour and taste of food is certainly communicated to the milk they are sometimes both evident from the milk of cows, Bergius says that matter coulors the milk, it certainly does the serum of the blood, fat about the joints, and sometimes the perspirable matter. Purges given to the nurse have a similar effect upon the child, this is generally the case if retained long enough. Dr Cooper informed me that a child sucking the milk of its mother under a Ptyalism was completely salivated, the Dr observes he cannot be certain whether this effect was produced by the milk or by perspiration. Dr Hammilton says he has detected the globules of mercury in the milk of women under Ptyalism by a slow evaporation. I have myself been salivated by being exposed to the fresh fumes of mercury from a patient under Ptyalism. Dr Hoffman relates several cases of children, being intoxicated from sucking drunken women,