, the article in question is also
an excellent food, which, as we have seen, has been consumed by
multitudes of people for ages in many parts of the world. There seems
also to be satisfactory evidence that a larger percentage than usual of
the people who make soured milk a staple of diet attain to a ripe old
age. How does it become such a dangerous thing the moment the doctors
get it into their hands? Of course if a man has an acute disease he
places himself entirely in the hands of his medical man, and eats what
is prescribed for him, or at least he ought to do so, and if he makes
such a submission he is entitled at least to the comfort of being able
to feel that his doctor is free from unreasonable prejudices. For the
implication that an article "made for profit" is naturally suspect casts
an unwarranted stigma on a large number of honourable people. There are
dishonest tradesmen just as there are dishonest and careless doctors,
but to saddle a whole class with the offences of a few would not be a
justifiable proceeding in either case. Besides, it is not to the
interest of the manufacturing chemist or the dairyman to turn out
spurious cultures or bad soured milk, and on the whole we see no reason
why they should not engage in the business.

The widespread use of soured milk in other countries as a regular
article of diet seems to indicate that all manner of people, except
those suffering from diseases which necessitate medical regulation of
diet, might with probable benefit to themselves add this article to
their food list; and it looks as if a good many of them intend doing so,
even if scandalised doctors threaten "to abandon the cure."

The dairyman who knows his business does not need to be told of the care
which is necessary to keep milk in good condition. The merely commercial
consideration of avoiding loss has made him ready to inquire into the
best means of prolonging the life of milk as a merchantable article.
For a time he relied on chemical preservatives, but their day is now
almost over, and filtration, pasteurisation, and cold storage have taken
their place. Any one conversant with the trade knows how widely these
methods have been adopted of late years; we may, therefore, assume that
the average dairyman has at his command milk suitable for the incubation
process.

The demand for soured milk is not as yet a very large one, and the
apparatus so far developed for its production is meant for the treatment