y important that all growing
infants, children, and young people have plenty for construction of bones
and teeth. There is almost none in meat and bread, none in common fats and
sugars, and comparatively few common foods can be taken alone and digested
in large enough quantities to insure an adequate supply; whereas a pint of
milk (whole, skim, or buttermilk) will guarantee to a grown person a
sufficient amount, and a quart a day will provide for the greater needs of
growing children. Whatever other foods we have, we cannot afford to
leave milk out of the diet because of its lime. Under the most favorable
dietary conditions, when the diet is liberal and varied, an adult should
have _at least_ half a pint of milk a day and no child should be
expected to thrive with less than a pint.

_Milk contains a most varied assortment of materials needed in small
amounts_ for the body welfare, partly for constructive and partly for
regulating purposes. These are rather irregularly distributed in other
kinds of food materials. When eggs, vegetables, and cereals are freely
used, we are not likely to suffer any lack; but when war conditions limit
the number of foods which we can get, it is well to remember that the more
limited the variety of foods in the diet the more important milk becomes.

_Milk will take the place of bread, butter, sugar, and other foods used
chiefly for fuel._ The body is an engine which must be stoked regularly in
order to work. The more work done the more fuel needed. That is what we
mean when we talk about the food giving "working strength." A farmer and
his wife and usually all the family need much fuel because they do much
physical work. Even people whose work is physically light require
considerable fuel. A quart of milk will give as much working force as half
a pound of bread, one-fourth of a pound of butter, or six ounces of sugar.
And this is in addition to the other advantages already mentioned.

_Milk contains specifics for growth._ Experiments with animals have taught
us that there are two specific substances, known as vitamines, which must
be present in the diet if a young animal is to grow. If either one is
absent, growth is impossible. Both are to be found in milk, one in the
cream and the other in the skim milk or whey. For this reason children
should have whole milk rather than skim milk. Of course, butter and skim
milk should produce the same result as whole milk. Eggs also have these
requisite