Milk is of very different consistence in different animals; but that of cows being the kind used in diet, is at present the object of our attention. Milk, where it agrees with the stomach, affords excellent nourishment for those who are weak and cannot digest other aliments. It does not readily become putrid, but it is apt to become sour on the stomach, and thence to produce flatulence, heart-burn or gripes, and in some constitutions a looseness. The best milk is from a cow at three or four years of age, about two months after producing a calf. It is lighter, but more watery than the milk of sheep and goats; while, on the other hand, it is more thick and heavy than the milk of asses and mares, which are next in consistence to human milk. On account of the acid which is generated after digestion, milk coagulates in all stomachs; but the caseous or cheesy part is again dissolved by the digestive juices, and rendered fit for the purpose of nutrition. It is improper to eat acid substances with milk, as these would tend to prevent the due digestion of it. Cream is very nourishing, but, on account of its fatness, is difficult to be digested in weak stomachs.

Violent exercise, after eating it, will, in a little while, convert it into butter.