Reply of 
Office of the STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, 
State House, Boston, July, 1877. 
To Correspondents of the Board and to other Physicians: 
My Dear Sir: 
The Board propose during the present year a special investigation concerning 
Infant Food, and have entrusted the work to Dr. Chakles P. Putnam, one of the Visiting Physicians 
of the Massachusetts Infant Asylum. Will you please to assist in the inquiry by answering, as fully as you 
may be able, the following questions ? 
1. How many children can you recall that were nursed wholly by their mothers up to the age of about 
nine months? (Class 1.) 
2. How many by wet-nurses for the same length of time? (Class 2.) 
3. How many that were partly nursed and partly fed by their own mothers? (Class 3.) 
4. How many that were partly fed and partly nursed by wet-nurses ? (Class 4.) 
5. How many fed only under the direct care of their mothers? (Class 5.) 
6. How many fed by wet-nurses ? (Class 6.) 
7. How many of classes 5 and 6 were fed with cow’s milk only?— This is meant to include milk diluted with 
water only, or sweetened. (Class 7.) 
8. How many ot classes 5 and G with other foods containing milk? (Class 8.) 
9. How many with foods not containing milk? (Class 9 ) 
10. How many of class 1 have died ; at what ages, and of what diseases? (Class 10.) 
11. How many of class 2 ? 
12. How many of class 3 ? 
13. How many of class 4? 
14. How many of class 5 ? 
16. How many of class 6 ? 16. How many of class 7? 
17. How many of class 8 P 
18. How many of class 9 ? 
19. What is your opinion, founded upon your experience, with regard to the comparative value of wet-nursing 
and bottle-feeding, as affecting the health ? 
(a) in infancy. 
(6) in later life. 
20. If anything else of importance occurs to you in regard to infant feeding and infant mortality, please state it. 
An early answer will greatly oblige the Board; and those physicians who are not able to give 
statistics, will confer a great favor by answering questions 19 and 20 as fully as possible. 
In behalf of the State Board of Health, 
Very respectfully yours, 
CHARLES F. FOLSOM, M.D., Secretary.