"Whole milk, butter, mutton broth, chicken broth, beef juice, soft-cooked eggs, dropped eggs, white meat of chicken, lamb or mutton chops, scraped beef, French bread, stale bread, toasted bread, whole wheat bread, milk toast, zwieback, plain white crackers, plain Educator crackers, barley, jelly, oatmeal, cream of wheat, wheat germ, Ralston's Farina, rice, baked potato, plain boiled macaroni, orange juice, baked apples, stewed prune pulp and juice, junket, baked custard, cornstarch pudding, plain blanc-mange, plain tapioca. It is not advisable, as a rule, to begin green vegetables until the baby is 2-1/2 years old." It will be seen in the foregoing dietaries how authorities differ in their beliefs as to the requirements of the child. The dietaries included in this text are selected from those used in different parts of the country by physicians who have successfully cared for the infants and children under their charge. THE FEEDING OF PREMATURE INFANTS The digestion of premature infants is naturally not as strong as that of infants born at term. Very little is positively known, but the consensus of opinion goes to show that in the majority of cases the tolerance for sugar is greater than that of either the proteins or fats. The loss of heat is relatively greater in proportion to its surface area in small than in large bodies. This is a well-known fact, hence the premature baby must require more food in proportion to its weight than the baby who is born at the normal time. Then, too, as the premature infant is thinner he does not keep warm like the older infant, and this must be taken into consideration in feeding him. Breast milk is of course by far the best food for such babies, not only because its constituents are in a more available form for the feeble digestive organs, but because the mother's milk furnishes a resistance which is lacking in even the most carefully modified of milk formulas. ~Energy Requirements of Premature Infants.~--Experiments made upon premature infants have proved that the caloric needs of these babies are greater than in the case of full-time babies; that is, they require more per kilogram of body weight. According to Morse,[79] "most premature babies need 120 calories per kilogram of body weight. But there are many exceptions, some thriving on as little as 70 calories per kilogram. No attempt should be made to reach 120 calories per kilogram during the first few days. Thirty calories per kilogram is as much as is wise to give in the first 24 hours of feeding. This amount should be gradually increased each day, watching carefully for symptoms of indigestion and diminishing it if these appear. One hundred and twenty calories per kilogram can be given in about 10 days."[80]