The fact of so many old people being found in countries where soured milk is a staple of diet naturally raises the question as to whether its general use in other countries might not have a beneficial effect on health and longevity. Its usefulness as a remedial agent in certain diseases is already demonstrated; is there not a strong probability, amounting almost to a certainty, that its consumption by people in health would tend to ward off many ailments and prolong life? Of course there will be some for whom it is not suitable; there are people who cannot eat strawberries without discomfort, but no one thinks of prohibiting the general use of the fruit on that account. In the matter of diet the person in health, if he exercises ordinary care, may be left to find out for himself what suits him. The soured milk remedy is not a disagreeable one, as, when properly prepared, the article forms both a pleasant and refreshing article of diet. The question of getting the right article, however, is a very important one. Milk is a splendid rearing ground for many bacteria, some of which are very injurious; among these may be pathological germs, the seeds of tuberculosis, enteritis, etc. The danger with soured milk is, that in the process of culture we develop the best condition for the increase of these when they preponderate, or when, through the use of bad cultures, the lactic-acid-producing bacteria are absent, or present only in small numbers. By the thorough boiling of the milk, we get rid of all living bacteria and nearly all spores or germs, and by scrupulous cleanliness in the vessels used—scalding or even boiling them, and allowing them to dry naturally in an inverted position—we greatly diminish the probability of infection with fresh injurious germs from the atmosphere. All depends on the purity of the culture employed; this can now be obtained, prepared in the most careful manner, from wholesale chemists making a speciality of its manufacture.