Because of the marked buffer action of cow's milk and its consequent inhibitory action on hydrochloric acid, various methods have been used to promote the efficacy of the gastric juice in normal infants, as well as in those with digestive disturbances. Such aids are milk acidified with tenth-normal hydrochloric acid, lactic acid, lemon juice and bacterial cultures. Good results have been obtained with these additions, namely, a steady gain in weight and an improvement in digestive disturbances. Little attention, however, has been paid to the changes resulting in the urine when acid has been added to the milk.
Von Bernuth and Duken1 observed a series of spasmophilic and nonspasmophilic infants who were given 260 cc. and 400 cc. tenth-normal hydrochloric acid to a liter of milk. In fourteen of twenty-three infants, or 61 per cent, casts developed in the urine; most of these were finely granular, although there was