It is the safest plan; it frequently prevents inflammation of the eyes-a complaint to which new-born infants are subject.

16. What kind of belly-band do you recommend, a flannel or calico one?

I prefer flannel, for two reasons: first, on account of its keeping the child's bowels comfortably warm; and secondly, because of its not chilling the child (and thus endangering cold, &c.) when he wets himself. The belly-band should not be tightly applied, as it would interfere with the necessary movement of the bowels.

17. Have you any remarks to make on the clothing of an infant?

An infant's clothing should be light, warm, loose, and free from pins. 1. IT SHOULD BE LIGHT, without being too airy. Many infant's clothes are too long and too cumbersome. It is really painful to see, how some poor little infants are weighed down with a weight of clothes. They may be said to "bear the burden," and that a heavy one, from the very commencement of their lives. How absurd, too, the practice of making them wear long clothes. Clothes to cover a child's feet, and even a little beyond, may be desirable; but, for clothes to reach to the ground, when the infant is carried about, is foolish and cruel in the extreme. I have seen a delicate infant almost ready to faint under the infliction. 2. IT SHOULD BE WARM, without being too warm. The parts, that should be kept warm, are the chest, the

bowels, and the feet. If the infant be delicate, especially if he should he subject to inflammation-ofthe-lungs, he should wear a fine flannel shirt instead of the usual ones, and which should be changed as frequently. 3. THE DRESS SHOULD BE LOOSE, so as to prevent any pressure upon the blood-vessels, which would otherwise impede the circulation, and prevent a proper development of the parts; it should be loose about the chest and waist, so that the lungs and heart may have free play; it should be loose about the stomach, so that digestion may not be impeded; it should be loose about the bowels, in order that the spiral motion of the intestines may not be interfered with, hence the importance of putting on a bellyband slack; it should be loose about the sleeves, so that the blood may course, without let or hindrance, through the arteries and veins; it should be loose, then, everywhere, for Nature delights in freedom from restraint, and will resent, sooner or later, any interference. Oh, that mothers would take Nature, and not custom, as their guide. 4. AS FEW PINS should be used in dressing an infant as possible; inattention to this advice has caused many a little sufferer to be thrown into convulsions. I have known some careful mothers who use no pins in the dressing of their infants-they have tacked every part that required fastening with a needle and thread. They even do not use pins to fasten the baby's napkins. They make the napkins with loops and tapes, and thus altogether supersede the use of pins in the dressing of an infant. The plan is a good one, takes very little extra time, and deserves to be followed.

18. Is there much necessity for a nurse being particular in airing an infant's clothes before they are put on? If she were less particular, would it not make an infant more hardy?

A nurse cannot be too particular on this head. Infants' clothes should be well aired the day before they are put on, as they should not be put on warm from the fire. It is well, where it can be done, to let infants have clean clothes daily; where this cannot be afforded, the clothes should be well aired as soon as they are taken off at night, so as to free them from perspiration, and to be in readiness to put on the following morning. It is truly nonsensical to endeavour to harden infants, or any one else, by putting on damp clothes.

19. What is your opinion of caps for infants?

The head should be kept cool, except when they are just born, and every time they are washed. If caps be worn at all, they should only be so for the first month in summer, or the first two or three months in winter. If an infant takes to caps, it requires care in leaving them off, or he will take cold. When you are about discontinuing them, put a thinner and thinner one on every time they are changed, till you leave them off altogether. If an infant does not wear a cap in the day, it is not at all necessary, that he should wear one at night; he will sleep much more comfortably without one, and it will be much better for his health. Night-caps injure both the thickness and the beauty of the

hair.

DIET.

20. Are you an advocate for putting an infant to the breast soon after birth, or for waiting, as many do, until the third day?

The infant should be put to the breast very soon after birth: the interest, both of the mother and of the child, demand it. It will be advisable to wait three or four hours, that the mother may recover from her fatigue; and, then, the infant should be put to the breast. If such be done, the child will generally take the nipple with the greatest avidity. It may be said, that at such an early period, there is no milk in the breast; but, such is not usually the case. There generally is a LITTLE from the very beginning; which acts on the infant's bowels like a dose of purgative medicine, and appears to be intended by nature, to cleanse the system. But, provided there be no milk at first, the very act of sucking, not only gives the child a notion, but at the same time causes a draught (as it is usually called) in the breast, and enables the milk to flow easily. Those infants who are kept from the breast two or three days, and are fed upon gruel, generally become feeble, and frequently, at the end of that time, will not take the breast at all. Besides, there is a thick cream (similar to the biestings of a cow) which if not drawn out by the infant, may cause inflammation and gathering of the breast, and, consequently, great suffering to the mother. Moreover, placing a child early to the breast, moderates the severity of the mother's after-pains, and lessens

the risk of violent flooding.

A new-born infant

should not have gruel given to him, as it disorders the bowels, causes a disinclination to suck, and thus makes him feeble.

21. Provided there be no milk AT FIRST, what should then be done?

Wait with patience: the child (if the mother has no milk) will not require artificial food for at least twelve hours. In the generality of instances, then, artificial food is not at all necessary; but, if it should be so, one third of new-milk and two thirds of warm water, slightly sweetened with loaf-sugar, may be given, in small quantities at a time, every four hours, until the milk be secreted, and then it should be discontinued. The infant should be put to the nipple every two hours, until he be able to find nourishment. We frequently hear of infants having no notion of sucking. This "no notion" may generally be traced to bad management, to stuffing children with food, and thus giving them a disinclination to take the nipple at all.

22. How often should a mother suckle her infant? Mothers generally suckle their infants too-often, having them almost constantly at the breast. This practice is injurious both to mother and child. The stomach of a child requires repose, as much as any other part of his body; and how can it have it, if it be constantly loaded with breast-milk? For the first month, the child should be suckled about every hour and a half; for the second month, every two hours;