drops on the inner surface of your arm.

Be careful not to allow the food to become too hot and see that it does not cool too much while the baby is nursing. This can be prevented by wrapping the bottle in a piece of flannel.

Hold the bottle for the baby throughout the feeding. Do not coax the baby to take more food than it wants, and do not allow it to drink longer than 20 minutes from the bottle. If it takes longer, there is something the matter with the baby or with the nipple.

If there is any food left in the bottle, throw it away; do not give it to the baby later.

Convenient feeding hours are the same as those for the breastfed babies. (See directions on another page.)

When the baby has diarrhoea, either with or without vomiting, stop all food at once. Give it one or two teaspoonfuls of castor oil, allow it to have plenty of boiled water to drink and send for a physician immediately. Save the soiled diapers for the physician to examine. (Always keep them covered.)

If the baby refuses to drink unsweetened, cooled, boiled water, give it barley or oatmeal water.

Be sure to wash the hands thoroughly after changing a diaper and before preparing food. Boil all the soiled diapers for half an hour to kill the dangerous germs which might spread the diarrhoea among the other members of the household. Keep the diapers in a solution of strong disinfectant (2 tablespoonfuls of pure carbolic acid in 2 quarts of warm water) in a covered vessel until ready to boil.

VI. THE HOME.

The welfare of the baby depends largely upon the condition of its home and surroundings.

Fresh air.-A satisfactory home for a baby should provide plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Much of the baby's time should be spent out of doors after it is three months old, on a porch or in the yard. A healthy baby should be kept out of doors at least four hours each day, even in winter, except when it is colder than 22° F. During the summer a newly born baby may be taken out of doors in the first week. During the winter months the baby should be gradually accustomed to the outside air. A good plan is to begin with an outing of 15 minutes at noon and gradually lengthen the time into the forenoon and afternoon, until the baby is out from 10 a. m. until 2 p. m. The baby must be properly clothed, according to the weather.

The surroundings of the home should be free from uncovered garbage, rubbish and manure. All of these attract flies and other

disease-carrying insects.

A quiet room, if possible with a south or southwesterly exposure, should be given to the baby. It should be well ventilated at all times. An open fireplace is desirable. The room should contain no upholstered furniture or heavy curtains. The walls and floors should be so finished as to allow frequent wiping with a damp cloth. A porch adjoining the baby's room and running water near by are desirable. The temperature of the baby's room should be kept not higher than 68° or 70° in winter and in summer should be kept as cool as possible with awnings and shutters. The windows should be kept oper. day and night in summer, and in winter the room should be aired two or three times a day. The windows and doors should be screened against flies and other disease-carrying insects. In the absence of screens mosquito netting may be tacked on the outside of the windows. The cellar of the house should be dry.

Improper clothing may be harmful to babies in three ways: First by being so tight that it prevents normal movements; second, by keeping the baby too warm; and, third, by not keeping it warm enough. The first fault can be avoided by making all of the baby clothes loose and roomy. Do not put on so many clothes that the baby perspires. All clothing except the shirt band and diaper may be removed in very hot weather. As the weather grows cooler, other clothing is added. The important thing for the mother to remember is that the baby is very sensitive to both heat and cold. She must be constantly on her guard to keep the baby cool enough in summer and warm enough in winter. The principal object of clothing is to insure a uniform body temperature. Loosely woven material should be used to allow proper ventilation for the skin. The use of a flannel bellyband is necessary until the cord drops off. After the first month it may be replaced by a knitted band with shoulder straps.

IX.

SLEEP.

Every baby needs 20 hours of sleep a day in its first month and not less than 16 up to the twelfth month of its first year. It should sleep alone, not in a cradle, but in a crib. If no crib is available, a clothes basket or a box of sufficient size is a good substitute. An expensive mattress is not necessary. A simple mattress made of excelsior and covered with a heavy blanket will answer very well. A sufficient quantity of clean bed clothing should be provided.

The room should be darkened and well ventilated; the windows should always be open at the top at least 6 inches, except in the coldest weather. If the baby cries when it should be asleep, it is probably sick, overfed or hungry.

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All children should take a nap of from one to two hours in the middle of the day until they are 6 years old.

X. THE BATH.

Every baby should be bathed at least once a day; during the hot weather two or three sponge baths may be given in 24 hours. The temperature of the bath should be from 90° to 95° F. in the early months. By the end of the first year the temperature may be lowered to 80° to 85° F. If you have no thermometer, a practical test for the correct temperature is to use water that feels warm to the elbow.

When bathing the baby in a tub let it rest upon your left arm, which is slipped under its back from the baby's right side. By grasping the baby under the armpit with the left hand a good hold is secured which prevents slipping. The right hand is left free for washing the baby. A special wash cloth, preferably of cheese cloth, should be provided for washing the baby's face, and head.

After the baby is taken out of the tub it should be dried in a large soft bath towel.

Do not wash a healthy baby's mouth; it will do no good and may do harm. As soon as the baby has teeth clean them carefully with a soft clean cloth or gauze, and later with a soft toothbrush and cooled, boiled water.

After the baby is dressed it is wise to keep it indoors for at least an hour after bathing and to protect it from drafts.

The best time for bathing the baby is just before its morning feeding, between 8 and 10 o'clock. After its bath the baby will be ready to take its food and go to sleep.

XI. WEIGHING THE BABY.

The baby should be weighed regularly at least once a week for the first year and the record of the weight kept in a book. The most convenient time for weighing the baby is before the regular bath in the morning. It is well to remember that the record of the baby's gain in weight will be reliable only if it has been weighed at the same hour each time.

XII. THE NORMAL BABY.

An average healthy baby weighs from 7 to 71⁄2 pounds at birth; 15 pounds at 5 or 6 months, and 21 pounds at 12 months. In other words, the baby doubles its weight in 6 months and trebles it in 12 months.

XIII. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES.

The spread of most contagious diseases is caused through ignorance or carelessness. Inasmuch as contagious diseases often can

not be distinguished from the non-contagious, it is wise to separate children from every sick person, young or old, until the true nature of the illness is known. If the disease is contagious, the separation must be kept up. This separation consists in placing the patient in a room by himself and giving him separate wash cloths, towels, and dishes. One person only should care for the patient, and the clothing of this person should be protected by a gown or long apron or sheet when in the patient's room. After caring for or handling the patient the caretaker's hands should be carefully washed with warm water and soap.

Every person should co-operate to the fullest extent with the local department of health in its efforts to limit the spread of communicable diseases. Do yourself what you would desire of another parent whose child might be a source of danger to your own family.

So-called colds, such as running nose, sore throat, bronchitis and the like, are easily communicated to children and may be especially serious for the baby.

Do not sneeze or cough in the baby's face. A mother should protect the baby from catching her own cold by tying a handkerchief or piece of cheesecloth over her nose and mouth when nursing or caring for her baby. She should not kiss the baby.

Tuberculosis very often gets its start in infancy. Every effort, therefore, should be made to protect the baby from infection. Common ways of infecting the baby are by kissing it, coughing or sneezing near the child, or by allowing it to sit on the floor where it has a good chance to pick up tuberculosis germs with the dust on its toys or other objects and thus get them into its mouth. It is a good plan to have a separate room or at least part of a room fenced off as the baby's play room, and to cover the floor with a clean sheet each day. Milk from tuberculosis cows may also be the cause of tuberculosis in the baby.

XIV. EYE DISEASE AND BLINDNESS.

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Many babies within two or three days after birth, occasionally later, have what is commonly known as "sore eyes" or, as the mothers say, "have caught cold in their eyes." The proper name for this condition is ophthalmia, and it is caused by a germ getting into the eyes during the baby's birth. The eyelids become reddened and swollen and in a very few hours pus is seen in abundance. such cases must be energetically and skillfully treated at once by trained physicians. Neglect and carelessness may result in the loss of the baby's sight. The condition can usually be prevented if the physician puts a drop of a proper antiseptic in each eye immediately after the birth.

Do not forget that the earlier the child is vaccinated the sooner it is protected against smallpox. In this country it is not possible to know when and where an outbreak of smallpox will take place. It is well, therefore, to be prepared.

The best time to have a baby vaccinated is in its first year. If the baby is healthy it may be vaccinated as early as the third or fourth month.

XVI. BIRTH REGISTRATION.

See that your doctor registers your baby's birth as soon as possible after it is born. Birth registration secures citizenship and may save future legal trouble.

By this is meant the care and advice given to the mother before the birth of the baby, in order that she may fit herself to bear and to care for it.

There is no doubt that the welfare of the baby depends largely upon the mother's health and that many mothers would be better able to nurse their babies if they had proper care, food, clothing and exercise before the babies were born.

In order to secure the proper advice as early as possible, every prospective mother should consult a physician as soon as she knows she is to have a baby. If she cannot afford the services of a physician, she should apply to a maternity hospital or dispensary where competent physicians and nurses are ready to advise and care for her until the baby is born.

If, for any reason, the prospective mother cannot see a competent physician at least once a month during her pregnancy she should send a specimen of her urine to him regularly each month. She must drink enough liquid so that she will pass at least 3 pints of urine each 24 hours. Her bowels should move once a day. Persistent or sudden and severe headaches, swelling of the face or hands, increasing swelling of the ankles must be reported at once to the physician in charge. Any appearance of blood from the vagina demands instant summoning of the physician. As soon as a woman knows she is preegnant she should go to the dentist and have her teeth put in good condition.

The above statements are the merest outlines of the fundamental care which every woman should have. It must be remembered that if the prospective mothers are intelligently supervised and will report all untoward symptoms at once deaths and disabilities of both mothers and children will be less frequent.