Spons' Household Manual A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management (part 7 of 9)

Spons' Household Manual A treasury of domestic receipts and a guide for home management (part 7 of 9)

Dr. Rogers asserts that invalid children with little disposition to sleep may be induced to do so by placing their cots due north and south, with the child’s head to the north. There may be some truth in this popular superstition that the magnetic current induces sleep; but “due north” is not “magnetic north” by a long way.

Frank Buckland’s remedy for insomnia is “onions--simply common onions raw, but Spanish onions stewed will do.” The oil contained in onions, he thinks, has highly soporific powers, and in his own case they never fail.

Great benefit is sometimes derived from the use of a hop pillow on special occasions.

Snoring.--This is caused by sleeping with an open mouth. It is just possible that by a resolute and determined effort of will the habit may be overcome; breathing by day through the nostrils only and pursing up the mouth firmly will help much towards it. It is well to urge upon all parents and nurses the absolute necessity of their training all young children to sleep with mouth shut. Never allow an infant to get the contrary habit. Watch it in early life, and close its lips when it is falling off to sleep, which can easily be done with thumb and finger, holding them together for a few seconds. The habit thus acquired wards off consumption in after-life. Coughs and colds contribute to the tendency to snore by stopping the nostrils wholly or partially, thus rendering breathing through the mouth imperative. In this case, clear your nose well at night, using snuff if necessary, and keep your mouth closed.

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Lady Barker: ‘The Bedroom and Boudoir.’ London, 1878. 2_s._ 6_d._

THE DRESSING-ROOM.

=The Toilet.=--Beyond the advice to avoid all cheap scented soaps, the following notes will be useful:--

The Hands.--A little ammonia or borax in the water you wash your hands with, and that water just lukewarm, will keep the skin clean and soft. A little oatmeal mixed with the water will whiten the hands. Many people use glycerine on their hands when they go to bed, wearing gloves to keep the bedding clean; but glycerine does not agree with every one. It makes some skins harsh and red. These people should rub their hands with dry oatmeal and wear gloves in bed. The best preparation for the hands at night is the white of egg with a grain of alum dissolved in it. Quacks have a fancy name for it; but all can make it and spread it over their hands, and the job is done. They also make the Roman toilet paste. It is merely white of egg, barley flour, and honey. They say it was used by the Romans in olden time. Any way, it is a first-rate thing; but it is a sticky sort of stuff to use, and does not do the work any better than oatmeal. The roughest and hardest hands can be made soft and white in a month’s time by doctoring them a little at bed time, and all the tools you need are a nail brush, a bottle of ammonia, a box of powdered borax, and a little fine white sand to rub the stains off, or a cut of lemon, which will do even better. To soften hard water use Maignen’s “anti-calcaire.” If a man works at any mechanical business, or any which involves muscular exertion, the hands will always, do what he may to them, show signs thereof. But some men’s hands show work much more than others. In some the epidermis does not seem to get callous and horny, nor the muscles thicken nor swell much, while in others the least contact with tools makes the hand look as if the owner had worked as a day-labourer all his life. It seems to me that the thinner the skin, the more, as a rule, the hands show the effect of work. The only palliative is working in gloves, but this is a great nuisance. Sandballs or pumice soap will remove horniness. Now, as to the care of the nails. The great beauty of the nails is being long, the “quick” coming close to the extremity of the fingers, and the “half-moon” near the root being as large as possible. The best chance of cultivating these merits is, first, never to touch the quick with a penknife and to press back with a towel, on drying the hands, the skin which grows over the half-moon. This skin ought never to be cut, as that only stimulates and increases its growth. In some, however, it seems to show no tendency to do so. Nothing more than this can be done by art towards obtaining delicate finger nails, which, of course, are a great attraction in either sex; and, as they show personal cleanliness and niceness, are a laudable object of ambition.

Removing a Tight Ring.--A novel method of effecting the removal of a ring which has become constricted around a swollen finger, or in any other similar situation, consists simply in enveloping the afflicted member, after the manner of a circular bandage, in a length of flat indiarubber braid, such as ladies make use of to keep their hats on the top of their heads. This should be accurately applied--beginning, not close to the ring, but at the tip of the finger, and leaving no intervals between the successive turns, so as to exert its elastic force gradually and gently upon the tissues underneath. When the binding is complete, the hand should be held aloft in a vertical position, and in a few minutes the swelling will be perceptibly diminished. The braid is then taken off and immediately applied in the same manner, when, after another 5 minutes, the finger, if again rapidly uncovered, will be small enough for the ring to be removed with ease. This plan need only be resorted to when wetting and soaping the fingers have failed.

The Hair.--Baldness comes chiefly of the artificial determination of blood to the head, and to the heat and perspiration thence arising. The result is a relaxed condition of the scalp and loss of hair. If the skin of the head be kept in a healthy state the hair will not fall off. To keep it healthy, the head-covering should be light and porous, the head kept clean by washings with water, and the hair cut short.

Ladies are often in trouble about their hair between the ages of 17-30. The hair may be unruly; it may come out; the scalp may be at fault, or the fat-glands act improperly. The hair may be too dry, and get brittle; this arises sometimes from the too free use of spirit washes of various kinds, or from dyes. The remedy is plain. The great complaint is that the hair gets thin. If there be any debility present the hair will mostly thin out. In these cases it is as well, for a time at any rate, to keep the hair rather shorter than usual, and to take general tonics. If there be indigestion present this must be remedied; if neuralgia, quinine should be taken. The most troublesome instances of loss of hair follow in the wake of violent attacks of neuralgia of the head, brought on by some mental excitement or depression. In these cases very much may be done by the use internally of remedies that give tone to the nervous system, such as nux vomica, bark, quinine, and steel. After these have done good service, local applications, especially ammonia, are serviceable.

It is a fashion with very many young ladies to wear their hair in different styles, that necessitate frequent variations in its length. This is productive of much harm. At one time nature has to furnish a large, at other times a small crop, and lapses into a state of indifferent weakness in consequence. The one great cause of thinning of the hair is unquestionably general debility. In the majority of such cases 1 teaspoonful tincture of gentian, with about 10 drops diluted hydrochloric acid, should be taken twice a day in a wineglassful of water, and the scalp rubbed with some such as the following lotion night and morning: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.; tincture of nux vomica, 3 dr.; tincture of capsicum, 7 dr.; otto of roses, 2 drops; and rosewater, 4 oz. It is almost identical with the nux vomica lotion of Corbyn and Co., Bond Street, the very best preparation of its kind.

The heated and crowded rooms at balls and parties are in some cases very injurious to a good state of the hair. The gas acts very hurtfully in those cases in which the hair and the scalp are very dry. The only plan here is to use to the scalp such a simple preventive as the glycerine lotion already recommended.

At no time is general thinning of the hair more marked or more frequent than after confinements, or in mothers who are nursing when in a somewhat debilitated condition. Here general tonics are needed. The following lotion, of a stimulating character, may be employed with great advantage at the same time: Distilled vinegar, 2 oz.; rum, 1 oz.; glycerine 2 dr.; tincture of lytta, 4 dr.; elder-flower water, 4 oz.; or tincture of bark, 4 dr.; cherry-laurel water, 4 oz.; glycerine, 2 dr. It will be seen at once that the treatment of almost all cases of general thinning of the hair is not merely local but constitutional, and that we may pour and besmear tons of the most nutritious liquids and pastes, pomades, and the like upon an unfortunate head without doing much good. It is necessary that the machinery itself be given the power to work healthily and happily, and such power is given from the nutritive organs in the centre of our bodies, and by the vital fluid that flows in our veins and arteries.

As a remedy for dandriff, a French physician recommends that a solution of chloral hydrate, containing 5 per cent., should be applied to the scalp by means of a sponge every morning. The quantity employed should be ½-1 oz. A slight burning sensation and reddening of the scalp occurs, disappearing after 2 minutes. If the hair has fallen off in consequence of the dandriff it will be renewed in about a month.

A teaspoonful of ammonia, added to 1 qt. of water, is the best possible agent for cleansing hair brushes.

Shaving.--(a) Soreness from shaving may be cured by anointing the part with glycerine every night before going to bed, and dusting it with precipitated Fuller’s-earth after shaving.

(b) Before you begin, study the grain of your beard in the glass, and do not shave against the grain. In some beards the grain runs from one ear to the other, instead of both shaping to the chin. In others the grain runs half way down the neck, and then half way up. Next wash very thoroughly before you shave in warm water, which will be lathering No. 1, rubbing the beard with the lump of soap and fingers with good perseverance. Then commence lathering No. 2, using the brush with really hot water, aiming to produce as thick a soapy composition on the skin as possible to fill up the spaces between the hairs. Dipping the fingers in a little oil softens the beard, and prevents the lather drying so quick. You cannot lather too much. Strop your razor on your own hand, and preserve it from damp by wiping it only on chamois leather. Never lay a razor down open, and put it away safely in its case. If you will take extra trouble in the lathering you will get an easy shave. Hairdressers set razors better than cutlers.

Toothbrushes.--Tap the brush before using it, to see if you can jerk out any loose bristles. Tap the brush after using it, to shake out the water, and put it away fairly dry. Do not keep it closely shut up in a brush tray or dressing-bag bottle. Loose bristles may be found in a new brush in consequence of the wire having cut the bristles in half while drawing them into the hole, the knot being too full. Bristles may project beyond the level of the serge, the knot being too slack; clip them off; do not withdraw them, and thereby make the knot still more slack. Bristles will perish if brushes are put away thoroughly wet, and left for days to get thoroughly dry; after a time, even with the greatest care, this will happen. Brushes will smell offensively if closely shut up when wet; they will also become discoloured. Some people select a brush too soft for their requirement, and make it harder by pressure, breaking down the bristles, which they would not do if their brush was sufficiently hard.

Dressing-jackets and gowns.--Under the term “combing jacket,” people often include, not only the loose garment thrown over the shoulders while doing one’s hair, but the warm, becoming jacket required by an invalid sitting up in bed. It is best to distinguish between the two, and to call the latter a camisole. The combing jacket should always be of some washing material. A three-quarters length loose-fitting jacket, with long open sleeves, is best. White muslins and percales in summer, and white flannels and serges in winter, are the most suitable materials; but ordinary prints, if the pattern be pretty, will answer every purpose of home wear. If meant for invalid wear, they should be made as coquettishly as possible--of pale-blue cashmere, with jabots of cream-coloured lace falling down the front.

A very showy little dressing gown, in which one can see servants, tradesmen, and even friends, is made as follows: Run up a crimson quilted sateen walking skirt. As this is to form part of the dressing gown, it must be cut up in front from hem to waist, and fastened together in the ordinary way with buttons. Then choose some pretty chintz or Pompadour material and make up a loose polonaise, separating into two side curtains in front, and bunched up behind. Fasten the band of your quilted petticoat securely to the waist of your polonaise, and you are then able to put on the whole arrangement as you would an ordinary dressing gown. If you make, in addition, a muslin mob cap, trimmed with crimson ribbon, you will present a marked contrast to the usual slovenliness of ordinary dressing gowns.

Undressing.--A certain amount of organic matter gets into the outer clothing, and, therefore, when these garments are taken off they should always be hung up in a current of air. It is a common practice to spread clothing upon the bed, to give additional warmth during the night; but this practice is really very pernicious, as the woollen clothes get charged with organic matter, that slowly putrefies, and gives off not only a nasty fusty smell, but also dangerous poisonous fumes. Clothes should always be hung upon pegs.

=Dress.=--Requirements of clothing.--The object of clothing in cold climates is to retain and economise the heat which is constantly being produced within the body by vital processes, such as digestion, respiration, muscular exercise, and brain work. In hot countries the body must be covered as a protection against the rays of the sun. A secondary object of clothing among women is adornment.

All clothing should be as light as is consistent with sufficient warmth, and should be so fashioned as not to interfere with the proper movements of the body. Easy clothes are much warmer than tight ones, and, paradoxical though it seems, are cooler in warm weather. Admitting of more perfect ventilation, they do not so readily become moist with perspiration, and then cling unpleasantly to the wearer. Some materials permit heat to pass too quickly through them, and do not sufficiently impede evaporation. Of the various substances which only admit of gradual radiation or escape of heat from the body, wool of many different sorts is most generally suitable; and this is produced in such abundance and at such a price that all can obtain clothes made from it. In this we only copy the lower animals which, being exposed to great alternations of temperature, have a loose open fleece or hairy covering; so a loose, open-wove porous material makes the warmest garment. Hence knitted underclothing and fleecy or thick soft cloth for outer wear are cosiest, though it must be admitted not in all cases the most durable. The warmth of the dress depends, too, on the way it is manufactured. It is an established fact that the weight of a material may be largely diminished without destroying any of its heat-preserving powers, and this may even in some cases be increased by manufacturing it very loosely, so as to contain a quantity of air in its meshes, stationary air being a bad conductor of heat. It is in this way that the silk and cotton-netted vests, with meshes ½ in. in diameter, which have been lately introduced, are so warm and sanitary, as, with the aid of the linen and other garments worn over them, a stationary layer of warm air is kept continually next the skin. In warm weather the clothing should be loose, so as to admit freely of currents of air passing over the surface of the body; in winter it should be moulded to the figure, but without being tight. Colour, too, has an influence. If equally thick, dark stuffs are warmest, because such absorb more of the sun’s rays. Light coloured articles of dress reflect more of these rays, and hence are cooler. Grey presents a medium tint which suits our climate well.

Underclothing.--Underclothing should always be of wool, and every one ought, in this climate, and even in India, at all seasons, to wear woollen materials next the skin. This is even more imperative at the two extremes of life; in the cases of infants and aged persons, whose powers of reducing heat are less active than those of individuals in the vigour of middle life or of youth, and who are therefore less able to resist cold. In winter, either hand-knitted under-vests and drawers, or machine made, in imitation of hand-knitted, are the best. In summer these woollen under garments should on no account be entirely laid aside, but when the warm season has fairly set in, here scarcely ever till June is well advanced, thinner and lighter ones, made of merino, should replace the thicker worn in winter and spring. If any article of underclothing is to be thrown off in summer, it should be the drawers, the under vest never during the day. Clothing worn in the daytime should invariably be put off at night, to be replaced by cotton or linen night dresses. Many wear under-flannels night and day, but the good effects which result from wearing flannel next the skin are thus much lessened. Flannel is worn by day when one is actively occupied (and the perspiration is thereby increased) to prevent becoming suddenly chilled. This is unnecessary, as a rule, during sleep. Flannel night dresses are preferable for children to linen or cotton. Children have less heat-producing powers, and are apt to throw off the bed-clothes. For them a night dress, made somewhat like a bathing costume, suits best, as it is then impossible that, though the bed-clothes are tossed off, the child can be entirely exposed. In old persons, and in those with strongly developed rheumatic tendencies, flannel is also the best material for night dresses; but in all these cases there must be special garments for day and night, each to be reserved for its proper time and use. At night the feet must be kept warm, warmed artificially if cold on going to bed, since, unless they are warm, it is not possible to sleep soundly--in many instances even to sleep at all.

Underclothing for use in the day should not extend farther down the arms than half-way to the elbow, for healthy men, as this permits much greater freedom of movement for the arms; in women and children it should reach from wrists to toes and be cut with a high neck. It should never be allowed to become too dirty before being changed, since this renders it both unwholesome to the wearer and unpleasant to those around him. It gets loaded with perspiration and particles cast off from the skin, which, being animal products, tend readily to decompose. A week is the limit to the time they should be worn before being changed, and thus an endeavour should be made to have a sufficient number of underclothes to allow of this necessary frequency of change. There is no special virtue in coloured flannel. One often hears red or blue flannel, especially when new, credited with surprising qualities; but it has a doubtful advantage in that it does not show dirt so soon as white or cream-coloured, is assuredly not warmer, and brightly dyed wools are often the cause of eruptions on the skin.

Intermediate clothing.--The material of which this is made, varies in the two sexes. Whatever its component parts, it should not be tight. Were the strict underclothing, that worn next the skin, made warm enough, perhaps worn double, there would be less need for the multiplicity of skirts and heavy petticoats still used by some. One woollen under-garment is not so warm as two, even though the one be as thick and as heavy, as the two are separated by a layer of air, and so heat is less rapidly transmitted and lost. Something of what is known as the Bloomer, or rather the modern combination dress, might very well replace all but the gown proper. A very warm material, and not heavy, is found in chamois leather. An under-dress of this has really reason, besides elegance, on its side.

Much has already been said on the subject of stays and tight lacing, but with little real effect. Many women complain that they cannot walk uphill or upstairs without feeling short of breath. This is largely due to the natural expansive movements of breathing being limited to a minimum by stays. Their effect, bad in all cases, is worst in growing girls, whose ribs are still yielding and elastic, and thus more easily compressed. Parents are now becoming somewhat more alive to the fact, that there must be for girls as well as boys a due proportion of free out-door exercise associated with the lessons at school. In too many girls the natural supports of the spine, the muscles of the back and chest, have partly been left undeveloped by want of exercise, partly been wasted and cramped by the pressure and the artificial support of hard, unyielding, and too often tightly laced stays. Hence it is that far more girls than boys have twisted spines. Girls would be as straight as boys are usually had they only fair treatment. The muscles of the back being weak, the girl sits habitually to one side or the other, and what was at first merely an awkward habit, becomes very soon a decided curvature. If something must be worn to support the figure, a softer and more pliant article than ordinary stays might easily be devised. The corset recommended and used at the Girton Ladies’ College is reported to be such. Though the stays may be loose and easy, or absent altogether, dresses are often made or become too tight across the chest. When unbuttoned or unhooked, often a considerable space exists between the buttons and the button-holes, when the shoulders are held only properly back. This should not be. Such dresses prevent the lungs from expanding in the movements of respiration, interfere with easy and full breathing, narrow the chest round the shoulders, and favour if they do not directly lead to, consumption. Dresses for grown up persons should be full across the chest, for growing girls specially so; and when first made they ought to have enough cloth laid in to admit of ready enlargement, for a dress often becomes too small before it is worn out.

Here a few words are needed as to the place from which to hang the clothing--whether it should be supported from the shoulders or the hips (not waist). We heartily endorse Dr. Bernard Roth, when he says that Dr. Richardson is quite wrong in recommending that ladies’ dresses should be made to hang from the shoulders, and not from the hips. Many cases of spinal lateral curvature may be attributed to hanging an excessive weight of clothing from the shoulders. Growing girls and weakly women have sufficient difficulty as it is in holding themselves erect while carrying the head, neck and trunk, and upper extremities, without unnecessarily dragging down the shoulders by the weight of the long and heavy skirts exacted by fashion. It is much more sensible and scientific to attach the skirts to bands round the pelvis, where only the solid hip bone is pressed upon. Another great objection to suspending the skirts from the shoulders is that the respiratory movements of the upper part of the chest are unavoidably impeded by this arrangement.

For similar reasons braces are not so beneficial as Dr. Richardson believes, even for men who are not over-strong, and who would stoop less and find their chests freer by wearing braceless trousers fitted with an elastic band round, but not above the hip bones. Who among us would do heavy work or exercise in braces and no belt? Every labourer and every athlete discards braces for a waistbelt when actively engaged. At the same time the belt must not compress the inside--the trousers should hang from the hip bones. There is an additional value in the waistbelt, if it take the form of a woollen or silk sash, that it protects the viscera from sudden chills, and this is deemed of high importance in fever and cholera countries.

As to the question between trousers and knee-breeches, there can be no doubt that knee-breeches are on the whole more seemly and convenient than trousers. Certainly all callings which entail much physical exertion would profit by the change. In particular, this is true of labour in the open air. In this form of work especially, where there is frequent and prolonged movement of joint and muscle, the weight of surplus clothing soon occasions weariness, and the surroundings are not the most cleanly. The labourer if knee-breeched and gaitered would be disencumbered of as much heavy moleskin or corduroy as would otherwise fall below the knee, a part of his clothing would not then as now flap about the feet for no good purpose but to be soiled by the mire of his work, or in wet and cold weather to lead to illness by chilling or freezing on his legs. Gaiters of some close and not too heavy material might be worn over the stockings. They would be comparatively out of the way of dirt, would maintain warmth, would brace the muscles by equal and moderate pressure (a noteworthy consideration with men who are much on their feet), and if wetted might be easily removed and replaced by another pair. (Lancet.)

Though in summer cotton socks are cool and pleasant, when one can wear thin shoes, and there does not exist any necessity for walking a long distance, woollen stockings are actually much more suitable at all seasons. Woollen stockings woven of coarse yarn absorb the perspiration and preserve the feet from blistering, and are cooler than cotton ones on a long walk. Tight garters are frequently worn below the knee by women. Garters in any position are bad, but if used they should be worn above the knee, as the two tendons to be felt at the back of the joint receive the pressure and act as a bridge to the veins which pass beneath. The garters as usually worn are a frequent cause of enlarged veins in the leg, and by interfering with the blood supply of the foot also favour the development of chilblains. Stocking suspenders bearing on the hips are far better.

Boots.--Boots and shoes must be easy, broad in the toes and sole generally, while the waist should have some degree of elasticity and not be absolutely rigid. High and narrow heels give an insecure hold of the ground, and throw the weight, which ought to be distributed over the sole, forward on the front part of the base of the toes. This unnatural position, besides rendering the risk of sprained ankles much greater, stretches the fibrous bands which bind the various and complicated bones of the instep into a beautiful arch, strong yet springy. The tough fibres yield, the foot flattens, elasticity and grace of movement disappear to a large extent, and aching pains are complained of. If we wish to walk elegantly, comfortably, far, and with ease, straight broad soles and low heels must be worn. Attention should constantly be paid to children’s boots and shoes, so as to have them lengthened or renewed as soon as they become short. The foot elongates considerably in walking, so all boots should have a full ½ in. or more of spare length to permit of this. Women’s boots and shoes are generally far too thin. Besides being worn thicker, the addition of an inner sole of cork covered with felt excludes damp from the ground or pavement, and aids in keeping the feet warm. These soles should, however, be taken out and dried at night or when the boots are laid aside. Lacing boots are better than elastic side ones, though in some ways the latter are more convenient. Patent leather boots are only suitable for occasional wear; like galoshes, they do not allow the escape of perspiration, hence are unhealthy, and if worn constantly engender habitual cold feet.

Do not purchase boots the uppers of which are formed of leather possessing an artificial grain. This is easy to detect; the rollers from which the skins receive their impressions are of too even a pattern, and the imitation is struck deeper than the real. Good upper leathers should handle mellow; leather destitute of suppleness and soft silkiness, or that leaves a decided line whenever pressed into a crease, should, in all instances, be avoided. With regard to the soles of boots, great precautions should be used to see that they are of the thickness they seem to be. It has become a practice with cutting manufacturers to use an outer sole of extremely light substance, making up the deficiency by means of an extra inserted welt. By this plan a box is formed between the inner and outer sole, the hollowness of which is filled in with scraps of leather, cardboard, or any foreign substance that is easily procurable and is fitted for the purpose. When sole leather has been cut and affixed as soles, the distinguishing marks that characterise good and bad leather are hidden from sight, so that the means of detecting that which should be avoided are few, and difficult to point out to a tyro. Sole leather being placed to resist moisture, it should not be too porous; in other words, it should be close in its grain, and possessed of a full share of firmness. The firmness here spoken of is something entirely distinct from brittleness. There can be solidity without brittleness, and this should be easily distinguished.

A boot should have a good and sufficient stiffener inserted at the heel to strengthen its back, and facilitate the getting of it on or off. This should be carefully inserted, and be shaped away so as to offer no resistance to the entrance of the foot. The top portion should be firmly secured to the back that it is meant to strengthen; so much so that there should be no possibility of its rucking down upon the insertion of the foot. It should be observed whether there is a superfluity of leather in the waist of the foot, that is, under the arch of the foot. The existence of such useless leather is a sure sign that the boot has been badly lasted, and that it has little or no spring in it, and that it will consequently give little or no support to the arch of the foot it covers. The buttonholes of a boot upper, if it have any, should be well and carefully stitched, and they will be found to wear much better if they are protected by the insertion of a cord. This cord sustains the drag or strain that the unprotected leather would otherwise have to bear. The channel is that portion of a hand-sewn boot in which the thread that attaches the outer sole to the welt lies hidden. Care should be taken by the purchaser to see that this channel is well and sufficiently closed over, otherwise it is easy to perceive that the sole has lost more than half its resisting power to damp or wet, and that the stitches will get soaked and speedily rot. The “seat” of a boot is that portion just above its heel. Look at this carefully. If it is likely to tread over by failing to resist the pressure it will be called upon to bear, do not by any means be persuaded to become the purchaser of boots with this defect. The reason why the front part of the upper of a boot is cut in two portions is because that practice conduces to economy. In selecting a pair of boots great care should be taken to avoid those in which the join falls over the great-toe joint.

Some time ago a correspondent of The Field gave an excellent and simple method of treating the soles of boots to make them last as long as the “uppers.” The plan was to apply to them when new as many coats of coachmaker’s varnish as the leather would soak up. In varnishing the soles the following hints are of value, though, however roughly the operation is performed, they will become waterproof and durable:--(a) See that the soles are dry before using the varnish; also scrape off the black polish from the face of the heels; (b) thin the varnish according to circumstances; 1 tablespoonful turps to ½ pint varnish will usually be the right proportions; (c) place the boots, soles upwards, in a dry place, and give soles and heels 3 copious coats of varnish the first day, 2 the second day, and one coat each day after that until the leather will absorb no more; (d) do not miss a day, or the soles will harden and no more varnish will go into the leather; (e) 2 days after the last coat the boots should be worn, so that the soles may get shaped to the feet whilst moist. These directions may appear elaborate, but they are really very simple; and however badly the varnishing is done, the results will, to a certain extent, be good.

Ladies who have much walking are strongly advised to have kid leggings made at a bootmaker’s to button on from the tops of their boots to their knees; they can then go out in wet, damp, or extremely cold weather with perfect impunity. For girls who walk to and fro to attend school, or for those who are forced to go out in all weathers, the plan is a good one and well worthy of trial. The leggings are no weight, they are very warm, and will keep out damp and cold; whilst they are small enough to be carried about in a pocket, and put on or left off at a moment’s notice; so that they need only be worn when extra protection is absolutely needed.

Squeaky boots may be cured by the injection of powdered French chalk through a perforation in the inner sole; the free use of the same substance between the soles when boots are being made will effectually prevent any trouble of this nature.

Gloves.--In winter, at least, woollen gloves should be worn, as best preserving the proper circulation of the blood in the hands, and lessening the chance of chilblains. In the warm seasons silk or cotton ones are preferable to kid.

Head-gear.--Were it possible to form a covering for men’s heads which would admit both light and air in due proportions, a great problem would be solved, and baldness would be reduced to a minimum. Since hats are a necessity, they should be very light, pliant as far as may be, well ventilated, and with a soft band which will compress the arteries of the temple as little as possible. The hat, too, should only be worn when it cannot be laid aside--not constantly, or when in the house. Ventilation is best secured by having a slight space between the band and the hat proper in front and behind, the hat being close to the head at the sides, to avoid conveying the impression of being over large. In addition, there should be a hole in the crown for cold weather, and in the sides and crown in summer. As to women’s bonnets, any advice would be a mere waste of words.

Veils, especially those ornamented with spots, &c., have a bad effect on the eyes. Persistent mischief is done by the practice of binding a veil tightly round the face in such a way that not only is the sight obscured, but the eyes are mechanically irritated by the fabric clouding them.... Veils of to-day are semi-transparent eye-bandages, and must tend to disturb the vision, as well as to set up irritation in the eye-lids. (Lancet.)

Waterproofs.--It is highly important that the public should clearly understand the manner in which waterproof garments may prove injurious to health, and how any effect of this kind may be prevented. A mackintosh is perspiration-proof as well as rain-proof, and, consequently, when one is worn the perspiration, being unable to escape, accumulates in the clothes, and they become damp. Upon its removal, the evaporation of this fluid--in other words, the drying process--commences, with its attendant loss of heat and well-known risk of “chill.” The retention of this heat, which would otherwise be gradually lost, makes the mackintosh invaluable during a long drive on a cold winter’s day. The disadvantage of this garment is, not that it inflicts any injury while it is on; but that our clothes being damp, we may catch cold upon its removal, unless our dress be changed at the same time; and when the dampness is very decided this precaution should certainly be taken. Endeavour to avoid excessive perspiration by walking slowly when you have a mackintosh on, and do not wear it in hot weather except for driving. (Dr. P. Foster.)

How to Buy Clothes.--Low-priced materials do not wear so well as those for which a fair amount is paid; but it is not in the power of every woman to purchase materials which are necessarily expensive. The woman of small means will do well to confine her purchases to some well-established shop, famed rather for the soundness of its goods than for their apparent cheapness.

Ladies’ boots and shoes cannot be well made and of good materials for a little money; 21_s._ to 25_s._ for boots, 16_s._ to 18_s._ for walking shoes, suited for town wear, is about the lowest price for which a really good serviceable article can be obtained; but each of these will wear out three so-called cheap ones, and will look well to the last, after being twice soled. No boot or shoe will last if the servant is allowed to scrape the dirt off with a knife, put blacking on soft kid, or smear it over with some patent satin polish or peerless gloss. See to the cleaning of your boots and shoes yourself--that is, only have the dirt wiped off, and the kid well rubbed dry by the servant, and put on the polish yourself if it must be used. Evening shoes of a colour suitable for any dress can scarcely be had good for anything under 10_s._ 6_d._ or 12_s._ 6_d._, but they will wear out several cheaper pairs, and look well to the last.

The greatest mistake is to be perpetually attempting to keep pace with “fashion.” The best-dressed women are never “in the fashion,” as it is represented in young ladies’ journals. For economical dressing without dowdiness, the golden rule is to buy the best and soundest materials possible for your means, to keep to such quiet colours as will enable you to wear your dresses long without getting tired of them or tiring your friends; to buy a mantle, for instance, which is too good to need changing at the end of the year, but which is handsome enough to wear two seasons, and to bear retrimming or altering the third.

Many ladies now make their own dresses, and make them well; but where this is not the case, it is cheaper in the long run to have a good material well made than to have it spoiled in the cut and made by an inferior workwoman. Many find it economical to have one good dress every year from a first-class dressmaker: this lasts and makes up again in many new forms, and serves as a model for making others less expensively, either by themselves or by a workwoman. A clever-handed woman can generally make up or trim her own hats and bonnets, and if she carries out the same system of only buying what is really good, and taking care of it, she will find it at the end of the year a really small item in her expenditure. Much depends also on keeping up the supply of underclothing by constant small additions, rather than by allowing them to wear out altogether, when a renewal of the whole stock will form a serious item. Gloves, again, are things which there is no cheapness in buying at a low price; 2 or even 3 of them will wear out before one pair bought at a good shop and at a fair price; by this means they cost far more, and always spoil the whole dress.

Persons of moderate means should as a rule, dress in black, or dark colours, as such are not conspicuous, and consequently do not tell their date as lighter articles do. In selecting a hat or bonnet, be sure to ascertain that the shape suits you, and that it fits your head comfortably. Do not indulge in feathers, still less in flowers, unless your means are such as to enable you to procure the best, as nothing is more vulgar than cheap finery. For a windy day there is nothing half so comfortable as a tightly-fitting toque, but it must be neat and faultlessly made. A well-made toque is graceful, becoming, and comfortable, and, with a neat veil of spotted net closely adjusted over the face and fastened securely behind, will enable the wearer to brave the most stormy elements without fear of having her head-covering blown away or even misplaced. It is a great improvement, if a dark-coloured toque be worn, to stick a bright pin carelessly in front in a slanting direction, as though securing the top of the veil. To a youthful face it is always becoming, as it takes off the too sombre appearance and lightens up the general effect.

Jackets should not be worn quite tight, unless the figure is particularly good, and without this important “unless” Newmarkets should not be worn at all. Better be content with well-made ulsters, except in cases where the figure is slight and graceful, and the purse is long enough to admit of 7 or 8 sovereigns being paid for a tailor-made article. For travelling or walking there are few costumes more comfortable, nor any which look better on young slight figures, than dark green or brown cloth Newmarkets, with felt hats to correspond, and white or light coloured satin scarfs, with gold or pearl pins stuck neatly through. These coats cannot look well if worn over a dress. The following plan is good and extremely simple. Get your tailor, when measuring for your coat, to make you a perfectly close-fitting garment of the same coloured satin--made without ¼ in. of superfluous material--Princesse shaped, the long straight skirt just reaching a shade below the garment to be worn over it, and finished off at the tail with a tiny plaiting of satin, which, appearing from beneath the Newmarket, detracts from the manly appearance of this species of muffle. The advantages are manifold; not having any pouffes behind, the set of the coat is not interfered with; being of a slippery nature the utmost care is experienced in putting on and taking off the covering, and should necessity or inclination call for a removal of the coat, a perfectly neat and becoming garment is visible underneath.

The most economical dress for everyday wear is a dark navy-blue serge, and for evening a good white silk. Morning dresses made with double-breasted bodices are the most becoming, and the warmest; for evening the square-cut bodice and tight elbow-sleeve are the most distingué. Bodices gathered back and front (“shirred”) are very pretty, and suit slight figures well, but should never be worn except by such. Many ladies spoil the fit of their dresses in winter by wearing under-vests. This is a bad habit, as, if the vest be left off of an evening, a cold is sure to follow. It is an excellent plan to tack a piece of soft warm flannel around the back and shoulders of the bodice about midway from the neck, and properly shaped to the lining; this imparts a comfortable warmth, and, as a similar piece can be adjusted to the back of an evening bodice, the danger of cold is obviated.

For wearing around the throat with morning dress plain collars have rather a stiff appearance; tulle or lisse frillings toss immediately, and are unsatisfactory as well as expensive. It is a good plan to purchase a few yards of really good washing lace about 1½ in. deep; a few minutes will quill or plait it; it can then be cut into suitable lengths and tacked around the necks of dresses, being easily removed and renovated when soiled. A piece of soft black Spanish lace, folded loosely around the throat, close to the frilling but below it, looks very well, especially if a natural or good artificial flower be worn amongst the folds. Another effective arrangement can be adopted thus: Buy 3 yd. scarf lace--a good kind, of course--trim the ends with quillings to match, place it around your neck, leaving nearly all the length in your right hand, the end lying upon the left shoulder, being about ½ yd. long. Wind the longer piece twice round the throat, in loose soft folds; and as you will still have 1½ yd. or more to spare, festoon it gracefully in front with the aid of a few concealed pins, and fasten a brooch or flower at the side.

Tan gloves are the best for wear. Long silk mittens are extremely pretty in the evening, and shorter ones midway to the elbow, look nice in the house with the half-long sleeves. To keep the feet warm, wear a pair of soft woollen stockings, with silk ones drawn over. This hint is invaluable to those who ride, as it is not unusual, on hunting days, to experience a severe chill, if riding a tired horse homeward at a slow pace after a hard day. One word about fur-lined cloaks. They seem to be a sort of muffle, quite unsuited for walking, and only fit to be worn as a wrap, in a vehicle, on a cold day. Apparently made for warmth, they let in every breath of chill air, unless held carefully across; and it is not easy thus to hold them, if one has an umbrella or a parcel to carry, or a muff to hold in the hands. Here is a valuable hint. Take the pattern of the sleeves of your Mother Hubbard cloak, and the precise measurement of the spot in which they are placed--copy them exactly, and insert them in the fur-lined mantle, binding the inner edges neatly with ribbon to prevent the fur, which is cut, from coming loose. Then remove the hood, place a neat full frilling of cashmere and satin around the neck, and a full bow, with long ends, at the back. Next put 5 rows of gathers at the back of the waist, to which attach, on the inner side, a band of ½ in. black elastic, with a strong hook and eye. This, when fastened, draws the cloak close to the figure and gives it a becoming shape. The band is preferable to a ribbon-string, as it is more readily adjusted and can never get into a knot. In making the gathers, small fragments of the fur may pull with the thread and show on the outside; these should not be plucked at, but simply blackened over with a little ink. To utilise the hood for going out at night, or for variety to wear with the cloak by day, bind it nicely with black ribbon, leaving long ends for strings to tie in front. The materials required to effect this transformation are: ¾ yd. cashmere, 1 yd. black satin, 5 yd. ribbon for back and sleeve bows, and 3 yd. binding ribbon.

An important consideration is how to dress so as to suit individual peculiarities. Thus, a short stout figure should have perpendicular trimmings to her dress, the eye being thus carried to lines marking the height, not the breadth, of her person. A tall figure, on the contrary, may have bands of trimming or tucks running across the skirt; this reduces the apparent height. Stout people, be they tall or short, should remember that they require almost no trimmings or puffings. They look handsomely dressed in quite a plain garment, if it be well cut and rich in texture. Thin people, on the contrary, take any amount of trimming and puffing to give them a sufficiently clothed appearance. The first study in every case is what is becoming, not what is fashionable. The principal idea should be to attract attention to the wearer, not to the dress.

It is safer to dress rather older than younger than your age, it generally makes women past 30 look younger to dress thus; but much depends on the colours used. It is easy to lay down rules of colour for decided brunettes or decided blondes, but much more difficult to fix rules for those who belong to neither class, and who compose the majority. It used to be an old rule with portrait painters that the colour of a woman’s eyes ought to be repeated in some part of her head-dress. It is a much safer rule to repeat the colour of the hair in the dress. This is why fur is so often more becoming than anything else, it is often an exact colour of the hair. The only case in which matching the hair would not be suitable, is when the hair is unmistakably red. Then nothing but the quietest colours should be worn, with a good deal of white at the neck. Very dark shades of red and brown go best with it, but they must be chosen with the greatest discrimination. It is a safe axiom to lay down that all very bright colours should be kept away from the face; only the finest complexions can stand them in close proximity to the skin. The idea that pink is becoming to dark people is a mistake: only a very fair blonde can bear it. Maize is also most becoming to a fair skin, though it is also suitable, occasionally, to dark-haired people. Half-tints are the safest wear in the long run, and dark-coloured plushes, velvets, and satins, with their lovely reflection, are becoming to all. A slight knowledge of what are called “complimentary colours” in optics is useful, for it teaches the effect of certain colours on the skin. Thus bright blue makes the skin look yellow; mauve makes it look orange-tinted; bright yellow gives it an ashen-blue look; bright vermilion-red makes the skin look green. Thus it will be seen that half-tints will not be so mischievous in their effects. Many elderly ladies have a preference for violet or purple. Nothing could be more unfortunate. As people get on in life, the skin assumes quite enough of a yellow tint, without adding to it by wearing its complimentary colour--purple. Transparent materials, such as lace or tulle, are the most becoming settings to old faces. For younger people, harmony in colour is everything. Brown may have points of yellow or paler brown; dark red, a carefully selected pink. If grey is worn, a little pale blue may be worn in the bonnet. Then gold ornaments look best with brown and red, silver ornaments with grey and blue. In combining materials for a dress, it will be found that too soft or too stiff materials are more difficult to drape gracefully than one of each kind. Silk and cashmere make a very good combination, and a cheap and effective imitation of these can be made in merino and good alpaca. Short people should have outdoor mantle and dress of the same colour, as a contrast in these takes away from their height. But they may wear with great advantage a pelerine, or long mantle, which comes to within 2 in. of the bottom of the skirt; in that case the dress does not much matter. The fashion of tight sleeves and cuffs is very unbecoming to the hands unless they are small. The cuff ought to measure the same as the hand across the knuckles; dressmakers generally only measure the wrist, which is quite a mistake, as it is often out of proportion to the hand. A frill at the wrist is always becoming to the hand, but not always becoming at the throat. Short necked, plump-faced people do not look well in frills round the throat. A piece of lace laid on flat is better for them. Thin, long-necked people, on the contrary, ought invariably to wear frills at neck and wrist. Belts are unbecoming to all waists over 25 in. Tippets and fur collarettes should not be worn by high-shouldered people. The great secret of dressing well is to know what to avoid. To know where advantage can be taken of a good point is well, but to know how to hide a bad one is better. Frequently the best-dressed women we see are those whose own deft fingers have put the finishing touches to their toilettes.

Clothes for Foreign Boarding School.--(a) At Lausanne. Take 2 warm winter dresses (one for school, and one for church, &c.), 2 evening dresses, one light cashmere or beige dress, and 4 or 5 washing dresses. Two jackets (one for winter, and one for summer), a cloak or ulster, and a mackintosh. Much the same underclothing as one would take to an English school, with plenty of warm vests, &c., as the winter in Lausanne is colder than in England. Take a warm travelling rug, as sometimes in winter the “duvets” on the bed are not sufficient covering, and the rug will be very acceptable. July and August are the hottest months, but most people go to the mountains then. Take with you all in the way of clothes that you will require for the year, as dresses, hats, &c., are costly, and there is scarcely any choice there. Pack the things in 2 small basket trunks, rather than one large. Put such things as you will require immediately into one, and taking that with you, send the other and heavier one on by slow goods train. This will be found cheaper than taking all the luggage with you, as only 56 lb. of luggage is allowed free.

(b) In South Germany. For luggage, provide 2 leather-covered basket trunks and a black travelling bag, with necessaries for the voyage. If household linen has to be taken, pillow cases are best supplied at the school, being larger and different in shape from English ones; allow two large bath towels and a clothes bag, in addition to what is required. For dress, 2 thick blanket serge costumes, in addition to 2 cashmere dresses, fur cloak, eiderdown skirt, 2 knitted skirts, princess petticoats, high necked, in thick stuff, for winter wear, Galatea or white for summer; 2 short jackets, one thick cloth; also a shawl, as the passages are very cold, and a wrap is required for leaving the schoolrooms, as these again are rather over heated; white dress and pretty lace aprons and frills, for evening wear, when the young ladies are required to sit in the salons. Painting requisites had better be taken, for they are expensive; no school books, beyond church service and dictionary; add a few simple articles as suitable birthday presents for school friends, as the girls are expected to give on these occasions to mistresses and boarders, and it is tax on a girl’s pocket money. About 4 gingham housemaid dresses and 2 white cambric ones will be required for summer wear. Boots and furs are in comparison cheap in Germany. Seal fur caps are usual for winter wear.

Bathing and Swimming Dresses.--There are 3 main points to consider before deciding on the make of a bathing dress: (a) the place at which it is to be worn, whether an English or a Continental watering place; (b) whether the wearer swims or merely bathes; (c) whether the wearer is a child, a girl, or a middle-aged woman. The best materials for bathing dresses are summer serge, cashmere serge, alpaca, wool bège, and twill flannel; give preference to the first two, because they are soft, pliable, and light, do not cling objectionably to the figure when wet, and may be obtained in almost any colour. Alpaca is recommended for its lightness to swimmers especially, but both this material and wool bège can only be had in black and neutral tints; whilst twill flannel can be bought in all colours, is very comfortable and warm, especially for children, and has only one drawback--that its woolliness prevents it from being allowed in most fresh-water swimming baths, and renders it, for this reason, an unwise investment for one who wishes to frequent baths on return to town.

The best way to make a swimming dress for use in England, to ensure comfort and ease, is to have a loose bodice to the waist fastened into a broad band, from which the drawers are suspended, the bodice fastening down the centre, the drawers on the left side. The combination style of garment, i.e., all one piece from the neck to the knees, has one great objection, viz., that any mishap with the buttons is very awkward when there is no skirt. This need never be feared when the bodice and drawers are made separately and fastened at the side, and the only way to avoid it in the combination style is to make the dress open to the waist and then have it cut straight across and down the side of the hips for 5-6 in., so that it can be buttoned up on to the waist-band. A dress intended for swimming only should be as simple as possible. It should not come over the knees, and not be trimmed with a large collar or elaborate sleeves. Deep white cotton fringe or Torchon lace will be found to give quite sufficient finish. 3 yds. of 24 in. material will be found ample to make a dress of this description for a girl about 20.

Where ladies bathe with gentlemen their dress must come below the knees, must have a skirt from the waist, and must have sleeves of some kind, and these, whether long or short, or however loose, are always uncomfortable for swimming, as they cling and impede the movements of the arm, whilst the whole dress is made heavier by these additions. The only way to make such a dress more comfortable is in the first place to avoid making the skirt too heavy or too deep, and next to make the drawers longer than is really needed, and to fasten them in at the knee, so that the legs may be moved comfortably.

Children’s bathing dresses are best made in the “combination” style, of bège or some warm material, for the shivering cold feeling some children get in the water when they are not able to swim is one of the chief causes of their dislike and fear of sea bathing. Bathing dresses for matrons may be made in almost any style, however elaborate or heavy. A very comfortable dress for ordinary wear in England may be made with drawers reaching either to the knee or ankle, and gathered in by a band of turkey red or material with which the dress is trimmed, running alternately in and out of inch-deep slips made for the purpose; the upper part being simply a long loose blouse made either with a yolk, sailor collar, gauging, or any other design at the neck, and fastened at the waist with a broad band, so as to leave the skirt loose to the knees. A dress made in this way will take about 5 yd. of 24 in. material. Another kind of bathing dress is made with combination bodice and drawers, with the addition of a deep cape plaited into the neck and reaching to the elbows, and a skirt from the waist. Colour and trimming are the chief points in the finish of a bathing dress. Only those who really have a good appearance should choose a brilliant colour like red, blue, pink, or yellow, charming as these colours are in the water.

To avoid looking conspicuous, have some neutral tint or dark colour, and bright trimming. Black is particularly becoming for bathing costumes, as it shows up the whiteness of the skin, and it is convenient besides, because it can be trimmed with any colour or design.

Plain white canvas shoes laced with a colour to match the dress are perhaps the best; but straw or cork soles, with an upper piece of the same material as the dress, laced with broad strips of braid to match the trimming, are also good. The upper part should be cut from the pattern of a gentleman’s slipper, fitted, sewn on to the sole, and pierced with 3 holes along each side. The braid is fastened each side of the holes nearest the toe, laced across into the others, and continued sandalwise up to the knee. It is useless to think of keeping the head dry, so caps should always be made to allow for wetting. One good plan is to take a plain straight piece of stuff like the dress, about ½ yd. long and ¼ yd. wide; place it straight round the head, and fasten or tie it underneath the hair at the back so as to leave the rest in loose folds. A cap the same shape as a brewer’s is very pretty, placed on the head, with the point twisted once and fastened on the left side. When bathing, a Japanese parasol will prevent getting sunburnt. (E. M. B.)

Mourning.--The tendency of the day is towards shorter periods of mourning and deepening the mourning, so that half-mourning for aunts, cousins, &c., is almost abandoned, and only resorted to in longer periods of mourning. Crape is absolutely inadmissible with velvet, satin, lace, bright or glacé silks, embroidery, fringe, excepting the special “crape fringe,” or, indeed, with anything but mourning silk, paramatta, merino, cashmere, woollen barège or grenadine, or barathea. A widow’s mourning is the deepest, and continued longest. For the first 12 months the dress and mantle must be of paramatta, the skirt of the dress covered with crape, put on in one piece to within an inch of the waist; sleeves tight to the arm, bodice entirely covered with crape, deep, tight-fitting lawn cuffs with broad hems, and deep lawn collar. The mantle or jacket, of the same material as the dress, is very heavily trimmed with crape. The widow’s cap must be worn for a year, but not beyond the year. The bonnet is entirely of crape; it has a widow’s cap tacked inside, and is worn with a crape veil with a deep hem. When the crape on the dress requires renewing, it must be put on precisely as at first until the first 9 months have expired, after which, if preferred, it may be put on in 2 deep tucks, with about 1 in. space between them. Crape cloth is permissible, and well adapted for a rough or walking dress for the country; it wears well, and is not very easily distinguishable from crape at a distance. After the expiration of the first year, “widow’s silk” may be substituted for paramatta; but it must be heavily trimmed with crape. This is worn for 3 months, when the crape may be very sensibly lightened, and for the next 3 months jet passementerie and fringe may be used. At the end of the 6 months (18 months in all) crape may be left off, and plain black worn for 6 months; and 2 years complete the period of mourning. For the first year, while a widow wears her weeds, she can, of course, accept no invitations; and it is in the worst possible taste for her to be seen in any place of public resort. After the first year she can, if so disposed, gradually resume her place in society. It is usual for the pocket hankerchiefs to have broad black edges, and no jewellery of any kind, with the exception of jet, can be worn.

The mourning of a parent for a child, or a child for a parent, is the next degree and lasts for 12 months. For the first 3, paramatta, merino, coburg, woollen grenadine, or some similar material heavily trimmed with crape, usually in 2 deep tucks, is worn; for the next 3, silk mourning, with less crape, the latter arranged more ornamentally in plaits, folds, or bouillonnés, is admissible. The crape bonnet may have jet upon it, and the veil may be of net, with a deep crape hem. Linen collars and cuffs cannot be worn with crape. Crèpe lisse frills are de rigueur. Sable or any other coloured fur must be left off; plain, untrimmed sealskin is admissible, but it never looks well in really deep mourning. After 6 months, crape may be left off, and plain black, with jet ornaments and black gloves, worn for 2 months. For the next 2, black dresses, with gold or silver, pearl or diamond ornaments, and grey gloves, sewn with black. After this, half-mourning--such as black dresses with white flowers or lace; white dresses, with black ribbons; or grey dresses, trimmed with black.

There is a very prevalent notion that red is a sort of mourning, and that red flowers or ribbons may be worn with black for slight mourning; but it is not in good taste. Only jet ornaments are permissible with crape; neither gold, silver, nor precious stones can be worn with it, neither can lace be in any way intermingled with it. This is a fact which seems to be very imperfectly comprehended. Society must be relinquished for 2 months, and it is in far better taste to avoid balls so long as crape is worn. For grandparents, the mourning is now only 6 months, 2 in silk and slight crape, 2 in black, and 2 in half-mourning.

For brothers and sisters the mourning, is now usually 3-4 months. It is correct to wear crape tolerably deep for 2 months, and plain black for 2. For an uncle or aunt 6 weeks is the orthodox time, and crape is not required. Black is generally worn the whole time, for the first month with jet, afterwards with gold, silver, pearls or diamonds; no coloured stones. For a great uncle or aunt 5 weeks, 2 in black, 3 half-mourning. For a first cousin, a month, generally the whole time in black. It is not usual to wear mourning at all for a second cousin, but if done 3 weeks are sufficient. Relations by marriage are mourned for precisely in the same degree as real ones: thus a wife wears exactly the same mourning for her husband’s relations as she would for her own. There are, however, exceptions. For instance, a lady would mourn for her uncle by marriage for 6 weeks if his wife (her aunt) were alive; but if she were dead the mourning for the uncle might be curtailed to a month. A few remarks may be made on “complimentary mourning.” For instance, when a man has married a second time, his second wife must wear slight mourning for 3 months on the death of his first wife’s parents, and for 6 weeks on the death of her brothers or sisters, if any intimacy has been kept up. This is not de rigueur like real mourning for absolute relatives, but it is good taste, and usual in society. So also it is usual for a mother, whose married son or daughter loses a parent-in-law, to wear black--of course without crape--for one month, and half-mourning for another.

There are some additional points of etiquette connected with mourning. Black-edged envelopes and paper must be used. The width known as “extra broad” is the deepest that should ever be used, even by widows, the “double broad” being too much. Even for widows the simple “broad” is in better taste than either; “middle” is the proper width in mourning for parent or child; “narrow” for brothers or sisters; “Italian” for all other relatives. Visiting cards are only edged with black when crape is worn, so black-edged cards are not requisite for an uncle or aunt. The edges should be of the same width as that adopted for the paper. Cards returning thanks for the kind inquiries of those who have either called or sent to inquire, should not be sent out till the mourners feel equal to again receiving visitors; it is the accepted token of their being once more visible. Letters of condolence should be written on paper with a slight black edge, and offence should never be taken if they are left unanswered. Many people consider it correct to wear black on a first visit to a house of mourning, and though this is not absolutely necessary, it is certainly in better taste to avoid brilliant colours on such an occasion. (The Queen).

Travelling Dress.--(a) The fewer dresses to take for positive travelling, the better. A black silk, fashionably made, is almost indispensable. This should be accompanied by one or two stylish muslin fichus and lace collarettes to wear on any dress occasion, as it is tiresome not to be able to put in an appearance for lack of suitable attire. It is a good plan to have this silk made with a bodice separate from the skirt; and a white washing silk polonaise will be found very useful. For travelling nothing is so suitable as a light serge, and dark blue is the best colour. This should be made with a plain skirt and polonaise, and have a jacket also to wear when required; the plainer the better. Also take an alpaca costume, or one of a light woollen stuff, and 2 dark blue linen ones; these are cool if the weather prove hot. But to ensure real comfort in travelling, the point is not the quantity of dress nor the kinds, but to have them in working and wearable condition. They should be arranged to loop up when required, and to fit well, &c. Thick kid gloves, and gloves with gauntlets, are necessary; and a waterproof petticoat, and one or two others. Always carry a waterproof dress in your wraps; perhaps a good ulster would best replace it; there never was so comfortable a garment for travelling. Plenty of rugs, shawls, and, above all, a fur boa are desirable. Bonnets are not necessary, and a felt hat is the best, with a good supply of veils, a gauze one particularly. Thick boots are essential, and for climbing, the new Hygeia boots of Marshall’s are real comforts. All the dresses taken should be nearly if not quite new; travelling soon reduces a half-worn dress to shabbiness. Paper collars and cuffs are invaluable; they are as cheap as getting them washed, save an infinity of trouble, and are sold in compact boxes taking little room. If it is possible, pack in portable luggage; it will be found a great comfort, for thereby many wearisome waiting hours are saved at foreign railway stations. A Gladstone bag, or one of the portable portmanteaus, holds almost all you require, with a travelling bag and wraps.

(b) For a rough travelling dress select a dark blue bège or thin serge, made with a short full plain skirt, and a rather long coat, shaped, but not tight fitting, so that, if required, a bodice could be worn underneath. For out-of-the-way travelling have the skirt put into a very deep band, to fit tightly over the hips, and the full gathers put into that; it will be found lighter, more becoming, and better for the appearance of both skirt and jacket. The band is of the same material. The bodice is made like a skirt, full and tolerably loose, with straight neckband and coat sleeves, over which are turned black lace, first tacked inside, turned over, and lightly tacked down. Have a scarf of the dark blue material, 2½ yds. long, and a little over ½ yd. wide, and use this to pass round the hips and loop behind over the skirt band when you stop for any length of time and have to take off your coat. This scarf gives at once a smart look to the otherwise plain skirt. It is also useful in passing round the neck in cold day or night travelling, and when not used rolls up into a small compass, and goes in the wraps. The dark blue coat and scarf look well over a stout holland plaited skirt (which is useful with a plaited bodice and band for hot days). A soft hat with prominent brim, and dark blue veil, should accompany the costume. Also have a thin tweed of some dark grey colour, either made in the same way, or with a plaited skirt, up to the hips, and a Norfolk jacket, with band or a coat or a polonaise. Always have pieces of black lace to tack into your travelling dress at throat and wrist, and take a white piece, for wearing at any smart place. If the band of the dress is high round the throat, no collar or lisse is necessary, only tack the lace inside, turn it over, and tack it again lightly to keep it down in place; the same at the wrists. Never take white petticoats for rough travelling; a striped coloured one is best. Take black lace neck scarf and gauze veils.

Lawn Tennis Dress.--Short costumes made with bibs, Marguerite sleeves (viz., slashed at the elbow and shoulders), and the tunic à la Laveuse, appear to be a good style of dress for lawn tennis. A white serge made thus, with red trimmings, is very effective; or a light fawn tone, trimmed with bands of forget-me-nots, embroidered on a darker shade; or a rough holland dress with no tunic, but made with a yoke, bands, and large pockets, like an artist’s blouse, embroidered in outline.

Dress for the Moors.--A thick homespun or tweed costume is the most serviceable for the moors. A leather petticoat is a comfort in bad weather. Doré has introduced a good costume for ladies who go in for sport, viz., gaiters and knickerbockers, buttoned at the knee, of the same stuff as the skirt, which is kilt plaited, and is capable of being made long or short. A long scarf can be easily arranged as a tunic, or be wrapped about the shoulders, and a jacket, waistcoat, and cap of the same stuff make it complete. An ulster with a cape and hood attached is comfortable, so is a Norfolk blouse. In Scotland, ladies wear in the daytime little else but these tailor-made suits. In the matter of boots, black leather Balmoral walking boots are best, with thick soles, and for bad weather, the gaiter boot, which comes half-way up the leg. Phipps and Barker, of Cadogan-house, Sloane Street, have brought out a water-tight Highland boot, to button or lace. The latter give support, are a good fit, and durable, keeping their shape well, and are light in weight--a great point where there is much walking. Marshall and Burt of Oxford Street, have besides a Balmoral boot with double or clump soles, some of porpoise hide, which will stand hard walking, and are excellent hygienic boots, preserving the foot in a natural position, with low heels and projecting soles.

Dress for Walking Tour.--Procure from Marshall and Burt, 192, Oxford Street, a pair of Hygeia boots, which keep the feet warm and dry, do not unduly press, and are not heavy. They are waterproof, and should be well greased from time to time. Wear light woollen stockings, well soaped, and a thin tweed dress, plain skirt, and Norfolk blouse, with an outer jacket when required and an all-round mackintosh; a felt hat, bound with corded ribbon, a rosette at the side; loose gauntlet gloves. The mackintosh should be accompanied by a tarpaulin cover for the hat. An umbrella stick is a comfort.

Dress for Yacht.--(a) A black lace or canvas and silk dress is sufficient. Liberty’s soft silks are invaluable, as they take up little room, and pack well. Take a dark pretty dressing gown for your bath in the morning, and avoid making an object of yourself then by going attired in a waterproof, with your head tied up in a shawl, as is the fashion of many ladies. (b) For a month’s cruise on a public yacht a lady who has been a similar voyage advises dress as follows: One light weight serge or cloth dress, one tweed ditto, a jacket that can be worn with both, an ulster, and plenty of wraps, a rug, a high short dress for dinner, a dress for excursions, one lace dress. A useful and nearly essential item is a short dark silk tea gown, which can be easily slipped on for dinner in rough weather; for instance, a black Merveilleux satin, trimmed with black lace and red ribbons. Other necessaries are pockets to nail against the cabin walls, plenty of Florida water or eau de Cologne. A large supply of under-linen, to enable you to be independent of the laundress during the hurried washing in port, is a great advantage.

Outfits for Abroad. Australia.--A necessary outfit for a voyage to Australia is as follows, whether you go by the Cape or Canal, bearing in mind the southern seas are cold, and that 10 days by the Cape route sees you through the tropics. A regulation sized box is only allowed in the cabin, together with a bonnet box; but luggage marked “Wanted on the voyage” is brought up from the hold once a week. Old underclothing is best to wear, for when soiled it is dropped overboard, and saves washing. On arrival in a country where labour is dear, and also as the trunks from the hold are packed and unpacked in public, it is pleasanter to be rid of soiled linen. Take 7-8 weeks’ change of everything. The voyage is 6 weeks as a rule. Friends will supply you with old underclothing, if you ask. Take 4 doz. paper cuffs and collars; you will need a clean one a day. Buy a few dozen cheap pocket handkerchiefs to ensure having enough. No washing whatever is done on board. At Ceylon, the natives come out for clothes, but as steamers’ sailings are irregular, you may leave your belongings behind. Frilling becomes limp, but have a few dozen yards to freshen up a dress. Have warm flannels; a pair of mittens are a boon, keeping your hands cosy while your fingers are free to work. Tennis shoes are not elegant, but comfortable, and, when decks are slippery with wet, they are invaluable. Avoid high heels, for the ship’s rolling is apt to make walking unsafe. Have besides tennis shoes a pair of bath slippers, house shoes, a pair of strong walking shoes, and a pair of boots to land in. Remember a wave may sneak in at an open port and invade a cabin, so have bags for boots hung high, bags for brush, comb, scent, and all toilette requisites, and a few pouches for ribbons, cuffs, handkerchiefs, to avoid opening your box when you want any trifle; a hanging pincushion, and a few large linen bags to slip things into when rough, for it is objectionable to wake and find your clothes about the floor. The stewards act as housemaids, come in to shut ports, clean out cabins, carry water, so a lady should have things specially tidy. Have a hat capable of keeping firmly on the head in wind, a shady one for the tropics, though it really matters little, the decks being covered with awning, and keep your hat for landing strapped up high above invading waves in the cabin. A cabin’s furniture consists only of bunks, basin stands, mirrors, a shelf for the water bottle, each berth a rack, such as are in railway carriages, useful to hold books, workbox, &c.; but do not in calm weather pile it too high, for when you run into rolling seas of course the things slip out. You may be in a cabin with three other ladies; space is very limited, trunks are thrust below the bunks, and at most two pegs apiece allowed to hang dresses on; but for the bags mentioned, take a few thin tacks and put them up yourself. Only keep out the dress you wish to change and your dressing gown, for, if you hang out more, the cabin, even if you have the luck to have only one fellow-traveller in with you, gets stuffed up, and you blush for its untidiness when you learn the captain inspects every cabin at 11 A.M. daily.

Take a few pairs of old scissors, a few penny button hooks, and hang one of each up by the mirror to have handy, and keep the others stored in your cabin box for fear of losing or mislaying the two out for use. Take plenty of pins and thread and needles, and an extra pair or two of stay busks. To break one in mid ocean is a misfortune, unless you have others get-at-able to remedy the evil.

Take some cotton and also some woollen stockings, and do not forget a hot water bottle. The bed-room steward will readily get it filled, and, if it is cold, the bottle will be a great comfort. Have an ulster, a muffler, and a light shawl: the last to throw over your head, mantilla fashion, when sitting on deck during the delightful balmy evenings one enjoys on board. Have one warm dress, one cotton, either one grenadine made with high bodice, or an old silk for dinner. You hardly dress for that meal, but change your gown to a slightly smarter one, and a little addition of lace to any old afternoon costume is sufficient: also take a few flowers to vary it. On the tray of your cabin box keep another smarter dress to land in and to wear on Sundays, for a little variety is grateful to all. Let the warm dress and your dinner one, if you are economical, be old, and keep your new toilettes for Australia. Dresses get stickily salt on board, lose their freshness, and, as most folks wear their second best when travelling by sea, as long as you are tidy, neat, and clean, you need not trouble about a little shabbiness. One print, even by the Red Sea route, is quite sufficient, unless you are a very careless person, and cannot keep a cotton dress clean for two weeks. Put a silk costume in at the top of “Wanted on voyage trunk” to get out easily, for perhaps you may wish to be extra smart at a ship concert; and have packed on the top of that box also a cotton, for fear of soiling the other, your relays of underlinen, a few extra books and music to relieve the monotony of the ones in your cabin. Do not take more than what I have advised, or you will hamper up what is your bedroom for the time, and make it a sore vexation to your steward and uncomfortable for yourself. When you see the officers in white flannel trousers, take out your cotton dress. When they put on white hats and duck suits, lay away your thick dress and your ulster and rug. When you see them back to navy-blue attire, put away your cotton dress and take to your warm clothes. You can rely on the official sense to guide you aright. Have a neat dressing gown, as you may have to pass the saloon on your way to a bath. Do not forget a supply of hairpins. You will find a thick dress, a print, an evening dress all-sufficient, with underclothes and collars for a week or two, hats, boots, &c. These will fill up your cabin box; but keep room for a few books, although there is a library on board. You can lend your stock, and vary the ship’s literature. Of course, take a piece of work, but you will not do much after the first week. When you know your fellow-passengers, you will help them all day at doing nothing, for sea voyaging is idle and frivolous. Take music if you play, and have a store in the “wanted” trunk, for your fellow-passengers will get tired of your songs if you have but 3 or 4. If you paint, have your materials handy to illuminate a concert programme, for you must try and be ready to assist amusements, unless you wish to be killed with ennui. Take some tea (though on the Orient line they supply it freely), and a teapot, and a few cups. You can get hot water from your steward, and do not need a kettle. Afternoon tea-parties on board are pleasant as on shore, and it is well to have the means of entertaining. If you are to be at sea on Christmas Day take some cards. Your neighbours will thank you when they find a greeting on their breakfast plates. Take some mimic note paper and envelopes for invitations to tea, &c., as all these little odds and ends to amuse others are sure to help you to enjoy seafaring.

Fancy balls are a common form of fun on Australian steamers; and, if you are taking a fancy dress out with you, put it in the “Wanted box,” and, if not, exert your ingenuity. Take some games with you in your cabin box--cards, chess, backgammon, dominoes. You can get them all in mimic sets.

If you are going to Australia to live, look well on the map as to your future colony, and, as you are near the equator, prepare for heat. Western and South Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales, are all very warm, especially during 3 months in the year; but also bear in mind in the bush servants are scarce, and do not have your cotton dresses too elaborate, for fear you may have to wash them yourself. There is winter too in Australia, and at first you think it like our May at home, but after a year you will suffer from the least cold keenly, so have some warm clothes, and over all the colonies it is dusty, therefore do not forget a dust cloak. Victoria is not quite so warm, nor Tasmania, as the northern colonies. The South Island of New Zealand is like home, with a vastly improved climate, and clothes for there identical with England. North Island is hotter, but never so warm as Australia. If you are going to live in a town you will need the same sort and amount of dress as in England. Clothes are not much dearer. Frilling, gloves, and small items are, however, more expensive, and bear in mind people in the antipodes are very smartly dressed, so have a few well-made things in preference to many dowdy ones. If you are to live on a station, or in the bush, as the country is called, you will not need evening or garden-party dresses--only a couple of cotton dresses, a grey summer bège, a warm dress of tweed, a commoner one for the morning and a better one for afternoon wear, a habit, ulster, dust cloak, garden hat, and gloves; a hat to drive to the township in, and one thoroughly good costume, bonnet, and mantle, all well-made of some handsome material for a marriage, a race meeting, the show, or any such event as comes to relieve bush life’s quiet routine.

India.--To have a reasonable outfit, and often renewed, is far better economy, and is also much pleasanter, than taking very many things at once, as in this way one does not so soon tire of one’s wardrobe; and new things can be had out from home of a later fashion. For a life to be spent in the plains of India, 2 doz. of each article of underlinen would be an ample allowance; while for those who can go to the cool climate of the hills 1½ doz. would be quite sufficient. A good supply of dark-coloured finest cotton stockings (say 1½ doz.), and ½ doz. black spun silk stockings, should also be taken. ½ doz. fine flannel jerseys (flannel is by far the safest wear in India) and 4 flannel petticoats would be a very fair quantity, and 1 doz. white petticoats, with one or two pretty-coloured warmer ones for the cold weather, will always be found quite sufficient. Much embroidery or lace on one’s clothes is a great mistake, as the “dhobees” (washermen) beat them to pieces in no time. Also ½ doz. high petticoat bodices, and ½ doz. embroidered low ones to wear with thin dresses. Avoid having the petticoat skirt and bodice in one, as very often in the hot weather one is glad to change the bodice when it is quite unnecessary to change the skirt also; so little walking is done in the hot weather that the skirt remains clean for some time, and, as the “dhobees” beat one’s clothes most unmercifully in washing them, it is a consideration not to have them undergo this process oftener than is necessary. Collars, cuffs, ties, neck ribbons, pocket handkerchiefs, should be taken ad lib., also one or two pretty fichus, with materials to make others from them, as these things are very expensive in India, and do not spoil by keeping if put carefully away and looked at occasionally. It is much better to have boots and shoes out as you require them. The best plan is to have 2 pairs pretty walking boots and 3 or 4 of house shoes out at a time. The Chinamen in Calcutta can copy boots and shoes remarkably well, and even up-country “maachees” (shoemakers) can make them up pretty well from a pattern; but the leather never lasts long, nor do they keep in shape. In the hills it is absolutely necessary to have good strong English walking boots, with very thick soles and moderately high heels--not very high ones, as they are apt to make one fall, and the sharp stones and rocky ground grind them down at once. To have a number of dresses is a great mistake; a handsome, well-made black silk is indispensable, and the most useful thing a lady can have; this, with a pretty visiting dress and (say) 2 cashmeres, or some such material, is ample for the cold weather. These, with the exception of the visiting dress, should be a walking length. A warm coat is also necessary, as it is very cold for about 2½ months; a thick “burruk” coat, trimmed with fur, is not at all too much, and very comfortable wear; also a lighter coat for the hills, or when the mornings and evenings are chilly. A well-fitting ulster is a necessity for the hills, and if waterproof so much the better, but it should be made of a light material. Of course, some people go out much more than others do; but a handsome dinner dress (a black satin, with jet trimmings, &c., is very useful), one for small parties, and 2 pretty ball dresses, will be ample for any one. Of course to those who live in Calcutta or Simla more dresses would be necessary, as there is so much more gaiety there; but in up-country stations this is a very good allowance, and more than the quantity named would only get old-fashioned and be very much in the way. Shoes to match, and silk stockings also, should be taken. Some sort of opera cloak is necessary; a black cashmere dolman, lined with thin silk, is the nicest, and, if sent to Delhi to be embroidered in gold or silver thread, or in coloured silk in what is called the “enamel” or the “peacock” pattern (both very handsome), it would be lovely, always look well, and last for years. This embroidery is not very expensive. Silk gloves for India are the nicest things that were ever invented, as they do not spot and spoil as kid, nor get hard in rainy weather; it is best to have a good many pairs, as they wear out so soon, and they are very dear out here. Bonnets are very seldom worn, but some ladies like them for visiting and for going to church. Hats are much pleasanter wear, and, as a rule, more becoming; 2 pretty hats are ample, with a plainer one with no feathers (except perhaps a wing or a hackle one) for dull rainy days, or for travelling. Hats and bonnets can so easily come out by P. and O. parcel post that it is much nicer to have a few, and have them yearly, when one gets the latest fashions. A well-made habit should of course be taken; a good native “dirzi” (tailor) could easily copy in cloth or any thinner material for daily wear, as habits do not last long, and are such expensive things to buy. For the hills, the fewer clothes one has the better, as fish, insects, and the damp destroy them; and in the rains nothing very good should be worn. A pretty cashmere dress is by far the most useful. For hot weather in the plains, it is nice to have a foulard silk or Cora silk dress for the rains, as muslins and such things get very limp there and look untidy. Coloured prints and muslins are very pretty and tempting, but they are not the best wear for India, as, with the constant washing and the heat, they soon lose their colours and get washed out, and look far from fresh and nice; thin white materials (not piqués and such stuffs, which are the hottest wear possible), prettily made, with coloured ribbon bows down the front, &c., are the nicest. In the house, pretty morning dresses made like tea gowns are by far the most comfortable wear; it is a good plan to bring one pretty, nicely fitting one out, and also to bring the materials and trimmings for ½ doz. others, as then the native tailors can copy them beautifully at a small cost. These dresses, worn with different coloured ribbons, always look nice for the house, and are so much cooler than tight-fitting dresses. Pretty self-coloured muslins, worn over batiste slips of the same colour, are always nice for garden parties and visiting; and now hats are so often made of the same material as the dress, it is easy to have a variety of them, and they always look dressy, and are very light. Cottons, tapes, needles, buttons of all sorts, elastic, ribbon, wire, &c., should be taken in large quantities; but keep them under lock and key, or they disappear most mysteriously. A good supply of paper and envelopes also is necessary. Rooms in India are so bare and colourless, that one wants many bright little things to make them look home-like and cheerful. No one would regret bringing out some pretty inexpensive chromo-lithographs in nice frames; they need not all be framed (though all should be mounted), as the “mistris” (carpenters) can make the Oxford frames very neatly and cheaply from a pattern, and glasses can also be got out here in some places; these always make the room look pretty, and hide the walls which, not being papered, but only coloured plaster, are by no means the prettiest part of an Indian drawing room. Also bring a good many yards of coloured cretonne; black cretonne, with gold-coloured pattern on it, is nice, and does not fade as some of those with light grounds do; but it is well to include a few yards of different patterns of cretonne, as it is pretty to have the chairs not all the same, and makes the room look brighter. Over-mantels would be charming and uncommon; brackets for the walls, and pretty china wall baskets, also wall mirrors, would be found great additions to the look of a room, and would always be eagerly bought up if one was leaving a station, as it is almost impossible to get such things, except perhaps in Calcutta, where they are fearfully dear. By all means take glass and crockery out; it is twice or three times as expensive in Calcutta as at home; and if one trusts to station auctions, one is sure to get imperfect and shabby sets of things, and very often has to pay heavily for them. Electro-plate must, of course, be taken, also knives; and any pretty little ornament one can find for the table is nice, and makes it look bright. A few pudding moulds and any small things of this kind are very useful, and not always to be picked up up-country. Window curtains should certainly be taken, especially écru-coloured ones, but if white are preferred, it is a good plan to have several pieces of pretty pale-coloured cheap tarlatans to line them with; this always looks nice. Curtain cords should also be taken; some dozens of pretty brass-headed nails would be found very useful; also some yards of different coloured Utrecht velvets to cover small tables, and fringe to edge them with; by going to Maple’s or some such shop during the selling-off time remnants of these things can be got at a very moderate price. A few pretty-coloured tablecloths should certainly be included. For those who care for fancy work, all the materials must be taken, as it is not always easy or possible to get them in India, and even when one can they are very expensive. Table linen, &c., must be taken, of course; at the various jails in India, and also in Dinapore, the natives make very fair towels, bath sheets, tablecloths, &c., but they are not nearly as nice as English ones, nor do they last as long. As for having boxes out by steamer, there seems to be quite a risk in doing so now-a-days; it may be found that on arrival the tin has been neatly cut open, everything taken out, and the boxes filled up with straw and bricks, to make them weigh heavily. It is always most difficult to get any compensation from the ship’s company, and is never done without endless correspondence and delay. It is safer to have things out by P. and O. parcel post, but they allow only small boxes, so but few things can come at a time; these parcels are under the charge of Government from the time they leave till the time they are delivered, so they are perfectly safe.

New Zealand.--In a lonely country district much toilette would not be required. In or near any of the principal towns there is a good deal of gaiety--small and large dances--constant tennis parties for about 7 months in the year, small dinners, luncheons, &c. Any clothes taken should be well made and fashionable, as very many of the ladies there now get their things from England every 6 weeks or so, from the best dressmakers in London. If a lady intends riding, a well cut habit should be taken. Very heavy furs, such as a sealskin jacket, are hardly required in the north island, down south it might be useful. More summer clothes than winter ones are wanted, as the summer season lasts long, although rarely if ever so hot as in London sometimes. It will be well to remember that life in New Zealand, except in one or two remote places, is simply English life, with a bright blue sky and pleasant climate. New Zealand is as large as Great Britain, so of course the climate varies with the situation, warmer in the north island, cooler in the south, although the extremes of heat and cold are not nearly so great as from North of Scotland to the South of England. Of course the outfit for the voyage depends much on the proposed route, whether across America, or by the Suez line, or by direct steam, New Zealand line (easiest and most comfortable of all), or by sailing vessel, a route avoided now by all except those ordered a long sea voyage for their health. In almost any case there is both hot and cold weather. Old underlinen that you can throw away is best, as the sea air ruins good linen. A little change for dinner is needed, but elaborate dressing on the voyage is quite out of taste.

North America.--The outfit a young man requires depends upon the occupation he intends taking up. If he looks forward to employment in a town, he should take a supply of good clothing, such as a gentleman would wear at home, adding 2 or 3 quite cool suits for summer wear. All gentlemen’s clothing, from hats to boots, from coats to vests, is inferior and very costly. Really superior cloth materials are not to be got at any price, nor are flannel shirts that will wash well. If the young man is going to a stock ranche, one good suit for winter, and another for summer, to wear on an occasional visit to town, are sufficient: he will never use them on the ranche, and stockmen’s clothing here is reasonable in price, and made to stand such wear and tear as no one in England has any idea of, even with school-boys. A close fitting, very warm jacket, or extremely thick warm kind of jersey to go on, either of them, under stockman’s jacket, would be invaluable. The rapid fall of temperature, in a few hours, from 70°-80° down to below freezing, accompanied by piercing wind, causes the cold to be felt intensely. The country has greatly changed during the past few years. In organised counties, carrying concealed firearms is prohibited by law. Many do carry them, but they are always liable to have them seized, and to be fined $25 in addition. Some stockmen on the ranges carry six-shooters and Winchester rifles, which are much better for their need than any English rifle. Ammunition for most of the English rifles is not to be obtained. The American six-shooter is much cheaper, and more suitable than the English. For steady men, careful not to get mixed up with gamblers and the rowdy element, Texas is as safe as England. Those who do associate with such classes hold their lives at risk.

West Indies.--(a) The best time for going out to the West Indies is November, after the rains; our winter is their cool season; the hot weather begins towards the end of April. For the voyage take for the first half of the time a serge dress, warm hat, cloaks, wraps, indiarubber-soled shoes. No one dresses for dinner on board the mail packets. The cabins are small. A bag with many pockets to hold all the odds and ends, is a comfort. An overland trunk to go under the berth, a tin bonnet box, and a travelling bag for the cabin, and tin-lined or tin cases for the hold. For the latter half of the voyage, you want a large shady hat and dark cotton dresses, glauntlet gloves, and gauze veils. It is very hot in Kingston; you would wear the same as in summer here, not linen collars or cuffs, lace, which washes easily is best; flannel underclothing, large boots, shoes, and gloves, and a good-sized parasol. People who travel in the island find a solar topee a comfort. A riding habit of thin cloth is necessary, and a low hat, no one wears a high one. A large loose skirt to wear over your dress on the hills is a comfort when you go out to dinner, which you must do on horseback; a low black dress is desirable. There are several parties in the course of the year, lawn-tennis parties, &c.

(b) Any old underlinen answers for the voyage, as one generally throws it overboard, as no washing can be done. Take to wear in Kingston nothing but prints and muslins, and a grey cashmere would be very useful. For large dinners have a couple of pretty satin dresses made, with lace sleeves; and for small dinners some cream muslins, trimmed with lace. As there are a good many balls, 3 dresses would be necessary. One bonnet would be sufficient, but you would want several hats (as light as possible). A white cashmere for tennis is always serviceable, and a habit of light material (in dark green or blue) indispensable. Stockings should be all thin and cool, and all underclothes made of linen or the finest calico. Gloves are easily spotted, so only take out gants de Suede and silk ones. The heat of Kingston during the day is very great, but the evenings are cool and enjoyable; society good (nearly all military and naval) and several old Jamaica families.

Fancy Dress.--The following selection of fancy dresses comprises most of the picturesque national costumes of Europe and the East, adapted for wear at Fancy Dress Balls, &c. There is a striking and distinctive character about the majority of these which places them far above the ordinary type of fancy dress, and it is a great pity they are not more generally adopted.

No. 1. Saxon Bride and Bridegroom of Transylvania.

No. 2. An Austrian woman.

Nos. 3 and 4. Dutch Ladies of the 17th century.

No. 5. Fisherwoman of the Zuider-zee. The petticoat or skirt is made of coarse brown or dark blue frieze, and over it is worn an apron, sometimes red, sometimes green, with a bib of silk or linen, embroidered or interwoven with a large flower pattern, and pinned to the front of a sleeveless jacket, made of the same material as the petticoat, and fastened at the back with hooks and eyes. The skirt is of striped calico, visible in our illustration round the neck and from the shoulders to the elbows, from where to the wrist it is covered with a sort of over-sleeve of frieze. A close-fitting cap of coloured satin or linen encases the hair, as loose tresses are not allowed to float in the wind. This cap is ornamented over the forehead with a piece of gold or silver tinsel cloth.

No. 6. A Bulgarian woman.

No. 7. An Italian girl. The Italian woman chooses white for the principal colour of her dress, knowing from long experience that this is the most suitable colour for lessening the effects of the sun. For the same reason, she has been taught from early youth how to compose fanciful and becoming headdresses from linen scarves. An apron striped in many colours, and a bright border to her skirt, serve the purpose of producing the gay contrast she likes. Her sister in the East, where the climate is less genial and the temperature moves within extremes, needs heavier materials for her costume, and of darker shades, to bring it into accordance with the surroundings. To break the sombre tints, she employs embroidered stripes and squares on her silk bodices and linen under-skirts, as well as on her apron and over-skirt, both made of heavy woollen materials. A bright-coloured ribbon, a flower, or an adroitly draped scarf form her headdress. The effect south and east is the same--picturesqueness and absence of conventionality, more or less the two chief attractions of all national costumes.

No. 8. A Jewish Lady, of Tetuawn. The dress is a fanciful combination of velvet, gold braid, and embroidery, with the gauze-like muslin of the Orient, rich in colours, and adorned with a gorgeous silk sash round the waist.

No. 9. Peasant maiden, of Donaueschingen, Black Forest. The bodice is made of black silk, festooned across the chest by blue or violet lace. The little cap, sitting close to the head, has a crescent-shaped opening at the back, through which the long tresses of hair escape. Two long ends of black ribbon fastened together complete the headdress. Short full snow-white chemise sleeves leave the arm bare in summer time. The petticoat is black and the stockings red.

No. 10. A Servian peasant woman.

No. 11. A Bulgarian peasant woman. The unmarried girls ornament their hair with wreaths of flowers, and on festive occasions wear rows of gold coins round their necks. As protection against the sun, the younger women wear on the head a white embroidered scarf, picturesquely draped. Married women deck themselves with tawdry bead jewellery, and wear a belt with large copper gilt buckles round their waist.

No. 12. A Peasant maiden of the Steinlach Valley. On the head is set a flat black cap, decked with floating ribbons. The dress consists of a stuff petticoat and scarlet bodice, the petticoat being made out of light or dark blue cloth, generally bordered with green bands, relieved by gold edging. The bodice is embroidered with gold down the back, and open in front over a handkerchief covering the bosom. The bodice is kept in place by cords, ribbons, or silver chains laced backwards and forwards. A white apron (the matrons wear black), made of fine linen, embroidered at the bottom, completes the dress. A garnet necklace encircles the throat. The full petticoat reaches a little below the knee, showing the feet in buckled shoes. On Sundays a girdle of silk or velvet embellished with metal bosses is worn round the waist.

No. 13. Wallachian girl. The costume consists of a long linen chemise, elaborately embroidered on the shoulders and sleeves with black, red, or blue wools, lace ruffles hanging from the wrists. Round the waist the chemise is held together by a bright coloured scarf, to which a front and a back apron, of a striped woollen material, are attached, leaving the chemise visible at both sides. The ordinary headdress is a white or red handkerchief thrown over the hair and tied in a knot under the chin; but on Sundays a smart little cap, embroidered with gold or silver tinsel, covers, fez-like, the beautiful hair, which is carefully parted in the middle and adorned with bunches of flowers, gold-headed hairpins, and strings of coin jewellery. A necklace of coins is an essential feature.

No. 14. Chinaman. Flowered silk robe; blue jacket; red hat.

No. 15. Dame Trot. Short quilted skirt; tunic and bodice red, with laced stomacher; tall black hat.

No. 16. Little Grannies. Grey cashmere dresses; white caps.

No. 17. Russian Peasant. White dress trimmed with red embroidered bands and Russian lace; long white embroidered apron; beads round neck; gold embroidered Kroshnick headdress of black velvet.

No. 18. Tyrolean peasant. Full black knee breeches; grey silk stockings; red blouse, with bretelles embroidered in yellow and gold; small bouquet at the waist; white Surah shirt, with wide sleeves; black silk necktie; black felt hat, with black and flame-coloured feathers.

No. 19. Normandy peasant. Short red skirt, striped with black; white mousseline de laine tunic, spotted with blue; low pointed bodice, laced with silver; muslin fichu, trimmed with lace; sleeves to match fichu; white muslin headdress, trimmed with lace.

No. 20. Polish costume. Pink satin dress, trimmed with white fur; the plastron is crossed with white brandebourgs, which are continued the entire length; white silk stockings; pink satin shoes.

No. 21. Normandy youth. Dark-blue satin knee breeches; silk stockings of the same colour, with red garters; white lawn skirt, with full sleeves; blue silk necktie; red satin coat opening over the skirt, and ornamented with small red brandebourgs; silk cap and cravat.

No. 22. Neapolitan girl. Pink silk skirt, with a claret velvet hem; white silk apron, striped with many colours; claret velvet bodice, with pink revers opening over a waistcoat to match, crossed with gold bands; long sleeves; claret revers, with gold braid; coral necklace; headdress to match the apron, and fastened with gold pins; tambourine in the right hand.

No. 23. Fop, reign of Henry VI. Long robe of blue cloth, with long hanging sleeves, festooned in shape of leaves; double band and pouch of yellow cloth; large hat of fur, trimmed with a fan of yellow cloth; grey worsted stockings. (Wingfield.)

No. 24. Lady, reign of Henry VI. Particoloured costume of pink and white Italian satin sheeting, trimmed with deep border of ermine on skirt; headdress of same material, with long flowing veil of Indian muslin. (Wingfield.)

No. 25. Page, reign of Charles II. Vest of myrtle-green velvet; blouse bodice, and sleeves in cambric; fringes of gold ribbon loops; skirt in amber silk; lace cravat bow; embroidered satin shoulder sash; green hat with amber plumes.

No. 26. Page, reign of Henry IV. Doublet of black satin trimmed with gold galloon; trunks of figured cherry-coloured silk; black velvet cloak with gold embroidery; black silk tights; velvet cap with turreted brim, and brooch of paste diamonds.

No. 27. Judge. Loose gown in black reps or Ottoman silk; cambric band, and wig. Alpaca may be substituted, if preferred, for the gown; high black cap.

No. 28. Friesland girl. The bust is encased in two bodices, one of cloth with sleeves of gaily coloured silk, and over it another tightly laced with a red or yellow silk ribbon of interminable length. The lacing tag, made of gold or silver, is worn as an ornament on the left side of the bust by girls, and on the right side by married women. A bright coloured silk wrapper covers the upper part of the body, and ends round the throat in a narrow black braid on which is a small red strip, placed on the left by girls and on the right by married women. For outdoor toilet a short jacket with sleeves, and wide open in front, is worn over the two bodices. This jacket is of printed calico for ordinary wear, but embroidered with gold and silver for festive occasions. The most peculiar feature of the costume is the headdress, made of striped calico or fine linen, and supported in its helmet-like shape by starch alone. Two petticoats are worn, one of crimson cloth, with a broad border of black velvet, reaches to the ankles, just showing the broad-toed velvet slippers; the other, of black woollen material, encircles the waist, in numberless plaits, and leaves the velvet border of the first one free. A silk apron completes the Sunday attire. A chatelaine is usually added.

No. 29. Dutch girl, from the Island of Mark.

No. 30. Turkish girl.

No. 31. A woman of Albania.

No. 32. A woman of North Holland.

No. 33. Jane Seymour coif.

No. 34. Charity girl. Black stuff gown; white linen cap; apron; red badge on left side of bodice.

No. 35. Moorish girl. Black velvet bodice and skirt, trimmed with white galloon; apron in muslin, enriched with gold thread and variegated silks; girdle of geranium-red cord with tassels; red satin under sleeves; rows of large beads fall on the muslin chemisette; cap and veil in toile Colbert, embroidered and also edged by a fringe of gold beads.

No. 36. Lady of Tangiers.

No. 37. Servian youth. Green woollen trousers, with bands and golden spangles; blue velvet jacket, trimmed with golden embroidery and grelots; vest in red and blue striped material bound by embroidery; red cashmere scarf, with revolvers passed through; red fez.

No. 38. Tellemarken, Norway.

No. 39. Mecklenburg.

Nos. 40, 41. Brittany.

No. 42. Welsh. Among the different costumes of Wales, there are few more picturesque and elegant than that of Gwent and Morganwg, which ancient district includes the present counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan; and, although now rarely seen, it is by no means extinct. The hat is beaver, which, although so called, was formerly made of the skin of the hare. The brim is sufficiently wide to cast a shade over the eyes and brow, which artists well know is so peculiarly becoming to the face; and from the hat being set on the head to incline downward (higher behind than before), this artistic effect is still more striking. The genuine Welsh cap has a border either of muslin, with narrow edging of lace, or for special dress, the whole border of good thread lace; and without a personal trial few could believe how the combination of such a hat and cap beautifies plain women, and still further improves the beautiful. The handkerchief is worn with the point behind to the waist, which is of natural and moderate length. The handkerchiefs are, for general use, blue and white, or pink and white, cross-barred, with a border, are worn double, and tightly pinned across the chest; for special occasions they are often scarlet and yellow, or blue and white. The gown has sleeves to the elbow, and for elderly persons often turns the elbow. The bodice is tight and low, and fastens in front, being pinned across under the handkerchief, the gown being open before. The skirt (if skirt it can be called) does not extend farther than an inch or two beyond the hips; it is very full behind, and has loops along the edge through which a tape is run, which draws it together, and is tied to another loop which is fixed at the back, in the centre of the waist in the inside. This part of the gown is not much longer than the petticoat, so that when it is drawn up only an inch of the petticoat is seen below, and sometimes it is even with the petticoat. The apron is of black and white or blue and white check--the Welsh national checks being totally different from the Scotch plaids, the only similarity consisting in both having cross bars. The strings of the apron are often passed through a loop which is attached underneath the point of the handkerchief, crossed behind and tied before, not being too wide to allow the coloured petticoat to be seen at the sides. The petticoat is moderately full, and short enough to show the ankles. The shoes, black leather with strong soles, used to be invariably set off with large buckles, which nearly covered the front of the instep; the shoes being high and fastened by the tongue of the buckle, but those worn without buckles had small leather ears on each side, with a hole in each, which tied over the instep. In cold weather, or when required, long sleeves of the same material as the gown, or coloured printed calico, or of knitted black wool, are added, or long-armed black mittens; and a cloak with a hood is thrown on. In the present instance the gown is orange and black, the petticoat violet and black. The present costume admits of many other varieties of ancient national Welsh patterns, both in colour and design, still made in the same district.

No. 43. Mecklenburg.

No. 44. Norway, Sætersdal. The men wear striped trousers, reaching almost to the throat, and showing a white shirt under the arms. A sort of very short jacket covers the shoulders, and closes across the upper part of the chest. To the uninitiated, it appears quite a riddle how they put this peculiar garment on. The jacket worn by the women is of equally curious cut. It opens horizontally across the bust to show a linen bodice, which again appears as a large stand-up collar on the throat. The hair is gathered into a net decorated with ribbons, which entirely hides it, and falls to the shoulders. With their short petticoats and jackets, braided with galloons and studded with silver buttons, a bright-coloured wrapper fastened to one shoulder, and draped round the waist, a Sætersdal girl presents a picturesque appearance.

No. 45. French Lady, Reign of Henry I.

No. 46. Lady, Reign of James I.

No. 47. Italian Gentleman, XVI. Century.

No. 48. Maidservant, Reign of Henry VI. Costume in two shades of grey merino; large apron, handkerchief, and headdress with long flowing veil in fine white nainsook. (Wingfield.)

No. 49. Gentleman, Reign of Henry VI. Shirt of printed velvet, with tabbard of white Italian satin sheeting, bordered with black fur; worsted tights; hat of printed velvet, with long drapery of soft silk; bag pouch. (Wingfield.)

No. 50. Lady, from Saloniki, Macedonia.

No. 51. Girl from Ploaré, Brittany. The petticoat or skirt is generally of white flannel, bordered with a scarlet band above the hem, made very full and short to show the buckles on the shoes. The body or jacket consists of scarlet, blue, violet, or red cloth, cut tight to the shape, open in front, the sleeves long, turned up at the wrist with a deep cuff, and encircled with a sort of arm-band above the elbows. The facings of the bodice, cuffs, and arm-hands are trimmed with a braiding composed of black velvet ribbons embroidered with coloured worsteds. The apron is either a deep mulberry or orange colour, and fastened with an ornamental sash tied in a bow at the side, with a separate pocket for the knitting ball. The chemise, fastened in front with a brooch made of coloured bugles and glass beads, terminates in a kind of plaited ruff, and a small ebony crucifix is suspended by a velvet band from the neck. The headdresses vary in shape. The women of Bignan wear close fitting caps of white linen, and cover them with a sort of conical flap-cap, made of a coarse starched cloth, like brown holland, which serves the purpose of a bonnet.

No. 52. Flemish costume at the time of Rubens.

No. 53. Caucasian Girl. The costume consists of a caftan made of bright coloured silk or satin, buttoned in front, and reaching to the knees, with a belt, richly embroidered in gold and silver round the waist. In winter an overcoat of heavier material, without sleeves or collar, open in front and falling down to the ankles, is worn over the caftan. Very picturesque is the headdress or cap of conical shape, gorgeously embroidered with gold and silver tinsel. A long white veil descends from the point of the cap nearly down to the heels. This veil is likewise worn without the cap, fastened to a kind of diadem in the forehead. From underneath the cap or veil issue long plaited tresses of black hair studded with coin jewellery. Elegant bottines of morocco leather, tightly fitting to the leg, like stockings, and dainty slippers, complete the outfit.

No. 54. Woman of Bethlehem. A dark blue dress contrasts well with the scarlet tunic worn over it in graceful folds, and with the head covering of spotless linen, which frames in the face, just leaving room for the display of Oriental coin jewellery on the forehead and round the neck.

No. 55. Lady of Eleusis, Greece. A maize-coloured silk veil, picturesquely draped, covers head and shoulders, just to show two strings of gold coins on the lovely forehead of the oval face. A long white robe, girded round the waist with an embroidered belt or sash, envelopes the figure like the ancient chiton. The waist is covered with chains of coin jewellery, and an apron of violet silk, striped in two tints, is attached to the belt. But the great pièce de résistance of this becoming costume is a gorgeously ornamented jacket, likewise of white material, with semi-tight sleeves, embroidered, as our illustration indicates, in fanciful patterns, with dark red or black silk interspersed with gold and silver threads. Similar costumes to that of the women of Eleusis, and only slightly differing in cut and colours, are worn in all the northern provinces of the kingdom. In Athens a bright red scarf girds the waist, and silk of the same colour is used for the embroideries on jacket and petticoat. In Bœotia a green veil is worn, and the ornamental stitchery executed in a variety of colours, red prevailing.

No. 56. Spanish Girl. The short petticoat is generally of bright yellow, rose coloured, or green silk, trimmed either with bands of black velvet or with a deep flounce of black blonde. The tight-fitting jacket is made of black velvet, trimmed with gold or silver lace, and buttons to match. The material for the apron and for the neckerchief consists of muslin with a border of white blonde. The hair forms a plaited chignon on the back of the head, and is adorned with the high Spanish comb and with hair pins, with tops of gold or silver filigree.

No. 57. Spanish Toreador. Royal blue plush or velvet jacket and trousers, richly embroidered in silver and ornamented with silver fringe. Red silk sash. Red cloak and pink stockings. Blue plush cap. Heavy silver epaulettes and embroidered shirt.

No. 58. Modern Greek. In the picturesque national costume worn in modern Greece hardly any trace can be found of the ancient dress. The richly embroidered cloth jacket, worn over skirt and bodice of ordinary cut, cannot be compared with the ancient chitonion, although it serves the same purpose. For fancy balls this costume is most becoming, if the proper combination of colours, quite optional, even in Greece, is selected.

No. 59. French Farmer’s Wife, time of Henri III. The close-fitting pointed bodice, of a red material, is laced in front over a band of green silk; the square habit shirt is of fine linen, terminate in a lace-edged lawn ruff corresponding in colour with the long white sleeves; and the ample apron covers the front of a dark-coloured petticoat. The tablier headdress, worn over the hair combed back, is made of a double piece of black satin, stiffened by a stout lining.

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Bernard Roth: ‘Dress: its Sanitary Aspects, a paper read before the Brighton Social Union; with additions and 8 full-page illustrations.’ London. 1880. 2_s._

T. Frederick Pearse: ‘Modern Dress and Clothing in its relation to Health and Disease.’ London. 1882. 2_s._

Henry Carr: ‘Poisons in Domestic Fabrics.’ London. 1880. 6_d._

Ardern Holt: ‘Fancy Dresses described; or what to wear at Fancy Balls.’ London. 1882. 5_s._

THE NURSERY.

The Room.--The English nursery should have, wherever possible, a southern aspect, for the sake of catching the sun’s rays to the fullest extent. The prospect from the windows should be cheerful, and there should not be large trees in the immediate vicinity. The sanitary conditions necessary for the house demand extra attention in the nursery, as the young inmates are more prone to suffer from evil influences, and have not the change of air and scene which their elders enjoy. Hence a change of room is very beneficial during the day, and the day room should not be the sleeping room if it can be avoided. A few hours daily in the morning room or drawing room with the parents are productive of both material and moral good. Plenty of houseroom is an excellent rule, too often forgotten in taking seaside lodgings, in the expectation that the children will be out all day, which the state of the weather turns into disappointment. The nursery should be at the top of the house, but not, of course, just under the roof, as such a position is the coldest in winter and hottest in summer. The temperature of both day and night nurseries should be kept as nearly as possible at 60° F., and thermometers should be placed in the rooms for guidance. The height of the room should not exceed 10 ft., or it will be more difficult to keep at an equable temperature. A well ventilated room measuring 15 ft. square and 9 ft. high should suffice for sleeping a nurse and infant and 2 young children. No double-bedded nursery should be less than 15 ft. square. Children between 7 and 10 years may sleep out of the nursery, and above that age the sexes should be separated. A bedroom 14 ft. long and 8 ft. wide will admit a bedstead 4 ft. wide between the wall and door. The fireplace, never absent, should be in the opposite wall beyond the foot of the bedstead. The door should be hung so that when opened it does not admit an indraught of cold air upon the bed. The windows, never quite closed at the top in summer, should have shutters, linen or jute (not woollen) curtains for winter use, and green roller blinds for summer use. The walls are best painted or washed with distemper; if papered, bold patterns and bright colours (especially green) must be avoided, and a coat of varnish should be applied. The ceiling should be tinted sufficiently to destroy glare from the sun or gas. The floor should be stained all over, and varnished under the beds and carpets; the latter, best being Dutch or Kidderminster, should not cover the whole floor, especially under the beds. All furniture and fittings should be free from sharp edges and corners.

Clothing.--This is exceedingly important in very young children from their being especially sensitive to cold. They feel changes from warm to cold, and from cold to warm, much more severely than older persons do. The cold of winter and the east winds of spring are very apt to bring on colds and coughs which may end in serious disease; on the other hand, very great heat is equally bad for them, diarrhœa and convulsions always increase as the weather gets hotter. It is a very serious mistake to think that children have great power of resisting cold, and that they are strengthened and hardened by exposure to it; no error is attended with more fatal results. A child’s clothing should keep it warm at all seasons; the extra winter clothing should be put on early in the autumn and continued until late in the spring. The most trying and dangerous time is when the wind is high, particularly when it blows from the north and east. Flannel is the best material for inner garments, which should be made to cover the upper part of the chest and neck, so as not to leave these most delicate parts exposed to cold blasts. Neglect of this leads to bronchitis and croup, and sows the seeds of consumption. With any tendency to diarrhœa, a flannel binder should be worn round the bowels. The clothes should fit loosely and easily, and put no restraint upon free movement of limbs and body; and allow room for constant and rapid growth. Use a needle and thread or a button instead of pins. Unusual skin irritation may arise from damp under clothing, especially when soda has been used in washing the linen, and only imperfectly removed in rinsing.

The summer outfit for a young baby would include a binder, small cambric shirt, long flannel petticoat, which, being double over the chest and back, is a great protection from the cold, and keeps the legs very warm; a white washing petticoat and robe, not heavily trimmed, and of fine light material; this is quite sufficient. In winter add a knitted woollen spencer, or, what is prettier, a high long-sleeved merino vest, with a fine white cambric guimpe over, prettily tucked and trimmed, with very narrow lace at neck and sleeves. A short-coated baby requires a merino vest, high in winter, low in summer, cambric shirt, small stays, either quilted or made of jean, on to which the flannel petticoat is sewn, white washing petticoat and frock. In the winter there should be in addition a warm white woollen knitted petticoat and bodice in one, not skimpy, but long and full, and knitted with fine soft wool, not the common heavy sorts. The little stays should also be lined with flannel in the winter, and a high white guimpe worn over the vest, unless the white frocks happen to have been made high. Flannel or merino frocks can of course be substituted for washing ones; but, as long as the child dribbles, the latter are much more suitable, as, even when old, they always look well, and to keep a little child sweet, plenty of clean things are essential.

Until a baby can walk, the petticoats and frocks should come over the feet and woollen or silk boots be worn. If a child suffers from the cold, have the little shirt made of silk longcloth, which is warmer than anything of the same weight. Silk boots are warmer than wool, and easily knitted. High merino combinations would be excellent, but they are costly, and apt to be worn soiled. Head flannels are preferable to caps in almost all cases, though some contend that babies who wear caps for the first 2 months are much less liable to colds in the eyes. The greatest safeguard against catching cold out of doors is a large white silk handkerchief, to be worn all the year round, folded crosswise, and put on like an old woman’s shawl, crossed in front and tied behind; if, after the pelisse or jacket is on, you pull this up all round the neck, the child will rarely take cold. Full-skirted pelisses are preferable to jackets for children under 3. When a child is sitting up in a perambulator, a pelisse will pull down all over the feet, whereas a jacket only comes as far as the knees. Nothing equals a merino pelisse lined with flannel, full, and for a small baby long enough to come over the feet about 2 in.; the cape should also be lined with very thin wadding, and have a silk lining.

Cashmere or silk hoods, lined with flannel when cold, are better than fur or woollen. In winter, gaiters and flannel knickerbockers must be added, or, for a child that cannot walk, woollen gaiters that end in a bag, to tie up over the diapers. Fur jackets are unhealthy, producing undue heat, thereby weakening the child, and being very uncomfortable and heavy for running in. Unless there is any tendency to weakness in the ankles, strap shoes are best, both indoors and out; where the ankles are weak, very tight boots are better. The time of changing the knitted boots to regular leather shoes, with socks, entirely depends upon whether the child is forward or not. Fat, heavy children should never be put to their feet early, therefore they may wear their first boots longer than light active ones; probably 7-8 months is quite early enough for the change for any child; but in this matter, as in many others, mothers disagree.

When out of doors, infants up to 10 months old should wear the hoods already described, and warm woollen overdresses made to fasten at the back, as babies’ arms are very easily dislocated, and in garments which fasten down the front, they have to be forced dangerously back into the sleeves. In cold weather young infants should have veils over their faces and mouths. The best things for this purpose are old-fashioned Brussels lace veils, doubled; woollen veils are apt to irritate. Children over 10 months should wear jackets out of doors. Capes are very injurious; they hang entirely from the neck and shoulders, and are apt to open, leaving the chest exposed, and admitting cold air to it and the armpits. Woollen jackets are as a rule preferable to fur unless the latter is very light; for winter wear they should be made long enough to nearly reach the ankle, and should fasten with hooks and eyes down to the very bottom. Children able to walk should have woollen gaiters over their legs when they go out in winter. Choose head gear always of the lightest kind: warm and close fitting in winter; cool and shady in summer.

Washing.--Never put a child to bed dirty. The whole body should be washed every day. Young babies and infants should be bathed and well washed every morning in warm (96°-98° F.) water, and thoroughly well dried afterwards. As they grow older, the water need not be so warm, but it should not be quite cold during the cold weather. In summer cold water is best. Have a large tub and plenty of water. Beware of a chill from draughts while washing and drying the child. Young infants are best washed after their first meal, older children before breakfast. A clean skin is all important; if not washed away, the perspiration dries and remains on the skin, chokes up the pores and sets up an irritation which frequently ends in some positive skin disease. Dry the skin quickly and thoroughly, rub it briskly, and do not leave off until it is perfectly dry; a half dried skin is sure to be made rough and sore very soon by the wind, and the daily morning wash should be a stimulant and tonic to the whole system, helping to make it vigorous and healthy. Sponges are generally used for washing children, and as long as they are not used for any other purpose, there is no objection; but remember that a sponge is very liable to convey infectious diseases and impurities. Some medical men recommend a piece of fine flannel, instead of a sponge. Use the purest soap. Very young infants should have no soap applied near their eyes, as it is liable to produce severe inflammation in them, not to speak of pain from the irritation of soap. It is particularly necessary to attend to the cleanliness and dryness of the napkins; the discharges from the bowels and bladder of a baby are very irritating, and if a wet and dirty napkin is allowed to remain applied to the skin it soon makes it sore, the skin gets inflamed and peels off, and these sores take a long time and much care to heal. The tender skin is soothed and protected by the use of violet powder after being washed. Some toilet powders are, in a degree, antiseptic. French chalk, white fuller’s earth, Taylor’s Cimolia, and sanitary rose powder (containing borax) are among the best. Iron or wire guards are indispensable to nursery fireplaces. It is well to wash and dress a baby near a fire; but never allow the child’s eyes to be exposed to the glare of the fire or its head to be heated.

Air and Exercise.--Children should never be kept indoors simply because the weather is cold; if they are properly dressed, the cold will do them no harm, unless they are already out of health. Even drizzling rain is not to be feared, and the children may be taken out in frosty weather, or slight sleet, and even when the snow is thick on the ground, provided their boots are waterproof, falls not to be feared, and garments all changed on returning home. Fogs and high winds, especially east winds, are to be avoided. Let the little ones be out in the air as much as possible. In winter they should go out in the morning from 10.30-12.30, and in the afternoon from 1.45-3 o’clock. In summer they should be out from 8.30-10.45 in the morning and from 4.30-7 o’clock in the afternoon; their meals must be managed so as to leave these hours free. In winter they should have dinner ¼ hour after returning from their morning airing, and should sleep in the afternoon from 3.30-5 o’clock, when they should have another meal. In summer they should have a very light meal on returning from their morning walk, and be put to sleep at about 11.30, dine at 3 o’clock, and have supper at 7.15. Of course young infants require to be fed more often than this, and cannot be kept out continuously for so long; but they can be taken in for a few minutes, fed, and then brought out again.

Perambulators are a doubtful blessing. A very young child ought to be carried in the arms for the first 6 months; it is so much warmer for one thing. The nurse’s arm, changed at short intervals, should project beyond the baby’s head at the back to protect it from passers by. After 6 months, perambulators may do very well, provided the child is carefully put in, which is very rarely the case. If seated facing forwards, a cold will be the natural result, without taking such care as is beyond the ordinary nursemaid. Every watchfulness must be used to prevent young children getting chills; never let them sit on the grass, nor on a seat which is exposed to the wind in the intervals of play. When they return home warm do not remove their overclothes in a cold room: nothing is more certain to produce ill effects.

Once or twice a day an infant should be set free from all hampering binders, &c.; and laid down on a soft rug on the floor to kick and sprawl to its heart’s content. This is the finest exercise, much better than all the jumping and romping, which only makes a baby giddy and over-excited. Do not be in too big a hurry to teach a child to walk; lay it on its back and let it kick about as much as it likes while it is very young. A little later it may crawl and creep about in perfect safety, but when a child is made to stand before its legs are strong enough to bear it, they are very likely to give way and become bent--the body is too heavy for the weak bones of the legs, and they become deformed.

As the child advances in age and strength, means of a healthy exercise should be provided in the nursery. Beyond the infantile stage of life, the movements of the child become more and more “purposive.” They are performed for definite purposes, and to effect ends which are clearly mapped out in the child’s mind. Hence, as these movements are of more decided character than those of infancy, “games”--which merely represent play with a purpose--are naturally indulged in. The young child does not “play” aimlessly and listlessly, as is too often supposed. If a child is provided with a ball, nothing delights it more than some defined amusement with that toy. It will aim at effecting some particular plan--as, for example, knocking down an object, or catching the ball in its rebound. Possibly the ball is the best plaything for the child just emerged from its infantile state. Freedom of movement is encouraged in such an exercise, and there is, besides, little danger of fatigue or undue prolongation of this exercise. The child should never be set down to regular exercises, or to any stereotyped course of mild gymnastics, until it has reached its seventh or eighth year. Nursery gymnastics and the use of swinging bars, the trapeze, and allied apparatus will only tend to injure the child if they are used before the age of 7-8. The movements these exercises excite and demand are too severe for young children, whilst, on the contrary, they are well adapted for boys and girls of 8-12 years of age. The same caution applies to the use of “dumb-bells,” which are well adapted for boys and girls of 10-11 and onwards, but are injurious to younger children.

Sleep.--Children require much more sleep than adults. They require to be kept very warm when sleeping; the natural warmth of the body is less during sleep than at other times. The hours of sleeping should be made quite regular: this is easy to manage if you begin with a baby at once; they soon acquire regular habits, and in the matter of sleep and feeding, this regularity of habit cannot be begun too soon: a bad habit is difficult to break. For the first few weeks a baby should sleep almost constantly, only awaking at regular intervals to be fed. After the first 2 months it lies awake longer, and is fed less often--it should then be put to sleep for at least 2 hours in the forenoon, from 10-12 or thereabouts, and again in the afternoon for at least an hour. But too much sleep during the day at and after this time spoils the rest at night, which is the most important time for rest. For the first month a child is better to sleep with its mother, after this it may be put into a crib, but never cover its face with a handkerchief, and never have curtains to the crib--they cause the child to breathe its own air over again and always do much harm. Place the crib where no draught can reach it, and let the bedclothes be warm but light. Uneasy sleep is a sign of ill health. An hour’s sleep before dinner should be allowed to children of 4-5 years, after this it may be discontinued. Put them to bed at night between 6-7 o’clock, and they will generally sleep 12-14 hours. Never wake a child suddenly, the change should be gradual. When a child awakes in the morning it should not be permitted to lie long in bed; take it up and dress it, and so you may get it into the regular, healthy, and most valuable habit of early rising. After the child is up let the mattress be well shaken, and have the sheets and blankets thrown over the back of a chair or off the bed, and exposed to the air for an hour or two, that they be thoroughly dried and ventilated. Open the window freely.

Feeding.--Every mother should make it her duty, as it is her privilege, to nurse her baby at the breast. The only exceptions to this rule are those cases in which, because of special delicacy or disease, they are forbidden by the doctor to do so. Whenever, from any cause, the child cannot be brought up on the breast, the only food which should be given to it for the first 7-8 months is the milk of the cow or goat. Milk contains all ingredients necessary for the growth and nourishment of the child; and nothing can take its place. A child’s stomach has not for many months the power to digest foods which contain much starch, such as cornflour, arrowroot, sago, and others; these foods irritate the stomach and bowels, while the child is being starved for want of the only food it can digest. Milk may be given either from the breast of the mother, or from the bottle. If from the latter, care must be taken not to give the food when either too hot or too cold. Dollond, of 1, Ludgate Hill, has introduced a good thermometer for this purpose, on which thick black lines indicate the right temperature. Breast milk is infinitely to be preferred. Let the child have as much breast milk as possible, and only make up the deficiencies with the bottle. The child should be put to the breast early, within the first 12 hours. The first milk is different to what comes afterwards, and helps by gently acting on the bowels to prepare the passages to properly digest the fully formed milk. Instead of doing this nurses are far too apt to administer a dose of castor oil, which is quite unnecessary and wrong. If the milk has not yet come sucking will help it; and if the child cries with hunger, a little weak milk and water may be given with a spoon. The child should be put to the breast regularly at stated intervals--every 2 hours during the day, and less often at night.

The nursing mother should take sufficient good food, but should not drink all sorts of foods at all hours, under the idea that she will thus make more milk. She is more likely to upset her digestion, and injure the quality of her milk. The secret of good nursing lies in keeping in the best health possible: take plenty of fresh air and rest, and sufficient plain, unstimulating food. Any violent nervous excitement, such as anger, fright, anxiety or grief is sure to affect the child. If the mother’s health remains good, she may continue to nurse her child for about 9 months. If the child is thriving well, and has cut several teeth, and especially if the mother’s health begins to suffer, nursing must be at once given up. Nursing beyond a year does harm to both.

Weaning should take place, then, at or about the tenth month. It must be done earlier (a) If the mother’s health is suffering, or if she is attacked by any acute disease; (b) if she becomes pregnant again while nursing the child; (c) if the child is not sufficiently nourished upon the breast milk, yet refuses to take other food. This happens when the milk is too thin and watery, although it may be in sufficient quantity. Carefully watch the condition of the child, and do not rely too much on dates or teething; wean a child gradually, choosing a time when the child is in good health. Begin by lessening the number of times it is allowed to take the breast; thus giving it time to get used to and to relish other food. Reduce by degrees to one breast meal a day; and after about a week, this too must be given up.

Great mortality is found among infants brought up on the bottle, due to the wrong sort of food being put into the bottle. As to the bottle itself, the old-fashioned kind with a cork on one side is the best, because they are simplest, most easily kept clean and sweet, and when they are used, the child must be held in the proper upright position. However near perfection a bottle may be, it is liable to become a source of disease. Rubber parts absorb milk, or in a crack in the material a small quantity may adhere, and undergo fermentation, and the best-directed efforts to keep the tubing clean may not prevent this happening. In the glass part this does not occur readily, as it can be thoroughly cleansed, and there is no risk of absorption. If 2 bottles are used, one can be in operation while the other one is being cleaned. The manner most likely to prevent bad consequences is to thoroughly wash out the bottle after it has been used in tepid water, and then again wash it with water and soda, then thoroughly dry bottle and tubing, and put them in the open air, as on a window-sill, where they can have both sun and air. Of course, the stopper should be out of the bottle. Another method is to allow the bottle to remain in lime-water till next it requires to be used. In cleaning out tubes a brush attached to a strong wire is needed.

Cow’s milk is the best substitute for a child’s natural food. But in order to make cow’s milk as like the mother’s milk as possible, you must dilute it with water and add some sugar. At first the proportions should be at least equal parts of milk and water, with a small quantity of sugar; if the milk be very poor, a dessert spoonful of cream may be added to each meal with benefit. As cow’s milk soon turns acid, a tablespoonful of lime-water in each bottle is often useful in making it agree better with the child. This is particularly advisable in warm weather. Boil all milk intended for the child’s use as soon as it comes into the house. Where there is any doubt about the purity of the water, boil it too. After the first 6 weeks, the proportions should be ⅔ to ⅓ water; and after the fourth month the milk may be given plain. For at least the first 7 months the child should have no other nourishment whatever. Smell the bottle before you put a fresh meal into it, and if there is the least sourness about either bottle or nipple, wash it until it smells fresh and sweet. Feed at regular hours--every 2 hours during the day, and twice during the night, for the first 6 weeks: after this every 3 hours is often enough, but then the quantity of each meal must be larger. Never give a child a bottle merely to keep it quiet; you damage both stomach and character. The food should be as near the heat of the body as possible, i.e. at or about 98° F. Cold milk delays digestion, and does injury. If the child is allowed to lie on the back, it gets the milk too fast, and indigestion follows. If good cow’s milk cannot be got, Swiss condensed milk is useful, but it must not be given too strong; ½ teaspoonful to a teacup of water is plenty to begin with. For the first 4 months it is an excellent substitute for ordinary milk, and most children thrive on it; but do not continue its use too long. If the child is thriving and has cut several of its front teeth, at the age of 7-8 months, not earlier, farinaceous food may be given once or twice a day. Still, foods which contain much starch are to be avoided, such as arrowroot, sago, corn-flour. The best to begin with is oatmeal gruel, well-boiled and strained, or, as a change, milk thickened with a rusk or well-baked flour; Chapman’s entire wheat flour is excellent, and to be preferred to ordinary wheat flour, as it contains the phosphates of the wheat, and a peculiar ferment which changes starch into sugar.

Cow’s milk and Robinson’s patent barley (prepared by Keen, Robinson, and Bellville) is recommended for use by Dr. Pye Chavasse in his work entitled ‘Advice to a Mother,’ as the best artificial food for infants, stating that “children apparently dying of starvation, soon after taking it, quickly pick up flesh, their bodies fill out, they sleep, they loose all pain,” &c. To a good tablespoonful of the patent barley, mixed with a wineglassful of cold water, add one-and-a-half gills of boiling water, stir this over the fire while boiling for six minutes, and then feed the infant. The same proportion of milk may be used instead of water when the baby is weaned. Alternately with Robinson’s patent barley, Robinson’s patent groats may be used with good results.

Some of the more expensive artificial foods are prepared in such a way that the starch is rendered soluble and easily digested, effected mainly by the addition of malt and the employment of heat. But if oatmeal and plain wheaten flour agree with your children use them. These farinaceous meals should be given once, or, at most, twice a day, remembering that the greater part of a child’s nourishment should still be milk.

In those rare cases where milk cannot be taken by a child, often barley-water, mixed in equal quantities with the milk, will make it agree, by lessening and softening the curd; sometimes the whey of the milk, separated from the curd by rennet, and made richer by adding 1 part cream, which contains no curd, to 4 of the whey, makes a digestible food. Sometimes it is necessary to feed for a day or two on rice water, with the boiled rice pounded and mixed in it; but such cases are serious, and demand medical advice.

When a child has cut most of its front teeth--that is to say, towards the end of the first year, it may be given once a day a meal of a meat broth with barley in it, or of gravy and bread crumbs. The broth should be made by cutting up the meat finely and letting it stand for 2-3 hours in cold water and then boiling it. At about the same time, or a little later, a lightly-boiled (much better raw) egg may be used instead of the broth, once or twice a week; or a well-boiled mealy potato, carefully mashed and mixed with good meat gravy. No solid meat food should be given to a child under 2 years of age, nor until it has cut all its teeth, for the simple reason that until its back teeth are ready for use, it is unable to masticate such food so as to prepare it to be digested in the stomach. After this a little meat well-cooked may be given to a child occasionally; but it should not form part of its every-day food. It is a great mistake to give weakly and delicate children much animal food; for the first 3 years, the less they have the better. The best food is not that which contains most nourishment, but which is best adapted to the digestive organs. Whenever animal food is given, it should be minced very fine, or bruised in a mortar, to make up for non-mastication. Bread-and-butter, oatmeal porridge, milk, rice, and light puddings should form the staple diet. Avoid stimulants, tea, cakes, and pastry. The plainer and simpler the food, the stronger and healthier will be the child. Compel children to eat slowly; and only allow them to eat at meal times.

Teething.--The number of first or milk teeth which a child gets is 20; they come in regular order, and at definite intervals; 8 front teeth, 4 above and 4 below, called “incisors”; eye teeth, 2 above and 2 below, called “canines”; and 8 back teeth, 2 above and 2 below on each side, called “molars.” The order in which they ought to come is:--the two lower middle incisors at about the seventh month, seldom earlier; followed in a few weeks by the 2 upper middle incisors; almost immediately afterwards, the other 2 upper incisors, one on each side of the middle ones; a week or two later, the two other incisors in the lower jaw come through, so that all the incisors generally appear before any of the other teeth, and, being smaller than the others, are generally cut without much trouble; by the end of the tenth or eleventh month, after an interval of about 2 months, the first 4 molars appear, and occupy 2 months, more or less, in making their way through the gums; after another interval of 2-3 months, the eye teeth begin, and are fully cut by the end of the eighteenth or twentieth month; this is followed by another period of rest, after which the 4 back molars come, and soon after the end of the second year the first dentition is complete. Teething is a natural process; but the period in which it is going on is a time of change from one mode of living to another, so that when a child is teething, it requires more than ordinary care. Its bowels must be kept in good order, rather too loose than too confined; give it abundance of fresh air, and avoid changes of diet just when the teeth are coming through; cooling drinks of milk and water, or barley water, are useful to allay the thirst, and cool the hot mouth; warm baths at night relieve feverishness which is often present; if the gums are swollen and inflamed, a touch of the lance will be productive of great relief. While the teeth are “breeding” in the gums, the irritation may be reduced by gently rubbing them, or by giving the child a crust or indiarubber pad to bite; but shortly before they break through the gum the mouth is so tender that the child will allow nothing to go near it, and it is just at this time that lancing is of most service.

Illness.--Infantile disorders within the range of domestic medicine are chiefly diarrhœa and constipation. The former, in a suckled child, will probably be due to the condition of the mother, who should carefully regulate her own bowels, taking a simple aperient, like castor oil or rhubarb if necessary. Diarrhœa, with bottle feeding, may arise from sour food: boil the milk, mix it with barley water instead of water, make it weaker, and add 2 tablespoonfuls lime-water or a few grains soda bicarbonate to every ½ pint food. See that cold to feet or body is not the cause. For constipation, generally occurring in bottle-fed infants, reduce the food, omit lime-water, and change one meal a day from milk to thin oatmeal gruel. Avoid medicines, except perhaps 30 gr. manna in 1 tablespoonful distilled water, or 1 tablespoonful fluid magnesia in the food of one meal for a day or two, or castor oil if a severe case. Gentle injection of a little warm water is an excellent thing in stubborn cases. Vaccination is a paramount duty hardly requiring mention. Especially beware of chills during convalescence. Exposure to cold after scarlet fever brings dropsy and kidney diseases, and consumption and bronchitis follow whooping-cough and measles.

Medicines kept should be under lock and key, for obvious reasons. The following may be found useful:--Ipecacuanha wine and powder, say of the former 2 oz. and of the latter 1 dr.; grey powder, 1 dr.; castor oil 6 oz.; antimonial wine, 1 oz.; sulphate of zinc, 1 dr.; fluid magnesia, 6 oz.; lime-water, by the gallon, if the infant is brought up by bottle; laudanum or solution of morphia, 1 oz.; Bow’s liniment, or camphor liniment; spongio-piline, for application of fomentation or as a poultice. Lint, oiled silk, and gutta-percha tissue, with 6 oz. carbolic lotion, strength 1 to 40. These are mostly for use by the medical attendant; amateur doctors should restrict themselves to giving a dose of castor oil or fluid magnesia.

Moral Training.--Why do women intrust their young children to the care of low-minded ignorant girls, when least able to take care of themselves, yet exercise so much caution to prevent familiar intercourse with servants and inferiors in later youth? With proper treatment, plenty of well-bred and well-educated girls could be found to take nursemaids’ places, to the great advantage of both children and nurse. Obviously, no girl who is not fit to be a companion, an intimate companion, of the mother, is fit to be the guardian and guide of that mother’s children. The nursemaid should be a girl or woman of culture, and not be expected to do anything menial. Early training of children is of great importance. Be with them as gentle, loving, and patient as you can be, but at the same time be firm. Never deceive a child, and never let it weary you into granting a request you have once refused as injudicious. Teach it from the first to bear and to forbear, to obey at once, and to be courteous; the little wretch who snatches anything he fancies, and howls like a monkey if crossed is a pitiable little object, the victim to his parents’ folly, who were too selfish to give themselves the trouble and vexation of training him.

Never allow children to be rude and unceremonious to each other because they are brothers and sisters. Be extra careful of your language and manners before children. Never lose your temper with them, never frighten them, and above all things do not strike a child on the head; there is a certain portion of the body especially intended by nature for receiving castigation. Never flatter nor pet a child, nor allow self-admiration to grow upon it. Reduce children’s parties to sensible hours--3-7 for the little ones, and not later than 9 for the older ones--and provide more sensible amusements and less empty show and finery. Dancing, magic-lanterns, shadows, and scores of simple games will occur to every one. Avoid all toys which are painted or gaudily coloured.

One word about foreign nurses. They are often engaged with the object of early commencing the acquirement of a foreign language, generally French. But it must not be forgotten that the class of girl obtainable as a nurse is not likely to be capable of teaching the refined language or accent. These nurses may be engaged through the International Institution, 69 Berners Street, London, W.

THE SICKROOM.

=The Room.=--The rules which apply to dwelling rooms generally have a double importance in the case of the sickroom. The sanitation, ventilation, warming, and lighting, all demand extra care and attention. A southern aspect is preferable to any other; the room should be cheerful, spacious, and lofty, and subject to the invaluable effect of sunshine. It would be desirable for all houses, even of moderate size, to have some one corner suitable for a sickroom. If space admits of such a room being entirely isolated from the rest of the house, so much the better; but much may be done by securing two rooms opening into each other, with hot and cold water supply within easy reach, and a closet properly placed. When necessary, the room should be kept clean by dusting with a damp cloth, rubbing the floors in the same way.

Ordinarily, the chimney is the best ventilator, especially when the fire is burning, which increases the upward draught. Never stuff up chimneys: and except in very warm weather, always keep a fire in the sickroom. It is not always easy to maintain at the same time proper warmth and ventilation. But as a person is not liable to take cold when well covered up in bed, a little of the window may almost always be kept open, without fear of its doing harm, especially if a piece of fine gauze be gummed or tacked across the opening so as to break the force of the entering air. In ordinary sickness the best temperature is 62°-70° F. It should not be allowed to vary much, and as feeling is often deceptive, it is always advisable to keep a thermometer in the room.

For the removal of slops, the ordinary paraphernalia of the housemaid should be completely excluded from the sickroom, as both noisy and disgusting. All vessels when used, instead of being put under the bed, must be immediately removed and emptied outside, and brought back carefully rinsed, and, when necessary, deodorised with a little Condy’s fluid. Allow no confusion of medicine bottles, soiled glasses, spoons, and such matters about the room: those in immediate use should be kept arranged ready to hand; all others should be removed.

Even with the greatest care fires will burn down low, and it is necessary to have some means of restoration at hand. Few people know how valuable wine corks are for this purpose; they should always be saved, and a few kept in a corner of the coal basket. Orange and lemon peel likewise, when well dried, make capital fire revivers; and rather than that the fire in a sickroom should be allowed to go out, use a lump of white sugar or a sprinkling of brown, which will create in a moment a bright flame and revive the dying embers. Employ a pointed hard wooden stick instead of a poker; it makes so much less noise. Let a basket take the place of the coal-scuttle, and let its contents consist of fair-sized lumps, about as big as a French roll; a housemaid’s glove should be at hand to put these on with. This is the provision for the day. For the night small paper bags, such as fruiterers use, should be filled with about 1 lb. of small coal. This does not burn so fast or make so much flame as the lumps, whilst the feeding of the fire by these means divests the process of noise.

As little furniture as possible should encumber the room. No foot-stools, boxes, or baskets should be in the way, to be tripped over; no knick-knacks crowded on tables or mantelpieces to harbour dust, take up room, or tumble down with a crash. Various forms of sickroom furniture, adapted for confirmed invalids and serious surgical cases, are made by Alfred Carter, 97 Holborn Viaduct, and by Robinson and Sons, Ilkley, Yorkshire, whose catalogues will be worth getting.

Of carpets, the less the better; but if any are used, mere strips or rugs are best, as they are easily taken up and shaken, or cleaned. Curtains should be got rid of, especially if of woollen or stuff; cotton and linen should be used for any sofa or chair coverings.

Windows should be made to open easily from both top and bottom, whilst some contrivance is necessary to prevent any rattling noise from either window-frames or outer blinds. Venetian blinds, imperfect at the best, are quite unsuitable for a sickroom, being always noisy, and sure to admit alternate rays of light. Nothing wakes many people so quickly as light--a mere crevice unprotected is often enough. In the evening, be sure that the light of the lamp or candle does not fall in the patient’s eyes; there is nothing more distressing. Gas in a sick room is not healthy; a Queen’s reading-lamp, with a green shade, is pleasant for a stationary light, and a candle for moving about.

Real quiet is of paramount importance. Even “noiseless” crockery can now be obtained. The principle adopted is that of noiseless tyres to wheels, made of rubber, such tyres being fitted to the bottoms of the jugs, basins, &c.

One thing that would give great pleasure to many a bedridden sufferer is a looking-glass--sometimes two may, from the position of the bed, be necessary--fixed so as to reflect all the passers-by, or to show a patch of bright flower garden, bringing some of the outside life into the sickroom. Ferns growing beneath a bell glass, where they need no care or attention after they are once planted, may also be introduced. Plants in pots and cut flowers will occur to every one; it only remains to observe that growing plants, for their own sake as well as for the patient, should be moved out of the room at night, and that cut flowers from the side of a fever patient must be burnt in the room when they are dead, and not carried into any other part of the house.

=The Nurse.=--The Lancet insists that there is no more excuse for a nurse making a “guy” of herself than for her being decked out in vulgar finery, with her hair got up after an elaborate style which it would take her half the day to arrange. Print dresses of pretty pattern, or grey alpacas, according to season, with a light white cap, linen cuffs and collars, scrupulously white and clean, and a coloured neck ribbon, would be infinitely preferable to the black costumes of the sisterhoods. The heavy woollen dresses worn by some sisterhoods are not all that is desirable in a sanitary point of view. They do not “show dirt,” it is true; but it would be better if they did; and in their folds it is not impossible that germs of disease may be carried about. It may be laid down as a rule that nothing in a nurse’s dress that rustles, creaks, flaps, or catches can be in place. It is evident that this rule forbids silk dresses, stiff stays, trailing robes, and ornaments that are likely to throw things down. High heels are, of course, quite out of the question, as is any fashion which interferes with easy movement on the part of the nurse. Quietness, softness, usefulness are the points to be aimed at in the costume of a nurse; and if brightness can be given by a ribbon, the brightness may well be superadded. A nurse should wear no rings, and her nails should be kept cut very close. The sleeves of her dress should admit of being turned or rolled up above the elbow.

Never think any change in the patient’s manner or appearance too trifling to tell the doctor of it. Unimportant as you may deem it, it may be the very symptom he is watching for. Tell the doctor everything fully and truly, and above all, obey him implicitly. Never act against his orders, or tamper with them in any way. If you think any change in treatment judicious, ask his opinion first before trying it, but do not do things unknown to him. In this watchfulness and strict obedience lie the chief difference between professional and amateur nursing, and also too often the great advantage gained by employing the former over the latter. The several symptoms should be written down by the nurse from time to time on a slip of paper, always at hand, for the doctor.

Always save whatever has been vomited by a patient for the doctor to see, and be able to give information as to when the vomiting took place, whether directly after food or liquid had been taken, or not; notice whether there was much straining or retching before actual vomiting occurred, also if it was preceded by pain, and the situation of the pain. Remove the vomit from the room immediately.

In the case of coughing, observe whether it comes on in paroxysms, or is incessant; whether it is dry and hard, or moist and accompanied with expectoration; whether it is worse at any particular time, and is attended with pain. If there is expectoration, this should be kept for the doctor’s inspection. If blood is brought up, note whether it is coughed up, vomited, or brought up from the back of the throat or mouth; remark whether the expectoration adheres to the side of the spitting-cup, or flows easily.

The number of times the bowels are moved in the 24 hours must be noted, and whether the motion is attended with pain, griping, or straining; also the colour of the motion, and, if the patient passes worms, whether they are round or flat, tape, or small and thread-like. Note in what quantities urine is passed; also how often, whether with any discomfort or pain either before or after, its colour and consistence, and if there be any deposit, its colour also.

Do not forget to give messages of inquiry, as sick people think much of such kindnesses. Do not read letters out without reading them to yourself first; you may come upon some passage about the patient that you do not care to repeat, and your hesitation will make him anxious and uncomfortable. In convalescence books are often a difficulty, and require most careful choosing. Something not exciting, but thoroughly amusing, is generally the best thing--the lightest novel you can find. In any case, be careful not to read too long at a time; the strain of listening and attending is very tiring. In extreme weakness, when there is nothing to be done, say something from time to time to take off the sense of loneliness, but do not ask unnecessary questions or touch your patient--it is very tiring; and never at any time lean against the bed and shake it, and do not put anything heavy over the patient’s feet; the weight tires, and a hot bottle warms much more effectually.

Remember that the process of settling for the night takes a long time, and be sure to begin early. Some people sleep better in the first part of the night, and you should notice the hour at which the patient gets sleepy, and arrange accordingly; if kept awake long past that hour, a restless night will be the consequence. It is never wise to wake the patient, even to give medicine, except by the doctor’s orders. You should have a small tray arranged with all the things you are likely to want in the night, except medicines. By means of the judiciously-placed screen, anything that has to be brought in can be quietly handed over the top without a sound. Door-hinges and handles should be carefully eased and oiled.

Real quietude means the absence of all excitement, and it must be remembered that anything out of the common will tend to excite the mind of a sufferer. Do not, therefore, walk on tip toe, for this, in addition to its unusual elaboration of the gait, invariably causes a certain amount of creaking. Speak in low tones, but do not whisper. A whisper will often awake a sleeper who would not be disturbed by an ordinary conversation; and never say “hush!” Let your clothes and foot covering be of as noiseless and unobtrusive a character as possible, and instead of gliding and tottering about like a rickety ghost, do not hesitate to walk. If you have occasion to say anything in the room, say it so that the patient can hear it if he wishes, and do not let him be aware of your conspiring privately with the others, especially at the door. The door has much to answer for. If it be visible from the bed, people open it cautiously, put their heads in and slowly withdraw again. If, as is more frequently the case, it is screened by the bed curtains, mysterious openings and shuttings are heard, unattended with any apparent ingress or egress, and sotto voce colloquies going on outside. When you enter, do so honestly and at once. Do not spend 5 minutes in turning the handle, thereby producing a series of irritating little clicks, finally terminating in a big snap, with which the door flies open. If the latch be at all rusty, a handle that is slowly wound back in this way will often stick, and either require to be rattled back in position, or, if left as it is, may start back suddenly, after a time, of its own accord, with a report like a pistol shot.

A bracket or table on the landing or in an adjoining room, where one can keep a basin, water, and a cloth for washing cups, &c., can nearly always be managed; and even if one has to carry everything up and down stairs, the comfort to the patient of systematic, dainty cleanliness more than repays the trouble. Some nurses seem to think it enough to place anything used outside the sickroom door, trusting to a chance maid seeing it and carrying it off. But this proceeding often worries the patient most exceedingly. He or she lies there and fidgets over the chance of that stray cup being whisked over by a passing skirt, with an ominous clatter and smash; and though this probably does not happen, the expectation of it keeps the mind on tenter-hooks, and prevents needful rest.

Let visitors sit between the door and the patient, getting the benefit of the air and not between him and the fire, thus getting in the direct current of foul air rushing towards the fireplace; they should be well in sight of the patient, and never admitted at meal times. While talking to the patient it is better to sit by the side of the bed and as near the pillow as possible, so that you may converse easily, while your face and body are turned in the same direction as his. By this means you can make all necessary observation of his features without enforcing the arrest of his eyes on your own, which is so embarrassing and disagreeable to one lying in bed, and is almost unavoidable when facing him. Keep him in as comfortable a position as possible, by all means, but do not be too demonstrative in smoothing the pillows and little offices of that sort. Fidgety attentions will worry and do more harm than downright neglect.

=The Bed.=--The best kind of bed for the sick is a small iron bedstead, about 3½ ft. wide and not too high, with firm, level, spring mattress, and light warm covering, avoiding large heavy linen counterpanes, which, though oppressively weighty, give but little heat. It should be placed in such a position as will be most out of draughts, and at the same time convenient for the nurse in performing personal services for the patient. It must never have either side against a wall, nor be between the door and the fire. It is a point of some importance, especially in cases of long illness, to arrange the position of the bed so that the sick person can see the fire or look out of window. A second bed, or hammock, or stretcher on wheels, is often very useful for shifting the patient on to while airing and making the other bed.

Good bed-making is imperative in sickness, and nothing is a better test of a nurse’s capacity than the way she keeps her patient’s bed. Some nurses are eternally fidgeting till they work the unhappy invalid into a frenzy. Others, again, in their dread of disturbing him, let the patient toss everything to the wildest confusion, trusting to one grand and general clearing up to set matters right. A good nurse keeps things straight almost unconsciously, taking advantage of any chance the patient gives to smooth out the crumpled sheet, or tossed bed-clothes, with a strong even pull, or to replace a heated, crushed pillow with a fresh cool one (though careful that, if cool, it is not chilly). Remember when smoothing a sickbed never to jerk or twitch the clothes, and be always sure your attempts do not endanger anything that may be lying on the bed, and whose downfall would most certainly disturb and flurry the invalid. A wide bed in a measure is a substitute for having 2 beds, as considerable relief may be obtained by using alternate sides of the bed; moreover, you can cool one side when the patient is on the opposite side, by turning back the clothes so as to let the air reach the lower sheet. Bed linen should always, if possible, be exposed to the open air, in the sun and wind, before using, as this freshens it most effectually, whilst a drop or two of good lavender or rose water sprinkled on sheet and pillow-case add greatly to the pleasantness. The best way of making a bed so as to give the least possible disturbance to the sick person, and prevent bed sores, is laid down in these rules:--(1) Keep the sheet below the patient perfectly smooth; (2) wash the parts where the bone is prominent daily with soap and warm water, dry them well, rub them over with a little spirits of wine or whisky to harden the skin; (3) change the patient’s position frequently; (4) never let him lie on a blanket; a freshly-made bed, a good sponge over with vinegar and water, would often, after a restless, sleepless night, have the good effect of making the patient fall into a sound sleep. It is best to make a good lather with the soap, and not to use much water. Zinc-powder and boracic acid powder are often used to powder the back after the washing.

A very common torment of invalids is the weight of the bed clothes. They are heavy, but not warm. For the rich, blankets and eiderdown quilts are easily obtained; but for the poor, paper is far better than many more costly coverlids. It is by no means necessary to spend money on a paper blanket, though these are excellent; a few sheets of brown paper, or even newspapers, pasted together to the size of the bed, add greatly to the warmth and practically nothing to the weight. If it is not the beat possible covering, it is very good, and absolutely costless.

It is often necessary to change the sheets without disturbing the patient. This can be done either from side to side or from head to foot. The former method consists in loosely rolling up the soiled sheet sideways, from the side of the bed where there is most unoccupied space, until the roll can be pressed against the patient’s side. The clean sheet, previously loosely rolled up from side to side, is then unrolled over the uncovered part of the bed, until the clean roll lies by the side of the soiled one. The patient is now lifted over on to the clean sheet, the soiled sheet is taken away, and the spreading of the clean sheet is completed. The second plan is to roll up a clean sheet loosely from end to end. Beginning at the head of the bed, the soiled sheet is rolled down from underneath the bolster, and the clean sheet unrolled after it, and arranged in its place. The shoulders of the patient should then be raised a little, and the soiled sheet rolled down from under them, while the clean sheet is unrolled to follow it. The hips, and lastly the legs and feet, are to be gently raised one after another in a similar manner, the soiled sheet taken away at the foot of the bed, and the unrolling of the clean sheet completed.

With paralysed and other helpless patients, frequent washing or sponging is more necessary, and the draw-sheet becomes useful. This consists of a small sheet folded lengthwise 2 or 3 times, so that when placed beneath the patient it may reach from the middle of the back to the knees. One end of the folded sheet should be the part first used, the rest being loosely rolled up to within a few inches of the patient’s side. As the sheet becomes soiled, the unused portion is unrolled sufficiently for the soiled part to be drawn from under the sick person, and a clean part substituted. The soiled portion is rolled up as it is withdrawn, and secured by a safety-pin. A piece of waterproof sheeting or a strip of thin oil-cloth passed beneath the draw-sheet still further protects the bed.

Bedding and pillows should not be too soft, otherwise the patient is continually sinking into hollows, and becoming hot and restless in consequence. When a patient needs to be propped up, the greatest mistakes are made. Pillows are jammed and wedged in at the patient’s back till he is completely built in. A cheap and simple pillow which doctors strongly recommend as a support in such cases is made of chaff, or chopped straw, and stuffed hard. It is covered with any cheap material, and is shaped like a writing desk--that is to say, it is made to slope. It should be a little longer than an ordinary pillow, and should be 8-12 in. deep behind and 3-4 in. in front. Ordinary pillows (1 or 2) placed upon this as a basement make a capital back-rest for persons suffering, say, from bronchitis. Such a rest has many advantages: it does not give way, hence the patient no longer finds himself from time to time in a deep hole; it allows the arms and shoulders free movement; it is also cooler, and permits more frequent change of posture. In propping a patient up it should always be remembered that the back needs support as well as the head and shoulders.

A very great comfort to sick people, especially to those who have to be left much alone, is to be furnished with some simple arrangement by which they can raise themselves into the sitting posture and so maintain themselves with slight effort. This can be attained by fixing a length of strong webbing to the foot of the bed, and placing knots upon it at intervals, so as to enable it to be more readily and firmly grasped. A netted bed-rest, 3 yd. in length, is a very simple and useful contrivance; its main use is the same as that of the knotted webbing, but by allowing it to pass round the back of the invalid, and spreading it out, it makes an exceedingly pleasant bed-rest, fashioned on the principle of the hammock. A swing bed-rest has several advantages. It is very cool, and allows a free play of air on all sides of the patient, which is a very important advantage. It permits, moreover, considerable movement, and does away with the fatiguing restraint of keeping the body in one position. If the ventilation through the network be too great, or the weather be cold, a pillow can be placed against the patient’s back, within the rest. Instead of the rest being netted, it may be made of strong towelling, which will bear rougher usage. Its strength and serviceability will be increased by stitching here and there bands of webbing; and at each of its narrower ends strong broad tapes must be fastened, by which it can be secured to the foot of the bed. Such netted bed-rests can be had (5_s._ 6_d._ each) at the Depot for Ladies’ Work, 16, King Street, Manchester.

Bedridden patients, and those who are paralysed or otherwise reduced to a condition of great weakness, often complain that they are continually slipping down in the bed. Often a box or footstool is slipped in at the foot of the bed, that the patient’s feet may be pressed firmly against it to prevent slipping. But this cannot be long continued where the legs are weak, for the muscles become exhausted, the knees give way, and then the slipping goes on just as badly as ever. This can be prevented, if a little round pillow, 3-4 in. only in diameter, be fixed so that the patient, though lying down, as it were sits upon it. Such a pillow, to answer its purpose, must be tied in its position very securely, and this may be done by a piece of webbing attached to each end, and tied either to the head or sides of the bedstead.

Following is a way to make pillows with paper stuffing. Use any sort of paper, and tear all into small square or oblong pieces. Then roll each piece between the finger and thumb into a tiny spiral, exactly as if beginning to make round spills. It is very little trouble to do. It is a most suitable occupation for blindman’s holiday, or for people with weak eyesight; and the pillows, as may be supposed, are far more elastic than if made of the same paper, flat. Of course, it is most suitable for an under pillow, if one has a choice; but so long as there are so many unfortunate invalids without any pillows at all, the plan is worthy of remembrance.

A table to stand on the bed is very convenient for trays, &c. It can be bought ready made, and is not at all expensive, or a very little ingenuity is needed to make one. About 2 ft. long, hollowed out on one side, and 1 ft. broad, is a good size. The legs may be 6-7 in. high.

The bed can be refreshed and aired by raising and lowering the clothes so as to produce a fanning motion. To turn a pillow without fatiguing the patient, put the hollowed palm of one hand at the back of his head while with the other you quickly reverse the pillow and replace it. To lay a bed with a waterproof sheet for temporary use, first make the bed with a blanket beneath the under sheet, and then spread the waterproof, a blanket and another sheet, without tucking in. When done with, it is only necessary to draw out the waterproof with its blanket and sheet, leaving the patient on a fresh sheet. No amount of care will keep crumbs out of a sickbed; they catch in every fold and frill and pass up the sleeves, and demand a search after every meal in which bread figures. To avoid rucks in the under sheets, stretch it tight on the mattress and fasten it down with safety pins.

=Sickroom accessories.=--These are of a varied character, and will be described under separate headings.

Poultices. Linseed.--The great art of poultice-making consists in applying it to the patient sufficiently hot, and, therefore, it is advisable to warm all the materials before beginning. Put the linseed (crushed or meal) before the fire or in the oven for 20 minutes to heat. Use by preference a tin bowl, and scald it with boiling water; then pour in as much boiling water as will be needed for the poultice, sprinkle in the hot linseed with one hand, and stir vigorously with a knife to the required thickness. To judge of this requires some practice. A poultice should be somewhat moister, if applied to an open wound, than if it is intended to relieve some internal pain; but in no case ought it to be sufficiently moist to stick in patches to the skin of the patient. The next step is to take a square of rag or paper ½ in. larger all round than the poultice is intended to be; spread the linseed on this about ½ in. thick, leaving the edges clear; fold the rag over on each side, and apply at once, covering with a pad of cotton wool and a layer of indiarubber or oil silk to keep the heat in. It is a good plan to oil the face of the poultice with a feather, as this effectually keeps it from sticking to the skin, even if it is not well mixed, and it is better than to put the poultice into a muslin. If, however, the muslin is preferred, on no account should a bag be made, for the poultice cools while it is being put in. A large piece of old linen, folded over at the back, like a parcel, keeps the linseed in, and makes at the same time a pad to cover it. Failing linseed meal, you can use either oatmeal or bran; if oatmeal, then boil it with the water like porridge. A poultice should be larger than appears absolutely necessary. It is intended to allay pain and inflammation, and as the pain probably extends beyond the inflamed part, a large poultice should be made to cover the inflamed part. Dr. Atkinson says that meal deprived of its oil is far better than that from which the oil has not been extracted. The latter does not retain its heat as long, and, unless covered by some fabric, is not so easily removed as the poultice made from the former. The exhausted meal takes up more water, and retains its heat longer. In making a poultice, the meal should be thoroughly stirred with a spoon while boiling water is gradually added, and when of proper (rather soft) consistence, should be spread on linen. The ability to bear the heat on the back of the hand is a good test of the degree to be used. The poultice should be applied directly to the skin, without intervening fabric, and be covered on the outside with good oiled-silk. A teaspoonful of laudanum may be sprinkled on the surface to increase its anodyne effects, or in place of water may be used a boiling infusion of camomile or poppy-heads. When the skin is inflamed, 3 grs. sulphate zinc or alum may be added to each oz. of water. A solution of 1-40 of carbolic acid may be used instead of simple water in the case of sloughing wounds. Once in 4 hours is a good rule to follow in changing poultices on the chest, the front and back being covered by separate poultices, and only one should be removed at a time. A fresh one should be ready when the change is made. Frequent changes are most grateful in cases of abdominal pain.

To relieve spasm, as in colic--intestinal, biliary, or renal; to relieve inflammation of the pleura (lining membrane of the chest), the lungs, the liver, or other organs, it is essential to apply the poultice as hot as possible, while protecting the skin from being scalded. In order to do this, a flannel bag should be prepared, a convenient size being 12 in. by 8; this should be closed at 3 edges and open at the fourth; one side of it should be 1-1½ in. longer than the other, and it is convenient also to have 4 tapes attached at the points which form the corners when the bag is closed, in order to keep the poultice in position. Besides this, another strip of flannel should be prepared of the same breadth as the length of the bag, and long enough to wrap round it once or oftener. Crushed linseed, bowl, and spoon should be got together, and the spoon and bowl thoroughly heated by means of boiling water; the poultice should then be made with perfectly boiling water, and rather soft. As soon as it is ready, it should be poured into the bag, previously warmed by holding it before the fire; the flap which is formed by the longest side of the bag should now be turned down and fastened in its place by a few long stitches with a needle and thread; it should then be quickly wrapped in the strip of flannel (also previously warmed), and fastened in situ, if necessary, by means of the tapes. It may be covered outside with a sheet of cotton wool. In this way the poultice may be applied boiling hot to the skin without burning; the 2 layers of flannel which are at first dry allow the heat to pass very gradually indeed to the skin; as the moisture of the poultice soaks through them they become better conductors, and the heat passes more quickly, but the increase is so gradual as not to cause any painful sensations whatever, but only one of soothing and comfort. The poultice also naturally keeps much longer hot, and the necessity for changing it arises much less frequently. The difference between the effect of a poultice made in the ordinary way and in the manner just described is sometimes exceedingly striking. It is, perhaps, less marked in cases of inflammation than in those of spasm.

Bread.--In a small and perfectly clean saucepan have a teacupful of boiling water. Add breadcrumbs, or the crumb of a stale loaf: 1½-2 oz. will be sufficient for this quantity of water, and let it soak over the fire for about 5 minutes. Then turn it into a piece of rag, and spread it of suitable size and evenly. This plan ensures its being hot.

Mustard.--If a mustard poultice is wanted it can be made in the same way as linseed, save by adding a certain proportion of dry mustard to the linseed. Some persons prefer to boil a little mustard in the water that is to be used. Dr. Tyson, of Philadelphia, recommends the addition of molasses to mustard in making plasters. This furnishes a mild persistent counter-irritant which can be worn for hours. Leaves of so-called “mustard paper” may be made as follows: The mustard must be deprived of all fatty matters; the adhesive agent must contain neither alcohol, resin, nor fatty matter; nor must it be of the nature of a plaster. Submit the mustard farina to strong pressure, and wash with sulphide of carbon or petroleum essence. Spread on paper an adhesive liquid formed of a solution of 4-5 parts caoutchouc in 100 parts mixed carbon sulphide and petroleum essence. Sprinkle over the freshly coated paper by means of a sieve, the prepared mustard. Pass between two rollers, and afterwards gently warm to promote volatilisation of the liquid solvents used. Cut to pattern as required.

Court Plaster.--This is generally bought. To make it, soak isinglass in a little warm water for 74 hours, then evaporate nearly all the water by gentle heat, dissolve the residue in a little proof spirits of wine, and strain the whole through a piece of open linen. The strained mass should be a stiff jelly when cool. Now stretch a piece of silk or sarcenet on a wooden frame, and fix it tight with tacks or pack-thread. Melt the jelly and apply it to the silk thinly and evenly, with a badger-hair brush. A second coating must be applied when the first has dried. When both are dry, apply over the whole surface 2 or 3 coatings of the balsam of Peru. Plaster thus made is very pliable and never breaks.

To make it without silk, mix enough collodion with castor oil to render it elastic when dry, the oil having profusely been rubbed with some zinc oxide. Into this mixture dip glass plates, and, after drying, redip and redry 2 or 3 times, or until a film of suitable thickness is obtained. Upon this paint the usual solution of isinglass to give it adhesiveness, and, after again drying, separate it from the glass.

Applying cold to the Head.--Take one fold of cotton or linen rag, soak it in cold water, the colder the better, squeeze dry and apply it as rapidly as possible. Do not take a large piece of cloth folded several times, and keep squeezing it in your hand till it is quite hot and then put on. One fold of cloth, the thinner the better, dipped often in the cold water and rapidly applied gives great relief in headaches, for example. If you can procure ice put a piece in the water. Ice is sometimes ordered to be kept constantly on the head; to keep it from melting, wrap it up in flannel, or put it in sawdust, and in a cool place. To break ice, use a large needle. Ice-bags can be bought for 3_s._-4_s._, or it may be put in a bladder and applied to the part, or a bag may be made of guttapercha and chloroform. By putting a little chloroform along the edges and folding them over, you can make a very useful bag for ice; the ice should be broken in small pieces before being put in the bag, and be removed as soon as it melts.

Fomentations.--A very good, perhaps the best, plan is to put a piece of flannel, folded 4 or 5 times thick to the required size, into a potato-steamer over boiling water. In this way it soon becomes hot, and little or no wringing is necessary. Where a potato-steamer is not to be had, however, the following plan should be adopted. Take a strong towel or cloth, or a piece of ticking, and pin or tack a deep hem in each end. Into these run two short, strong sticks--anything will serve: a couple of iron spoons, and even a small poker, such as is called a “curate,” though this last is rather long for choice. Lay the towel, or “wringer,” as it is technically called, over a large basin, so that the sticks hang outside; place the folded flannel in the middle, and pour boiling water over. The flannel can easily be wrung dry by one pair of hands, and if it is not made by the bed side, it can be carried there without fear of cooling in the wringer. Sometimes opium or turpentine is to be added. The quantity of either to be used will be prescribed by the doctor, and it should be sprinkled on the side of the flannel that is to go next the skin, immediately before applying it to the patient. The flannel should be covered with wool and oil-silk, just as a poultice is covered. Fomentations are, in many cases, as efficacious as poultices, and they possess, besides, the advantage of being easier to make, and of costing practically nothing, since the flannels can be used repeatedly. For the very poor, the cost of linseed for poultices is often a serious item. There is no danger of scalding if the flannel is squeezed so dry that it cannot drip nor wet the palm of the hand.

Another plan is described as follows: Take your flannel folded to a required thickness and size, dampened quite perceptibly with water, but not enough to drip, and place it between the folds of a large newspaper, having the edges of the paper lap well over the cloth, so as to give no vent to the steam. Thus prepared, lay it on the stove or register, and in a moment steam is generated from the under surface, and has permeated the whole cloth, heating it to the required temperature.

Blisters.--Blisters and leeches should only be used under medical direction. Before the application of either, the part should be well washed with soap and warm water. Then, in the case of the blister, it has only to be slightly warmed before the fire and left on until “it rises,” and a good-sized vesicle has formed (which will usually be in about 8-10 hours), when the water must be let out by snipping the skin with the point of a sharp scissors--a perfectly painless operation--and the blistered surface dressed with spermaceti ointment spread on soft lint.

Leeches.--Leeches can generally be induced to bite by putting a few drops of milk or blood on the spots they are intended to take. They will usually fall off of themselves when filled, but if they remain on too long they must not be pulled off, but a little salt shaken on them, which will soon make them let go. Another simple and easy way of detaching leeches is to drop a few drops of camphor julep (mist. camph.) on the part, when they will soon relinquish their hold. The bleeding from their bites will also generally stop without interference. If it should continue to an undesirable degree, the nurse may nearly always stop it by making gentle pressure over the bite with her finger, or applying a little powdered alum or the muriated tincture of iron (tinctura ferri perchloridi). Never leave a patient for the night until all bleeding has completely ceased. The bleeding may be increased, when desired, by fomenting with warm water.

Enemas.--A nurse is often required to administer an enema or injection--which in many conditions of disease is a most valuable method of treatment. Be careful not to disturb or uncover the patient until quite certain that you have arranged ready to hand everything that will be required. Almost any variety of injection apparatus answers the purpose sufficiently well, but in using the rubber ones care must be taken to squeeze out all air from the bulb before commencing, else the air will be forced in by the first compression. The most convenient position for the patient is lying on the left side. Then the nozzle of the instrument, having been well greased and warmed, should be passed slowly and carefully into the bowel, the point being directed slightly backwards. On no account whatever must the least force be used. If there is any difficulty or pain in introducing the tube to the required distance, the nurse must wait for a minute or two, when, in all probability, the opposing muscle having become relaxed, it will pass in easily and without pain. The injection should then be given very slowly and quietly, and without any jerking or irregularity of motion, especially if it be desired that it should be long retained; it must be stopped immediately if the patient calls out that he can bear no more. Enemata are generally either nutrient or purgative; but occasionally other medicines are given in this way. The nutrient are of extreme value, as it sometimes happens that, when nourishment can be taken in no other way, sufficient may be supplied by this means to tide over the period of danger. A good nutritive enema may be made as follows: The yolks of 2 fresh eggs well battered in about ½ pint strong beef tea, or in 2 tablespoonfuls (half a canister) of Brand’s extract of beef, dissolved in warm milk. About ½ wineglassful port wine, or 1 tablespoonful brandy may be added in cases of extreme exhaustion. It should be given at about blood heat--100° F. An active purgative enema may be made with: 4 tablespoonfuls castor oil, 1 teaspoonful oil of turpentine, and about 1 pint well-strained gruel, or soap and water. An enema of plain soap and water often answers very well.

Clinical Thermometer.--In trifling ailments its use is for reference; in serious attacks it may give immediate warning that the physician is required; and even while the doctor is in attendance he often wishes observations regarding the temperature to be taken several times a day, in his absence, for his guidance and information. Following are a few illustrations of the uses to which the clinical thermometer may be put by any intelligent person. The natural temperature of the human body is 98·4°F. and the little arrow on the thermometer indicates this normal degree of heat, so that when the index rests at the arrow, the natural temperature is proved to be present. It is the variations above or below the arrow that mark the presence of disease.

The agony of colic is well known, but it is generally of little danger in the absence of inflammation. In peritonitis (inflammation of the bowels), the temperature runs quickly up to over 101° F.; in colic it scarcely rises more than a degree, if even thus far, above the natural temperature. A severe pain in the side causes pleurisy to be suspected. If the temperature is normal, there is no pleurisy, and the pain is probably neuralgic. Diarrhœa may continue for a few days, and the patient feels so out of sorts that typhoid fever seems to have set in; but all the specific forms, such as typhoid, typhus, scarlet fever, diphtheria, or measles, are accompanied by such an increase of body heat as will probably send up the record to 101° F., or possibly 3-4° higher. A child with persistent vomiting, sore throat, and high temperature will probably in a day or so show the rash of scarlet fever. In any case, when a temperature remains above 100-101° F. for more than 1-2 days, without obvious cause, the doctor should be consulted. If the child has disordered stomach or sustained a chill, the thermometer will record fever; but, after a purgative in the one case and a tepid or hot bath in the other, the increased heat will be found to be gone, and with it any alarm which may have been felt. In the course of an inflammation or fever, the friends can be informed by the medical man what degree of heat he expects, and should this be exceeded the doctor should be informed of the fact. Indeed the clinical thermometer is invaluable, especially to families at a distance from their medical adviser. It can be obtained from any instrument maker for 7_s._ 6_d._-12_s._ 6_d._, or more. Its application is a very easy matter. The bulb containing the mercury should be placed in the mouth or arm-pit; care should be had in the last case that clothes do not intervene between the instrument and the arm, and that it is so placed in the arm-pit as to be completely surrounded by skin. The patient must then press the arm gently to the side so as to retain the instrument, and in 5 minutes the thermometer will show the body’s temperature.

Dollond, 1 Ludgate Hill, London, E.C., sells an improved Lens Clinical Thermometer. The importance of the “lens” front cannot be over estimated, for with such a thermometer there is no difficulty in reading off the temperature even in the dull light of a sickroom, for the thin thread of mercury is magnified quite twenty times its size. This thermometer is made with a contraction in the tube near the bulb, which prevents the mercury returning, until shaken down. The price of this thermometer is 7_s._ 6_d._

W. H. Harling, 47 Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C., is the maker of an excellent clinical thermometer with lens front, which registers the temperature in the space of a single minute. It is furnished with a metal case having a bayonet fastening, and costs only 8_s._ 6_d._ The same maker supplies also ordinary clinical thermometers, in cases, at prices ranging from 3_s._ 6_d._ upwards. Other sickroom requisites are noticed on p. 1007.

When used to take the temperature of patients suffering from infectious disease, the thermometer should be disinfected by being washed in “Sanitas” or carbolic acid solution after each time of using. In taking the temperature under the tongue, the index should be “set” as directed, and the bulb should be placed as far back under the tongue as convenient and agreeable; the mouth should then be kept shut, and the patient should breathe through the nose: 3 minutes are sufficient for taking the tongue-temperature. In the arm-pit the thermometer should be left for 5 minutes and the fore-arm should be made to lie across the chest, so that the thermometer may thus be made to rest in a sheltered position.

Temperatures should be taken in ordinary cases at 8 A.M. and 8 P.M.; 2 o’clock is a convenient hour for a third observation. Variations in temperature occur in healthy persons, but such change does not usually amount to more than 2° or 3° F. What is to be regarded as deserving of attention under the ordinary circumstances of life is a fall below 97°, or a rise above 99·5°. In fevers, as a rule, the temperature does not rise above 106°; but in fever a heat of 108°, continuing even for a very short time, would be regarded as a most dangerous symptom. A very high or very low temperature must be looked upon as dangerous; should it be excessive either way, the case will probably prove fatal. A very sudden change is suspicious, and very frequently dangerous. In children, however, the presence of indigestible food in the intestinal canal may suffice to cause a rapid rise in the temperature. After the temperature has been stationary for some time, or has commenced to fall, a fresh rise may herald the advent of some complication, or the approach of a new disease. An unexpected fall may denote hæmorrhage, exhausting diarrhœa, or the perforation of the peritoneum or pleura (lining membranes of the abdomen and chest). A considerable rise during the course of a disease which is not generally regarded as febrile--viz., in tetanus, epilepsy, and cholera--usually precedes death.

Making a Medical Coil.--Procure a well-seasoned walnut board about 21½ in. long, 3 in. wide, and ⅜ in. thick. From this cut one length 12 in. long for the base board a, and 3 pieces 3 in. square (like b) for the coil heads; when cut, a fillet 8 in. long must be nailed or screwed on the two sides of the base board (as shown in a); these fillets should be ¼ in. square section. Corresponding square nicks must be cut of two of the square heads (as shown at x in c). All the woodwork when thus squared and finished should be soaked for ¼ hour in melted paraffin wax, and then rubbed dry while still warm.

Obtain a thin brass tube (known in the trade as “triblet tubing”) about ½ in. diameter, 4½ in. long; turn up a short plug and button to fit one end of this tube and serve as a handle (see d). This may be fastened to the tube by driving in 3 fine brass brads, and filing off the heads flush with the tube.

Cut up about 100 lengths of straight iron wire (best soft annealed) No. 22 gauge, say, about 4½ in. in length; fill the brass tube with them as tight as you can fit them; cut them all to the same length (they must protrude a little beyond the tube). Now draw out about 2 in. of the iron bundle and wrap it tightly round with twine, leaving about ½ in. free. Draw more out, and continue wrapping until you have wrapped to within ½ in. at each end of the bundle. Tie the string, and withdraw the bundle from the brass tube. Melt a little solder in a ladle, dip the ends of the iron bundle into soldering fluid (zinc dissolved in hydrochloric acid), and then at once into the melted solder. Allow the bundle to cool; file off the superfluous solder, so that the bundle will just enter freely into the tube. It should appear like e when the string has been removed.

The next operation is to make a good stout paper tube, also about 4½ in. in length, into which the brass tube d can slide easily. To make this, put a few turns soaped writing paper round the tube No. 1, then roll and glue seven turns of good stout brown paper, 4½ in. in length, round this writing paper, or else it will be difficult to draw out the tube. This paper tube f must be allowed to dry thoroughly while still on the brass tube d. When quite dry, it must be slipped off, the writing paper lining drawn out, and then it must be soaked for a few minutes in melted paraffin wax.

The iron bundle should also be allowed to stand in melted paraffin wax for some time, and then stood up to drain in a warm place. This will prevent rusting. When quite cold, all superfluous paraffin having been removed, a strip of brown paper, ½ in. wide, is rolled round one extremity of the iron bundle, until it is of such a diameter as to fit tightly into the paper tube f. This paper strip must be cut off at this point and glued tightly round the end of the iron bundle. The brass tube d is then slipped over the iron bundle until it just reaches the little paper collar just made. The brass tube and bundle together are pushed, button end first, into the paper tube f; and when the paper collar round the iron bundle is just about to enter the paper tube, it is to be well served with hot glue and forced into the tube. The whole must now be allowed to dry and set thoroughly.

Taking one of the 3 in. heads (the one which has not any nicks in the sides), bore a centre hole with a brace and centre bit, just large enough for the paper tube f, with its iron core, to fit tightly (see b). Putting a little thin good hot glue round the free extremity (the end opposite to that at which the brass enters), push it into the hole in the square head, until it projects about ⅛ in. on the other side. This must be allowed to dry thoroughly before proceeding to the next operation.

Now proceed to wind the primary coil. To this end, take about ½ lb. No. 24 silk-covered copper wire, and wind it round the tube, as shown at g, from end to end, in continuous layers, taking care to put a sheet of paraffined paper between each layer, and also to baste each layer with melted paraffin wax before winding on another. About 4 layers will thus be got on, and an even number of layers must be aimed at, so as to get the 2 ends of the wire at the same extremity, and able to fasten them under the binding screw y. To effect this, before screwing down the said screws, the ends of the copper wire are stripped of their covering and wound once round the screw of the binder. Free ends of wire, at least 6 in. in length, must be left for attachments, &c. This is shown at h.

This primary coil, with its iron core, sliding brass tube regulator, &c. may now be fastened to the base board by means of 2 screws from underneath, as shown at i, at 4 in. from one end, and therefore 8 in. from the other. One of the free ends of the primary wire is brought to one of the binding screws v, while the other connects to the clapper z. A short piece of wire connects the platinum screw pillar w, to the other binding screw, which is not visible, as it is behind the platinum pillar. At this point it will be well to try the working of the primary coil. For this purpose, couple up the 2 binding screws on the base board with a good bichromate cell. Connect the two binding screws u in i, with the 2 brass handles intended for use. Screw up the platinum screw w till the clapper z begins to vibrate. Now hold the handles in your hand. As long as the brass tube j is entirely over the iron core, little or no sensation is perceptible. If an assistant pulls out the tube, little by little, the current will be found to increase in strength until the regulator tube is quite out.

The secondary coil now demands attention. A paper tube, precisely similar to b, but of such a size as to slide easily over the primary coil i is prepared, and paraffined. This must be cut exactly the length of the coil k, leaving the knob j projecting. The 2 square pieces of board in which the nicks were cut (c) must then have central holes cut in them to take this paper tube, and then glued, one at each end of the said tube, as shown. Two small binding screws are then to be inserted in the centre of the upper edge of each square. A bung is now placed in each end of the tube, and a ¼ in. iron rod pushed through both, to serve as an axle. This is then mounted on 2 standards, as shown at n; and beginning by attaching one end of the uncovered wire to the binding screw m, about ½ lb. No. 36 silk-covered copper wire is now carefully coiled on, being most diligent in avoiding kinks, breaks, or flaws of every description. Each layer must be paraffined and separated from its neighbour by paraffined paper. When the quantum of wire has been laid on, the finishing end is connected to the binding screw in n. The last coil should be covered with paraffined paper, and finally covered with a jacket of good silk velvet. The secondary coil is then complete, and may be slid in its place over the primary coil o. When it is quite over the primary, the secondary current will be at its strongest, if the metal tube regulator is drawn out; it will be weaker as the metal tube regulator is more and more inserted; or may be even more delicately regulated by sliding the secondary coil itself more or less over the primary. The secondary coil, while the primary is being excited with a freshly made pint bichromate, will give a ½ in. spark when the regulator is out and the secondary coil right over the primary. This will pass easily through a dozen persons. (S. R. Bottone.)

There are various other sickroom appliances demanded in special cases which do not require description here. Most may be had of such well-known firms as Salmon, Ody & Co., 292 Strand, and Savory and Moore, 143 New Bond Street.

=Feeding patients.=--A nurse should bear in mind these two leading facts; that while in sickness there is usually a greatly increased tissue-waste, and consequently an increased necessity for nutriment, there is almost always a decreased appetite, or no appetite at all--often such a repugnance to food that, if left to himself, the patient would prefer taking none at all. Hence, although the medical attendant may decide what is the most suitable form of nourishment, on her devolves the more difficult task of inducing the sick person to take it. With this view, she must exercise all her ingenuity to tempt and encourage him, by bringing everything in the neatest possible form. On no pretext whatever should there be any cooking in the sickroom; nor should she take her own meals there; nor should any food be left standing near the patient. On the contrary, though his nutriment must be brought to him frequently--more frequently, of course, the less he can take each time--and punctually, it should only be in such quantity as he is likely to consume; and immediately that is done, everything in connection with food should be removed from sight and smell until the next time.

The nurse must devote much of her attention to the subject of diet, observing carefully the patient’s appetite, and attending carefully to the quantity of food and the effect of it. The sense of taste of many people is very acute when they are ill, and you must take care that the spoon in the arrowroot, which looks perfectly clean, does not taste to the patient of the soup for which it was used last. Eatables should not be kept in a sickroom: if you are obliged to have anything within reach, put it under a cover; a tumbler turned over does very well for biscuits or jelly, and for larger things a bell glass is useful; tin boxes, the next best thing, generally make a noise when they are opened. The water given to a sick person should not only be boiled and allowed to cool, but ought always to be filtered. It should frequently be changed, as it quickly absorbs the impurities with which the air of a sickroom is charged, and becomes injurious, if not dangerous to drink. In cases of faintness, where stimulants are not ordered, the patient should be made to sip some liquid slowly; the mere effort of sipping accelerates the action of the heart.

When solid foods cannot be taken, the best kinds are those which contain the most nourishing properties in the smallest and most easily digested form. Prominent among these is well-made beef tea: not the greasy watery broth which so often goes by that name, but nearly pure beef juice which has been slowly extracted, with the addition of little or no water, from fresh lean beef. A good substitute may be found in Bovril, which has the great advantage in an emergency of being immediately procurable at a chemist’s or grocer’s. Home made beef tea takes a long time to prepare properly, and even then it is deficient in staminal properties, whereas Bovril contains the entire nutritious constituents of pure beef, of which it takes 40 lb. to make 1 lb. of Bovril extract. Of equal value is milk; which, especially when combined with bread and butter, is very nourishing, and forms a most valuable article of sick diet. If it seems to disagree, or curdle on the stomach, it can generally be prevented doing so by the addition of about ⅓-¼ its bulk of lime-water. These may be varied by mutton broth, chicken or rabbit jelly, eggs in any form--plain, in custard, or in pudding with arrowroot and sago--and real turtle soup; which latter is, however, so terribly expensive as to be outside the reach of most people. Jellies made with gelatine, which contains scarcely any nutriment, are almost useless; and tea should be given only as an indulgence when specially wished for, and then it should be very weak, and with plenty of milk. All food given to the sick should be very fresh, of the best quality, and most carefully cooked.

Boiled Flour Gruel.--Where the illness has been long and tedious, and the strength reduced, the following will be found very useful: To prepare the flour, put into a basin as much as it will hold, pressed tightly down. Then tie a cloth over it, and allow it to boil hard for 6 hours. Then take off the cloth, and let the flour stand in the basin till next day, when remove the crust which will have formed, and put the remainder away in a covered jar. For use, mix 4 tablespoonfuls flour smoothly into a paste, then pour on it ½ pint boiling milk or water, and boil for 10 minutes, constantly stirring to avoid lumps. Brandy, sherry, lemon juice or cream may be added, according to taste. Gruel may also be made from baked flour, but it is not so easy of digestion.

Rice Gruel.--1 oz. each rice, sago, and pearl barley boiled in 3 pints water, which, in 2 hours, generally reduces it to 1 qt. Strain and flavour to taste. This forms a good nourishing diet, especially with the addition of a little isinglass.

Onion Posset or Gruel.--This has been found very efficacious for colds, and is made with Robinson’s groats with the addition only of an onion, which should have been previously boiled for 6 hours. The yolk of an egg well beaten is an improvement.

Chicken Broth.--The younger and fatter the birds are for this the better. It is made by immersing the legs, neck, and trunk of a fowl into just as much water as will cover them, and boiling gently for an hour. The white meat makes a delicious entrée if cut up finely and treated as a veal mince. Potato flour is useful for thickening in cases where boiled flour is not handy; but home-made things are always the best, as the ingredients are known.

Oyster Fritters.--Remove the beards, and put each oyster into a tablespoon, and fill with a batter made as follows: 1 oz. rice flour mixed with 2 tablespoonfuls water, 1 teaspoonful vinegar, and 2 salad oil, the yolk of an egg, and a little salt and pepper. Allow the batter to stand, and just before using, beat the white of an egg to a stiff froth, and mix with it. Fry the oysters covered with the batter in boiling fat, turn them, place them on blotting paper to drain; serve on a hot dish, and garnish with slices of lemon, and thin rolls of brown bread and butter alternately.

Potato Chops.--Mash nicely with a little milk, butter, pepper, and salt, any potatoes left from the day before, spread evenly over a boned loin chop previously sprinkled with finely chopped fried mint. Fry to a golden brown in boiling fat, then place it on blotting paper to remove the superfluous grease. Garnish with fresh mint and watercress.

Jellies and Creams.--The following recipes were published by Mary Hooper, in the Queen:--

When jellies and creams are ordered for sick people in families where there is not a good cook, they are usually obtained from the confectioner; but this is not at all in the interest of the invalid, and efforts should be made to provide his diet from the home kitchen. An idea prevails that it is very troublesome to make jelly. It is not at all necessary to clear the jelly through a bag for invalids, nor indeed for ordinary domestic use. By a little care in the use of citric acid, which is perfectly wholesome, a jelly nearly as bright as that which has been cleared with eggs may be produced. In some cases, jelly without wine is required for invalids, when coffee, cocoa, or Seville orange jelly will probably be useful. It is difficult to make these jellies palatable without making them sweet, and they will only keep a short time. If the doctor does not object, or where it is desirable to give stimulants in a disguised form, a very small quantity of absolute alcohol may be used, and it will obviate the last-named disadvantages.

Milk jellies, or creams, whenever they can be taken, are an excellent form of diet, and are very easily prepared by the following recipes. For those who require a quickly-made cream, “Nelson’s Blanc mange” will be found very useful; it merely requires to be dissolved in milk or water, and in a very short time is ready for use. This blanc mange is made of very rich milk, and tastes equal to that prepared at home with cream. The unflavoured blanc mange should, as a rule, be selected for invalids, as any home-made flavour can be added to it. These flavourings--lemon, Seville orange, almond and vanilla--are very easily prepared by infusing any of the three first-named in gin, the latter in brandy. As these are more digestible than any which can be bought, it is well worth while to take a little trouble in the matter. It is sometimes necessary to tempt the appetite of an invalid by a pretty looking dish, which is also nice and nourishing. Such a dish can be easily made by the recipe for Alexandra Cream.

Simple Jelly.--Soak 1 oz. gelatine in ½ pint cold water for 1 hour or more. It is an advantage to soak gelatine overnight when convenient, because it is then more easily dissolved. Boil 6 oz. lump sugar in 1 pint water, skimming it until clear; then throw in the soaked gelatine, let it boil slowly for 5 minutes, removing all scum as it rises. Dissolve in a basin ¼ oz. citric acid, in lump, in ½ gill boiling water, pour the jelly on to this, when more scum will rise, which should be carefully taken off. Now add 1 gill wine and a little lemon flavouring, and, when nearly cold, put the jelly into a mould. Lemon juice can be used instead of the citric acid, but the jelly will not then be so bright.

Cocoa Jelly.--Mix 1 dessertspoonful cocoa in ½ pint water, stir over the fire until it boils, sweeten it with ¼ lb. lump sugar, or according to the taste of the patient. Stir into it, whilst boiling, ½ oz. gelatine, soaked in ½ pint cold water for some hours, flavour with vanilla, and stir occasionally until the jelly begins to set.

Coffee Jelly.--Soak ½ oz. gelatine in ½ pint cold water, dissolve it in ½ pint very strong coffee, sweetened to taste. Extract of coffee can be used to flavour this jelly, and answers well.

Porter Jelly.--Procure a cow-heel (which should be thoroughly cleaned) and 2 calves’ feet; wash them in cold water, and put them into a pan with 5 pints water, and let them boil until the meat leaves the bones; strain the liquor through a hair sieve, and let it stand for one night in a cool place. Next morning put the stock into a pan with 1 lb. loaf sugar, ½ pint porter, the juice of 4 lemons with their rinds cut very thin, and the well-beaten whites of 8 eggs. Let all boil together till it rises to the top of the pan; then throw in a teacupful of cold water; then let it boil slowly about 20 minutes, at the expiration of which time add 1 wineglassful brandy. Boil 5 minutes longer, then lift the pan from the fire, and let it remain at the side of the fire, to keep hot. In about ½ hour the scum will collect in a lump, leaving the liquor quite clear. Run it into moulds.

Port Wine Jelly.--Take ½ pint port wine, 2 oz. isinglass, and ½ lb. white sugar candy. Let the ingredients be put together in a jar and stand for 6 hours; then put the jar into a saucepan of water, and as soon as it boils take it off the fire and strain through muslin; when cold it is fit for use.

Restorative Jelly.--Put into the jar in which the jelly is to be kept 2 oz. isinglass, 2 oz. white sugar candy, ½ oz. gum arabic, and ½ oz. nutmeg grated. Pour over them 1½ pint tent or port wine. Let it stand 12 hours, then set the jar in a saucepan of water, and let it simmer till all the ingredients are dissolved, stirring it occasionally. The jelly must not be strained. A piece the size of a nutmeg to be taken twice a day. If nutmeg is not liked, any other spice will do as well to flavour it.

Blanc Mange.--It is better, if possible, to soak the gelatine for this cream all night, because it will then dissolve in warm liquid, whereas if it is only lightly soaked, the milk must be boiling. Warm 3 gills milk or cream, and dissolve in it ½ oz. gelatine, previously soaked in ½ gill water. Sweeten to taste, and flavour with extract of vanilla. When nearly cold, stir into the blanc mange the whites of 2 or 3 eggs beaten to a strong froth. This blanc mange will be found light and nourishing in cases of great weakness.

Rice Cream.--(a) Boil 2 oz. fine rice in water for 5 minutes, strain it, and boil until tender in 1 qt. new milk. Rub the rice through a sieve to a pulp, and add to it any milk not absorbed in the boiling; ½ oz. gelatine to 1 pint rice and milk. The gelatine can be soaked and dissolved either in milk or water. Stir over the fire until mixed, sweeten and flavour to taste. Stir the cream occasionally until cold, then lightly mix in the whites of 2 eggs beaten to a strong froth; when on the point of setting put it into a mould.

(b) Make 1 pint milk or cream into custard with the yolk of an egg and 2 oz. sugar; then dissolve in it ½ oz. gelatine previously soaked. Mix with it 1 oz. rice which has been baked or boiled in milk until perfectly tender, flavour with vanilla, and add 1 teaspoonful brandy if liked. Rinse a mould with cold water, put the cream into it, and let it stand until firm enough to turn out.

Semolina Cream.--Soak 1 oz. semolina in 1 gill cold milk for an hour, boil it until soft in ½ pint milk. Dissolve ½ oz. gelatine, previously soaked in ½ gill water, in ½ pint boiling milk, sweeten it with 2 oz. lump sugar, flavour to taste, and when the cream is beginning to set, put it into a mould.

Alexandra Cream.--Make ½ pint rice cream (a) or blanc mange as directed in the foregoing recipes. Dissolve ½ pint Nelson’s port wine jelly (sherry can be used if preferred, but the colour is not so tempting), either adding water or claret, according to the directions given with the jelly. When both the cream and the jelly are on the point of setting, put first a layer of the latter into a mould, then of the former, and so on until all is used. (Mary Hooper.)

Beef Tea.--(a) Cut 1 lb. beefsteak into dice, rejecting all skin and fat. Put into a stewpan a bit of fresh butter the size of a bean, throw in the meat, and sprinkle over a small pinch of salt. Cover the stewpan closely, and set it on the range at a low heat to draw out the juices, which will take 20 minutes. Take care there is no approach to frying, as that would dry up the extract and destroy the character of the tea. About every 5 minutes during the process drain away the gravy as it comes; if the meat is fine and fresh there will be at least ⅓ pint, and when all is drawn set it aside, either to use as extract of beef or to be added to the tea when finished. Now put to the meat 1 pint water, and let it boil gently for ½ hour. Pour the tea off, but do not strain it, as such nourishment as it contains lies in the thick portion. Of course if a patient is unable to take any solid this rule will not apply, and the tea must then be strained either through a linen or flannel bag. Having drained off the tea whilst still boiling hot, put into it the juices at first extracted, and having taken off every particle of fat it will be ready to serve.

(b) Cut the meat into small pieces, cover with water, and simmer an hour. If it is allowed, 2 or 3 peppercorns and a minced shallot--it is milder than onion--will be a nice addition to the tea.

(c) Cut the meat into very small pieces, and put it in a jar having a closely fitting lid, with cold water. The jar can be placed in the oven for 1-2 hours, according to the heat, or in a saucepan of water to boil for 1½ hour.

In all cases where it can be taken, beef tea should be slightly thickened, and especially when bread is refused. Boiled flour is best for this purpose; genuine arrowroot may also be used. The yolk of an egg beaten up in the broth-cup, and the tea poured boiling on to it, is excellent.

The meat from which beef tea has been prepared will make good stock, or be excellent if properly treated for the dinner of the family, who, be it remembered, have the chief of the nourishment in the fibre.

It is important in the preparation of beef tea to preserve the fine flavour of the meat, and to use such scrupulously clean vessels that no foreign taste can be imparted to it. The shin of beef should not be chosen for this purpose, for it gives more gelatine than juice. The best part is beefsteak or the neck; the first will yield the most gravy, and does not cost above 2_d._ per lb. more than the coarser portion of the ox.

The idea that beef tea should be boiled a long time in order to extract all the goodness of the meat is a mistaken one, for the gelatinous matter thus gained is of comparatively little value, whilst the delicate aroma of the tea is lost by long boiling.

Gruel.--Made as it should be, gruel is rarely disliked, and is more nourishing, and in many cases to be preferred to arrowroot--a thing most difficult to procure genuine, and very expensive. Made thin, as is customary, it is a comfort in sickness, is soothing to the stomach, and gives warmth to the body; made thick as a porridge it is the most nourishing of cereal foods. Robinson’s Embden groats, and Robinson’s patent groats, prepared by Keen, Robinson, and Bellville, are the only kinds of which gruel can be properly made. They are entirely free from the acrid flavour which is so disagreeable in inferior preparations of oatmeal, make a most nourishing and digestible gruel, with the advantage of being easily and rapidly served up--if made from the patent groats, the Embden takes longer--ten minutes only being required in the process of cooking. Robinson’s Embden groats were introduced about the year 1764 by Mr. Martin Robinson as an improvement upon the “whole gritts” then in use. In 1823 letters patent were taken out for a greater improvement known as Robinson’s Patent groats, now in use in all parts of the world. Take of the patent groats one tablespoonful, mix into a smooth paste of the consistence of cream with a wineglassful of cold water, pour this into a stewpan containing nearly a pint of boiling water or milk, stir the gruel on the fire while it boils for ten minutes; pour into a basin, add a pinch of salt and a little butter, or if more agreeable some sugar, and a small quantity of spirits if allowed. If made with water, milk or cream can be added afterwards.

A delicious substitute for gruel is made as follows: 1 oz. each rice, sago, and pearl barley; put 3 pints water, and boil gently for 3 hours, when the liquor should be reduced to 1 qt. Strain it in exactly the same manner as groat gruel, and flavour with wine, brandy, or anything else that may be suitable. If made a little thicker, say with 1½ oz. each ingredient to 3 pints water, a jelly will be produced, which may be eaten cold with sugar, fruit, syrups, or preserve.

Arrowroot.--(a) To make plain water arrowroot, with an Etna, put on ½ pint water to boil in the saucepan; mix, in a cup, 1 dessertspoonful arrowroot with a little water; pour the mixture into the boiling water, and cook it for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time.

(b) Milk arrowroot is prepared exactly in the same manner. Some persons affirm that arrowroot should never be boiled, or it will lose its astringent qualities. In some particular cases, when strong astringents are needed, it should not be boiled, and should only have boiling water or milk poured upon it; but when the digestion is weak, it is better for the patient to take arrowroot cooked. Sifted sugar may be added according to taste; and in water arrowroot a little wine or brandy is generally given.

Pastry and Bread.--Any fat that is greatly heated decomposes, and gives rise to certain fatty acids that are sure to disagree with delicate persons. That is the reason why pastry and fried food are unfitted for invalids. Very plain pastry, made light with baking powder, is sometimes admissible; but a small egg or milk loaf with the inside taken out, and baked crisp and hot, is a much better substitute. Sponge cake is best of all cakes, because it is made without any butter. Bread should not be new, but may be baked crisp in the oven. Crust is often more digestible than crumb. A change in bread is easy to arrange; if it is only a change of shape, it is better than monotony. A French roll, loaves of baking powder bread, brown and white pulled bread, crisp biscuits, are easy to get in most places.

Puddings.--(a) Boil ½ pint milk with cinnamon, lemon, and bay leaves; add 2 oz. sugar, 1 oz. flour, a little salt, and 3 eggs; beat all together, and steam this custard in a plain mould or basin, previously spread inside with butter; when done firm and quite cold cut into square pieces and dip in frying batter; drop separately in boiling fat, and fry a light brown colour, and dish them up on a napkin. (b) 6 oz. finely-grated bread, 6 oz. currants, 6 oz. sugar, 6 eggs, 6 apples, some lemon peel and nutmeg; let it boil 3 hours. (c) Weight of 2 eggs in butter, which beat to a cream, same weight of flour, same of pounded white sugar, the grated rind and juice of 2 lemons; bake ½ hour in a small flat pie-dish, with a rim of paste round the edge, serve with sifted sugar on the top, and send up very hot. (d) ½ lb. best beef suet, ½ lb. grated breadcrumbs, ½ lb. beaten white sugar, 3 eggs, well beaten and strained; the grated rind and juice of a large lemon, stick a mould with raisins, pour in the mixture, boil 2 hours.

Treacle Posset.--Heat ½ pint milk in the saucepan, and when in the act of boiling, pour in 1 gill (¼ pint) treacle. The milk instantly curdles. It must be taken off the spirit lamp and allowed to stand for 10 minutes, and then strained through a piece of muslin to separate the curds. This must be drunk hot. White wine, whey, and lemon whey, are prepared in a similar manner, only substituting a glass of sherry in one case, and a glass of lemon juice in the other, for the treacle. All wheys must be strained before they are taken.

Restorative Soup.--Take 1 lb. newly-killed beef or fowl, mince it very fine, add 8 fl. oz. soft or distilled water, 4-6 drops pure hydrochloric acid, 30-60 gr. common salt, and stir well together. After 3 hours the whole is to be thrown on a common hair sieve, and the fluid allowed to pass through with slight pressure. On the flesh residue in the sieve pour slowly 2 oz. distilled water, and let it run through while squeezing the meat; there will be 10 oz. extract of meat, of which a wineglassful may be taken at pleasure. It must not be warmed to a greater extent than putting a bottle filled partially with it to stand in hot water. If the flavour be disagreeable, 1 wineglassful claret may be added to 1 teacupful.

Milk Toast.--Take 2 slices bread and toast well--that is, crisp. Take new milk or cream, also a bit of butter (varying according to toast required), and melt in a saucepan together. Then dip in the slices of toast, let them soak for a moment or two, lift on to a deep plate, and pour the remains of milk and butter on top. Serve very hot; add salt as required.

Hot Milk.--Milk that is heated to much above 100° F. loses, for a time, a degree of its sweetness and density; but no one fatigued by over-exertion of body or mind who has ever experienced the reviving influence of a tumbler of this beverage as hot as it can be sipped, will willingly forego a resort to it because of its having been rendered somewhat less acceptable to the palate. The promptness with which its cordial influence is felt is indeed surprising. Some portions seem to be digested and appropriated almost immediately; and many who fancy that they need alcoholic stimulants when exhausted by labour of brain or body will find in this simple draught an equivalent that will be as abundantly satisfying and more enduring in its effects.

Caudles.--The basis of all caudles is flour gruel, made either with water or milk, that made with milk being the most nutritious, while both are equally digestible. In cool weather a quantity of gruel may be made and kept in a cool place, and portions of it heated and used as required. When gruel enters largely into the diet, its acceptability to the patient will be augmented by varying the flavouring or spice used in its preparation. If, therefore, a quantity is made plain, it can be sweetened and variously flavoured as it is heated for immediate use.

Cold Wine Caudle (a nutritious, digestible, and slightly stimulating food, useful in all sickness where starch and wine are not objectionable).--Make a good gruel by mixing smoothly 1 tablespoonful flour with ½ pint cold milk or water, and stirring it into ½ pint boiling milk or water; add a level teaspoonful of salt, and let the gruel boil for 5 minutes, stirring it to prevent burning. To ½ pint cold gruel add 1 egg beaten to a froth, 1 glass of good wine, and sugar and nutmeg to suit the palate of the patient.

Hot Wine Caudle (preferably to cold caudle generally, and useful in the same physical condition indicated in the preceding recipe). Heat ½ pint gruel; beat the yolk of a raw egg to a cream with 2 tablespoonfuls pulverised sugar; beat the white of the egg to a stiff froth; when the gruel is boiling hot, quickly beat a glass of good sherry or Madeira wine into the egg yolk and sugar, stir the hot gruel into it, and then add the beaten white of the egg. Work very quickly, and serve the caudle hot.

Cream Caudle (an equally valuable food with the two preceding caudles, useful under similar physical conditions). To 1 pint gruel add 1 glass good wine, 1 gill sweet cream, 1 tablespoonful noyeau or any good cordial, and sugar to suit the patient’s taste. Use hot or cold, but preferably hot.

Digestive Foods.--Where the digestion is weak, as is generally the case in sickness, much benefit may be derived from partially digested foods. Maltose is a sugar which does not readily undergo acetous fermentation, and therefore will not give rise to acidity and dyspepsia. This is a great matter, as cane sugar added to stewed fruit and milk puddings readily undergoes acetous fermentation in many stomachs. The lævulose sugar of fruit, like maltose, readily undergoes alcoholic but not acetous fermentation. Maltose being less powerfully sweet than cane sugar, a greater quantity is necessary to sweeten the pudding. If the raw starch, semolina, sago, or tapioca be first put in the dish by itself, and placed in the oven for an hour (taking care not to have it burnt by the oven being too hot), not only are the starch cells cracked, but a certain conversion of the starch into dextrine takes place. If to this be then added an equal quantity of ground malt and some hot milk poured on, and the dish be allowed to stand a few minutes before being put into the oven again, the diastase of the malt acts upon the farina and converts it into dextrine and maltose. Dextrine and maltose being soluble, the pudding is very thin. Such a pudding is admirably adapted for invalids and dyspeptics, as requiring scarcely any digestion in the body. For those with whom ordinary milk puddings produce acidity, such a pudding is specially suitable. Ground malt may be added to fresh milk, and forms an admirable food in cases of acute disease. Baked flour perhaps goes better with meat broths, to which it gives a high food value. (Well-baked flour requires but a touch of saliva to render it soluble, and, added to meat broths and gravy soups, renders them very nutritive.) Malt, being sweet, goes better with milk, or apple-water, or tamarind-water, or lemonade, and gives us a food which being all but independent of the digestive act, can be most usefully employed in the sickroom. Beef-tea (which alone is scarcely a food) and milk-and-seltzerwater pall upon the palate of the sick person, who craves variety just as do healthy persons. The adoption of ground malt as a food will solve for us one or two knotty questions connected with feeding people when the digestive power is feeble. Drinks like lemonade, made with malt instead of cane sugar, would not only not go sour in the mouth and stomach, but would contain some phosphates and soluble albuminoids, and so form admirable beverages in feverish states. The many malt extracts now in the market are well adapted for such end. (Lancet.)

An excellent peptonising apparatus, for the predigestion of foods for the sickroom, is sold by Savory and Moore.

Drinks.--Orange-whey.--The juice of 1 orange to 1 pint of sweet milk. Heat slowly until curds form, strain and cool.

Egg-Lemonade.--White of 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful pulverised sugar, juice of 1 lemon, 1 goblet water. Beat together.

Sago-Milk.--3 tablespoons sago soaked in a cup of cold water one hour; add 3 cups boiling milk; sweeten and flavour to taste. Simmer slowly ½ hour. Eat warm.

Baked Milk.--Put ½ gal. milk in a jar, and tie it down with writing-paper. Let it stand in a moderate oven 8-10 hours. It will be like cream, and is very nutritious.

Punch without Liquor.--Take the juice of 6 oranges and 6 lemons, adding sugar to suit the taste. Put to this a quantity of pounded ice and some sliced pine-apple, pouring over it 2 qt. water. This is an agreeable summer beverage for anybody, sick or well.

Rice Water.--Wash 2 oz. best rice and boil it fast for ½ hour in 1 qt. water. Any flavouring may be added, or a small piece of stick cinnamon or shred lemon peel may be boiled with the rice, and sugar used according to circumstances. Lemonade made with rice water when cold is very nice and refreshing.

Gum Arabic Water.--Put into an earthenware jar 1 oz. finest picked gum with 2 oz. sugar candy and 1 pint water; set it in a saucepan of water, and stir occasionally until dissolved. This is very useful as a night drink for hectic cough, and will allay the tickling in the throat. It should be kept as hot as possible. The little French porcelain veilleuse is best adapted for this purpose.

Lemon Juice.--Few people know the value of lemon juice. A free use of lemon juice and sugar will always relieve a cough. Most people feel poorly in the spring, but if they would eat a lemon before breakfast every day for a week--with or without sugar, as they like--they would find it better than any medicine. Lemon juice, used according to this recipe, would sometimes cure consumption:--Put 1 doz. lemons into cold water and slowly bring to a boil; boil slowly until the lemons are soft, then squeeze until all the juice is extracted; add sugar to taste, and drink. In this way use 1 doz. lemons a day. If they cause pain, lessen the quantity and use only 5 or 6 a day until you are better, and then begin again with 1 doz. a day. After using 5 or 6 doz., the patient will begin to gain flesh and enjoy food. Hold on to the lemons, and still use them very freely for several weeks more. Another use for lemons is for a refreshing drink in summer, or in sickness at any time. Prepare as directed above and add water and sugar. But in order to have this keep well, after boiling the lemons, squeeze and strain carefully; then to every ½ pint juice add 1 lb. loaf or crushed sugar, boil and stir a few minutes more until the sugar is dissolved, skim carefully and bottle. You will get more juice from the lemons by boiling them, and the preparation keeps better.--Lancet.

Linseed Tea.--Take 3 tablespoonfuls linseed, about 1 pint water, and boil for 10 minutes. Strain off the water, put in a jug with 2 lemons, cut in thin slices; put also some brown sugar. A wineglassful of wine is an improvement. This has been found most nourishing for invalids.

Barley Water.--Barley water is an important article in the invalid’s dietary. Dr. Pye Chavasse, in his work entitled ‘Advice to a Mother,’ strongly recommends Robinson’s patent barley, prepared by Keen, Robinson, and Bellville, of London. Take of the patent barley one ounce mixed with a wineglass of cold water, pour this into a stewpan containing nearly one quart of boiling water, stir this over the fire while boiling for five minutes, then flavour with a small bit of lemon peel or cinnamon and sweeten according to taste. Equal quantities of milk and barley water make a very nourishing drink, especially useful in feverish cases. Barley water should not be mixed with milk or syrup before required for use, as in a warm atmosphere it undergoes changes, and sometimes slightly ferments.

Almond Milk (an exceedingly nutritious beverage, useful in most conditions of illness).--Pour 1 qt. boiling water upon ¼ lb. shelled almonds, and when the skins soften rub them off the kernels with a clean towel; pound the almonds thus blanched in a mortar, putting in 3 or 4 at a time, and adding 4 or 5 drops milk, as the almonds are being pounded, to prevent oiling--about 1 tablespoonful milk will be required for the ¼ lb. almonds; when the almonds are finely pounded, mix them with 1 pint milk, 2 tablespoonfuls sugar, a level teaspoonful salt, and the yellow rind of a lemon, and place the milk over the fire to boil; meantime, beat 3 eggs smoothly, and strain the almond milk into them, stirring the mixture as the milk is strained in; return it to the saucepan, and place it in another pan of hot water, over the fire, stirring it constantly until it begins to thicken; then remove it at once from the fire, strain it, and use it.

Barley Milk (a demulcent, refreshing, and nutritious beverage, useful in fevers and gastric inflammation).--Wash 4 oz. pearl barley in cold water until the water is clear; put it over the fire in a double kettle with 1 qt. milk and a level teaspoonful of salt, and boil it until the milk is reduced one half; then strain off the milk and sweeten to suit the taste of the patient. The barley may be used as food by adding to it a glass of wine and a little sugar.

Irish Moss Water (a bland, nutritious drink, excellent in feverish conditions and in colds).--Wash ½ oz. moss in plenty of cold water; then soak it for 10 minutes in 1 pint cold water; then add 2 pints cold water, 1 tablespoonful sugar, and 1 in. stick cinnamon to it, and boil it until it is about as thick as cream; strain it, add more sugar if it is desired, and use while warm. The yellow rind of a lemon may replace the cinnamon as flavouring.

Icelandic Moss Chocolate (a very nutritious drink, suitable for use when abundant nourishment is required).--Wash 1 oz. moss thoroughly in cold water; then put it over the fire to boil in 1 pint water. Grate 1 oz. chocolate fine, mix it with ½ cupful cold milk, stir it into 1 pint boiling milk, and boil it for 5 minutes; then add it to the boiling moss, strain them together, sweeten them to suit the taste of the patient, and use the beverage warm.

Imitation Kumys (Koumiss).--(a) Fill into a strong champagne bottle, good, fresh, unboiled cow’s milk to such a height that after the addition of 1 oz. granulated or powdered sugar, and after corking, there would still be left at least 1 in. of empty space below the cork. Before corking, add a piece of fresh compressed yeast, about the size of 2 peas, then cork and tie the cork firmly down. In place of compressed yeast, 1 teaspoonful good beer yeast may be taken. The contents of the bottle are well shaken, repeatedly, then the bottles are placed in the cellar, where they are turned up and down a few times during the day. From and after the fifth day the mixture is ready and may be drunk to about the twentieth day. It is best to prepare about 6 bottles full at a time, refilling each after it has been emptied and cleaned, so that the treatment, after being begun, may not be interrupted. On opening the bottles, the contents are very apt to foam over, hence the bottle should be opened while being held over a plate. It should never be opened where there may be any furniture or dresses about, which might be soiled by spattering. A good milk-wine or kumys should have a homogeneous appearance of the consistence of thin cream, should be effervescent when poured out, of an acidulous, agreeably vinous odour and taste, and should not be full of lumps, or taste like butter-milk. On first using kumys it produces loose bowels, but this effect soon passes off.

(b) 200 parts condensed milk, 2000 parts water, 2 parts lactic acid, 1 part citric acid, and 30 parts brandy are mixed and carbonated. Cork well and let it stand for 2 days in a warm room till it froths.

=Administering Physic.=--Never allow a bottle of lotion for external use to stand beside a bottle of medicine to be taken internally. Keep them entirely separate, and keep all medicines in a place where children cannot by any possibility reach them. One further piece of advice, which is unfortunately but seldom attended to, is deserving of attention, namely, after an illness has terminated either in recovery or death, empty out all the medicine bottles, and on no account retain any of them for future use. Spoons differ very much in size, and it is not wise to trust to them in measuring medicines. It is best to get a medicine glass or spoon, either of which can be got at a chemist’s for a few pence. In giving sick people medicine there are 3 points which ought carefully to be remembered--namely, regularity, punctuality, and exactitude. Those intrusted with the administration of medicine to sick persons should always read the label of the bottle before administering the medicine. By doing so they will probably save themselves a lifelong reproach. An inhaler for taking medicated vapours in bronchial and catarrhal affections may be extemporised out of a pickle bottle fitted with a perforated cork and a bit of tube. A special apparatus (Dr. Felton’s) is sold at 7_s._ 6_d._ by Savory and Moore.

To mask the taste of cod-liver oil:--(a) Use Allan and Hanbury’s “perfected” oil. (b) Put a little salt in the mouth before taking the oil. (c) Add 30 drops sulphuric ether to the dose and take it quite cold. (d) Add a little iodoform and essence of anise; say 96 grm. oil, 20 c. grm. iodoform, 4 drops essence.

Quinine may be enclosed in gelatine capsules when otherwise refused. If in powder it is best mixed with a little milk.

Keep a separate measure and separate glass for administering such drugs as castor-oil, cod-liver oil, asafœtida, valerian, &c.

Pills should be placed well towards the gullet and washed down with a drink. Or they may be hidden in jam, or wrapped in rice paper, and then washed down. Powders may be mixed in jam, treacle, honey, milk, or water.

To remove the taste of nauseous medicines from the mouth chew a small piece of bread and spit it out.

The best times for administering medicines, according to the frequency with which they are ordered, are as follows:--

“Daily.”--At 9 A.M. or at bedtime.

“Night and morning.”--9 A.M. and bedtime.

“Twice-a-day.”--10 A.M. and 6 P.M.

“Three times a day.”--10 A.M., 2 P.M., 6 P.M.

“Every 4 hours.”--10 A.M., 2 P.M., 6 P.M., 10 P.M., 2 A.M., 6 A.M.

Never wake a patient to administer medicine or food unless ordered to do so.

To apportion doses according to age, reckon 21 years and upwards as adults requiring full dose; then 17 will take ¾, 14 will take ½, 7 will take ⅓, 4 will take ¼, 3 will take ⅙, and 2 years or under will take ⅛ of the full dose.

Medicines are classified according to their general properties, the following being the chief:--

Anæsthetics--produce insensibility to pain. Anodynes--procure relief from pain. Antiseptics--prevent putrefaction. Antispasmodics--check spasms and cramps. Caustics--destroy animal tissues by a kind of burning. Collyrium--an eyewash. Diaphoretics--induce perspiration. Diuretics--increase the flow of urine. Emetics--cause sickness (vomiting). Expectorants--favour spitting. Liniments--for rubbing in. Narcotics--induce sleep. Purgatives--cause very loose bowels. Refrigerants--cooling. Sedatives--calm the nerves. Soporifics--induce sleep. Styptics--arrest bleeding. Tonics--increase the appetite and give a stimulus to the system.

The principal domestic remedies, with their doses (m. means minims, gr. grains, table. tablespoonful, tea. teaspoonful, dr. drams, oz. ounces, dess. dessertspoonful) and properties, are as follows:--

Aloes (compound decoction): 1-3 tablespoonfuls; pleasant purgative, useful in habitual constipation, and will often relieve headache.

Alum: 10-20 gr. in whooping cough and internal bleeding; 1 tea. (in treacle) as an emetic; 15 gr. in 10 oz. water as a collyrium; 60 gr. in 10 oz. water for gargles and injections; astringent (coddling the mouth) and styptic.

Ammonio-citrate of iron: 5-10 gr. in water; tonic.

Antimonial wine: 5-15 m. 3 times a day in bronchitis and fever, diaphoretic; 1 table. (for adults), emetic.

Aromatic chalk: 20 gr. in water checks diarrhœa.

Belladonna liniment (compound): externally applied on rag covered with waterproof for 12 hours as local remedy for rheumatism and lumbago; anodyne.

Bicarbonate of potash: 15-20 gr.; antacid; taken with lemon juice or citric acid as a cooling drink.

Bicarbonate of soda: 10-20 gr.; antacid; checks heartburn and stops diarrhœa.

Blue pill: 3-5 gr.; alterative; cures bilious attacks.

Borax: 1 in 24 parts water as a gargle for sore throat.

Calomel: 1-3 gr.; powerful purgative and alterative; taken for biliousness.

Camphor liniment (compound): stimulant liniment.

Carbonate magnesia: 5-30 gr. in milk; antacid, gentle aperient; useful for children.

Castor oil: ½ tea. (infants), 2 table. (adults), on milk, wine, or orange juice, or blended with glycerine or egg-yolk; most reliable aperient.

Chlorate potash: 10-20 gr., stimulant; 1 dr. with 4 dr. honey and 8 oz. water, gargle for sore throat; lozenges, overcomes effect of high altitudes on the respiratory system.

Chloric ether: 20-30 m. in water, cordial and antispasmodic; relieves cramp, violent cough, spasms, &c.

Chloroform: not to be inhaled or taken except in a doctor’s presence; sedative; applied to rheumatism, stings, and toothache as an anodyne.

Citrate of iron and quinine: 3-5 gr. in water; tonic and binding.

Citrate of magnesia (granular effervescent): 1 dess. in tumbler cold water; cooling aperient.

Cream of tartar: 20-60 gr., diuretic and cooling; ½ oz. in 1 qt. of water, fever drink.

Dover’s power: unfit for children; 5 gr. in wineglassful water, diaphoretic, checks diarrhœa and cures fresh colds; 3 gr. after meals prevents chest-ache.

Epsom salts: 1-4 dr. in water; purgative.

Essence of camphor: 30 m. in wineglassful water; exhilarating.

Essence of ginger: ½ tea. in wineglassful water; cordial stimulant, useful in chest-ache.

Essence of peppermint: 10-15 m. on sugar; exhilarating, warming and antispasmodic.

Extract of bark: 10-30 m. in wineglassful water; valuable tonic in neuralgia and fever.

Friar’s balsam: ½-1 dr. with sugar and egg-yolk, stimulating expectorant; applied on cuts.

Glycerine: may replace sugar for sweetening drinks and medicines; much used for softening the skin.

Goulard’s extract: 5 m. in wineglassful water as an eyewash; 1 in 40 of water, astringent, applied to bruises and sprains as a wash.

Gregory’s powder: 1 tea. in wineglassful water, cooling mild aperient.

Grey powder: 3-5 gr. (adult); aperient, acting on the liver.

Ipecacuanha powder: 15 gr. emetic.

Ditto wine: 10-20 m., expectorant for coughs; 1 table. (adults), repeated at 10 minutes intervals, emetic.

Jalapine: 2-6 gr., aperient for children.

Laudanum: 10-20 m., anodyne and soporific; with equal quantity opodeldoc, applied as an anodyne.

Lime-water: antacid; checks infantile diarrhœa; mixed with sweet oil affords great relief when applied to burns.

Liquorice powder (compound): 1 tea., mild aperient, best for piles.

Milk of sulphur: 1 tea. rubbed up with milk, gentle aperient and cooling, useful in rheumatism and piles.

Morphia bimeconate: 5 m. increasing every 3 hours; most valuable sedative and soporific; applied as an anodyne after the part has been reddened by compound camphor liniment.

Muriate (chloride) of ammonia: 10 gr. in wineglassful water, good expectorant in bronchitis; 1 oz. with 1 oz. alcohol and 10 oz. water; stimulant lotion for sprains.

Nitrate of silver: 2-4 gr. in 1 oz. water, lotion for sore nipples; 20 gr. in 1 oz. water, throat wash in diphtheria.

Nitre (saltpetre): 5 gr. in saline draught, cooling and diuretic for fever; ¼ oz. in ½ pint barley water, gargle for inflamed sore throat.

Nitric acid (dilute): 10 m. with 5 m. tincture of chiretta, 15 m. tincture of orange and 10 m. syrup in 1 wineglassful water, excellent between meal-times for convalescents.

Opodeldoc (soap liniment): excellent applied to bruises, stops swelling and discoloration.

Paregoric: 30-60 m., checks coughing.

Prepared chalk: 15-30 gr. repeated, with cinnamon and tincture of catechu, antacid and astringent for diarrhœa and cholera; made into a cream with water, cooling shield for burns.

Rhubarb: 1-5 gr., tonic to bowels; 10-20 gr., aperient followed by astringent.

Sal volatile: 30-60 m. in wineglassful camphor julep; antacid, antispasmodic, and exhilarating.

Santonine: 2-3 gr. on 3 alternate nights, followed by castor oil in the morning, expels threadworms from children.

Spirit of minderus: 15-20 m. in gruel at bedtime, excellent diaphoretic and cure for coryza (cold in the head); 20 m. in wineglassful water, eyewash; 1 table. in tumbler water, cooling lotion.

Spirit of nitre: 20-30 drops in wineglassful water, or 1 tea. in hot gruel at bedtime, diuretic and diaphoretic, for colds.

Sulphate of copper: 10-15 gr. in wineglassful water, rapid emetic in poisoning.

Sulphate of potash: 10-20 gr. with 10 gr. rhubarb and 15 gr. sugar in peppermint-water, mild aperient.

Sulphate of quinine: 1-5 gr. 2 or 3 times a day, tonic, useful in neuralgia, dyspepsia, weakness and fever.

Sulphate of zinc: 20 gr. in wineglassful water, emetic; 1 gr. in 1 oz. water, eyewash, astringent.

Sulphuric ether: ½-1 tea. in camphor julep, exhilarant.

Syrup of senna: 1 tea. (adults), mild aperient.

Tincture of arnica: with 4 times its bulk in hot water for fomenting bruises.

Tincture of chiretta: 10-30 m., tonic, useful in dyspepsia.

Tincture of colchicum: 10-20 m. at night after a light meal, diaphoretic, valuable in gout, rheumatism, and dropsy.

Tincture of henbane: 15-60 m., narcotic and anodyne.

Tincture of lavender (compound): 1 tea. with ½ tea. sal volatile in water, stimulant, antispasmodic, and exhilarant.

Tincture of quinine: 1-2 tea. in wineglassful water 2 or 3 times a day, tonic.

Tincture of rhubarb: 2-4 tea., cordial and purgative.

Tincture of squills: 1 tea. with wineglassful water, expectorant; take 1 dess. at short intervals to check coughing.

Tincture of steel: 5-15 m. in wineglassful water, tonic, astringent, and diuretic, good in weakness and dyspepsia.

Tincture of valerian: 1 tea. in camphor water, antispasmodic and stimulant, valuable in nervous headache.

Common Complaints.--Without making the least pretence to give such information as will enable the sick man to dispense with the services of the physician or surgeon, whose aid should be promptly sought, there are many matters which by careful study may enable the threatened attack to be warded off, and there are a variety of ailments and troubles which are not generally deemed of sufficient importance to be worth troubling a doctor about. It is these subjects which claim treatment here, and with which the following paragraphs will deal, leaving all special and serious diseases in hands which have been trained to the work.

=Accidents and Emergencies.=--The first piece of advice to every one is to attend a series of lectures given every winter by the St. John’s Ambulance Association at very numerous centres all over the kingdom. This will convey an amount of knowledge and practical experience such as can never be attained by reading alone. Even Volunteers, who have gone through a course for the Army Hospital Corps, will do well to supplement it for every-day life with a course of St. John’s Ambulance lectures.

When you have not witnessed the occurrence of an accident, make some inquiry of the bystanders or patient as to its cause before taking any other steps, as this will often indicate what kind of injury is to be looked for. Never proceed to lift or remove a patient with broken limbs or bleeding wounds till the necessary bandaging and staunching have been done: let traffic be interrupted, if need be, rather than risk converting a simple hurt into a fatal one.

The ordinary accidents and emergencies of every-day life will now be dealt with in alphabetic order.

Bites and Stings.--These may be divided into two classes--those of insects and those of poisonous or rabid animals.

Of Insects.--First remove the sting (of a bee or wasp) by pressing a small key on the spot, whereby the sting is forced into the hollow barrel; then apply any of the following lotions:--(a) Rub the bite of mosquitoes with a solution of borax in ammonia. (b) When bitten by midges, the best applications are oil of camphor and laudanum, equal parts, applied on lint; or (c) 6 oz. Goulard water, ½ oz. laudanum, applied on lint. (d) ½ dr. extract of belladonna; ½ oz. glycerine; 3½ oz. water; to be well mixed, and made into a lotion. The parts to be washed with a small quantity--about a teaspoonful or two at a time. (e) Goulard water mixed with a little Eau de Cologne makes an excellent wash for the skin in case of gnat bites. (f) Keep an onion always at hand, and instantly when bitten squeeze or cut it, so that the juice should flow into the puncture, rubbing it gently over the place; its effects are equally efficacious in the sting of a wasp or bee, always provided the sting does not remain in the wound. (g) Ipecacuanha powder is very effective in allaying the pain caused by the sting of scorpion, hornet, and wasp, also mosquito and midge bites. For scorpion stings, &c., make a paste of the powder with a little water, and apply it to the wound in a patch about the size and thickness of a shilling. (h) In bee sting, first remove the sting as quickly as possible with a forceps or by scratching with a finger, but never with the thumb and forefinger, because this squeezes more of the poison into the wound. Next squeeze the wound until a drop of blood comes out, and rub the place as large as a florin with an aqueous or dilute alcoholic solution of salicylic acid. The effect is still better by injecting the salicylic acid into the wound with the hypodermic syringe. After this the spot is painted with collodion, to keep out the air. (i) Gnat bites, stings of wasps, bees, &c., may be cured by applying a tincture of minderus, laudanum, and Goulard water in equal parts. (j) Sweet oil, or camphorated spirit of wine, is a good thing to apply to bite of the mosquito. (k) One raw egg well beaten, ½ pint vinegar, ½ oz. spirit of turpentine, ¼ oz. spirit wine, ¼ oz. camphor; these ingredients to be well beaten together, then put in a bottle and shaken for 10 minutes, after which to be corked down tightly to exclude the air. In ½ hour it is fit for use. To be well rubbed in 2, 3, or 4 times a day. (l) The leaves of the common dock, bruised and well rubbed on the part affected, alleviate the pain. (m) For bee stings: after pulling out the stings, break some lettuce leaves close to the stalk, and apply the milk afterward. (n) Anything “strong,” in a popular sense, will generally suffice to decompose and destroy an organic poison if instantly applied. This is why the juice of an onion answers the purpose. Anything equally pungent would do as well. (Lancet.)

Poisonous bites.--There is great similarity in the immediate treatment desirable in the bite of snakes and mad dogs, the object being to prevent, as far as possible, the absorption of the poison by the blood. In the same category come any poisonous wound, as from arrows, &c. (a) Buckland recommends the following outlines:--(1) Suck the wound, if possible, most vigorously, taking care that there be no sores on the lips or in the mouth. In all cases before sucking fill the mouth with oil or salt and water if possible. (2) Apply, if you can, a cupping glass, or cut off the tip of a cow-horn, cut the bottom level, apply it over the wound, and exhaust the air by the mouth; when exhausted fill up the hole by means of a bit of wax or other material placed into the mouth before the operation of sucking is commenced. This is the mode adopted by the Kaffirs. (3) Wash the parts with hartshorn (ammonia). (4) Tie a ligature tightly above the wounded part. (5) Give doses of hartshorn and water as strong and as frequently repeated as the patient can bear them. (6) Send for the doctor as quickly as you can.

(b) Favourable results have followed using chloride of lime, a filtered solution of which was injected into the same place where the fatal virus (snakes’) had previously been introduced. In 17 trials made in succession, the poisoned animal survived without the slightest disturbance of its healthy condition.

(c) First tie a ligature above the part bitten. Then slightly cauterise with a lucifer match. Next swallow tumbler of raw brandy, to be repeated whenever the feeling of sinking comes on, till the liquor (which goes down like water) is tasted, and begins to affect the head. Meanwhile the patient is to be walked about by two men by force if he cannot do so alone or wants to lie down, which would be fatal. (Sir R. Burton.)

(d) Permanganate of potash may be added to the list of antidotes, as it is said to counteract very effectively the poison of serpents, when an equal quantity of filtered (1 per cent.) solution of permanganate of potash is injected 1-2 minutes after the poison.

(e) Probably a vapour bath immediately after being bitten by a venomous reptile or rabid dog will be found to prove one of the best remedies, the intense perspiration induced carrying off the poison. Excessive exercise following a poisonous bite generally effects a cure for this reason.

Bleeding.--Bleeding may result from a wound or from the bursting of a blood vessel, and may occur outwardly or inwardly. Bleeding from a wound may be arterial (coming from the arteries which carry the blood from the heart to the body and limbs), venous (coming from the veins which take the blood back to the heart), or capillary (coming from the capillaries which convey the blood to the extremities and surface of the body). In arterial bleeding, the blood is bright scarlet, and escapes in jerks, as if from a pump; this is highly dangerous. In venous bleeding, the blood is dark coloured, and flows away in an uninterrupted stream. In capillary bleeding, the blood leaks or oozes out. In some wounds all three kinds of bleeding will occur simultaneously. The foremost method of arresting external bleeding is by pressure, either on the wound itself or on the blood vessels feeding it, and in the case of a limb, it should be elevated above the body to retard the flow of blood towards the part. As the pressure is to be made on the vessels leading to the wound, it is obvious that in arterial bleeding the pressure must be between the heart and the wound, while in venous bleeding it must be beyond the wound.

The simplest and readiest way to apply pressure is by the fingers. But first of all some knowledge of anatomy and physiology is necessary to guide the operator where to press. Bleeding from the head and upper neck requires pressure to be exerted on the large artery which passes up beside the windpipe and just above the collar-bone, as in Fig. 110. The artery supplying the arm and hand runs down the inside of the upper arm almost in line with the coat seam, and should be pressed, as shown in Fig. 111. The artery feeding the leg and foot can be felt in the crease of the groin, just where the flesh of the thigh seems to meet the flesh of the abdomen, and this is the best spot to select in the case of a male patient; but in the case of a female, unless the injury were very high up the thigh, it would be more judicious perhaps to apply increased pressure around the leg about half-way between the hip and the knee. Pressure with the hands will not suffice to restrain severe bleeding for any length of time, and recourse must be had to a ligature.

The simplest and most available form of ligature is a pocket-handkerchief or neck-wrap, or any other article of attire long and strong enough to bind the limb. Fold the article necktie fashion, then place a smooth stone or anything serving as a firm pad on the artery, tie the handkerchief loosely, insert any available stick in the loop, and proceed to twist it as if wringing a towel until tight enough to stop the flow of blood, as in Fig. 111.

In the case of bleeding from an external wound or sore on the body, employ direct pressure over the bleeding point. If the bleeding is from the interior of the nose or other cavity, apply cold water or ice over the bleeding part or near it, and keep the patient perfectly quiet on the back, or let the patient stand erect with head well thrown back. Injection of hot water into the nostrils is very effective. When the bleeding is from a diseased surface or ulcer, and direct pressure does not stay it, a compress should be soaked in a strong solution of alum, or in steel-drops, and again applied over the point which is bleeding. Should the wound from which the blood is coming be large and gaping, you may stuff firmly into it a compress of some soft material large enough to fill the cavity; but this should always be avoided if possible, as it prevents the natural junction of the sides of the wound, and is very likely to introduce the germs of poison. In any case of bleeding the patient may become weak or may faint, but unless the blood is flowing actively, this is not necessarily a serious sign, and the quiet condition of the circulation during the faint often assists nature in staying the bleeding, by allowing the blood to clot, and so block up any wound in a blood-vessel. Unless the faint is prolonged, or the patient is losing much blood, it is better not to hasten to relieve the faint condition.

When blood is being coughed or vomited up in considerable quantities, ice or iced water or milk should be given, and the patient be allowed to breathe cool fresh air freely. If the blood is coming from the lungs, inhaling steam of turpentine and hot water mixed (2 tablespoonfuls turpentine to 1 qt. hot water) will often reduce the evil; apply cold wet cloths to the chest.

Broken bones.--Never move a patient with a broken bone till it has been suitably bandaged. Broken bones (fractured) are of three kinds--(a) simple fracture, when the bone is simply broken in one place; (b) compound fracture, when there is a wound in the flesh communicating with the broken ends of the bone; (c) comminuted fracture, when the bone is broken into pieces. The occurrence of a fracture may almost always be learned from the history of the accident, the patient having generally felt or heard the bone snap; other indications are deformity of the limb, such as shortening or bending, and on taking hold of the limb, you will find there is increased movability, and will hear and feel a peculiar grating caused by the broken ends of the bone rubbing against each other, called “crepitus”; also pain and loss of power in the limbs.

It is not imperatively necessary to do anything to a broken limb before the arrival of a doctor, except to keep it perfectly at rest, unless the patient must be moved; then, to prevent further mischief, the broken ends of the bone must be put in position and kept there. The first step is to pull the limb till the sinews and muscles stretch sufficiently to let the two ends of the bone meet each other. When this has been done, splints and bandages must be applied to keep the ends from shifting again.

The treatment of a broken bone then consists of (1) carefully removing or cutting away, if more convenient, any of the clothes which are compressing or hurting the injured parts; (2) very gently replacing the bones in their natural position and shape, as nearly as possible, and putting the part in a position which gives most ease to the patient; (3) applying some temporary splint or appliance, which will keep the broken bones from moving about and tearing the flesh, for which purpose you may use pieces of wood, stick, tin, pasteboard, wire, straw, or firmly folded cloth, taking care to pad the splints with some soft material, and not to apply them too tightly, while the splints may be tied by loops of rope, string, pockethandkerchiefs, pieces of cloth, or any kind of cord; (4) conveying the patient home or to a hospital, meanwhile examining the loops to see that they do not become too tight by rapid swelling of the part.

To get at a broken limb or rib, the clothing must be removed, and it is essential that this be done without injury to the patient. The simplest plan is to rip up the seams of such garments as are in the way. Boots must be cut off.

In a fracture of a leg bone, after setting the broken limb and putting it in splints, it should be bound to the sound leg at the knee and ankle, with rolled up coat for the sides and a piece of thin board or other substance for the front of the thigh. A broken arm, when in splints, requires the support of a sling, which may be made of a handkerchief fastened round the neck.

Bandaging can hardly be learned from a book--some practice is essential. Bandages are made of unbleached calico, flannel, linen, &c., and are used as supports to the different parts of the body, as means of applying pressure, for fixing splints, dressing, &c., and for allaying muscular action. The chief kinds are the roller and the triangular bandages.

Roller bandages commonly have the following dimensions: Finger, 1 yd. by ¾ in.; arm, 3-6 yd. by 2½ in.; leg, 6-8 yd. by 3 in.; chest, 8-12 yd. by 4-5 in.; head, 4-6 yd. by 2½ in. To roll one of these bandages, first fold one end 2 or 3 times, as tightly as you can, making it into a small roll; take hold of this by the fingers of both hands, both thumbs being placed on the top of it, the rest of the bandage being held by another person, who keeps it moderately strained; by alternate movement of the thumbs make the roll revolve on its own axis, the fingers at the same time holding it in position between the hands; fasten the end by a stitch or pin, to prevent unrolling.

Roller bandages are applied in 3 different ways: (1) simple spiral, (2) reverse or recurrent, (3) crucial or figure-of-8. When first applying the bandage, leave the end a little long, so that when the first turn is made, by laying this end under, and bandaging over it again, it is prevented from slipping. The application of the simple spiral is shown in Figs. 112, 113, each turn overlapping the preceding one to the extent of about ⅔rds the width of the bandage. This simple spiral is generally replaced by the reverse spiral, Fig. 114, which differs from it in that the bandage is turned back upon itself each time it is carried round the limb; it is not easily learnt, and requires practice before it can be done well; the thumb or forefinger of the hand not holding the bandage should be laid upon the limb at the point where the turn of the bandage is to be commenced, the other hand turning the bandage back upon itself. The crucial or figure-of-8 form is generally used at the joints, and always when going over the ankle-joint in bandaging from the foot up the leg. Carry the bandage over the upper part of the joint, then down, under, and across the lower part, and then up over the upper part again. Remember always to bandage from within outwards; commence from below and work upwards; let the pressure be evenly and uniformly applied, but not too lightly; avoid all wrinkles in your bandage; reverse or turn a bandage over always on the fleshy side, and not over a bone; fasten it with a few stitches.

The triangular bandage may well be represented in every-day life by an ordinary large pockethandkerchief folded from corner to corner. Its application is almost endless and simplicity itself. A few examples of the manner in which it may be used are shown in Figs. 115, a, b, c, d; it is fastened merely by tying the ends in a double knot.

Broken ribs are of common occurrence, and give rise to great pain, because every time the injured person breathes, the ribs, rising and falling, allow the broken ends to grate against each other. A temporary method of relieving this pain and keeping the broken ends in apposition, is to roll a wide flannel or calico bandage tightly round the chest 3 or 4 times.

Burns and Scalds.--(a) In all but very slight cases of burns and scalds, the patient should be seen by a doctor at once, as the constitutional symptoms consequent upon these accidents require skilled attention. With regard to the immediate local applications. The clothes having been most gently and cautiously removed (being cut in all places where they adhere to the burnt and scalded skin) and any blisters having been simply pricked, the surface should at once be covered with some unirritating substance which excludes the air and keeps up a good heat. For this purpose many things are advocated, such as flour, starch, a mixture of collodion and castor oil, and “carron oil” (equal parts lime-water and linseed oil). A smooth, thick layer of cotton wool should be laid over this, or failing that a blanket, but do not let the blanket touch any raw place without the intervention of a piece of fine linen rag soaked in oil, or it would stick, causing great pain when removed.

(b) Linen dipped in a solution of carbonate of soda or potash relieves the pain sooner than anything. The best form is a saturated solution of bicarbonated soda in either plain water or camphorated water; if applied speedily it is most effectual in immediately relieving the acute burning pain; and when the burn is only superficial, or not severe, removing all pain in the course of a very short time, and preventing the usual consequences--a painful blistering of the skin, separation of the epidermis, and perhaps more or less of suppuration. For this purpose, all that is necessary is to cut a piece of lint, or old soft rag, or even thick blotting-paper, of a size sufficient to cover the burned or scalded parts, and to keep it constantly well wetted with the soda lotion so as to prevent its drying. By this means, it usually happens that all pain ceases in ¼-½ hour. Where the main part of a limb, such as the hand and fore-arm or the foot and leg have been burned, it is best to plunge the part at once into a vessel filled with the soda lotion, and keep it there until the pain subsides.

(c) The matter given off from burnt surfaces soon emits a very offensive odour. Therefore it is wise to mix an antiseptic substance with the remedies--e.g. carbolic acid or thymol, which not only prevent the bad odour from the suppuration, but also tend to alleviate the suffering. It would be well to always keep ready mixed an ointment for burns containing 1 per cent. thymol.

(d) The free use of soft soap upon a fresh burn will remove the fire from the flesh in very little time. If the burn be severe, after relief from the pain, use linseed oil, and then sift upon it wheat flour. When this is dried hard, repeat the oil and flour until a complete covering is obtained. Let this dry until it falls off, and a new skin will be formed without a scar.

(e) Take ice well crushed or scraped, as dry as possible, into the finest division; then mix it with fresh lard until a broken paste is formed. The mass is put into a thin cambric bag, laid upon the burn or scald, and replaced as required. So long as the ice and lard are melting there is no pain from the burn; return of pain calls for the repetition of the remedy.

(f) Whether the skin is broken or not, apply soft cotton or linen rags, dipped in a solution of Epsom salts, 1 oz. to the pint of cold water, and lightly bound over the burnt part or parts, the bandages to be kept constantly moist with the solution, and never removed till a cure is effected, which will be in 2-3 hours to 2-3 days, according to the severity and extent of the burning. While this application in all cases gives instant relief from pain, it is especially useful in removing the tendency to collapse and nervous dread.

(g) Cover the place over at once with the preparation of chalk, called common kitchen whiting, mixed, either with sweet oil or water--oil is preferable--into a thick paste. Plaster it gently on with a brush or a feather about ⅛ in., or more, thick; taking care, if possible, not to break the blister, or blisters. Then cover the part affected with a piece of flannel, to keep the moisture in, and damp the layer of whiting from time to time with oil or water. If kitchen whiting cannot be procured, use flour instead; and if neither can be had, then cover the scalds or burns with bits of rag dipped in sweet oil, and lay plenty of cotton wool outside them. Change the dressings only often enough to keep the places clean, and then wash them off with a weak solution of carbolic acid.

(h) A method in use in the public hospitals of the city of New York, known as “glue burn mixture” is composed as follows 7½ troy oz. white glue, 16 fl. oz. water, 1 fl. oz. glycerine, 2 fl. dr. carbolic acid. Soak the glue in the water until it is soft; then heat on a water-bath until melted; add the glycerine and carbolic acid, and continue heating until, in the intervals of stirring, a glossy, strong skin begins to form over the surface. When wanted for use, heat on a water-bath, and apply with a flat brush over the burned part. Pour the melted mass into small delf extract jars, cover with paraffin-paper and tin-foil before the lid is put on, and afterwards protect by paper pasted around the edge of the lid. In this manner, the mass may be preserved indefinitely.

(i) Saturate a soft piece of fabric with alcohol, lay it over the burn, then cover it with cotton or finely picked oakum: it will allay the pain. Subsequently disturb the dressing as little as possible; wet the dressing occasionally with alcohol. In burns from strong nitric acid, copious application of cold water, and even of such powerful bases as ammonia, potash, and lime in water, have no perceptible effect, except perhaps to increase the violence of the inflammation. But the effect of a dilute solution of sulphurous acid is astounding. In a very few minutes the blister will be reduced; the oxidising process of the acid will be completely arrested, the painful irritation removed, and in a short space of time the wound will heal. (A. Irving.)

In bad burns with lime, soap lye, or any caustic alkali, wash abundantly with water (do not rub), and then with weak vinegar or water containing a little sulphuric acid; finally apply oil as in ordinary burns.

(j) To recover a person in a state of insensibility from the effect of smoke, dash cold water in the face, or cold and hot water alternately. Should this fail, turn him on his face, with the arms folded under his forehead. Apply pressure along the back and ribs, and turn the body gradually on the side; then again slowly on the face, repeating the pressure on the back. Persevere with these alternate rolling movements about 16 times in a minute, until respiration is restored, A warm bath will now complete the recovery.

(k) In scalding by boiling water or steam, cold water should be plentifully poured over the person and cloths, and the patient then be carried carefully to a warm room, laid on the floor or carpet, or on a table, but not put into bed (as there it becomes difficult to attend further to the injuries), to await the doctor. If the patient complains of thirst, a warm, stimulating drink (such as tea) should be given, as after severe burning the temperature of the body is sure to fall. Children sometimes receive serious scalds of the mouth and throat by swallowing hot fluid or steam from a spout. Medical assistance should be obtained without delay, as an immediate operation may be required to prevent death from suffocation. Until the arrival of the doctor the patient should inhale warm vapour, to relieve the fits of choking; the best way to make a person inhale vapour is to construct a kind of tent of blankets around the patient, and allow the steam from a kettle, to puff into it.

Carrying injured persons. (a) By Bearers.--If no conveyance can be procured or improvised, you can transport an injured person a short distance by human bearers. If only one is available, and if the patient can stand up, let him place one arm round the neck of the bearer, bringing his hand on and in front of the opposite shoulder of the bearer. The bearer then places his arm behind the back of the patient and grasps his opposite hip, at the same time catching firmly hold of the hand of the patient placed on his shoulder with his other hand. Then by putting his hip behind the near hip of the patient much support is given, and, if necessary, the bearer can in this way lift him off the ground, and, as it were, carry him along. This is an admirable way of helping an invalid to walk up stairs. If the patient cannot stand, the only way in which one person can remove him is by getting him on his back; this is not practicable in a case of broken thigh (Fig. 116).

When 2 bearers are available, the patient may be carried several different ways:--(1) In a sitting position, by the bearers joining two of their hands underneath his thighs, close to the buttocks, while their other two hands are placed round his loins and clasped together. The patient, if able, can help to support himself by clasping the bearers round their necks. (2) By 2 of the bearers’ hands forming a seat and the other 2 arms a back support (Fig. 117). (3) By 3 of their hands forming a seat, while a back support is made by the remaining arm (Fig. 118). (4) A seat may be made with all 4 hands, and especially if the patient is able to sit up and help support himself by placing his arm over the shoulders of the bearers, he may be carried a long distance by this method. Fig. 119 shows another plan, and Fig. 120 indicates how the hands should grasp each other.

(b) By Stretcher.--To place an injured person on a stretcher and convey him properly requires 3 bearers, unless the distance be very great; 2 carry the stretcher, and a third attends to the patient, and changes place with one of the bearers if necessary. To lay a patient on it, put the foot of the stretcher at his head in a line with his body; 2 bearers then place themselves one at either side, join hands underneath the back and hips of the patient, raise him up, lift him backwards over the stretcher, and lower him on to it. The third bearer takes charge of the injured portion (limb or head), and steadies it with a hand on either side. The two bearers now take their places at the head and foot of the stretcher, lift it up, and carry it off; while the third walks at the side of it, as a safeguard to the patient. Observe the following rules in carrying a stretcher: (1) Carry it with the hands, or suspended by straps over the bearers’ shoulders, never place it on the shoulders, because the patient might fall off, or even die, without the bearer observing it. (2) Do not keep step, i.e. do not put the same foot forward, then the motion of the stretcher remains even. The pace must be short (about 20 in.) and without a spring; the knees must be rather bent, and the hips moved as little as possible. Jolting, hurrying, crossing ditches, &c., are to be avoided. Choose bearers of the same height, arrange the shoulder-straps so that the head may be carried a little higher than the feet.

Convulsions.--Till medical aid can be procured, put the child into a warm bath, in which you can bear your elbow. Sponge him well over, and put a sponge of cold water on his head.

Cuts and Wounds.--Wounds may be “incised” (made by a clean-cutting instrument), “punctured” (when the depth exceeds the breadth, as in stabs), “lacerated” (torn, and the lips of the wound irregular), and “contused” (effected by bruising). The chief points to be attended to are:--(a) Arrest the bleeding. (b) Remove all foreign bodies as soon as possible. (c) Bring the wounded parts in apposition, and keep them so, best done by means of strips of adhesive plaister, first applied to one side of the wound, and then secured to the other; these strips should not be too broad, and space must be left between the strips to allow any matter to escape; wounds too extensive to be kept together by plaister, must be stitched by a surgeon. For punctured and severely lacerated or contused wounds a surgeon should be sent for.

For washing a wound, to every pint of water add either 5 gr. corrosive sublimate or 2½ teaspoonfuls carbolic acid. If the acid is used, add 2 tablespoonfuls glycerine, to prevent its irritating the wound. If there is neither of these articles in the house, add 4 tablespoonfuls borax to the water. Wash the wound, close it, and apply a compress of a folded square of cotton or linen. Wet it in the solution used for washing the wound, and bandage down quickly and firmly. If the bleeding is profuse, a sponge dipped in very hot water and wrung out in cloth should be applied as quickly as possible. If this is not available, use ice, or cloths wrung out in ice water.

Wounds heal in two ways.--(a) Rapidly, by primary union without suppuration, and leaving only a very fine scar; this only when the sides of wound can be accurately brought together, are not displaced by bleeding or exudation of matter, and when the wound is left quiet, protected from outward injury, and kept perfectly free from impurity. (b) Slowly, with suppuration, and the formation of granulations, and leaving a large red scar, as when so much skin has been destroyed that the edges of the wound cannot be brought together, or so lacerated and bruised that life is destroyed in them, or separated by blood or exudation of matter, or if the injured parts have been disturbed, or the wound has not been properly cleaned and disinfected. Want of cleanliness leads to putrefaction and the formation of matter, which separates the sides of the wound.

Drowning, Choking, and Suffocation.--The fatal termination to be avoided in all these cases is suspension of breathing, hence they may be classed under one head.

Drowning.--This is perhaps the most common, and embraces in great measure the remedies adapted to the other forms of suffocation. The first step is to send immediately for medical assistance, blankets, and dry clothing; but proceed to treat the patient instantly on the spot, in the open air, with the face downward, whether on shore or afloat; exposing the face, neck, and chest to the wind, except in severe weather, and removing all tight clothing from the neck and chest, especially the braces.

The points to be aimed at are--immediately the restoration of breathing; and, after breathing is restored, promotion of warmth and circulation. Efforts to restore breathing must be commenced immediately and energetically, and persevered in for 1-2 hours, or until a doctor has pronounced life extinct. Efforts to promote warmth and circulation, beyond removing wet clothes and drying the skin, must not be made until the first appearance of natural breathing; for if circulation of the blood be induced before breathing has recommenced, the restoration to life will be endangered.

To restore breathing, place the patient on the floor or ground with the face downwards, and one of the arms under the forehead, in which position fluids can more readily escape at the mouth, and the tongue will loll out, leaving the entrance to the windpipe free. The tongue may be easily kept extended by simply passing a small rubber band round it and the chin. The mouth and nose must be thoroughly wiped and cleaned from obstructions.

If breathing has quite or almost failed, means must be used to restore it; if not, proceed at once to promote warmth. There are several ways of inciting suspended respiration. The best, as requiring only one person, is Silvester’s method, as follows: Place the apparently dead person flat on his back, raising his head and shoulders slightly by means of a folded article of dress. Standing behind him, grasp his arms just above the elbow, and draw them gently and steadily upwards over the head, keeping them in that position for 2 seconds; by this means the chest expands and air is drawn into the lungs (Fig. 121). Then carry the arms back again in the same way and press them gently and firmly against the sides of the chest for 2 seconds; by this means the air is pressed out of the lungs again (Fig. 122). These movements are repeated carefully and perseveringly, about 15 times in a minute, till natural respiration begins. The first evidence of this is a sudden flush of colour in the face.

When 2 persons are present, Francis’s plan may be adopted, thus: The body of the patient is laid on the back, with clothes loosened, and the mouth and nose wiped; 2 bystanders pass their right hands under the body at the level of the waist, and grasp each other’s hands, then raise the body until the tips of the fingers and the toes of the patient alone touch the ground; count 15 rapidly; then lower the body flat to the ground, and press the elbows to the side hard; count 15 again; then raise the body again for the same length of time, and so on, alternately raising and lowering. The head, arms, and legs are to be allowed to dangle down quite freely when the body is raised.

When 3 or more persons can assist, Marshall Hall’s method is available. To excite breathing, turn the patient quite on the side, supporting the head, and induce inspiration and expiration by alternately rolling the body over on its face, and back again, at 15 seconds intervals, as shown in Figs. 123 and 124.

As soon as a natural effort to breathe is produced, endeavour to restore circulation and warmth. Wrap the body in dry blankets and commence rubbing the limbs upwards firmly and energetically under the blanket or over warm clothing, which can generally be got from bystanders. Then put the patient into a warm bed, and cover over with hot flannels, applying bottles or bladders of hot water, or heated bricks, to the pit of the stomach, the armpits, between the thighs, and to the soles of the feet. When the patient is able to swallow, give him warm fluids by spoonfuls--coffee, tea, brandy and water, wine--but not in too great quantities. Warm baths should never be used but when ordered by the doctor.

Choking.--When a person gets a fish-bone or other substance in the throat, at once insert a finger into the mouth and press upon the root of the tongue, so as to induce vomiting. If this fails, let the patient swallow a piece of soft bread. If the substance can be felt by the finger, insert 2 fingers into the mouth and bring it away, using the safeguard of putting some hard substance between the teeth. A medical man should at once be sent for. Repeatedly sucking lemons will help to dissolve the bone. A marble or similar article in a child’s throat may be dislodged by turning him heels upwards and shaking.

Suffocation.--Remove the patient immediately to the fresh air; dash cold water in the face and on the chest; keep up the warmth of the body, and apply mustard plaisters over the heart and round the ankles. If these means fail, without loss of time try artificial respiration, as already described.

Before entering a suffocating atmosphere to rescue persons, tie a towel soaked in vinegar and water over the mouth. Admit fresh air to the room if possible.

Fits, Fainting, and Unconsciousness.--These bear a strong outward resemblance to each other while due to very different causes. The latter are principally: (a) injuries to the brain, with or without fractures of the skull; (b) diseases of the brain (including fits), apoplexy, epilepsy, &c.; (c) poisoning by narcotics and by retention of urine (in kidney disease); (d) fainting (paralysis of the heart through fright, exhaustion, loss of blood, &c.).

In such cases gather a history of the occurrence, and note the position of the body and its surroundings; also whether the breath smells of spirits, which shows there has been drinking, but remember that other and more serious conditions (paralysis, injury to the brain, &c.) may co-exist with intoxication. Lay the body on the back, with the head low if the face is pale, as in faintness after great loss of blood. If the face is red, the head must be raised. If sickness sets in, incline the head at once, so that the vomited matters may not be drawn into the lungs. Undo all clothing round the neck. Allow free circulation of air round the patient. Remove the patient as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital or doctor on a stretcher.

In epileptic fits, recognised by convulsive spasms of the limbs and body, contorted and congested face, foaming at the mouth, and bitten tongue, act on the rules just mentioned, and do all in your power to prevent the patient injuring himself, without attempting to restrain his movements. Lay something soft under his head, put something between the teeth, watch till the fit is over, and then remove him. In cases of fainting at once lay the patient flat, with the head brought to the same level as the body, to enable the blood more easily to circulate through the brain, for it is want of power in the heart to propel the blood to the brain that has caused the insensibility. If bleeding is going on, it must at once be arrested. As stimulants, eau de Cologne, sal volatile, ammonia, &c., may be used, but the important thing to remember is the position of head and body. Stimulation is apt to start afresh the bleeding arrested by fainting. In cases of snoring, with face flushed (apoplexy), undo clothing round the neck, keep the head raised, dash cold water on the top of the head, and apply hot-water bottles to the feet; send for doctor; do not give brandy.

Frostbite.--In serious frostbite or cases of exposure to intense cold, endeavours to restore life should be made with the greatest care. If you bring the patient suddenly into a warm room, death will follow certainly. Carry him carefully into a closed but cold room, and undress him with care for fear of breaking the stiffened limbs. If snow is to be had, cover and vigorously rub the whole body with it. If not, cover and rub with cold wet cloths or cold sand, or put him into a cold bath. Alternately with this try artificial means to restore breathing (as in drowning). When the patient begins to breathe naturally, and the limbs become less stiff, he should be carried into a moderately warm room and covered lightly with cold coverings and sheets. After this, he may be rubbed by degrees with warm cloths, and the warmth of the room gradually increased. Then try by means of smelling-salts, ammonia, or ether, and slightly stimulating drinks, such as light cold wine, cold coffee or soup, to recall consciousness. Should any part of the body remain without sensation, blue, swollen, or blistered, there is great danger of mortification setting in.

For after consequences, which recur most frequently in cold weather, apply balsam of copaiba, spread thickly on a piece of linen or muslin, the affected parts being covered with the application, which is allowed to remain over the night. By day, some of the balsam is to be spread over the affected parts. After one or two applications the pains cease and the redness disappears; whilst a few additional applications seem to give to the parts a power of resistance to frostbite.

Dr. Lapatin advises that fingers and toes which have been slightly frost-bitten, and which subsequently suffer from burning, itching, and pricking sensations, should be painted, at first once, and afterwards twice a day, with a mixture of dilute nitric acid, and peppermint water in equal proportions. After this application has been made for 3-4 days, the skin becomes darkened and the epidermis is shed, healthy skin appearing under it. The cure is effected in 10-14 days.

The members of the Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition found most benefit from a mixture of iodine and collodion.

Lightning Stroke.--Apply cold to the head, and, if necessary, warmth to the extremities; rub the limbs well, and give stimulants as soon as the patient can swallow.

Poisons.--In all cases of poisoning, at once note the position and surroundings of the patient, and whether bottles likely to have contained poison are at hand. Send for the nearest doctor, and proceed immediately to get the poison out of the stomach by encouraging vomiting. Vomiting is often one of the first and most important signs of poisoning, and then only requires fostering by large draughts of warm water. If vomiting is not present, at once administer an emetic, such as sulphate of zinc in 20-30 gr. doses, 2 tablespoonfuls ipecacuanha wine mixed with warm water. In the absence of these, resort to mustard and water, a teaspoonful or two in warm water frequently repeated, or common salt and water may be used; vomiting may also be excited by tickling the back of the throat, and by freely drinking hot greasy water. A stomach pump must only be used by a surgeon; but a safe substitute, if the patient is conscious, is a piece of rubber tubing, about 3 yd. long and ½ in. diameter. Let the patient swallow about 2 ft. of this, then hold the free end of the tube above his head (Fig. 125) and pour down through a funnel 1-2 pints warm water, which will go direct into the stomach. By lowering the free end (Fig. 126) the stomach empties itself readily. By frequent repetition the cavity of the stomach is completely washed out.

Try to ascertain what the poison is, and proceed to administer antidotes. Most poisons may be grouped under two classes--narcotic and irritant; the former being mainly organic (vegetable) substances, and the latter chiefly minerals. In narcotic poisoning, vomiting must be induced or the stomach emptied in some other way, and means must be taken to prevent sleep ensuing, by walking the patient about, slapping with wet towels, dashing cold water in the face, &c.; give strong black coffee to drink (or with an enema); put icy cold compresses on the head, and mustard plaisters on the stomach and calves of the legs. In irritant poisoning, the poison itself is pretty sure to cause vomiting, which then need not be encouraged. To protect the stomach and gullet from the corrosive action of irritant poisons, bland and oily fluids, such as salad oil, egg-white, milk, flour and water, should be freely administered.

The following summary of poisons and antidotes will be found useful:--

NARCOTIC POISONS.

Poison. Antidote.

Aconite, monkshood emetics; warmth; rub the skin. Alcohol, alcoholic drinks emetics; cold douche; keep awake.

Belladonna, deadly nightshade emetics; strong coffee; hot and cold douches alternately; artificial respiration. Chloral hydrate emetics; strong coffee enema; hot blankets, and water bottle to feet; artificial respiration; keep awake. Chloroform fresh air and artificial respiration; hot and cold douche. Cyanide of potassium, prussic emetics; stimulants; cold and hot acid, laurel water, essential douche; artificial respiration. oil of almonds, benzol. Ether as chloroform. Fool’s parsley brandy; strong tea; warm applications to extremities. Foxglove emetics; stimulants; prolonged recumbence. Hemlock emetics; strong tea; warmth and rubbing; artificial respiration. Henbane a large spoonful of animal charcoal, emetics 10 minutes later, then brandy or coffee; keep awake. Laburnum pods or seeds 5-6 gr. zinc sulphate as an emetic. Meadow saffron brandy; strong tea; warm mucilaginous drinks. Mushrooms emetics; stimulants; warmth and rubbing. Opium, chlorodyne, Godfrey’s emetics; hot coffee; cold douche; cordial, poppies, keep awake; artificial respiration. soothing syrups. Poison ivy {on the body} apply a weak solution of sugar of Poison dogwood {on the body} lead. Spurge laurel, mezereum brandy and warm mucilaginous drinks. Strychnine, vermin-killers emetics; chloroform in an inhaler. Yew berries emetics; brandy; warmth to extremities recumbent position.

IRRITANT POISONS.

Acid--carbolic, creosote. emetics; lime-water; salad oil; coffee. Acid--oxalic, potassium oxalate, water containing chalk or whiting, salt of sorrel, salt of lemon. but not ammonia, potash, or soda. Acids--acetic, hydrochloric, abundance of water containing chalk, nitric, sulphuric; magnesia, sal-volatile, washing spirit of salt. soda, or whiting; egg-white, milk, thick gruel. Alkalies--ammonia, potash, water containing lemon-juice or soda. vinegar; salad oil, milk, egg-white, gruel. Antimony, tartar emetic emetic if needed; plenty of strong coffee; egg-white, milk. Arsenic, emerald green, emetics; magnesia; warmth and friction; fly paper strong coffee; best antidote is moist peroxide of iron, which can be made by dissolving ½ oz. iron sulphate and ½ oz. potash carbonate (or ¾ oz. soda carbonate) separately in warm water and mixing, adding ¼ oz. magnesia-- calcined if handy--dilute with ½ pint hot water, and drink very hot. Bichromate of potash emetics; magnesia, chalk, or whiting. Blistering fluid emetics; egg-white, barley water, gruel; not oil. Bluestone emetic if needed; milk, eggs, barley water, gruel. Caustic, nitrate of silver abundance of salt in water or milk, egg-white, barley water. Chloride of mercury, emetic if needed; raw egg beaten up in milk, corrosive sublimate gruel, arrowroot; strong coffee. Iodine emetics; plenty of gruel, arrowroot or starch. Phosphorus, matches, rat poison emetics; 10 drops oil of turpentine, every ¼ hour in gruel or milk with a little magnesia; egg-white, barley water. Pyrogallol emetics. Sugar of lead, paint emetics, zinc sulphate best; ½ oz. Epsom salts in water; egg-white, milk, barley water. Turpentine, furniture polish emetics; milk, egg-white, barley water. White precipitate emetics; coffee; egg-white beaten up in water, barley water, arrowroot.

Sprains.--A sprain is a sudden forcible stretching of the tendons or ligaments, or both combined, of a joint, and is always accompanied by most acute pain, and generally followed by rapid swelling. It is always tedious and troublesome, and hence often leads to more serious results; in all but very slight cases, a surgeon should be seen. Meantime give the injured part perfect rest, keep it in an elevated position, and apply cold water continuously, or immerse in water as hot as can be possibly borne, and after keeping it there for ¼ hour, frequently apply hot bran (or oatmeal and vinegar) poultices. As an embrocation, put ¼ lb. camphor in ½ lb. methylated spirits of wine; when dissolved, add 1 oz. oil of origanum, and rub the place night and morning, or use Elliman’s embrocation. In many cases of supposed severe sprain, some of the bones forming the injured joint are broken, therefore it is wise to treat these cases by the rules for broken bones before removing the patient.

Sunstroke.--In cases of simple exhaustion, ordinary treatment is all that is needed. Removal to a cooler locality, the cold douche (but not too much prolonged), or the administration of stimulants, may be beneficial. Tight or oppressive clothing should be removed, and the patient treated as in syncope from other causes. Rest and freedom from exposure to over-exertion, fatigue, or great heat, should be enjoined. In that form of sunstroke where the person is struck down suddenly by a hot sun, the patient should be removed into the shade, and the douche of cold water being allowed to fall in a stream on the head and body from a pump (or, as in India from the mussuck, or other similar contrivance), should be freely resorted to, the object being twofold--to reduce the temperature of the over-heated centres, and to rouse them into action. Mustard-plaisters and purgative enemata may be useful. If recovery be imperfect, and followed by any indication of injury to the nerve-centres, or by the supervention of meningitis, other treatment may be necessary according to the indications. Much exposure to the sun should be carefully guarded against; and, unless recovery be complete and rapid, the sufferer should be removed to a cooler climate, the most perfect rest and tranquillity of mind and body enjoined, and the greatest care be observed in regard to extreme moderation in the use of stimulants. (Dr. Fayrer.) For prevention, wear light head-gear with good protection to the nape of the neck; let the lining be double, one of green and the other of yellow material, and have ventilation holes at the sides and top.

=Common Complaints=:--

Brain worries.--To the broad question, Are people suffering from overwork? Dr. Samuel Wilks, Physician to Guy’s Hospital, would have no hesitation in saying “No.” His remarks on the subject are worth repeating. He proceeds:--“On the contrary, if both sexes be taken, I should say the opposite is nearer the truth, and that more persons are suffering from idleness than from excessive work. Medically speaking, I see half a dozen persons suffering from want of occupation to one who is crippled by his labours. I have, therefore, very little sympathy with the prevalent notion that nervous and other diseases are due to overwork. As regards the community generally, or at least those of its number who come before the medical man on account of their ailments, my belief is that the explanation they offer arises from a delusion; and amongst girls, so far from any studies or other work being injurious, I could instance numerous cases of restoration to health on the discovery of an occupation. Very often, when a business man complains of being overdone, it may be found that his meals are very irregular and hurried, that he takes no exercise, is rather partial to brandy and soda, and thinks it not improper to half poison himself with nicotine every night and morning. The lady in the same way eats no breakfast, takes a glass of sherry at 11 o’clock, and drinks tea all the afternoon; when night arrives she has become ready to engage in any performance to which she may have been invited. When the man of business presents himself, with his nerves really overstrained, he is found to be a man of delicate or actually insane temperament. The rule, however, is that when a patient comes before me with his nerves unstrung, hypochondriacal, and goes through the whole machinery of his body to inform me of its working, previously committing all the facts to paper lest an important one should be forgotten, that man is getting rusty from having no occupation.... We forget sometimes what a formidable machine is the animal body, with its force-producing nervous system. The brain is an engine of many horse power; its energy must be accounted for in some way; if not used for good purposes, it will be for bad, and ‘mischief will be found for idle hands to do.’ It is fortunate that, with many girls, the frivolities of life keep them idly busy, and so, having a safety valve, they are harmless to others and themselves; but let a girl occupy herself neither with what is useful nor with amusement, she falls into bad health, she becomes a prey to her own internal fires or forces, and every function of her body is deranged, as well as her moral nature perverted. Cases of this kind appear to me of the commonest order, and at the same time very difficult of cure, because the mother’s aid can rarely be gained to assist the doctor; but, on the other hand, her sympathies too often only foster her daughter’s morbid proclivities by insisting on her delicacy and the necessity of various artificial methods for her restoration, as well as her resistance to the doctor’s advice for a more natural life, since she is sure it cannot be undertaken. Her daughter is too delicate for any of the occupations or modes of exercise proposed. What she requires is medical attendance, and to be alcoholised and physicked. It is remarkable, however, what a young lady can do under the power of a stimulus--as, for example, a gentleman lately expressed his surprise to me how his daughter, who could not walk many yards for a long time, owing to a pain in her back, was soon able to walk many miles a day when she procured the support of her lover’s arm. It is from considerations of this kind that, when the superfluity of women, amounting to half a million, doomed to be unmated, ask for employment, I cannot deny it to them. The human body is made for work, physical and mental. The amount it can do is of course proportionate to the power of the machine; but, unlike all other machines, its strength is only maintained by use, as assuredly it rusts and decays by disuse. Just as the muscles are better prepared for work by previous training, so the nervous system, whether it be the brain or spinal cord, becomes more energised by use. If healthy and vigorous persons be taken, there appears no absolute necessity for rest at all in the popular sense of the term. The rest required is gained during sleep, during meals, and necessary healthful exercise. It is only during sleep that the brain is actually inactive, although even then not absolutely, for at meals cheerful conversation keeps the mind employed, and even in our walks the attention is fixed on objects around. In times so occupied there are many persons whose minds are never idle, and who yet live to a good old age. Practically they have no rest, for when one object of study is complete, they commence to pursue another. It is by the happy faculty of diverting the powers into different channels that this is accomplished. Instances might easily be quoted of statesmen, judges, and members of our own profession who know no absolute rest, and who would smile at the suspicion of hard work injuring any man. I make it a custom to ask young men what their second occupation is--what pursuit have they besides their bread-earning employment. Those are happiest who possess some object of interest, but I am sorry to say there are few who find delight in any branch of science. The purely scientific man finds his best recreation in literature or art, but even in intellectual work so many different faculties are employed that a pleasant diversion is found in simply changing the kind of labour. For example, a judge after sitting all day, and giving his closest attention to the details of the cases before him, may yet find relief in his evenings by solving problems in mathematics. The subject of overwork, then, is one of the greatest importance to study, and has to be discussed daily by all of us. My own opinion has already been expressed, that the evils attending it on the community at large are vastly over-estimated; and, judging from my own experience, the persons with unstrung nerves who apply to the doctor are, not the Prime Minister, the bishops, judges, and hard-working professional men, but merchants and stock-brokers retired from business, Government clerks who work from 10 to 4, women whose domestic duties and bad servants are driving them to the grave, young ladies whose visits to the village school or Sunday performance on the organ is undermining their health, and so on. In short, and this is the object of my remarks, I see more ailments arise from want of occupation than from overwork, and, taking the various kinds of nervous and dyspeptic ailments which we are constantly treating, I find at least six due to idleness to one from overwork.”

For a long time it has been well known to the medical profession that in various critical states of the human system absolute silence, or the nearest possible approach to it, is not the least important condition to be secured. Accordingly muffled knockers, streets covered with straw or spent tan, and attendants moving about with noiseless step, are universally recognised as the signs and the requirements of severe disease. But the truth that noise is a contributor to the wear and tear of modern city life has scarcely yet been realised by the faculty, not to speak of the outside public. Consequently, while a zealous war is being urged against other anti-sanitary agencies, no general attempts for the abolition of superfluous noise have yet been made. We cannot, perhaps, give anything approaching to a scientific explanation why sound in excess should have an injurious effect upon our nervous system. We feel that noise is distressing, exhaustive. The strongest man after days spent amidst noise and clatter, longs for relief, though he may not know from what. It may even be suggested that the comparative silence of the sea-side, the country, or the mountains, is the main charm of our summer and autumn holidays, and contributes much more than does ozone to restore a healthy tone to the brains of our wearied men of business. Indeed, if we consider, we shall find that this is the most unnatural feature of modern life. In our cities and commercial towns the ear is never at rest, and is continually conveying to the brain impressions rarely pleasant, still more rarely useful or instructive, but always perturbing, always savouring of unrest. In addition to the indistinct but never-ceasing sea of sound made up of the rolling of vehicles, the hum of voices, and the clatter of feet, there are the more positively annoying and distracting elements, such as German bands, organ grinders, church bells, railway whistles, and the like. In simpler and more primitive times, and to some extent even yet in the country, the normal condition of things is silence, and the auditory nerves are only occasionally excited. It is scarcely to be expected that such a change can be undergone without unpleasant consequences.

The question has been raised, why should some noises interfere with brain work by day and disturb our rest at night so much more than other? A strange explanation has been proposed. We are told that sound made incidentally and unintentionally--such as the rolling of wheels, the clatter of machinery (except very close at hand), the sound of footsteps, and, in short, all noises not made for the sake of noise--distress us little. We may become as completely habituated to them as to the sound of the wind, the rustling of trees, or the murmur of a river. On the other hand, all sounds into which human or animal will enters as a necessary element are in the highest degree distressing. Thus it is, to any ordinary man, impossible to become habituated to the screaming of a child, the barking and yelping of dogs, the strains of a piano, a harmonium, or a fiddle on the other side of a thin party-wall, or the clangour of bells. These noises, the more frequently we hear them, seem to grow more irritating and thought-dispelling.

But while admitting a very wide distinction between these two classes of sounds, we must pause before ascribing these differences to the intervention or non-intervention of will. We shall find certain very obvious distinctions between the two kinds of sound. The promiscuous din of movement, voice, and traffic, even in the busiest city, has in it nothing sharp or accentuated; it forms a continuous whole, in which each individual variation is averaged and toned down. The distressing sounds, on the other hand, are often shrill, abrupt, distinctly accentuated and discrete rather than continuous. Take, for instance, the ringing of bells: it is monotonous in the extreme, but it recurs at regular intervals. Hence its action upon the brain is intensified, just as in the march of troops over a suspension bridge, each step increases the vibration. The pain to the listener is the greater because he knows that the shock will come, and awaits it. Very similar is the case with another gratuitous noise, the barking of dogs. Each bark, be it acute or grave, is in the highest degree abrupt, sharply marked, or staccato, as we believe a musician would term it. Though the intervals are less regularly marked than in the case of church bells, we still have a prolonged series of distinct shocks communicated to the brain. All the other more distressing kinds of noise possess the characters or shrillness, loudness, and of recurrent beats or blasts.

As an instance of an undesigned, unintentional noise being distressing to those within ear-shot, we may mention the dripping of water. A single drop, whether penetrating through a defective roof, falling from the arch of a cavern, or issuing from a leaky pipe, and repeated at regular intervals, is as annoying as the tolling of a bell, the barking of a dog, or the short, sharp screams of a fretful infant. The only difference is that the noise is not heard as far. We may hence dismiss the “will” theory, and refer the effects of noises of this class to regularity, accentuation, and sharpness.

It is particularly unfortunate that the multiplication of sound should accompany, almost hand in hand, that increase of nervous irritability and that tendency to cerebral disease which rank among the saddest features of modern life. A people worn out with overwork, worry, and competitive examinations might at least be spared all unnecessary noise. Many persons cannot or will not understand how necessary silence is to the thinker. A friend of the writer’s, engaged in investigating certain very abstruse questions in physics, is often compelled to throw aside his work when an organ grinder enters the street, and suffers with acute pain in the head if he attempts to go on with his researches.

We should therefore propose, as measures of sanitary reform, the absolute prohibition of street music, which is more rampant in London than in any other capital in Europe. The present law, which throws upon the sufferer the burden of moving in the matter, is a mere mockery. Another necessary point is the abolition of church bells. In these days of innumerable clocks and watches every one can tell when it is the time for divine service without an entire neighbourhood being disturbed for some 20 minutes at a time. Nonconformist places of worship collect their congregations without this nuisance. Further, all dogs convicted of persistent barking should be disestablished. And lastly, harmoniums, American organs, and wind instruments in general should be prohibited, except in detached houses. (Journal of Science.)

Chapped Hands.--(a) Some persons are sadly troubled with their hands cracking. It sometimes comes from a persons health; but there is one great thing to keep in mind--that is, every time you wash or wet your hands, be sure and dry them well. Always, after wiping them, hold them to the fire till quite dry. This is very important. As an outward application, spermaceti ointment, with a small quantity of lead acetate and some camphor well mixed is a good thing. Rub some well in at night on going to bed, and do not use strong soap.

(b) A mixture of 1-2 dr. hydrochloric acid to 4 oz. water for use in case of chapped hands, and even when the skin is cracked and bleeding, relieves the complaint at once, and if persevered in effects a cure.

(c) Into a 3 oz. glass-stoppered bottle pour ½ oz. pure glycerine; fill up with distilled water and shake. A few drops in the palm rubbed and distributed over the hands when nearly dry, after washing, will in a short time render the skin like satin. It is well to scald the bottle before filling, to check the development of vegetable organisms (“ropiness”). Do not increase this quantity of glycerine, or it will make your hands sticky.

(d) One part (say 1 oz.) pure glycerine, 1 of Eau-de-Cologne, 2 of water; mix them in a bottle and use a few drops well rubbed in after every washing of the hands, and as frequently in the day as can conveniently be done.

(e) Mix equal quantities pure glycerine and pure water together, and add as much common salt as the liquid will dissolve. Rub this frequently on the cracked portions of the hands, giving an extra quantity just before going to bed.

(f) Salicylic acid and borax, each 1½ dr., glycerine up to 2 oz.

(g) Equal quantities carbolic acid and glycerine.

Chilblains.--(a) Chilblains are likely to be caused by sudden change from cold to heat or vice versâ. This will explain why the hands and feet, nose and ears, are mostly the parts affected, because they are the parts most prominently exposed to such changes. Invalids and scrofulous persons are more likely to suffer than the robust and healthy. As prevention is better than cure, care should be taken to protect the parts by substances which are non-conductors of heat. Woollen socks, stout boots, and warm gloves are safe preventives, and especially taking care not to warm the parts affected by cold by any other means than friction, and in case of persons predisposed to chilblains, the frequent ablution of the extremities in tepid water and the use of good yellow soap is advisable, bathing the feet and hands in tepid water slightly salted, every night, is a good antiphlogistic. Should these means fail, where the skin is not broken, use a liniment of 1 oz. camphorated spirits of wine mixed with ½ oz. Goulard’s extract; but the best remedy is a lotion composed of 1 dr. iodine in 3 oz. rectified spirits of wine, to be applied with a brush not more than once a day. Should the chilblain be broken or ulcerated a different treatment must be adopted--warm poultices ought to be applied, and discontinued after about 3 days; the sores must then be touched with the tincture of iodine once a day, and then dressed with basilicon ointment; when they begin to granulate freely, a simple dressing of the above ointment is sufficient to complete a cure. Care ought always to be taken not to let chilblains break through the skin, as they are very liable to mortify.

(b) Copper sulphate in solution is about the best thing to allay the itching before they break. Also is used with very good effect an embrocation composed of 1 dr. tincture of capsicum and 7 dr. soap liniment. After they have broken, the best application will be carbolic acid and linseed oil--1 part of the former to 5 of the latter, to be applied with a feather (the pure acid should be used for this). This is the most useful application for any open sore.

(c) 1 dr. sugar of lead, 2 dr. white vitriol, then add 4 oz. water; shake well before using. Rub well on the affected parts with the hand before a good fire; the best time is in the evening. Do not use this on those that are broken. This scarcely ever fails to cure the most inveterate chilblains by once or twice using.

(d) Quite effective for unbroken chilblains, but it might be poisonous to broken ones, so be very careful:--A small quantity of yellow soap is dissolved in very little water, then methylated spirit is added to just thin it a little, then add, while hot, tincture of iodine drop by drop, stirring it the while; when it begins to change colour there is enough; let get cold, and apply night and morning, letting it dry on. It is only good while the spirit is in it.

(e) Take some precipitated chalk, and mix it in a mortar (or with a knife in a plate, but the first way is best) with some salad oil to something thicker than cream--about the thickness of Devonshire cream. At night apply it thoroughly over all the fingers, rubbing it in, and smearing it thickly on them, putting a pair of gloves on. Persevere every night.

(f) 6 gr. copper sulphate, ½ oz. Eau-de-Cologne, ½ oz. distilled water. To be applied twice a day with camel-hair brush. A capital remedy to arrest inflammation in chilblains.

(g) 2 oz. black bryony root, 10 oz. spirit of wine, 2 oz. water. Macerate 7 days and filter. Apply night and morning with a camel-hair pencil.

Cold Feet.--(a) There are two remedies--the hot bottle and lamb’s-wool socks, either or both of which may be used. When we consider that during the day, whilst we are active, we wear stockings and shoes, does it not seem strange that at night, when the temperature of the air is lower, and when we are inactive, that our feet should have less covering than during the day? The reasonable plan is to have a special pair of socks for night use, putting them on when going to bed, and change them when getting up; the result will be better and more serene sleep, consequently we shall be more able to undergo our daily exertions. A good walk for ½ hour before retiring warms the feet, and sends a nice glow all through the body, and disposes to sleep. (b) Wear horse-hair soles winter and summer, as a remedy for cold and damp feet.

Coughs and Colds.--The British Medical Journal remarks that there are several well-known processes by which a cold may be caught. As a disease, there is nothing so common; and yet it is only very recently that anything like an approach to a knowledge of its pathology has been attained. There is now, however, a large accumulation of evidence which points very strongly in the direction that “taking cold” is actually “being cold.” Colds are most frequently caught from a wetting. The clothes we wear are good non-conductors of heat, and so prevent the loss of body-heat which would occur without them. But let them become moist or saturated with water, and then they become heat-conductors of a much more active character, and a rapid and excessive loss of body-heat follows. Nothing is more certain, however, than that prolonged exposure in wet clothes is commonly followed by no evil results; that is, so long as there is also active exercise. The loss of heat is then met by increased production of heat, and no harm results. But let the urchin who has been drenched on his way to school sit in his wet clothes during school-hours, and a cold follows. No matter how inured to exposure the person may be who, when drenched, remains quiet and inert in his wet clothes, he takes a cold. Here there is an increased loss without a corresponding production of heat, and the temperature of the body is lowered, or the person “catches cold.”

The effect of exercise in producing heat is well known. Unless the surrounding air be of a low temperature and the clothes light, the skin soon glows with the warm blood circulating in it, and then comes perspiration with its cooling action. Here there is a direct loss of heat induced to meet the increased production of heat. Exercise, then, in wet clothes, produces more or less a new balance, and obviates the evil consequences which would otherwise result.

The loss of heat is more certainly induced if the skin be previously glowing and the circulation through the skin, the cooling area, be active. Thus, a person leaves a ballroom with his cutaneous vessels (pores of the skin) dilated, and a rapid loss of body-heat follows, unless there be a thick great-coat or a brisk walk; if the clothes become moistened by rain, or be saturated with perspiration, the radiation of heat is still more marked. Such is the causation of the cold commonly caught after leaving a heated ballroom. It is probable that exhaustion is not without its effect in lowering the tonicity of the vessels, and so those of the skin do not readily contract and arrest the loss of heat.

A damp bed gives a cold, because the moist bedclothes are much better conductors of heat than are the same clothes when dry. The temperature of the body is lowered, and a cold results. Long exposure in bathing leads to similar consequences. The second feeling of cold in bathing tells that the body is becoming chilled, and that the production of heat is insufficient to meet the loss. A run on the river-bank, or a brisk walk after dressing, commonly restores the lost balance.

The plan of permitting the wet clothes to dry on the wearer is very objectionable. The abstraction of heat from the body by the evaporation of moisture in the clothes produces a marked depression of the body-temperature, and a severe cold. This is most strikingly seen in the effects of a wetting in the Tropics. The smart shower or downpour is quickly followed by a hot sun and a breeze, and the loss of heat under these circumstances is considerable. The person is “chilled to the bone,” and the effects are felt for a long time afterwards.

Alcohol has been abandoned in Arctic regions. It dilates the cutaneous vessels and increases the loss of body-heat. The drunken man perishes of cold when the abstainer survives.

When the exposure follows a long continued warmth, the cutaneous vessels do not contract, but become dilated or paralysed, and then a large bulk of warm blood courses through the cooling surface, and a great loss of body-heat is entailed. Not only so, but the current of chilled blood passes inwards to the right heart and the lungs. Inflammations of the lungs are common along with severe colds; and this is possibly the explanation. Such inflammation is specially liable to occur if at the same time cold air be inspired. The cold respired air and the currents of chilled blood together, produce those vaso-motor disturbances in the lungs which, in their graver aspects, are known as pneumonia.

The practical considerations which are the outcome of this review of the pathology of cold are these. Never wear wet clothes after active muscular exertion has ceased, but change them at once; meet the loss of the body-heat by warm fluids and dry clothes; avoid long-sustained loss of heat which is not met by increased production of heat; increase the tonicity of the vessels of the skin by cold baths, &c., so educating them to contract readily on exposure--by a partial adoption, indeed, of the “hardening” plan; avoid too warm and debilitating rooms and temperatures; take especial care against too great a loss of heat when the skin is glowing; and prevent the inspiration of cold air by the mouth by some protecting agent, as a respirator. We can readily understand how a respirator should be an effective protection against winter bronchitis in those so disposed. Of course, no one should, even in summer, dispense with the use of flannel next the skin, or some substitute, such as merino. It is as important at that period of the year, as in winter.

Dr. Graham gives the following advice: “When you come out of a cold atmosphere you should not at first go into a room that has a fire in it, or if you cannot avoid that, you should keep for a considerable time at as great a distance as possible, and, above all, refrain from taking warm or strong liquors when you are cold. This rule is founded on the same principle as the treatment of any part of the body when frost-bitten. If it were brought to a fire it would soon mortify, whereas, if rubbed with snow, no bad consequences follow from it. Hence, if the following rule were strictly observed--when the whole body, or any part of it, is chilled, bring it to its natural feeling and warmth by degrees--the frequent colds we experience in winter would in a great measure be prevented.”

To neglect the conditions upon which strength of constitution and purity of blood depend, and then strive to avoid in a sedulously careful manner the evil influence of colds upon the body, is like neglecting the substance for the shadow of health; or more properly, it is like one who starves his body, and then strives to keep quiet in order that his strength shall not be exhausted. Let food be taken, and the exhaustion from exercise will not ensue; let all the conditions of health be observed, and then the natural changes of the weather will fall harmlessly on the healthy functions of the body.

Occasionally a cold may be arrested, in the first stage, by taking at the very outset, a hot bath on retiring to rest, with 10 gr. Dover’s powder at bedtime, followed by a hot drink, such as a basin of hot gruel or a tumbler of hot toddy, with a dose of castor-oil in the early morning about 6 o’clock. It is well to remain indoors for the day. Should, however, these means fail, or the ailment have progressed too far before the remedy is applied, and the patient complains of soreness of chest, with cough and feverishness, then he should keep bed for 3 days. Mustard and linseed poultices are to be applied to the chest, warm diluent drinks are to be given, such as gruel, with honey and vinegar in it, to promote gentle perspiration, and to relieve the severity of the cough. Ipecacuanha wine, 10-15 drop doses in water every 4 hours, will be found useful in promoting expectoration. Laxative medicine will probably be necessary, and the diet should be light.

The Continental remedy, lime-flower tea or tisane de tilleul is made in a teapot in the same way that tea is made, substituting lime blossoms for tea leaves, and using about 4 times the quantity to make it. It is taken hot, and used for colds, coughs, &c., much in the same way that gruel, wheys, and possets are taken in England.

Dr. Ferrier, of King’s College, communicates a remedy for cold in the head, which has been found effectual. It is a white powder used as snuff, and composed as follows:--2 gr. hydrochlorate morphia, 2 dr. acacia powder, 6 dr. bismuth trisnitrate. The whole makes up a quantity of powder, ¼-½ of which may be safely taken in 24 hours. Dr. Ferrier has twice cured himself of very severe colds by this means, once by the use of bismuth trisnitrate alone, which is a very powerful remedy for catarrh of the mucous membrane, and is the most important ingredient in the above mixture. Others have used the snuff with perfect success. Instead of increasing the tendency to sneeze, it almost immediately begins to diminish it. (Lancet.)

Prof. Strambio, in a note to an Italian medical journal, says that, notwithstanding the failure of all remedies hitherto recommended for the immediate cure of a cold, he wishes to communicate to the profession the great success he has found attending a new one in his own person, and to ask them to test its efficiency. He found prolonged mastication and swallowing of a dried leaf or two of the Eucalyptus Globulus (Blue gum) almost immediately liberated him from all the effects of a severe cold.

In the treatment of persistent cold in the head, or nasal catarrh, when there is much discharge from the nasal passages, we are advised to use a spray-producer with the following solution:--1 gr. carbolic acid, 2 dr. glycerine, 2 oz. water. After the passages are clean, a small quantity of vaseline is melted in the bowl of the spray-producer, and 2-5 drops pinus canadensis mixture are added. This mixture consists of:--15 gr. pinus canadensis, ½ oz. glycerine, ½ gr. carbolic acid, 1½ oz. water. This is to be applied by the spray to every part.

Dr. Sheppard says, in respect to the use of hot water as a remedial agent in the treatment of inflammation of the mucous membranes:--“I have used hot water as a gargle for the past 6-8 years. In throat and tonsil inflammation, and in coryza (cold in the head), if properly used in the commencement of the attack, it constitutes one of our most effective remedies, being frequently promptly curative. To be of service, it should be used in considerable quantity (½-1 pint at a time), and just as hot as the throat will tolerate.”

Coughing is greatly under the control of the will, and children ought to be taught to try to restrain the inclination to cough; very often, by this very effort, the desire to cough will vanish. If it cannot be avoided, they should be taught how to cough. It is not in the least necessary to give way to coughing on every occasion, even though there be really something to expectorate, until the mucus or other irritating matter be within easy reach, and then one good, effective, deliberate cough will do as much, or probably more, for the relief of the individual, than perhaps a dozen repeated, noisy, resultless fits of coughing. The noise which accompanies the act can be greatly modified at the will of the individual. There are some people who make not the slightest effort to lessen this annoyance. In many cases the mouth may be closed, and in all the hand may be held before the mouth during the act, whereby considerable modification of the noise may be attained.

Avoid making use of any nostrum vaunted as a cure for all sorts of coughs and colds: all contain opium in some form, and may prove prejudicial to the complaint which initiates the cough. At the same time, a distressing cough calls for amelioration. There never can be harm in causing the patient to inhale steam from a sponge or basin of boiling water; or infusion of hops may be inhaled. Lozenges of various kinds are often useful, e.g. fruit, gum, glycerine, liquorice, marsh-mallow, tamarind, ipecacuanha, &c. Linseed-tea is a bland, soothing demulcent, useful in sore throat, and in allaying tickling cough.

The common mullein, Verbascum thapsus, has long been used in Ireland as a domestic remedy for consumptive cough, and Dr. Quinlan finds that when boiled in milk the patient takes the decoction readily, and experiences a physiological want when it is omitted. Its power of checking phthisical looseness of the bowels and the relief afforded to coughing are very marked, so that patients take hardly any other cough mixture. In early stages it appears to have a distinct power of increasing weight, but in advanced cases Dr. Quinlan remarks that he is not aware of anything that will do this except koumiss. (Brit. Med. Jour.)

Dr. Square recommends a solution of 1 part ethyl bromide in 200 of water as a remedy for whooping-cough. This is of similar strength to the chloroform water of the British Pharmacopœia, and its dose is the same, namely, ½-2 oz.

A German journal mentions a case of whooping-cough treated with turpentine by Ringk, of Berlin, with astonishing results. The patient was a little girl 3½ years of age, and a fatal issue seemed imminent. The doctor prescribed ol. terebinth., 10 grams; syr. altheæ, 80 grams; a teaspoonful every 3 hours. The next day the child was sitting up in bed, with a great slice of bread and butter in her hand, which she was eating and evidently enjoying. The cough had totally disappeared, and no evil results followed.

Following are a few simple recipes for expectorants, useful for winter coughs. The first is particularly suitable for young children:--(a) 1 fl. dr. syrup of squills, ½ fl. dr. gum acacia, powdered, 8 gr. ammonium chloride, enough peppermint water to make 2 fl. oz. Dose for a child, 1 teaspoonful every 2 hours. (b) For older children and adults, 2 parts syrup of ipecac., 4 syrup of squills, 1 paregoric. Dose, ½-1 teaspoonful, repeated as often as necessary. (c) 1 oz. syrup of ipecac., 1 oz. syrup of tolu, ½ oz. paregoric, 1 oz. syrup wild cherry. (d) For hoarseness, Dr. Eichelberger gives the following, which he says is very good:--2 dr. tinct. chloride of iron, 4 dr. glycerine, 4 dr. water. Dose, ½ teaspoonful.

Sore throat is a constant accompaniment of some very serious disorders, such as scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, diphtheria, &c., but is most frequently the result of exposure to cold and damp, when the body is heated. It may be confined to the parts situated at the back of the mouth, i.e. the tonsils, palate, and pharynx, or it may extend a little further into the windpipe. The affection is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the parts enumerated. Many cases speedily recover without any active treatment, provided the invalid will have patience for a few days, confine himself to the house, better to one apartment, and still better to bed, for a couple of days; avoid all conversation; apply a warm poultice to the throat, or a moist compress round the throat night and day. This last is made by wringing a piece of lint, or a pockethandkerchief, out of water sufficiently so that it does not drip, and it is of small moment whether the water be cold or warm; it is now applied to the throat, and covered with a piece of macintosh, and then a woollen comforter is put over all. Ice may be sucked continuously, if agreeable to the patient. If it be not, then a gargle of warm milk and water should be employed every hour. A smart aperient dose of Epsom salts or castor oil should be taken in the morning before breakfast, 1 tablespoonful salts in a tumblerful of hot water. If, under this treatment, the throat do not improve in 2 days, it has ceased to be a minor ailment, and the physician must be sent for.

A very painful form of sore throat is that called quinsy. It is inflammation of the tonsils, two glands situated at the back of the mouth. This inflammation is principally observed in changeable climates; and seems to attack, by preference, young adults. Children rarely suffer from quinsy. Persons who have once been the subjects of this ailment are very liable to a recurrence of the disorder. The most common exciting cause is exposure to wet and cold, with a chilly east wind.

Those who are liable to this form of sore throat, and know from the premonitory symptoms what is impending, ought at once to adopt preventive measures. These consist in using strong astringent gargles; in the administration of single drop doses of tincture of aconite, every hour, for half a day, and a brisk saline purgative in the morning, such as a dose of Rochelle salts. For gargle, one of the best is the old-fashioned homely mixture, consisting of 3 tablespoonfuls red wine (port or claret), 1 of vinegar, ½ teaspoonful powdered alum, and a little sugar, in a tumbler of cold water. This to be used every hour. If, however, the affection has gone too far for this abortive treatment, then the patient must be confined to bed; hot poultices must be kept constantly applied to the throat; steam from hot water should be inhaled often; a gargle of hot milk and water should be used hourly; and ice, if grateful, may be constantly sucked. A sal prunelle ball may be allowed slowly to dissolve in the mouth. The diet should be in semi-solid form, e.g. arrowroot made with milk, soup thickened with rice-flour, or better still, beef-jelly, if the patient can be persuaded to swallow at all. If the abscess do not speedily rupture, and more particularly if both tonsils be simultaneously affected, then it may be necessary to call in the aid of the surgeon to lance it. The necessity for this will be evident by continued and increasing distress of the sufferer, great difficulty in breathing, and extreme restlessness and feverishness. In a first attack, too great delay ought not to be allowed to take place before getting professional assistance.

Every one has a cure for sore throat, but simple remedies appear to be most effectual. Salt and water is used by many as a gargle, but a little alum and honey dissolved in sage tea is better. An application of cloths wrung out of hot water and applied to the neck, changing as often as they begin to cool, has the most potency for removing inflammation. It should be kept up for a number of hours; during the evening is the usually most convenient time for applying this remedy.

For loss of voice in singers and speakers, Dr. Corson recommends the patient to put a small piece of borax (2-3 gr.) into the mouth and let it dissolve slowly. An abundant secretion of saliva follows. Speakers and singers about to make an unusual effort should the night before take a glass of sugared water containing 2 dr. potassium nitrate (saltpetre) in order to induce free perspiration. In similar circumstances this gargle may also be used:--6 oz. barley water, 1-2 dr. alum, ½ oz. honey. Mix, and use as a gargle. Or an infusion of jaborandi, made by putting 2 scr. of the leaves in a small cup of boiling water, drunk in the morning before getting up. The free sweating is said very quickly to restore the strength of the voice.

Constipation.--Short of mechanically obstructive disease, there are many states in which constipation is the most marked feature. On the nature of these, apart from the mere symptom, the possibility of permanent relief by treatment must of course largely depend. We may procure comfort with a pill, but often we cannot retain it with many. Habit cannot be reformed or expelled by purges. Accordingly, when we proceed against the fault of habit, now under notice, we must take account of the constitution and circumstances in which it is formed. By so doing we do much to ensure the desired relief, though it may be that even then we fail somewhat of complete success. A bowel long deficient in activity, dilated irregularly, with torpid though thickened walls, does not soon, if ever, renew its original tone and contractility. The difficulty is a pathological one, and arises from structural as well as functional perversion. The natural efforts to obtain relief are hindered and enfeebled by the effects of some cause which may still be operative. If we would undo the past or prevent further mischief, we must seek and treat that cause. Aperients of different kinds, however potent at the time, are but temporary palliatives of discomfort so long as no pains are taken to trace the trouble to its origin. Whether it be a sedentary habit of life, an excess of food overloading and overworking the viscus, purgation draining and depleting it, gout, diabetes, struma, chlorosis, altering either the structure of the intestinal wall or the consistence of its contents, it must be sought for as a chief guide to the means of cure. It is not likely that constipation will ever form the chosen hobby of a specialist. A far too general view of medicine and its adjuvant sciences is necessary for successful treatment to encourage such appropriation. We are not, however, outside the sphere of nostrums. There is in our time, if anything too much reliance on physic-taking for constipation. More might be done by appropriate dieting and by inculcating active habits of life than is customary. It may be noted, with regard to diet in particular, that a free use of simple fluids, as water, or mild mineral waters, is of distinct advantage in assisting both digestion and evacuation. There are also many aperient vegetable foods which, with the same end in view, we should like to see in daily use at the table. Almost any kind of wholesome fruit and green vegetable might thus be made serviceable. When, again, we come to medicines, we must remember that the disorder which we have to combat is a complex one. We cannot in this case, more than in any other morbid state, put a finger on one tissue as alone or invariably at fault. Thus in the costiveness of anæmia we have atony of the intestinal muscle combined with defective secretion, and both but part of a general tissue starvation; in the gouty disorder of elderly people the same conditions appear, though due to a very different dyscrasia; and so on. We may say, therefore, speaking generally, that no single drug can be relied on to meet the intestinal difficulty. An agent which aids secretion either of bowel or liver will not alone suffice. The long-inactive muscular coat likewise requires assistance. A free purge may have its value now and then, but when the object to be attained is the correction of a habit, a milder remedy used regularly is much more effective. To meet these various necessities, perhaps no combination is superior to the time-honoured union of belladonna with the compound rhubarb pill and nux vomica, or the most recent mixture of the fluid extract of cascara with the last-named drug. An agreeable change of remedy is afforded by many aperient mineral waters. The effect of these latter, however, is unfortunately apt to pass off after a time, probably from their causing a too copious intestinal secretion. The action of saline or other enemata is not quite similar. More strictly local, and exerted rather on the fæces than the bowel, it gives relief without so much exhausting the latter by secretion or peristalsis; while the very rest which the colon thus easily obtains is itself a help to the recovery of normal nutrition and muscular tone. The chief points which we would therefore bear in mind, whatever the remedies used in combating the habit of costiveness, are the need for recognition of its primary cause, and the fact that its proximate condition is an atonic bowel. (Lancet.)

Dr. Mortimer Granville gives 3 prescriptions for habitual constipation. It is indispensable to regard persistent inactivity of the bowels, when not demonstrably due to other causes, as the result of, either defect of peristaltic action; deficient glandular secretion; or interruption of the habit of periodic evacuation.

When there is a lax and torpid condition of the muscular coat of the alimentary canal, we get food retained in the stomach or intestines until it ferments, or sometimes “decomposes,” with the result of distension, pain mechanically induced, and either eructations or incarcerated flatus. In a considerable number of cases this last-mentioned trouble is so great, and at the same time so masked, as to give rise to the impression that grave disease exists; whereas every anomalous symptom has quickly disappeared as soon as the muscular tone has been restored, and the contents of the bowels have commenced to pass naturally on their course. The essential fault is partial, in some instances almost complete, loss of the reflex contractility of the muscular coat, so that the presence of ingesta at any part of the canal does not excite the intestine to contract and propel it onwards. It is worse than useless to employ ordinary aperients in such a condition as this; they only irritate without strengthening the nerves, on the healthy activity of which everything depends. When, therefore, there is the form of “constipation” which requires treatment, use a prescription something like the following; and it is, in the majority of instances, successful:--

Sodæ valerianatis gr. xxxvi.; tincturæ nucis vomicæ ♏ lx.; tincturæ capsici ♏ xlviii.; syrupi aurantii ℥iss.; aquâ ad ℥vj. Misce, fiat mistura, cujus sumatur cochleare magnum ex aquâ ter die, semihorâ ante cibum.

The second form of constipation, in which there is a deficiency of glandular secretions generally throughout the intestine, manifested by a peculiarly dry and earthy character of the dejecta when the bowels do act, may be treated by a mixture such as this:--

Aluminis ʒiij.; tincturæ quassiæ ℥j.; infusi quassiæ ℥vij. Misce, fiat mistura, cujus sumantur cochlearia duo magna ter quotidie, post cibum.

The third form, which depends chiefly on interruption of the natural habit of periodic discharge, often results from repeated failure to move the bowels, in consequence of one or other of the two preceding forms of this trouble. This may generally be relieved by directing a perfectly regular attempt to go to stool, and by the use of the following draught, taken the first thing after rising from bed--not on awakening--in the morning, as nearly as possible at the same hour. It will be observed that it is not an aperient in the ordinary sense of the term. It is, as a rule, neither necessary nor desirable to continue it for longer than a fortnight. In most instances, it will be found to re-establish the normal habit in a week or less.

Ammoniæ carbonatis ʒj., tincturæ valerianæ ℥j.; aquæ camphoræ ℥v. Misce, fiat mistura; capiat partem sextam in modo dicto. (_Brit. Med. Journ._)

The value of castor oil as a family aperient is undoubted. Referring to its use, Dr. Soper enlarges on the great advantages of a combination of castor oil and glycerine in equal proportions to act as a purgative. Glycerine has great therapeutic value, especially in its solvent properties, and this combination renders it especially valuable. In regard to castor oil, a great mistake is often made in the largeness of dose administered; in this mixture, only ½ teaspoonful is required combined with an equal bulk of glycerine. In all cases of chronic constipation, piles, &c., it has proved most useful. Also ½ teaspoonful doses in the early stages of bronchitis seem to promote exudation from the tubes, and is certainly expectorant. The great difficulty is the obstinacy with which the mixture becomes a mixture, as it can only be made by placing the bottle in hot water and violently agitating. By adding the oil to the glycerine gradually, and mixing the two in a mortar, the taste of the oil completely disappears. The following is recommended as a pleasant form for children:--1 dr. castor oil, 1 dr. glycerine, 20 drops tincture orange peel; 5 drops tincture senega; cinnamon water to make up ½ oz. mixture.

Consumption.--It is highly probable that adult mortality from phthisis might be considerably reduced, if members of phthisical families, and persons of phthisical habit and tendency, could be induced to pursue an intelligent course of life. In wisely-chosen food, suitable exercise, well-adapted clothing, and pure air, are four distinct and potent details of every-day life, well within control, which may be turned to efficient account in the prevention of phthisis. Precautions, if they are to be effectual, must not be put off until signs of lung mischief become manifest. Then the evil can only be mitigated, not avoided. If consumption be apprehended, the daily diet should be rich both in nitrogenous flesh-forming and fatty constituents. The especial nutritive value of milk in such a case is universally recognised. Next to well-arranged daily food, exercise in the open air is of the greatest importance. On this point the late Dr. Parkes laid down the rule that “the best climates for phthisis are perhaps not necessarily the equable ones, but those which permit the greatest number of hours to be passed out of the house.” By well-adapted clothing, many of the chills, catarrhs, and pulmonary congestions which often lead up to consumption, might be prevented. The rules in this respect are well established. The feet should always be dry and warm; the covered parts of the body, excepting the head, should be clothed in suitable woollen fabrics; the underclothing should be kept of the same thickness all the year round, and variations of apparel to suit the changes of season be made only in the outer garments; and no constrictions or compressions should be allowed to hamper the respiratory play of the chest and abdomen, or to impede the circulation of blood through the lungs and heart. With regard to the respiration of pure air, it may be said generally that it is within doors that the breathing of vitiated air is most likely to become dangerous, and is such a powerful excitant of consumption. (Brit. Med. Journ.)

No person, particularly if young, should be allowed to sleep in the same bed, or even in the same room, with a consumptive. No person should be allowed to remain for too long a time in too close or too constant attendance on a consumptive. Ventilation as perfect as possible should be secured. The expectoration of phthisical patients should be carefully disinfected. Those phthisical patients who are in the habit of mixing freely with other persons should wear one of those antiseptic respirators which are now to be obtained for a few pence.

Corns.--(a) Salicylic plaster has recently been put upon the market as a cure for corns, bunions, and thickened skins generally. The price is reasonable enough, but some may prefer to make it for themselves. Dissolve 2 dr. each of salicylic acid and common yellow resin in 6 dr. sulphuric ether, and paint the solution over belladonna or opium plaster spread on swan’s-down. The mixture dries almost instantaneously, and the plaster is then ready for cutting up into suitable sizes for corns. Considering that the whole does not cost more than 3-4_s._ per yd., and that several thousand plasters may be made out of that quantity, it is cheap.

(b) Some corns are so painful that neither paint nor plaster can be endured, something of the nature of a shield alone giving relief. For such cases as these, the following wrinkle may be appreciated: Take a corn-shield, enlarge the diameter of the hole to a small extent by means of a knife or scissors, and apply in the usual way. Then place in the hollow thus formed over the corn, a small quantity of any of the following solutions: Salicylic acid and extract cannabis indica dissolved in ether; or ½ dr. extract cannabis indica dissolved in 2 dr. liquor potassæ; or a saturated solution of iodine, or iodide of potash, in strong alcohol. The shield does the double service of taking the pressure of the boot off the corn, and at the same time preventing the liquid being rubbed off by the sock; while all these solutions penetrate the skin with more rapidity than the usual collodion preparation, and are consequently much more effective in their operation. The saturated solution of iodine often succeeds in removing corns and indurated epidermis when other remedies have failed, and the well-known solvent action of liquor potassæ is a sufficient credential to induce for it at least a trial.

(c) Many corns may be removed by a persevering application of the ordinary shield, which, relieving the pressure of the boot, enables nature to throw off the old skin. Acetic acid, too, is an excellent remedy for corroding the indurated epidermis; but it is necessary to protect the surrounding parts by means of a paper shield.

(d) Mix 16 fl. oz. collodion with 2 oz. (avoir.) salicylic acid, and, when this is dissolved, add 1 oz. (avoir.) zinc chloride. Keep it tightly stoppered and away from lights or fire.

(e) Three dr. euphorbium, 6 dr. powdered cantharides, 4 dr. Venice turpentine, 4 oz. alcohol. Macerate the euphorbium and cantharides with the alcohol for 48 hours, strain, and add the Venice turpentine; spread on French tissue-paper with a soft brush--size of each sheet about 18 by 24 in. This article is in much repute for the cure of corns and bunions, and the relief of gout.

(f) Dissolve 1 part salicylic acid in 40 of collodion: apply several times a week. The corn dissolves with little trouble.

(g) For hard corns apply at night a mixture of 1 part carbolic acid, and 10 of distilled water, glycerine, and soap liniment. Envelop with guttapercha tissue, and the corn may generally be removed the next morning.

(h) Gezou’s remedy for corns and warts is prepared as follows:--30 gr. salicylic acid, 10 gr. ext. cannabis indica, ½ oz. collodion.

(i) Fasten a piece of lemon on the corn, and renew night and morning. Simple but very effective.

Diarrhœa and Dysentery.--Beyond everything stands a strict regulation of the diet. When the intestinal canal is in a diseased state almost any substance introduced into the stomach acts mischievously, and it is not infrequently necessary to suspend all food until the intestine is in a condition to bear it. Every solid article is then mischievous, but even fluids, by reason of their temperature, may act as prejudicially. In most cases taking a few spoonfuls of warm soup, or drinking a mouthful of cold water will immediately be followed by severe colics, and soon afterwards by evacuations. Only allow lukewarm soups or other drinks, and only by a spoonful at a time. Of course these stringent rules apply to very obstinate diarrhœa, and especially dysentery, for there are many cases of temporary diarrhœa in which the patients continue to eat fruits and the like, and still soon get well. Such cases must, however, not be taken into account, and it is always most prudent at the commencement of diarrhœa to cut off the supply of food as far as possible, and at all events to prohibit all articles likely to augment the affection.

Opium is the most valuable medicine in diarrhœa, for it keeps the sphincter in a state of permanent contraction, a contraction which is often propagated to the large intestine, and the small intestine is unable to propel its contents far enough to induce the irritation which causes their expulsion. When, by reason of this contraction, these contents are retained, their amount may become considerably diminished by the absorption of the fluid. Frequently, however, there is no spot of the canal which is not so diseased as to prevent such absorption taking place, and then the diarrhœa will continue in spite of the opium and of the contraction of the sphincter. It appears, moreover, that opium, besides its action on the muscular portion of the canal, exerts, by contact, a soothing effect upon the mucous membrane. In consequence of the diminution of the irritation of this membrane, its secretion is probably lessened, as are possibly those of the liver and pancreas. However this may be, opium acts very favourably in profuse secretion from the intestinal mucous membrane. From ½-3 gr. may be given in the 24 hours, the best preparation being the ext. opii aquosum.

If opium or morphia do not suffice, it must be aided by astringent remedies, by far the best of which, and the most easily supported, is zinc sulphate. One would have supposed that tannin in its separate state would have proved more useful than zinc, but this is not the case, and it is much less easily borne. It acts much better and more energetically when employed as a household remedy (e.g. as a decoction of sloe or wild pear tree) than in its separated form, and is then of great service in practice among the poor. Alum is of no use whatever in diarrhœa. Lead approaches zinc in efficacy, but still it is less certain than it. The dose should not be greater than ¼ gr., and this may be repeated every 2-3 hours, and at most every hour. If these means do not suffice, we must have recourse to enemata of salep or starch (with which may be combined 1 gr. opium or ½ gr. zinc) not throwing up more than 2 oz. at a time. If the clyster does not cause pain in the rectum, and the disease continues obstinate, the dose of zinc may be increased to 2 gr. Tannin may be added to the enema, but the zinc is far more serviceable. In the most obstinate cases we must have recourse to cauterisation; but this is only the case when there is a diseased condition of the lower part of the rectum. Very obstinate cases of blenorrhœa confined to the anus maybe completely cured by the application of silver nitrate, in substance as high as it can be passed. The injection of a strong solution does not usually attain the same end. (Prof. Skoda.)

A case of chronic diarrhœa, which had lasted for nearly 40 years, was cured by the administration of a saturated solution of salt in cider vinegar, 1 dr. being taken 3 or 4 times a day; it always produces good results.

For cholera, a ready remedy is Dr. Rubini’s tincture of camphor, taken on sugar, not in water. Or 1 teaspoonful cayenne pepper in ½ wine glass brandy.

To stop violent diarrhœa, take 2 drops each brandy and laudanum in 1 teaspoonful water every 3 minutes; go up to 60 doses if necessary.

Dr. Christopher Elliott speaks strongly in favour of the use of camomile tea in infantile diarrhœa. The dose for infants under 1 year is ½-1 dr., and double that quantity for older children, given 2 or 3 times a day, or oftener. The rationale of the action is the power the drug possesses of subduing reflex excitability. This power belongs especially to the volatile oil contained in the flowers.

Dislocations.--These are distinguished from broken bones by stiffness at the joint, intense pain and swelling. They demand surgical skill and must not be touched by any one but a doctor.

Ear complaints.--Do not wear anything over the ears which presses upon them. Growths may occur in the ear from the custom of wearing ear-rings, and especially when of base metal, although gold ones sometimes give rise to the same. Such may require removal by the surgeon’s knife. Inflammation may be set up in the lobe after piercing it for wearing ear-rings, should a portion of gristle happen to be transfixed by the needle, and all the more likely should that be a dirty or rusty one. The best thing to do is to bathe it frequently with hot water. The silly habit of pulling children’s ears is very liable to cause disease and injury. Never “pick” the ears with any sharp implement. For removing excess of wax, syringe gently with warm water, softening it first, if necessary, by dropping a little glycerine and water or soda dissolved in water, into the ear for a night or two. Any foreign body (including insects) accidentally getting into the outer ear can generally be removed by dropping a little warm water or salad oil into the ear, and then inclining the head. The popular dread of their getting into the brain is utterly unfounded: the drum head of the ear is an effectual stop. Dr. Jacobi remarks that closing the mouths of infants and children and simply blowing into the nose is often a very valuable method of relieving earache, the cause of the trouble probably being a catarrhal affection of the Eustachian tube. Perhaps even better is the method of inflating the ear by blowing into it gently, while the mouth and nose are held closed, and syringing the ear with warm water. Much harm has been done by putting oil, chloroform, laudanum, the heart of roasted onion, and similarly improper things into the ears of children.

Eye complaints.--In every case skilled advice should at once be sought. The following remarks relate only to what should be done in urgent cases ere professional assistance can be obtained. In inflammation, simple bathing with water (either cold or tepid as the sensations may direct) is the safest remedy, and no other application should be had recourse to, till sanctioned by the doctor. The practice of applying poultices, common bread and water, bread and milk, tea-leaves, porridge, &c., to an inflamed or injured eye is totally wrong, often endangering the sight. Keeping wet cloths applied to the eye, and bandaging up an inflamed eye, may also be productive of much mischief, and should never be employed without orders.

A particle of foreign matter entering the eye will often produce such a flood of tears that it is soon washed out, especially if the eye be kept closed and not rubbed for a few minutes; but sometimes the irritating substance finds its way under the upper eyelid, and remains fixed there by the pressure of the lid. In some cases plunging the face into cold water and opening the eyes under the water will suffice to remove it, but generally the eyelid requires to be turned inside out, and the offending body picked off with a feather; or the upper eyelid drawn forwards off the eye by means of the eyelashes, and the lower eyelid pushed up under it: when the eyelids are released, the eyelashes of the lower lid will brush over the inner surface of the upper lid, and almost certainly remove any substance that may lodge there. To evert the lid, lay a bodkin or pencil along it, and turn it up by taking hold of the eyelashes about the middle, the patient meanwhile looking down. Should such simple means fail, the eye may be tied up with a pad of cotton wool over it, so as to prevent the eyelid moving till professional advice be secured.

Serious damage is frequently occasioned by lime or other caustic substance getting into the eye. Wash the eye as quickly as possible thoroughly with cold water or vinegar very much diluted with water (say 1 teaspoonful vinegar in 2 oz. warm water), a stream being allowed to course across the opened eye, while any particle of caustic substance that remains should be carefully removed. A drop of castor oil or olive oil applied every half-hour to the inside of the eye will greatly allay irritation. Never bandage or poultice. In all cases of injury the less done at home the better. A light pad of cotton wool applied over the closed lids and kept in position by a handkerchief or a pledget of cotton wool soaked in cold water reapplied cold at least every 5 minutes, may be employed till the doctor comes.

Dr. Louis Fitzpatrick says he has never seen a single instance in which a stye continued to develop after the following treatment had been resorted to: The lids should be held apart by the thumb and index finger of the left hand, or a lid retractor, if such be at hand, while tincture of iodine is painted over the inflamed papilla with a fine camel’s-hair pencil. The lids should not be allowed to come in contact until the part touched is dry. A few such applications in the 24 hours are sufficient. (Lancet.)

Hair complaints.--Ladies should undo their hair at night, unplait the hair, and wear it loosely in a net. In this way the nourishment of the hair is duly provided for. Night-caps should always be light. When forced to remain in bed for long periods, through illness, have the hair oiled and combed with a coarse comb daily; if circumstances permit, the head may be washed twice a week with soap and water, warm, lukewarm, or cold, as taste or health directs. In long-continued illness, it is often advisable to cut the hair, so as to reduce its length by about a third, not merely from considerations connected with the cleanliness of the hair, but also that stronger aftergrowth may be encouraged. Few realise the injurious effects of curling-irons and hair-dyes.

Ordinary baldness may be constitutional or local. The former is a matter for the medical man. For persistent daily loss of hair, the following remedy is recommended by Pincus:--15 gr. soda bicarbonate dissolved in 1 oz. water; a little to be well rubbed into the scalp daily, and persisted in. Sir Erasmus Wilson says that a lotion composed of 1 oz. each spirits of hartshorn, chloroform, and sweet almond oil, added to 5 oz. spirits of rosemary, and well rubbed into the roots of the hair after brushing, is effective; it may be used half-strength, diluted with eau-de-cologne. Other lotions are:--(a) 2 dr. tincture of Spanish flies, ½ oz. tincture of nux vomica, 1 dr. tincture of capsicum, 1½ oz. castor oil, 2 oz. eau-de-cologne; apply night and morning with a sponge to the roots of the hair after brushing. (b) 2 oz. spirit minderus, ½ dr. ammonia carbonate, ½ oz. glycerine, ½ oz. castor oil, 5 oz. bay rum; apply as in (a). These will be found serviceable in the treatment of commencing general baldness, where the whole scalp is parting with its hair. Singeing the hair is not of the slightest use for hair stimulation, and the frequent use of the “curling-tongs” cannot but be detrimental to the health of the head-covering. When the hair demands a tonic application, the following--which any chemist will compound--may be tried:--1 oz. tincture of red cinchona bark, 2 dr. tincture of nux vomica, ½ dr. tincture of cantharides, add eau-de-cologne and coconut oil to make up 4 oz.; apply to the roots of the hair with a soft sponge night and morning. Where means are being taken to restore the health in cases of sudden or premature greyness of hair, Dr. Leonard recommends the following application:--2 oz. coconut oil, 3 dr. tincture of nux vomica, 1 oz. bay rum, 20 drops oil of bergamot. Washing with egg yolk is highly commended in such cases.

The common trouble known as dandriff (dandruff) frequently occurs in strumous (scrofulous) individuals who are anæmic (poor-blooded) and have a sluggish circulation, marked by cold hands and feet. Adolescence is its peculiar time of appearance, and chlorotic (greenish skinned) young girls are apt to be annoyed by it. It is an attendant upon chronic debilitating diseases, as rheumatism, syphilis, phthisis, and the like, and comes on after profound disturbances of the constitution, such as fevers and parturition. Dyspepsia and constipation are very common exciting causes or aggravants of the disease. Improper care of the scalp, the use of the fine-toothed comb, and of pomades, hair “tonics,” and hair-dyes will give rises to disorder.

A good deal in the way of prevention, according to Dr. Jackson, can be accomplished by proper care of the scalp and general health. The brush should have its bristles well set into the back, placed in little clumps at regular distances and rather far apart, and those in each clump should be of unequal length and arranged so that the longest ones are in the centre of the group. It is well to have two brushes, one stiff enough to warm the scalp when used with vigour, and one quite soft. The comb should be made with large teeth set wide apart; held up to the light the teeth should show no roughness or inequality of surface. The fine-toothed comb should be banished from the toilet table, as it is an active agent in producing inflammatory conditions of the scalp. In the morning the hair should be thoroughly opened up in all directions with the comb, and it and the scalp brushed vigorously with the stiff brush. Then the soft brush should be used in parting the hair, in polishing it, and in subsequent brushings during the day.

Do not wash the head too much. The so-commonly practised daily sousing of the head in water is hurtful to the hair and scalp, especially if they are not carefully and properly dried afterwards, and a little oil or a vaseline rubbed into the scalp. It is not the daily sousing which is objectionable, but the insufficient aftercare. Water renders the hair dry, and the daily sousing only washes the head superficially. A good shampoo every week or ten days for those persons exposed to a good deal of dust, and every 2-3 weeks for other people, is sufficient for cleanliness. For the shampoo, soap and water, borax and water, or the yolk of an egg beaten up in lime water, are all simple and good, but it must not be forgotten to wash out these materials with plenty of clean water, and to thoroughly dry the hair and scalp.

Patent hair “tonics,” pomades, washes, and dyes are to be avoided. None of these dressings is needed by the healthy scalp, and proper care will preserve the hair in better condition than they will. The nearer the body can be kept to the standard of perfect health by means of bathing, exercise, and good diet, the less likely is dandruff to develop. When, therefore, the disease has appeared, first inquiries should be concerning the general health, and first efforts addressed to remedying anything found to be wrong.

If the case presents itself with a decided accumulation of scales, or if crusts are present, saturate with sweet almond oil, before going to bed, and place over the head a flannel cloth soaked in the oil, and outside of all an oiled silk cap. Next morning shampoo thoroughly with soap and water, using by preference the tincture of green soap, and wash out the soap with plenty of water. The scalp is then to be dried by vigorous rubbing with a coarse towel, and the hair by pulling it through a soft towel. If the crusts by this method are not completely removed, the oil should be kept on during the day, the head again soaked at night, and washed with the soap and water in the morning. If the scalp should appear very hyperæmic after the crusts are removed, anoint the head with red vaseline or some simple ointment, as rose ointment, until lessened. When the crusts are removed and the hyperæemia overcome, have an ointment composed of 1 dr. sulphur loti to 1 oz. vaseline, applied every morning to the scalp. If the scales form rapidly, apply every night, and the sulphur ointment every morning, and wash the head every second or third day. As soon as scaling is lessened stop the use of the oil, but continue the ointment, at first using it every second morning, then gradually reducing its application to once a week. Throughout this plan of treatment the head should be shampooed about once a week with a tincture of green soap, borax and water, or the yolks of 3 eggs beaten up in 1 pint lime water, to which ½ oz. alcohol is added. Another excellent ointment for these cases is composed as follows:--

℞ Hydrarg. ammon. gr. xx. Hydrarg. chlor. mitis. gr. xi. Petrolati 1 oz.

This applied once or twice a day has yielded admirable results in a number of cases of simple dandruff. Its consistence, being that of a salad dressing, renders it an elegant pomade for private practice. Its use should be combined with the occasional shampoo as directed above.

The persistent and systematic use of either of the two plans of treatment, together with a proper oversight over the general health, should cure every case of dandruff. But be prepared for occasional relapses.

Headaches.--Headaches vary much in degree and in kind. Their causes may be grouped under 3 types--(1) when the blood-supply of brain and body is at fault; (2) when some distant organ (such as stomach or liver), with which the brain is in sympathy, is out of order; and (3) when there is some affection of the nervous system, and especially of the brain: or “circulation,” “digestive,” and “nervous” headaches. Circulation headaches arise from the condition known technically as anæmia (bloodlessness) of the brain, in which the mental powers are weakened, and much brain-work will result in headache. Chief among its causes are a feeble heart and excessive drain on the system, especially among women, the evil frequently lying in the excessive use of purgative medicines. Hyperæmia (excessive blood supply) may also give rise to headache in those who use the brain to such an extent as to cause excessive waste, to repair which an increased flow of blood to the head takes place, and may be so great as to overwhelm the nerve-centres. This is often aggravated by an irregular mode of life and too much stimulants. Interference with the blood return to the heart may be due to causes within the chest, such as chronic bronchitis or heart obstruction, to swellings in the glands of the neck pressing on veins which convey the blood back to the heart, and improper dress, such as tight stays, or tight collars and cravats.

In the bilious or dyspeptic headache, also known as the “sick headache,” the brain sympathises with the stomach or liver in its affliction, and thus is due to those errors of diet which lead to indigestion or dyspepsia, e.g., unwholesome food, late suppers, hasty and inefficient mastication, and continuous drinking and wine-bibbing.

The nervous system itself seems to be chiefly at fault in organic, nervous, and neuralgic headaches. The organic headache often precedes insanity. The nervous headache, more commonly known from the nausea and vomiting which occur during an attack, as “sick headache,” is due to various exciting causes, such as brooding over unpleasant thoughts, bodily fatigue, dietetic errors, too little exercise, overstraining of vision, loud noises of a disagreeable character, unpleasant smells, and even disturbances of the weather; it is often inherited. The attack may sometimes be warded off by the application of atropine; the tendency to attack has been got rid of by the use of a proper pair of spectacles. The neuralgic headache is a form of tic douloureux, has its seat in one or other of the nerves of the head, and may be excited by decayed teeth, exposure to cold, and similar causes. It rarely occurs, even in those conditions, unless the nervous system is lowered in tone. Many people have decayed teeth without suffering the slightest ache so long as they keep their health at par. Too much work, bodily or mental, or exposure to conditions which act injuriously on the health, result in a neuralgic headache.

Any irregularity in the mode of life, such as errors in diet and drink, must be particularly shunned by those who are liable to any form of headache. Where alcohol is found to do good, it should be taken only in small quantities and with the meals. All worry and excitement must be avoided. Sleep in sufficiency, as well as moderate exercise, is essential. When headaches continue to burden the frame and to make life miserable, change of air or scene, prolonged absence from business, pleasant society, music, and other enjoyments may help to get rid of them. Sometimes all that is wanted may be cod-liver oil, or some other nutrient and tonic medicine. During the paroxysms of sick headache, complete rest on sofa or bed in a darkened room is found by many to be the only thing which gives relief; while others believe they are assisted to endure by drinking cups of strong tea or coffee. Those who suffer from this tendency, and disorders of vision, should consult an oculist regarding the condition of their eyes. (Dr. Maxwell Rose.)

Indigestion.--Indigestion may be due to the food or condition of the stomach. The food may be defective in quality. There may be excess or deficiency of the normal ingredients, saccharine, starchy, albuminous, or fatty, or some of the natural indigestible materials which form a part of all food. The food may be introduced in an indigestible form on account of defects in the cooking of it, or imperfect mastication, or from its having undergone putrefaction or fermentation, which arrests the functions of the stomach. Imperfect mastication of food is a very common cause of indigestion. Eating too much is probably the most common of all causes of indigestion. The secretion of the gastric juice in the stomach seems to be proportioned to the amount of material required for the nourishment of the system. Food taken in excess of this amount acts as a foreign substance undergoing fermentation and putrefaction, and occasioning much disturbance in the system. Much may be done for the cure of indigestion by eating very abstemiously of suitable food, thoroughly masticated, taking exercise in the open air, breathing pure air, and observing the laws of health generally. The amount of food should be reduced until the quantity is reached which the stomach can digest without evincing any symptoms of indigestion.

Hot water of a temperature varying from 110° F. to 150° F., has been found highly serviceable in relieving painful conditions induced by improper feeding. This beverage, diluting the ordinary fluids and secretions of the digestive system, effects the work of the liver and kidneys, and produces the happiest results. Dr. Cutter, of New York, has summarised the methods of using hot water. He tells us that the water must be really hot, and not merely lukewarm. If lukewarm, it will only excite vomiting; whereas, when really hot, it appears to soothe the irritable lining membrane of the stomach and bowels. The quantity of hot water to be taken at a draught, according to Dr. Salisbury, varies from ½ pint to 1 pint or more at a drinking. The test of benefit being derived from the use of hot water is said to be that derived from the kidney-secretion, which should be pure, free from odour and deposit. Regarding the times at which hot water should be taken, 1-2 hours before each meal, and ½ hour before retiring to rest, are stated as the periods most suitable for its administration; while the water must be sipped, and not taken so fast as to cause distension of the stomach. Dr. Cutter says that ¼-½ hour may be consumed in the draught of hot water. This form of hydropathic treatment, according to the authorities just named, should be practised in cases of digestive troubles for a period of 6 months or thereabouts. Regarding the amount of liquid to be taken with a meal, not more than 8 oz. has been prescribed as the regulation quantity; a larger amount tends to dilute the gastric juice to too great an extent. Various additions may be made to hot water by way of rendering it palatable, although persons accustomed to drink it in time learn to like it.

Dr. Milner Fothergill made some experiments with our ordinary native fruits, to test the value of correcting the acid by means of alkali to render the fruit more suitable for dyspeptics. The result was that the amount of bicarbonate potash required for each lb. of fruit was found to be about as much as would lie upon a shilling. With all fairly ripe fruit this is just sufficient to neutralise the acidity, and bring out the natural sweetness; indeed, the resultant product was quite sweet enough for most adult palates. Such stewed fruit can be eaten alone, or with milk puddings, cream, or Swiss milk; gooseberries, currants, apples and plums are excellent when so prepared. With dark fruits, as the black plum, the colour is impaired by the alkali, and the fruit is less attractive to the eye than is that of the ordinary stewed fruit, which is of a deep clear crimson. A little cochineal will give the desired colour. Where there is no natural sweetness, to neutralise the acid completely by an alkali leaves nothing, simply a cold mass, to which the palate is indifferent. Such is the case with rhubarb. Here it is well to use half or all the amount of alkali with some sugar. The same is the case with early gooseberries before they have any natural sweetness; no sugar formed in them. Here the full quantity of alkali should be used, and the remaining acidity be met by sugar. When ¾ lb. of sugar is required to sweeten 1 lb. of fruit, only ¼ lb. of sugar is necessary after the alkali has been added. The sour-sweet taste is thus secured, which is toothsome. In these two instances the stewed fruit is only rendered less objectionable to the stomach plagued with acidity, not made quite inoffensive.

Infectious Diseases.--All infectious (catching) diseases have several features in common. They begin with a period of dormancy (“latency” or “incubation,”) during which the poison is actively developing. The duration of this period in smallpox is 12 days; in typhus fever, 8-14 days; in typhoid fever, 14-21 days; in scarlet fever, 3-6 days; measles about 4 days, at the termination of which the sickness is said to begin, though its distinctive characters may not appear for some days longer. These diseases (fevers) all commence with a marked, and sometimes sudden, elevation of bodily temperature, which, with variations, continues during the course of the illness. Characteristic eruptions appear in scarlatina on the 2nd, smallpox on the 3rd, measles on the 4th day, and so on; with them begins the infection, and increases with the activity of the disease. The following table, modified from that given by Domville in his ‘Manual for Hospital Nurses,’ is exceedingly useful:--

----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+------------------- |Period of| Day of| Characters| Duration| Name. |Dormancy.| Rash. | of Rash. | of | Observations. | | | | Illness.| ----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+------------------- Chicken- |21 days | |Small rose | 6-7 days| pox. | | | pimples, | | | | | becoming | | | | | vesicles. | | Erysipelas|3-7 days | 2nd or|Diffuse | |Most common in face | | 3rd. | redness | | and head, and after | | | and | | surgical operations | | | swelling. | | or injuries. | | | | | Measles | 10-14 |4th day|Small red | 6-10 |Accompanied with | days. | of | dots like | days. | running at eyes and | | fever.| fleabites.| | nose. Relapsing | Sudden | |Purpuric | |Caused by want of Fever. | | | spots | | food. After 7-14 | | | | | days from the | | | | | first attack, and | | | | | during convales- | | | | | cence, it is | | | | | liable to recur 2 | | | | | or 3 times. Scarlet | 4-6 days|2nd day|Bright | 8-9 days|Very infectious. Fever. | | of | scarlet | | Often accompanied | | fever.| diffused. | | by sore-throat, | | | | | followed by | | | | | desquamation | | | | | (peeling off of | | | | | the skin). Smallpox | 12 days |3rd day|Small red | 14-21 |Discrete or | | | pimples, | days. | confluent. Great | | | becoming | | pain in back and | | | then | | intense headache. | | | vesicles, | | Secondary fever | | | pustules. | | sets in about 11th | | | | | day of disease. Typhoid | 10-14 |7th to |Rose- | 22-30 |Seldom infectious. Fever. |days or | 14th. | coloured | days. | Usually caused by |suddenly | | spots, few| | bad drainage. | | | in number.| | Accompanied | | | | | by diarrhœa and | | | | | sometimes bloody | | | | | stools. Typhus | 1-12 |4th to |Mulberry | 14-21 |Very infectious. Fever. | days. | 7th. | colour | days. | Usually caused by | | | general | | over-crowding and | | | over | | destitution. | | | abdomen. | | ----------+---------+-------+-----------+---------+------------------

In scarlet fever, infection is due to the particles which peel off from the skin, the patient should be anointed once a day with carbolic oil, made with 1 part carbolic acid to 50 of olive oil. The efflorescence (peeling off) occurs first on the skin of neck and arms, sometimes as early as the fourth day. The anointing should include the head, the oil being freely applied to the roots of the hair, and continued for 6 weeks, a warm bath being given weekly during that time. After 6 weeks, the patient may mix with the other members of the family; but children should not return to school for 2 weeks longer.

In measles, the same rules are to be observed, with the addition that the discharges from mouth and nostrils should be received on rags and destroyed by burning.

In typhoid fever, the poison is chiefly contained in discharges from the bowels. These may infect the air of the sickroom, the bed, body-linen, w.c., and drains, and, by soaking into wells, they poison the drinking-water--a common and dangerous way by which this fever spreads. The discharges should be disinfected immediately on their escape from the body as will be directed.

Typhus fever is very infectious, and is apt to attack those who are much exposed to it for the first time; therefore engage a nurse who has been previously attacked. The poison is thrown off by the skin and lungs and readily affects clothing, furniture, and everything in contact with the air of the room.

Efficient protection from smallpox is proper vaccination, known by a large mark or scar. Re-vaccination after the fourteenth year is advisable. Smallpox affects at a greater distance than any other, the poison escaping chiefly by the skin and mucous membrane.

Diphtheria poisons by the breath and expectoration; and to avoid contact with these is absolutely necessary. The expectoration should be received into a vessel containing Condy’s fluid, or on rags that may be at once burnt. Gargle the throat frequently with a solution of the same, of the strength of 1 small teaspoonful to 1 qt. water.

Whooping-cough is a disease which is most fatal to children under 2 years of age. The poison comes chiefly from the mucous secretions of the lungs and air passages, and is readily imparted to the clothes of those who nurse the patient; the secretions are infectious from the beginning.

Asiatic cholera rarely visits this country. As in typhoid fever, it spreads by means of the bowel discharges, and the same precautions are needed.

In any infectious disease, where the home has no accommodation for fully carrying out the precautions, the patient should be removed at once to a fever hospital. No time should be lost in obtaining medical advice.

One other source of danger may be mentioned here, and that is the poisonous vapours arising from broken gas mains, which will cause illness and even death from the carbonic oxide present. As a precaution against ground air contaminated with illuminating gas entering houses, open all cellar windows, as well as those on the ground floor of threatened houses, so as to prevent directly sucking in the ground air or render it harmless by dilution. The smell of gas should serve as a warning.

The following advice is addressed to those who have to visit or attend upon infectious cases. Always have the window open before entering the patient’s room or ward. Never stand between the patient and the fire, but always between him and the open window. If possible change your coat before entering the room. Do not go in for any unnecessary physical examination. Stay as short a time as possible in the room. Never, while in the room, swallow any saliva. After leaving the sickroom, wash the hands with water containing an antiseptic. Rinse out the mouth with diluted “toilet sanitas” or Condy’s fluid; also gargle the throat with it, and bathe the eyes, mouth, and nostrils. Expectorate and blow the nose immediately on leaving the sickroom. Keep up the general health by good food, exercise, and temperance. Filter all the air you breathe while in the sickroom or ward through an antiseptic medium, such as a McKenzie inhaler over the nose and mouth; carefully soak the sponge in a strong solution of carbolic acid before entering the sickroom; all the air breathed must necessarily come through this sponge, and the expired air is emitted, by a valve action, at another place.

Nurses should keep themselves and their patients as clean as possible, remembering that the more the infection accumulates, the more dangerous does it become. Special care should be taken, in changing sheets and clothing, not to shake or disturb them more than is absolutely necessary to remove them; as these acts disseminate the particles of skin which are removed with them, and which convey the germs of disease, they should be removed carefully, folded together, and immediately disinfected.

Whatever the nature of a malady, so soon as it is pronounced to be infectious the same precautions should in all cases be taken. Let it at once be decided who is to nurse the patient, and make all arrangements by which nurse and patient may be isolated from the rest of the household. If possible, 2 rooms communicating should be given up to them, and over the outer doors of these rooms sheets should be hung, which must be kept constantly saturated with disinfectants, either Condy’s fluid or carbolic acid in water. No servant in communication with the rest of the household must enter the sickroom; if she does so, she should be isolated like the nurse, and any message that may require to be given must be spoken through the sheet. The best plan is to have a regular nurse from one of the many excellent institutions which provide them; they make the patient more comfortable, take entire charge of the arrangement of the sickroom, and know exactly what is required to be done in an emergency, and for disinfection. At the very commencement all curtains should be taken down, and at once sent out of the house to be disinfected by properly qualified persons; the same course should be pursued with the carpets (woollen articles hold infection beyond any others), and then the floors can be kept sprinkled with disinfectants, besides having a broom steeped in them passed over every morning. Linen used in the sickroom should always be put into water with either carbolic or Condy, before leaving the room; but, even with this precaution, it is far better to send it to be disinfected than to allow it to go to a laundry. The windows should be open, top and bottom, but more especially at the top, during the entire day, and if possible at night also; a thorough draught through the room is most desirable, if the patient can be kept out of the direct line of it. As much as possible, all cups, basins, jugs, and glasses should be kept upstairs; but those that must occasionally be sent down should be carefully washed in Condy and water, and at once placed outside the door, and again passed through disinfectant on their arrival downstairs. The clothes that may have been worn for the day or two before the disease absolutely declared itself should be sent for disinfection, but those which have only been in casual contact may be disinfected at home. A small room should be chosen for the purpose, and the dresses, petticoats, shawls, or other articles hung up, so as to be fully exposed. The doors, windows, and all other apertures must be kept closed, and the disinfection may be effected either by chlorine, which is formed by pouring hydrochloric acid on chlorate of potash, or else by burning sulphur. In either case the quantity must be sufficient to render the atmosphere of the room unbearable to a human being, or otherwise the disease germs will not be destroyed. The bedding and blankets must be sent for proper disinfection at the close of the illness. Nothing should be kept in the room except for use. Clothes in a wardrobe under such circumstances have been known to spread infection 10 years after. Handkerchiefs should be replaced by rags, burnt when used. Letters from the patient should be backed, or written on postcards dipped in carbolic; they are capable of spreading disease otherwise. A thing in which people are often lamentably careless is in allowing books that have been used by the patient to be afterwards used by others. It cannot be too often impressed on the minds of those who have to do with illness, that every book, paper or magazine used by an infectious patient must be burnt without leaving the sickroom. Infection is very often spread by allowing books from a circulating library to be returned to it after use by a person suffering from an infectious disorder.

Infection ceases in the individual as soon as the skin has thoroughly peeled--a process which takes a longer or shorter time in different individuals. The danger after this lies in the clothes, furniture, and rooms, and if these are at once thoroughly disinfected all danger is absolutely at an end. It is impossible to reprobate too strongly the conduct of those who wish and endeavour to shirk the expense and trouble of proper disinfection. It would be well if in such cases doctors would always avail themselves of their power to report the existence of a case of infectious disease to the sanitary officer of the district, when official pressure would at once be brought to bear, and all that is necessary be effected under compulsion.

The cured patient on the day of leaving home should go into a fresh room to dress, and put on things either new or disinfected, not returning to the sickroom. Brushes and sponges, as coming most in contact with hair and skin, are best destroyed. While a patient is in the infectious stage it is best that no letters should be written; but if, as is sometimes the case, some communication in writing must be made, danger is obviated by holding the paper and envelope in the fumes of chlorine.

A few words would not be amiss respecting those in the house who do not enter the sickroom. However great the precautions taken, the air of a house in which there is a case of infectious disease can never be absolutely safe, and it is far better to err on the side of caution than the reverse. Visitors should not be allowed to enter the house, and it is far better and more honest for the servants to state clearly at the door what disease is in the house. Special attention should be paid to the health of each member of the household. Any slight disorder is liable to predispose to infection.

There is a great variety of good disinfectants, and as many different ways of using them. A good plan, both effective and economical, is as follows:--Freely use moistened chloride of lime all through the house, and even in the sickroom, if the fumes are not found to be irritating; secondly, place in various parts of the room 5 or 6 soup-plates, or other flat vessels, containing Condy’s fluid; or hang about in the room as many perforated boxes filled with solid iodine; thirdly, keep the windows opened freely but the doors as seldom as possible; guard it both inside and outside with a large sheet, hung up to at least the height of the door, and at about 1 ft. distant from it, and kept constantly well moistened with a solution of carbolic acid (strength, about 1 of the acid to 40 of water); and, most important of all, receive as soon as possible all discharges, excreta, soiled linen, and all such matters, in vessels containing a strong solution of Condy’s fluid, chloralum, or carbolic acid. Many infectious diseases have (in addition to their common property of infecting the air through the effete products of respiration from the lungs and skin) some special channel of transmission. In cholera, typhoid (enteric) fever, and, in a less degree, typhus and relapsing fevers, it is principally by the excreta from the bowels and kidneys. These should be received at the very moment of their issue from the body into vessels fully charged with disinfectants. In diphtheria, it is by the throat. In erysipelas, hospital gangrene, and puerperal fever, by discharges peculiar to each. In smallpox, by pustular exudation from the skin. In scarlet fever, measles, &c., by desquamation (peeling off of the skin), rendered harmless by slightly moistening the surface of the body once or twice a day with ordinary olive oil or camphorated oil, or a weak solution of glycerine and carbolic acid. Never mix disinfectants; for instance, Condy’s fluid and carbolic acid act in precisely opposite ways, and might decompose each other.

The nurse must not neglect proper precautions for her own safety. She should use disinfectants freely about her own person, be sure that she has a sufficient quantity of undisturbed rest and regular meals, and avoid coming into unnecessary close contact with the patient. She should at once give up the occupation if she feel her general health at all injured. She must also be careful not to undertake a non-infectious case after being in attendance upon an infectious one for a considerable time; and until she has put herself through a complete process of disinfection, and done the same with all clothes worn at the time which she has not discarded altogether. Nothing must induce her to go near a confinement for several (at least 3) months.

Disinfection.--The most useful agents for the destruction of spore-containing infectious materials are:--

(1) Fire: Complete destruction by burning.

(2) Steam under pressure: 230°F. for 10 minutes.

(3) Boiling in water for 1 hour. This temperature does not destroy the spores of Bacillus subtilis in the time mentioned, but is effective for the destruction of the spores of the anthrax bacillus, and of all known pathogenic organisms.

(4) Chloride of lime: a solution of 4 in 100 containing at least 25 per cent. of available chlorine.

(5) Mercuric chloride: a solution of 1 in 500 containing at least 3 per cent. of available chlorine.

For the destruction of infectious material which owes its infecting power to the presence of micro-organisms not containing spores:--

(1) Fire: Complete destruction by burning.

(2) Boiling water ½ an hour.

(3) Dry heat: 230°F. for 2 hours.

(4) Chloride of lime: 1 to 4 in 100 solution, containing at least 25 per cent. available chlorine.

(5) Solution of chlorinated soda: 5 to 20 in 100 solution, containing at least 3 per cent. available chlorine.

(6) Mercuric chloride: a solution of 1 in 1000 to 1 in 4000.

(7) Sulphur dioxide: exposure for 12 hours to an atmosphere containing at least 4 volumes per cent. of this gas, preferably in presence of moisture. This will require the combustion of 3-4 lb. sulphur for every 1000 cub. ft. of air space.

(8) Carbolic acid: 2 to 5 in 100 solution.

(9) Sulphate of copper: 2 to 5 in 100 solution.

(10) Chloride of zinc: 4 to 10 in 100 solution.

Following are recommendations with reference to the practical application of these agents:--

For Excreta.

(a) In the sickroom:

For spore containing material:

(1) Chloride of lime in solution, 4 in 100.

(2) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500; addition of an equal quantity of potassium permanganate as a deodorant, and to give colour to the solution, is to be recommended.

In the absence of spores:

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 5 in 100.

(4) Sulphate of copper in solution, 5 in 100.

(5) Chloride of zinc in solution, 10 in 100.

(b) In privy vaults:

Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500. A concentrated solution containing 4 oz. mercuric chloride and 1 lb. cupric sulphate to 1 gal. water is recommended as a standard solution; 8 oz. this solution to 1 gal. water will give a diluted solution for the disinfection of excreta, containing about 1 in 500 of mercuric chloride and 1 in 125 of cupric sulphate.

(c) For the disinfection and deodorisation of the surface of masses of organic material in privy vaults, &c.:

Chloride of lime in powder, diluted with plaster of Paris, or with clean, well-dried sand, in the proportion of 1 part to 9.

For Clothing, Bedding, &c.

(a) Soiled underclothing, bed linen, &c.:

(1) Destruction by fire, if of little value.

(2) Boiling at least ½ hour.

(3) Immersion in a solution of mercuric chloride of the strength of 1 in 2000 for 4 hours. The blue solution containing sulphate of copper, diluted by adding 2 oz. concentrated solution to 1 gal. water, may be used for this purpose.

(4) Immersion in a 2 per cent. solution of carbolic acid for 4 hours.

(b) Outer garments of wool or silk, and similar articles, which would be injured by immersion in boiling water or in a disinfecting solution:

(1) Exposure to dry heat at a temperature of 230° F. for 2 hours.

(2) Fumigation with sulphurous acid gas for at least 12 hours, the clothing being freely exposed, and the gas present in the disinfection chamber in the proportion of 4 volumes per cent.

(c) Mattresses and blankets soiled by the discharges of the sick:

(1) Destruction by fire.

(2) Exposure to superheated steam--25 lb. pressure--for 1 hour. Mattresses to have the cover removed or freely opened.

(3) Immersion in boiling water for 1 hour.

(4) Immersion in blue solution (mercuric chloride and sulphate of copper) 2 fl. oz. to 1 gal. of water.

Fire.--Materials used in wiping away discharges may be burned in the open fireplace of the sickroom. In general, this method is to be recommended for all substances which have been exposed to infection, which cannot be treated with boiling water, and, could it be carried out in all cases, would make disinfection a very simple matter. If there is no fire in the room, such substances may be wrapped in a sheet soaked with solution, carbolic acid, and in this condition conveyed to a fire elsewhere.

Boiling Water.--Boiling in water for ½ hour will destroy the vitality of all known disease germs. This is therefore the best means for all articles which can be thus treated, such as body-clothing of the patient, bed-clothes, towels, &c. All utensils used in the room in feeding the patient should likewise be treated with boiling water before being removed from the room. Food itself, not consumed by the patient, should not be used by others, as it is liable to become infected in the sickroom. If there are no facilities for treating articles with boiling water in the sickroom, they may with safety be removed to another part of the house for this treatment if they are carefully enveloped in a towel or sheet, as the case may require, which has been thoroughly soaked with carbolic acid solution. Thus enveloped, they should be put in the water, and boiled for the required time.

Chloride of Lime.--To be effective as a disinfectant this must be of the best quality, and in purchasing it, only that should be accepted which is enclosed in glass bottles, as, when packed in paper or wooden boxes, it is liable to have so deteriorated as to be worthless for disinfecting purposes. Dissolved in water, in the proportion of 4 oz. to 1 gal., it forms a standard solution recommended to be used in the disinfection of discharges in contagious diseases, especially in typhoid fever and cholera; 1 pint should be well mixed with each discharge; after 10 minutes, disinfection is completed, and the contents of the vessel may be then safely thrown into the water closet. The expectorated matter of those sick with consumption should be discharged into a cup half filled with this or carbolic acid solution.

Solution of Chlorinated Soda.--To be effective, this solution must contain at least 3 per cent. of available chlorine, and care should be exercised to obtain such a quality. This is sometimes spoken of as Labarraque’s solution; but, as this latter is too weak to act as a disinfectant, the name is liable to mislead. A standard solution is made by adding 5 parts water to 1 of the solution of chlorinated soda. The cost of this solution is about 5_d._ a gallon. When thus diluted it may be used for all the purposes for which chloride of lime was recommended, and is of a somewhat more agreeable odour, though more expensive. It should be used to cleanse portions of the body soiled with discharges of those sick with infectious diseases, or the hands of attendants similarly soiled.

Bichloride of Mercury (corrosive sublimate) is recommended to be used only in the disinfection of privy vaults which contain so much material, believed to be infected with the germs of typhoid fever or cholera, that the disinfection by chloride of lime would be impracticable. In using this, it should be dissolved in the proportion of 1 oz. bichloride of mercury to 1 gal. water; this quantity will disinfect 4 gal. infected excremental matter.

For Clothing after Recovery or Death.

The clothing of the patient should be treated in the manner already described as necessary during the sickness. Whatever can be boiled in water should be thus disinfected; articles which cannot be boiled should, if circumstances will permit, be burned; all other articles should be left in the room to be subjected to the fumigation hereafter to be described, and until thus treated, the room and its contents should be closed with lock and key, to prevent any one from entering. If it is desired to burn any articles, and facilities for it do not exist in the house, the authorities should be notified, and an officer will call and remove the articles for destruction.

Permanganate of potash (commonly known as Condy’s fluid), Burnett’s fluid, and chloride of lime, can all be mixed with water, and used for clothing if care is taken. Carbolic soap is excellent for scrubbing. Sulphate of zinc and common salt, dissolved together in water in the proportion of 4 oz. sulphate and 2 oz. salt to 1 gal. will do for clothing, bed-linen, &c.

Armfield & Son, 15 Lower Belgrave Street, London, W., and Victoria Bridge Road, S.W., disinfect and clean articles after fever, &c., by means of special apparatus.

For Furniture and Articles of Wood, Leather, and Porcelain.

Washing several times repeated with:

(1) Solution of mercuric chloride 1 in 1000. The blue solution, 4 oz. to 1 gal. water may be used.

(2) Solution of chloride of lime, 1 per cent.

(3) Solution of carbolic acid, 2 per cent.

For articles of metal use No. 3.

For the Person.

The hands and general surface of the body of attendants of the sick, and of convalescents at the time of their discharge from hospital:--

(1) Solution of chlorinated soda diluted with 9 parts of water (1 in 10).

(2) Carbolic acid, 2 per cent. solution.

(3) Mercuric chloride, 1 in 1000; recommended only for the hands, or for washing away infectious material from a limited area, not as a bath for the entire surface of the body.

For Body of the Patient after Recovery.

When the patient has recovered, he should be first sponged over with the solution of chlorinated soda, diluted in the proportion of 1 part to 20 of water; and, indeed, during the course of the illness occasional sponging of the body with this very dilute solution under the direction of the attending physician, will be of value in preventing the escape from the surface of the body of infectious material. When, after recovery, the body has been thus sponged, not omitting the head and hair, a thorough washing of the body with soap and warm water should follow, and the patient dressed in clothes which have not been exposed to infection. This should take place in another room than the one occupied during the illness.

For the Dead.

Envelope the body in a sheet thoroughly saturated with

(1) Chloride of lime in solution, 4 per cent.

(2) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 500.

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 5 per cent.

The body should be thoroughly sponged with either (1) or (3), and then wrapped completely in a sheet saturated with one of these solutions, and enclosed in a coffin, which is to be closed, and the interment must take place within 24 hours, and be strictly private. If the interment is to take place at a distance requiring transportation by any other means than a hearse, the coffin must be of metal, or metal-lined, and hermetically sealed.

When danger is to be apprehended from this source, the body should be, when coffined, surrounded with sawdust, in which these solutions have been placed. Carbolic sanitas powders also present effective means whereby disinfection of the dead body may be performed when coffined; and nitrous acid fumes form the best disinfectant for mortuaries or apartments in which the dead have lain for some time.

Room and Contents.

The room, having been vacated by the patient, should first be fumigated by burning sulphur. This fumigation should be done under the supervision of the physician or some other intelligent person. Nothing should be removed from the room until this is completed, unless it has been disinfected in the manner already described. Everything to be fumigated should be so opened and exposed that the sulphur fumes can come in contact with all portions thereof. All cracks of doors and windows, fire-places, or other channels by which the gas may escape should be tightly closed, using cotton wadding when necessary. For a room 10 ft. in all its dimensions--that is, one containing 1000 cub. ft. of air space--2 lb. broken sulphur and 1 lb. flowers of sulphur should be provided, and an increased amount for larger rooms, in the same proportion. This quantity is important, as less will not so efficiently accomplish the desired disinfection. The sulphur should be put in an iron pot, and this placed on bricks in a large washtub half filled with water, or in a large coal-scuttle containing wet ashes. This precaution is necessary to prevent setting fire to the floor, which would occur if the pot were placed directly on the floor or carpet. The vessel containing the sulphur should not be one with soldered joints, as the intense heat would melt the solder. A pot capable of holding 1 gal. is about the right capacity for 3 lb. sulphur. The pot should be placed in the centre of the room; if the room is a large one, containing several thousand cub. ft. of air space, several pots should be provided, distributed at different points. Everything being in readiness, sufficient alcohol to moisten the sulphur should be poured on it, a lighted match applied, and when it is seen that the sulphur is well ignited, the room should be left and the door shut, and all cracks outside, including the key-hole, closed by paper, cotton, or other material. At the end of 10 hours the fumigation is completed. Great care should be exercised in emptying the room of the sulphur fumes, as these cannot be safely breathed, and are excessively irritating to the eyes and throat. If possible, a window should be opened from the outside, and through this the fumes permitted to escape; if this is impracticable, all the windows and doors of adjoining rooms should be opened, and then the door of the fumigated room, and through these outlets the fumes allowed to find an exit. Thorough airing will remove the slight odour which remains.

The fumigation being completed, all woodwork, as of floors, windows, and door, and the walls and other surfaces, should be washed over with solution of chlorinated soda, particular attention being paid to cracks, crevices, and out of the way places, in which dirt ordinarily finds a lodgment and from which it is with difficulty removed. A subsequent washing with hot water and soap will complete the cleansing process, and the room may be considered again habitable.

(a) While occupied, wash all surfaces with:--

(1) Mercuric chloride in solution, 1 in 1000. The blue solution containing sulphate of copper may be used.

(2) Chloride of lime in solution, 1 per cent.

(3) Carbolic acid in solution, 2 per cent.

(b) When vacated:--

Fumigate with sulphur dioxide as described in the next paragraph.

A pleasant disinfectant for rooms is 20 parts camphor, 50 each hypochlorite of lime, alcohol, and water, 1 each eucalyptus and clove oils. The ingredients must be mixed slowly in a spacious vessel kept cool. A few drops on a plate will suffice to disinfect a chamber pleasantly.

Carbolic acid, when combined with water and boiled, evaporates with the steam in a constant ratio, and the steam contains the same relative quantity of the acid as the water from which it evaporates. Pour 20-40 drops of a mixture of equal parts turpentine and carbolic acid into a kettle of water, which keep simmering over a slow fire, so that the air of the sick room will be constantly impregnated with the odour. An excellent vaporiser for disinfecting purposes is made by Savory and Moore.

To purify the air in a sickroom, place in the bed a small basket or other porous article, containing wood charcoal, for the purpose of absorbing the foul air which, if diffused throughout the surrounding atmosphere, would be constantly returned to the lungs.

In a sickroom in which infants are sleeping, put a box or basket containing a piece of quicklime and some wood charcoal, for the purpose of fixing the carbonic acid exhaled from the lungs, and of absorbing all the foul air generated in the system, and given off by exhalation from the skin or otherwise.

Cellars, yards, stables, gutters, privies, cesspools, water-closets, drains, sewers, &c., should be frequently and liberally treated with copperas (sulphate of iron) solution. The copperas solution is easily prepared by hanging a basket containing about 60 lb. copperas in a barrel of water, or say 1½ lb. per gal. It stains linen.

Another good solution is made thus. Dissolve ½ dr. nitrate of lead in 1 pint boiling water; dissolve 2 dr. common salt in a pail of cold water. Pour the two solutions together, and allow the sediment to subside. Areas, dustbins, heaps of refuse, w.c.’s, or close rooms are all alike benefited by this mixture, which has the advantage of being without smell. Cloths dipped in the solution and hung up in a room will sweeten a fetid atmosphere immediately. It is cheap, nitrate of lead being procurable at about 6_d._ a lb.

Rheumatism.--This common ailment is essentially due to damp or being chilled. One of the easiest and most satisfactory means of treatment is to apply a flannel bandage, pretty tightly, round the chest, in order to restrain the movements of the chest wall. Soothing liniments may also be laid on the side, such as belladonna and chloroform liniments, mixed in equal proportions, or the liniment of turpentine, or cajeput oil mixed with olive oil. Some of the popular domestic remedies for lumbago (rheumatism in the back), are not to be despised, such as ironing with a hot smoothing iron (with the interposition of a double layer of flannel between the skin and the iron), the efficacy of which is heightened by wrapping the flannel round the hot iron, and moistening the flannel with vinegar. The iron, thus guarded, is left in contact with the skin for ¼ minute, at various points. Another good remedy is the application of turpentine, effected by taking a doubled piece of flannel, say 12-14 in. long by 8-10 in. wide, and dipping it into boiling water. It is then wrung firmly, and turpentine is sprinkled liberally over it. This is applied to the loins, and kept on for 20-30 minutes. When removed, cotton-wool is applied to the skin. At the outset a strong effective purge ought to be taken.

A good hot bath (104° F.) is very beneficial, and it may be advantageous to make it alkaline, by adding about 6 oz. carbonate of soda (washing soda) to the bath before entering it; this will be specially efficacious in stiffness of the joints or muscles. Of the many drugs which have the effect of inducing free perspiration, solution of acetate of ammonia may most safely be used in tablespoonful (adults) doses freely diluted with water. The bowels may be opened by a mild aperient, preferably saline, taken largely diluted in hot water, and early in the morning. The action of the kidneys ought to be kept up by diuretics, the simplest being water, say a tumblerful drunk slowly in the morning, while dressing, or it may be rendered more energetic by the addition of 1 teaspoonful cream of tartar.

Diet ought to be restricted to light forms of solid food, e.g., fish, soups, chicken, puddings, vegetables, fruit, milk. Beer and wines should be avoided; ærated waters may be taken freely; smoking is prejudicial. Finally, persons who suffer from rheumatism ought always to wear flannel next the skin, and encourage perspiration. Most alkalies are useful in relieving rheumatism. Potash, or soda bicarbonate may be freely used in doses of ½ teaspoonful, in ½ tumbler of ærated water, twice daily, for 3-4 weeks at a time.

Sea-sickness.--Many people, as soon as sea-sickness commences, have recourse to oranges, lemons, &c. Oranges are very much to be avoided, on account of their bilious tendency, and even the juice of a lemon should only be allowed in cases of extreme nausea. Champagne, too, is a very common remedy, and, without doubt, in many cases does good; but this appears to be chiefly due to its exhilarating effects, as, if it be discontinued, the result is bad, and a great amount of prostration follows. Creosote is an old, but still good, remedy, and, in cases accompanied by great prostration, is very useful; but if given in the early stages of sea-sickness, it is often followed by very bad results, and even increases the nausea. Bicarbonate of soda is useful in slight cases, as it relieves nausea, and checks the frequent eructations which often follow attacks of sea-sickness; but in severe cases it is absolutely useless, and, in fact, it very often prolongs the retching. A very good remedy in the earlier stages of sea-sickness is a teaspoonful of Worcester sauce; it relieves the symptoms, and renders the patient easier. Its action is probably of a stimulant nature. Hydrocyanic acid is of very little service, and most acid mixtures are to be avoided, except that perhaps for drinking purposes, when it is best to acidulate the water with a small quantity of hydrochloric acid. Of all drugs the most effectual is sodium bromide. When sodium bromide is given in doses of 10 gr., 3 times a day, the attacks entirely subside, the appetite improves, and the patient is able to walk about with comfort. In sea-sickness it is very desirable that the patient should take sufficient food, so that at all times the stomach may be comfortably full, for by this means over-straining during fits of retching is prevented, and the amount of nausea is diminished. The practice of taking small pieces of dry biscuit is not of much use, as although the biscuit is retained by the stomach, yet the amount taken is never sufficient to comfortably fill the stomach. Soups, milk-puddings, and sweets are to be avoided, as they increase the desire to be sick, and are followed by sickening eructations. Fat bacon is easily borne, and does much good, if only the patient can conquer his aversion to it. When taken in moderate quantity it acts as a charm, and is followed by very good results. Of all food, curry is the most useful in sea-sickness, and is retained by the stomach when all other food has been rejected. Next to curry come small sandwiches of cold beef, as they look nice on the plate, and are usually retained by the stomach. Brandy should be used very sparingly, as, in many cases, it induces sea-sickness; and its chief use is confined to those cases where the prostration is very great, and even then champagne is more effectual. (Dr. Kendall, Brit. Med. Jour.)

Skin complaints.--Many of these are of a character to demand the early attention of the doctor, but there are others which can readily be combated by home treatment.

Pimple (Acne).--These are a frequent trouble in young people and may be very disfiguring. They arise from inefficient action in the fat (sebaceous) glands of the skin. Generally they can be dislodged by squeezing with the thumb nails. To promote healthy action of the glands and prevent formation of the pimples, Dr. Liveing recommends the following plan.

(a) Steam the face every night by holding it over a basin of hot water for a few minutes. (b) Rub the skin for 5-10 minutes with soap (preferably terebene) and flannel, or with a soft nailbrush; then sponge off the soap with warm water. (c) When the face has been dried, a lotion should be thoroughly applied, composed as follows: ½ oz. precipitated sulphur, 2 dr. glycerine, 1 oz. spirits of wine, with 3 oz. each rose-water and lime-water. This is allowed to dry on the skin and to remain on all night. In the morning the face is cleansed with warm oatmeal and water or weak gruel. If, for any reason, an ointment seems preferable to a lotion, a combination of precipitated sulphur and vaseline is very useful. The treatment must be modified or suspended for 2 or 3 nights if the skin becomes sensitive and somewhat tender. If this plan be unsuccessful, try application of potash soap in the form of a lotion. The lotion is composed of 1 oz. each soft soap and rectified spirits of wine, and 7 oz. rose (or distilled) water. This should be rubbed in vigorously with a piece of flannel for a short time, taking care not to make the skin sore. According to Dr. Liveing, the worst cases of acne will yield to the soft soap treatment if practised with necessary caution.

Something is often required to be done during the daytime to pacify the heat and throbbing, which are part of the usual history of acne. An excellent lotion is made by combining oxide of zinc, calamine, prepared chalk, lead lotion, and lime-water, to which may be added a small quantity of glycerine. Let the bottle containing this be gently waved about so as to diffuse the materials, which are only held in suspension; then pour a little into a saucer, and with a sponge (reserved for the purpose) sprinkle the face from time to time. Wipe off, when necessary, with a bit of fine muslin the powder which remains on the skin after the evaporation of the fluid, and the face may be washed occasionally with a little starch gruel. The cases are not a few in which it is better not to use any kind of soap as part of the evening ceremonial. After the face has been steamed, put on a medicated jelly composed of zinc oxide, gelatine, and glycerine. It must be liquefied by putting the vessel that holds it into hot water, and then applied with a brush. Some sensitive skins are intolerant of sulphur in any guise. When this is so, try combinations of lead, chalk and zinc, blended as a quasi-ointment with the finest vaseline. Dr. McCall Anderson’s formula of bismuth oleate with vaseline and white wax has been aptly described as “one of the most healing of salves.” Sometimes nothing agrees better than the old-fashioned but capital substance called Kirkland’s “neutral cerate,” which is composed essentially of lead plaster and olive oil.

Nettlerash.--A form of nettlerash seen in little children, showing itself as slightly raised red blotches, worst in the night, is referred to “teething,” and that is thought sufficient reason for neglecting it. The best treatment is strict attention to cleanliness and diet. The child should get a tepid bath night and morning. Take care that no part of the dress irritates the skin, flannel not being allowed to touch it; and let the patient enjoy fresh air and sunshine. If itching continues, instead of a simple tepid or warm bath at night, an alkaline bath should be given in this bath: in 8-10 gal. water as warm as the hand; dissolve 1-2 oz. soda bicarbonate. Bathe the child for a few minutes, do not be too exact in drying, and put to bed immediately. Nettlerash in adults requires medical treatment.

Eczema.--Of this skin disease there are many forms, all arising more or less from a disordered state of the blood, and demanding medical advice. As a general rule, the patient should avoid soap in washing, using oatmeal instead. Starchy food, such as potatoes, are deemed unsuitable, while plenty of green vegetables and fruit should be taken. Clean linen is essential, and the patient’s towel should not be used by any one but himself.

Itching.--This troublesome affection may be cured by the use of the following:--(a) 500 grm. milk of almonds; ¼ grm. each corrosive sublimate and ammonium chloride. (b) 60 grm. glycerine of starch; 5 grm. bismuth subnitrate; 5 grm. zinc oxide. (c) 1 litre infusion of mallow; 50 grm. cherry-laurel water (filtered); 10 grm. borax. (d) Vaseline often gives relief.

Ringworm.--Whenever the disease is observed, efficient measures should be taken to cure it, instead of wasting time with feeble popular remedies, such as ink, permitting the affection to spread and become established. The hair should be cut for ½ in. round each patch of ringworm. Get a small camel-hair brush, and a solution of the following composition: 30 gr. iodine; 2 drm. colourless oil of tar. Apply the solution carefully with the brush to the diseased part only. Repeat the application in a week. Strong carbolic ointment may be applied around the patch. It is a most obstinate disease, and requires the exercise of great patience. Children suffering from ringworm should not be much confined in the house, and it is a good rule to give them cod-liver oil, or steel wine, or both.

Sweating (excessive).--(a) In the Michigan Medical News, Dr. Currie recommends in sweats, from whatever cause, 1 pint alcohol, 1 drm. sulphate quinine. Wet a small sponge with it, and bathe the body and limbs, a small surface at a time, care being taken not to expose the body to a draught of air in doing it.

(b) For sweating of the feet, Dr. Meierhof, in the Maryland Medical Journal, directs the patient to immerse his feet morning and night for about 10 minutes, in warm water at 115°-120° F. in which a teaspoonful (1 dr.) powdered commercial soda (impure carbonate of soda) is dissolved. The feet are then thoroughly dried, after which they are painted all over with a coating of compound tincture of benzoin, which acts as an antiseptic astringent and by its mechanical presence on the skin. This treatment is continued for about 10 days, after which it is practised once daily, or every other day, as the necessities of the case may require.

(c) M. Vieusse, principal medical officer at the Military Hospital at Oran, states that excessive sweating of the feet, under whatever form it appears (whether as mere super-secretion accompanied by severe pain, or with fœtidity), can be quickly cured by carefully-conducted frictions with bismuth subnitrate; and even in the few cases where this suppresses the abundant sweating only temporarily, it still removes the severe pain and the noxious odour which often accompany the secretion. He had never found any ill consequence follow the suppression of the sweating.

(d) Napthol has been recommended as an effective remedy against excessive sweating of the palms of the hands, foot-soles, and arm-pits. These places should be moistened once or twice daily, with a mixture of 5 pt. naphthol, 10 pt. glycerine, 100 pt. of alcohol, and afterwards dusted, either with pure starch or with a mixture of 2 pt. naphthol, 100 pt. starch. In the case of sweating feet, small pellets of antiseptic cotton are dipped in the powder and placed between the toes.

Tooth Troubles.--To preserve the teeth, rinse the mouth after every meal. If the gums are naturally irritable and tender, a few drops of tincture of myrrh in water should be used to rinse out the mouth, twice or thrice daily. The first tooth brush should be used as soon as there are teeth to use it upon. An ideal tooth powder should be alkaline, since acids dissolve the tooth substance; finely pulverised, that it may not mechanically abrade; antiseptic, to prevent decomposition of food lodged between the teeth, and perhaps to destroy the microbes which are always found choking the tubules of carious dentine; it should contain nothing irritating to the gums; and, lastly, it should be pleasant to the taste, or it will not be used. Fluid dentifrices do not, as a rule, clean the teeth effectually, unless they contain some ingredient which acts upon the enamel itself; and those preparations which are eulogised as making teeth white or preventing deposit of tartar, should be avoided. Charcoal was at one time a very popular form of dentifrice, and is even now largely used, but from the amount of silica it contains it will rapidly wear away teeth that are not of exceptional hardness; and moreover, the gums in some instances become tattooed in a curious manner from absorption of minute particles. Pumice-powder, again, is too gritty; and camphorated chalk is said to make the gums spongy. Precipitated chalk forms the best basis for a tooth powder, to the base of which may be added pulv. saponis and ol. eucalypt., 1 dr. of each; and if there is no objection to the taste, ½ dr. carbolic acid. (Lancet.)

The tooth brush, which should be used night and morning, should be small, and have its not too stiff bristles arranged in separate bundles (in order that they may pass readily between the teeth and into the natural depression). The outer and inner surfaces of both front and back teeth should be brushed. The direction of the brushing should be from the gums; that is, downwards for the upper teeth, and upwards for the lower. This mode of cleaning the teeth is the best preventive against decay, which causes toothache, and also against the accumulation of tartar, which makes the breath foul, and in course of time causes the teeth to loosen and fall out.

Toothache.--(a) The following is a formula recommended by Prof. Babaieff in the British Medical Journal:--Melt 2 parts white wax or spermaceti, and when melted, add 1 part carbolic acid crystals, and 2 parts chloral hydrate crystals; stir well till dissolved. While still liquid, immerse thin layers of carbolised absorbent cotton wool, and allow them to dry. When required for use, a small piece may be snipped off, and slightly warmed, when it can be inserted in the hollow tooth, where it will solidify. The ease produced by this simple method is really very great.

(b) The following remedy is given by a dentist of great reputation:--First wash the mouth well with warm water, then use the following tincture: 10 gr. tannin, ½ dr. mastic, 10 drops carbolic acid, dissolve in ½ oz. sulphuric ether.

(c) Dr. Dyce Duckworth says toothache may be relieved by holding in the mouth a solution of bicarbonate of soda, say ½ dr. in 1 oz. water.

(d) A correspondent of the Electrician gives the following as an instant remedy for toothache:--With a small piece of zinc and a bit of silver (any silver coin will do), the zinc placed on one side of the afflicted gum, and the silver on the other, by bringing the edges together, the small current of electricity generated, immediately and painlessly stops the toothache.

(e) Equal parts carbolic acid and collodion applied on a pledger of wadding and thrust into the hollow tooth. Apt to cauterise the mouth somewhat. The saliva must not be swallowed.

(f) Anæsthetic in dentistry: 6 dr. pulv. camphor, 1 oz. æther. sulphur. Apply this to the gum surrounding the tooth to be removed, until the gum turns white, when the tooth can be extracted with scarcely any pain.

Warts.--(a) Apply a little nitric acid (aqua fortis) very carefully. Take a small stick--a lucifer match--dip it into the acid, and so apply a tiny drop to the top of the wart. It soon becomes yellow, and in a few days the top can be picked off. Repeated applications in the same way are necessary.

(b) Light a match or taper and apply the flame for a second, till you feel a sting, to the top of each wart, for 3 days in succession, when a watery blister will form round each wart, which you must burst, and throw all the warts away, which will be found to be quite loose, causing no pain; they will never return again, and no trace of them will be left after a short time.

(c) Prof. Unna recommends the continuous application of mercurial ointment containing 5 per cent. arsenic or a plaster containing in each 8 sq. in. 154 gr. arsenic and 77 gr. mercury.

(d) A plaster of black soap, applied each night for a fortnight, according to Vidal, will soften a wart so that it may be scraped off.

(e) Cellier’s treatment is to transfix the principal wart with the point of a pin, the head of which is then to be held in the flame of a candle until the wart is destroyed; it will drop off in a few days. The remaining warts will then usually disappear.

(f) A touch of castor oil (the best) once a day. It is a slow process, but, nevertheless, a sure remedy, and painless. Choose night time just before going to bed, to rub in well a little castor-oil, and then take a cloth or towel and rub any that remains off. Continue it for a month or two, for it needs persevering in. In some cases there will be no alteration for 2 months; but sooner or later they all die away. Some die away and others can be taken off, as if they had lost their roots.

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

Spencer Thomson: ‘A Dictionary of Domestic Medicine and Household Surgery: with a chapter on the Management of the Sickroom, by Dr. Steele.’ London. 1883. 10_s._ 6_d._

John Gardner: ‘Household Medicine and Sickroom Guide: a familiar description of diseases, remedies, methods of treatment, diet, &c., expressly adapted for family use.’ London. 1882. 12_s._ 6_d._

Charles J. Cullingworth: ‘A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical.’ London. 1883. 3_s._ 6_d._

E. Symes Thompson: ‘Colds and Coughs; their causes and consequences.’ London, 1877. 1_s._

J. Milner Fothergill: ‘Food for the Invalid, the Convalescent, the Dyspeptic, and the Gouty.’ London. 1880. 3_s._ 6_d._

Prosser James: ‘Sore Throat; its nature, varieties, and treatment.’ London. 1879. 6_s._ 6_d._

Edward John Waring: ‘Remarks on the Uses of some of the Bazaar Medicines and Common Medical Plants of India, with a full index of diseases, indicating their treatment by these and other agents procurable throughout India, to which are added directions for treatment in cases of drowning, snake-bites, &c.’ London, 1875. 5_s._

Gordon Holmes: ‘A Treatise on Vocal Physiology and Hygiene, with especial reference to the Cultivation and Preservation of the Voice.’ London, 1881. 6_s._ 6_d._

W. H. Corfield: ‘Health.’ London, 1880. 6_s._

J. L. Milton: ‘The Hygiene of the Skin.’ London, 1877. 1_s._

James W. Allan: ‘Notes on Fever Nursing.’ London, 1879. 2_s._ 6_d._

John Beadnell Gill: ‘Indigestion; what it is, what it leads to, and a new method of treating it.’ London, 1881. 4_s._ 6_d._

Erasmus Wilson: ‘Healthy Skin; a Popular Treatise on the Skin and Hair, their Preservation and Management.’ London, 1876. 2_s._ 6_d._

Henry Thompson: ‘Cremation; the Treatment of the Body after Death.’ London, 1884. 1_s._

Florence Nightingale: ‘Notes on Nursing: what it is, and what it is not.’ London, 1884. 2_s._

Henry C. Burdett: ‘Hints in Sickness: Where to go and what to do.’ London, 1883. 1_s._ 6_d._

William Henry Day: ‘Headaches: Their Nature, Causes, and Treatment.’ London, 1880. 6_s._ 6_d._

Mary Hooper: ‘Cookery for Invalids, Persons of Delicate Digestion, and Children.’ London, 1883. 2_s._ 6_d._

E. Bibby: ‘Invalids Abroad; Hints on Travelling, Nursing, and Cooking.’ London, 1879. 2_s._ 6_d._

Henry C. Angell: ‘The Sight, and how to preserve it.’ London, 1878. 1_s._ 6_d._

T. Wharton Jones: ‘Defects of Sight and Hearing; Their Nature, Causes, Prevention, and General Management.’ London, 1877. 1_s._

Charles J. Cullingworth: ‘The Nurse’s Companion; a Manual of General and Monthly Nursing.’ London. 2_s._ 6_d._

William Murrell: ‘What to do in Cases of Poisoning.’ London, 1884. 3_s._ 6_d._

Lionel S. Beale: ‘On Slight Ailments, including the Principles of Treating Disease.’ London, 1887. 5_s._

M. Charteris: ‘Health Resorts at Home and Abroad; with a Section on Sea Voyages.’ London, 1885. 4_s._ 6_d._

E. J. Domville: ‘Manual for Hospital Nurses.’ London. 2_s._ 6_d._

THE BATHROOM.

BATHING IN GENERAL.

Bathing is of several kinds. There is the morning tub and the sea dip which are taken to brace up the system; then there is the hot bath, more for sanitary and cleansing purposes; and finally come hot-air and vapour baths which are generally of a more or less medicinal character. These will be considered in rotation.

Cold Bathing.--All persons in health and of average strength may use a cold bath daily, in summer at least. In winter, mornings of extreme frost try the strongest constitution, and few are likely to benefit by a plunge on these occasions. For the most part, individuals of moderate powers and free from disease may carry the cleanly practice of summer through the winter months. A word on the bath itself. Those who take it should begin in summer, not winter, and so become gradually accustomed to its lowest temperature. No one should linger over it; 3-4 minutes are ample. After immersion, the body should be quickly and well dried and rubbed before dressing. Light gymnastic, dumb-bell, or club exercise, may occupy the next few minutes, the clothes being partly on if the weather be cold, and breakfast, or a cup of warm tea or coffee, should shortly follow, to prevent chilling.

There are those whom a cold bath injures, instead of invigorating. The readiest test of benefit is the glow of free surface-circulation, or at least the absence of any decided sense of chill after immersion. Some do not experience this. Among these are the subjects of heart weakness, arising from whatever cause; it may be consequent on organic disease of the heart, on old gout or rheumatism, or on overwork and underfeeding, in which case it is a part of a general debility. Again, there is in some a tendency to engorgement of one or other deep-seated organ with blood, a kidney, the liver, &c. This is commonly the result of a previous inflammatory attack, or of visceral disease at the time existing. Surface-cold aggravates the congestive tendency. Obviously, therefore, such persons, if they bathe, ought to use tepid water; and, in renal disorders, this method is often advantageous. In slight cases, cold is not injurious if the ablutions be expeditiously gone through, and restricted to periods of summer weather. The aged should avoid cold baths, and commonly do. Infants, if ordinary despatch is used in bathing and in dressing, have no reason to fear them. Their powers of reaction are excellent.

Cold baths chill down the feeble circulation of the badly nourished, and provoke a physical torpor which is obstructive to the processes of nutrition. They drive the blood from the surface of the body in upon vascular organs, whose circulation is already sluggish from general weakness. They thus produce discomforts which aggravate existing languor, and enhance the feeling that food and drink ought not to and therefore cannot be taken. A bath described as one “from which the chill has been taken” is too cold for subjects under medical advice who are in need of extra feeding.

In any case it is unwise to bathe out of doors when copious perspiration has continued for some hour or more, unless the weather be excessive or the sweating has been induced by loading with clothes rather than by exertion. When much perspiration has been produced by muscular exercise, it is unsafe to bathe, because the body is so fatigued or exhausted that the reaction--that is, the return of the momentarily displaced blood to the surface--cannot be ensured, and the effect may be to congest the internal organs and notably the nerve centres. From congestion of the nervous centres comes cramp, so often fatal in bathing.

If the weather be “chilly,” or there be a cold wind so that the body may be rapidly cooled at the surface while undressing, it is not safe to bathe. Under such conditions the further chill of immersion in cold water will take place at the precise moment when the reaction consequent upon the chill of exposure by undressing ought to occur, and this second chill will not only delay or altogether prevent the reaction, but convert the bath from a mere stimulant to a depressant, ending in the abstraction of a large amount of animal heat and congestion of the internal organs and nerve centres. The actual temperature of the water does not affect the question so much as its relative temperature as compared with that of the surrounding air. Practically, there ought to be a good deal of difference between the two, the water being much lower than the air and the body being--without great or long persisting perspiration--much warmer than the water, of course, but not so much warmer than the atmosphere as to be chilled by undressing. In short, the aim must be to avoid two chills; first, from the air, and second, from the water, and to make sure that the body is in such a condition as to secure a quick reaction on emerging from the water, without relying too much on the possible effect of friction by rubbing. It will be obvious that both weather and wind must be carefully considered before bathing is commenced, and that the state of the organism as regards fatigue and the force of the circulation should also be considered, not merely as regards the general habit, but the special condition when a bath is to be taken. These precautions are eminently needful in the case of the young or weakly.

Sea bathing is regarded, naturally, as more bracing in its character than river bathing. The saltness of the water and the sharp air of the sea together tend to invigorate us. As a rule, the bather can remain longer, without injurious effect, in salt than in fresh water. The sudden shock which results from a plunge into river or sea may be attended by bad effects in the case of persons who are subject to fits of any kind or to disturbance of the heart’s action. Another highly important question in bathing has reference to the care of the ears. Wherever any tendency to ear-ache or inflammation of the ear exists, bathing must be cautiously indulged in. A dive has been known to be followed by rupture of the “drum” of the ear, owing to the sudden pressure to which this membrane has been subjected in passing from the air under the water. Again, persons who have suffered from discharges from the ears--common after scarlet fever, for example--and in whom the drum of the ear may be perforated or irritable, abscess of the brain may follow injury produced by the sudden dive or by plunging the head beneath the water. Placing cotton wool in the ears is a necessary precaution for any who have tender ears, and a safe practice for all. Further, do not dive too much and avoid swimming on the back, for from the position of the ears the water gets into them a great deal more than even in diving. When getting out, besides giving a good rub down with a rough towel, always carefully wipe the ear and the glands behind the ear dry.

No child under 2 years of age ought, under any circumstances, to be bathed in the open sea, and no one, child or adult, can enter the sea without danger while under the influence of emotional excitement. Under 2 years of age, a child’s body is too weak to gain any benefit from the shock of immersion in the open sea. Its nervous and circulating forces are too feeble for the development of that vigorous reaction, without which sea-bathing is either useless or hurtful. In the absence of strength for such reaction a sea-bath tends to chill an infant’s body, and predispose to internal congestion. At any age the shock of immersion in the sea brings risk of danger, and even of death, when the emotions are powerfully excited, and especially when the mind and body are dominated by that most depressing of human emotions--fear. Infants are not always bathed in the sea merely with the intention of making them strong. There is an old seaside tradition that babies diligently bathed become fearless in the water when they grow up. This notion is also false. Than that infants gain courage by being plunged in the sea, it is more probable that many a nervous child has acquired a dread of bathing which no after-experience could remove, because it was compelled in fear and trembling to plunge under water. If a child be sufficiently robust to develop a good reaction, if it be over 2 years of age, and, above all, if it be not afraid, it may be bathed in the sea with advantage. If any of these conditions be wanting, sea-bathing for children is likely to be positively injurious. (Brit. Med. Jour.)

Attacks of cramp, to which even expert swimmers are liable, may arise from many causes. Where special nervous diseases do not exist, the so-called “cramp spasms” are, as likely as not, due to some irregularity in digestion, or to some imprudence in bathing at wrong times and seasons. Bathing after a full meal may induce so-called “cramps,” and it is to be feared that many a fatal case of drowning, attributed to some hidden nervous cause, has had a far simpler origin in digestive disturbances reacting on the nervous system, and through this system propagated to the muscles.

The ordinary rules--drawn up by the Royal Humane Society--which should be observed by all bathers, whether in fresh or salt water, and whether swimmers or not, are simple and readily borne in mind.

1. Never bathe within 2 hours after a meal.

2. Never bathe when exhausted or in ill-health. The practice of plunging into the water after exercise is to be thoroughly condemned.

3. Never bathe when the body is cooling after perspiration.

4. A morning bathe may be taken by those who are strong and healthy before breakfast on an empty stomach.

5. The young, or those who are delicate, should bathe 2-3 hours after a meal, and in the forenoon, if possible.

6. The signs which forbid open-air bathing altogether are chilliness and shivering after entering the water, numbness of hands and feet, and deficient circulation generally.

7. When the body is warm, bathing may be indulged in, provided undressing is quickly accomplished, and the body is not chilled before entering the water.

8. On leaving the water, dry and dress quickly. Standing about undressed, after leaving the water, is, under any circumstances, injurious.

9. Rather cut short, than prolong, the bathe. Swimmers possess the power of remaining in the water for a considerable time, in consequence of their active movements. But even in their case injury is often wrought by unduly extending the exercise. The slightest feeling of chilliness should be taken as a sign to leave the water at once.

It is a recognised fact that a sudden head douche of cold water is apt to cause giddiness in many persons from its effect on the brain-circulation, which forms in itself a peculiar part of the blood-system. Cases of persistent headache, often accompanied by giddiness and faintness, have followed sea and river bathing; these effects having disappeared when the practice of plunging the head below water was discontinued. Persons thus affected cannot do better than omit the head from the bath, and, in shower baths, stoop forward or lean backward and sidewise, so that the water shall fall on back, chest, and shoulders, but not on the head.

Hot Baths.--Concerning the bathroom, Edis remarks that whenever a bath is provided, it is generally left open, and forms a receptacle for dirt and dust, which is not always cleaned out when the bath is filled. He suggests that the bath be slightly lowered into the floor, and fitted with a hinged top, about seat-high from the floor, so as to keep the bath clear of dirt, and when not in use make it answer as a table or seat. A bathroom is often fitted up with cupboards for linen, and if the hot-water cistern be placed in the room on the floor level, or sufficiently high for use, or a coil of hot-water pipes be carried through, the linen cupboard with lattice shelves might easily be fitted over it, with closed doors of course, by which the linen would always be kept properly aired; and if the room be lined with tiles, there would be no fear of damp or moisture from steam condensing on the walls. The bath should be formed in a recess, with tile lining all round and overhead, and the recess might then be fitted with cupboards over, and drawers and useful shelves at one end, so as to provide storage-room for a large amount of spare clothing and linen, which it is often so difficult to find room for. A curtain drawn across the bath keeps it clean, and hides it from view when not immediately required.

Hot-air and Vapour Baths, Turkish Baths, &c.--The Lancet expresses a strong objection to that form of bath which involves the patient being in an erect or sitting posture, where the bath is used to produce perspiration; it is always possible that some amount of faintness or giddiness may be experienced by the bather even when the blanket or tent-shaped envelope is so effectively applied as to prevent the fumes rising to the mouth and being inspired. It is always far better, and ought to be a rule, that the patient should be in the recumbent position. With a properly constructed cradle-head, the bed-clothes can be raised and the lamp placed safely in the bed itself, the clothes being well tucked in round the neck and under the chin, so that nothing may reach the mouth. In this way the patient may enjoy the full benefit of a fairly high temperature without the least fear of faintness. There are, nevertheless, certain precautions which ought to be observed, and which are too commonly overlooked. (a) A thermometer with a long stem ought to be so placed that the bulb may be inside the clothes and the indicator-column visible outside. Such a thermometer might with advantage be supplied with the bath. It is always desirable to know the temperature of the atmosphere to which the patient is subjected. (b) The moment perspiration is induced there arises the question--How far ought it to be carried? If the purpose of the bath be to eliminate fluid or any product of tissue-waste from the body, there may be a need for the maintenance of the cutaneous perspiration for some time: but otherwise it is not, generally speaking, well to let the patient remain in the heat for more than 10 minutes; otherwise, the result can only be to saturate the bed-clothes with moisture, which will begin to cool as soon as the lamp is removed, and after the lapse of 20-30 minutes must place the patient in the perilous position of lying, perhaps sleeping, in a damp bed. A hot-air bath for ordinary purposes is better given in the morning than at night; or, if that be impossible, the patient should be removed to a dry bed with hot blankets. The body-heat can never be safely trusted to keep the clothes, which have been saturated with moisture by a bath, warm after the lamp is withdrawn. It is quite a different matter when the perspiration has been raised by the heat of the body itself. As a rule, the patient should be removed and wiped dry in about 20 minutes after the withdrawal of the lamp--that is, in ½ hour from the commencement of the bath. If the perspiration be acid, it is desirable to sponge the surface with hot water, in which about 1 dessertspoonful soda carbonate has been dissolved--say, in 1 qt. water. (c) If the case be one of rheumatism or gout, it must be recognised that by determining to the skin we are likely to get increased stiffness and surface irritation after each bath until the excrementitious material has been thoroughly eliminated. Overlooking this fact, patients, and sometimes practitioners, fail to persevere long enough with the baths, because, as it seems, each bath makes matters worse.

A simple form of hot-air or steam-bath for home use may be made as follows:--To the back of an ordinary wooden or cane-bottom chair fix an upright piece of wood, and to this at the height at which the neck of the sitter on the chair will be fix a hoop of cane or other material sufficiently wide to keep the cloth to hang from the hoop free from the shoulders of the sitter. Place beneath the chair a gas or oil lamp or two, if one does not give sufficient heat. If, now, a cloth be fixed round the ring sufficiently ample to reach the ground and close all round the sitter, a tent will be formed from the top of which the head of the sitter will project. Let the cloth overlap the ring freely, so as to permit of being pulled close to the sitter’s neck. Whilst taking this hot-air bath, the feet must be kept in a basin of warm water. If there is danger of a headache, a cold wet cloth on the head will prevent it. If a vapour bath is preferred, place a pan of water over the lamp, so that the water may boil.

Ellis & Co., of 47 Farringdon Road, London, have introduced a Cabinet Turkish Bath, which dispenses with chair, lamp, sheets, and covers. It is exceedingly simple, and consists of a neat cabinet (Fig. 127) made of well-seasoned wood, taking up a floor space of only 2 ft. 5 in. by 2 ft. 8 in., and large enough to admit the person comfortably. It is mounted upon castors, so that it may easily be moved from place to place on the same floor; and it is light enough to be carried if required. It is fitted with a foot-warmer, and with an adjustable seat, so that it can be used by children and by adults of different sizes. A book-rest is arranged conveniently, so that the time may be pleasantly occupied, and small doors are provided through which the hands may be passed in order to turn over the leaves of a book, or to wipe the face, or to remove a cigar from the mouth, &c. The bath is heated by gas, or by a special lamp in which spirit is burned. It may be managed with the greatest ease without the aid of an attendant, being, in fact, quite as simple as an ordinary sponge or sitz bath. It is only necessary to fill the foot-warmer with hot water, covering it with a piece of flannel, to light the lamp, and step into the bath with a towel round the neck to prevent the heat escaping too readily. Ample ventilation is allowed, so that the body is not exposed to the action of vitiated air, since this is constantly being renewed from outside. The bath constitutes, in fact, a small ventilated hot chamber, the time spent in which may vary from 10 minutes to ½ hour, according to pleasure. The prices of this bath range from 5_l._ 10_s._, as made in best pine, to 9_l._, in black walnut.

MANAGEMENT OF HOT-WATER SYSTEM.

Before entering into the details of the management of a hot-water system destined to supply baths, &c., it will be desirable to acquaint the reader with the general plan and principle of an apparatus, and to explain the cause of circulation, &c., as this will convey some idea of the subject to be treated, for although many possess an apparatus fitted in their residences, yet much practical information cannot be gained from it, as a major portion of the work is hidden from view.

Figs. 128 and 129 show two distinct forms of apparatus, both of which are at present in general use, and both of which even now nearly equally share the public favour, although No. 1 is the more modern and has been proved to be practically superior to No. 2, and is now nearly exclusively adopted by most firms who profess this work.

No. 1 is known as the cylinder system, and consists of a cylinder (a square tank is sometimes used where the pressure of water is light, tanks costing much less than cylinders of the same capacity) which is placed at the nearest position to, but above the level of the boiler. Two pipes connect the boiler with the cylinder, the upper pipe a is termed the “flow,” and is carried from the upper surface of the boiler to about 9 in. up the nearest side of the cylinder as shown, and the lower pipe b, known as the “return,” is carried from a lower position in the cylinder, under the “flow,” to within about 3 in. from the bottom of the boiler, either through the top, as shown, or entering at the back or side.

From the highest point in the cylinder is carried a pipe c, called the “rising main,” by the nearest or most convenient route to above the level of the cold-water cistern, and terminates either by being carried through the roof (as shown) or by being turned over the top of the cistern referred to (as shown in dotted lines). This pipe, when the apparatus is in use, is charged with water to a little above the level of the cold water in the cistern, and the pipe is open at the top end to admit of the free escape of steam, and on that account is sometimes called the expansion pipe; from this pipe is, or should be carried all the draw-off services to the various points at which they are required. In event of this rising main being carried to a considerable distance or height, it should be “returned” from any convenient point below the cold cistern (as shown in dotted lines at d); this will cause the water to circulate in this upper service and avoid the annoyance and waste caused by drawing sometimes a large quantity of cold water (which lies stagnant in single pipes) before the hot water is obtained. When this “return” is effected, the service is known as the “secondary flow and return.”

Another good use to which the return can be put is in event of any draw-off services being unusually long, as that shown at m to the dressing-room in the illustration, the return can be connected as shown in dotted lines, and will bring about the same good results as explained in “returning” the rising main.

The supply of cold water to the apparatus is either brought by a direct and distinct service from the cistern, or is branched from the nearest existing cold service, but in the latter case the existing service must be of good size, for reasons that will be explained later on. The cold supply should be provided with a stop tap f, which is found most convenient if placed near the cylinder, as it can then be used by workmen or others without their having to traverse the house, but this tap should have a loose key or handle, which should be kept by some responsible person to prevent its being interfered with by any one ignorant of its use. There should be also a tap provided at a convenient point, say g, to empty the cylinder when the boiler requires to be cleaned or any repairs effected, and this tap should have a loose key for the reasons before stated.

The chief advantage of this system is safety, the cook or user being unable to empty the cylinder, consequently should the water supply fail, the fire can be lighted in the usual way without risk, as in ordinary use it would take several days to boil away or evaporate the contents of the cylinder and boiler.

Another advantage gained by this system is that the cylinder being in such a warm situation, much less heat is lost by radiation, and by its being nearer to the boiler the circulation is effected more rapidly; and there are several other minor advantages to be gained by it, which, however, are not of sufficient importance to warrant detail here. The cold supply pipe h leads from the cistern i to the cylinder k; l is the boiler; m are draw-off service pipes with taps n in the various apartments where needed.

Fig. 129 is commonly known as the “high” or the “old” system. This consists of a square or rectangular tank a, which performs the function of a reservoir for the hot water in the same way as a cylinder, but instead of being situated near the boiler b, it is fixed somewhere above the highest draw-off service, but of course below the cold cistern c; it is commonly found in the roof or attic in proximity to the cistern, but these are cold and bad situations for it; it is more often found in the bathroom, enclosed in a casing or cupboard, which is thereby made an efficient airing closet, and serves somewhat to prevent loss of heat referred to before (and hereafter), and the presence of the tank in the bathroom, although occupying considerable space, is a source of warmth, no mean advantage in winter.

The tank a is connected with the boiler b by “flow” and “return” pipes d e, the same as the cylinder, but they are necessarily much longer; the draw-off services f are, or should be, all connected to the “flow” pipe d as shown, as the water in this pipe is the first to become heated as the water circulates or “flows” from the boiler to the tank; and an expansion pipe g (not called a rising main in this instance) is carried from the highest point in the tank a to above the level of the cold supply c, as in the cylinder system. There is no need to return this expansion pipe, but an unusually long draw-off service can and should be returned for the reasons before explained, and the method is to connect and carry the draw-off service from the flow pipe in the usual way and return it into the return pipe at a lower point, somewhat after the manner shown at h. Obviously the run or course of all pipes has to be adapted to circumstances, but it can be taken as an invariable rule that in correctly executed work “flow” pipes never descend and “return” pipes never ascend, but this will be more fully explained later on. In speaking of circulating pipes, the “flow” is recognised as running from boiler to tank (or cylinder), and the “return” from tank to boiler.

The cold-water supply i is carried and connected to the tank a in the same manner as to a cylinder, and provided with a stop tap k to save the necessity of plugging the pipe where it leaves the cold-water cistern.

The chief advantage of this system is obtaining hot water a little quicker (but in less quantity) from the time the fire is lighted, than in the cylinder system, as it can be drawn almost immediately it leaves the boiler; but as good results in this respect can be attained with the cylinder if the directions subsequently given are attended to; another advantage in this system is that it can be erected at less expense than the other, and the tank costs but little more than half the price of a cylinder. These advantages are more than counterbalanced by the disadvantages, viz. the easy means of exhausting the apparatus of water if the supply fails, the longer period occupied in obtaining a body of hot water, and the necessarily cold or cool situations of the tank and pipes, so causing loss of heat by radiation, &c.

A few lines may be here devoted to explaining the cause of circulation, which the generality of householders are totally unacquainted with. For the reader to fully understand the subject, he must first know that water is composed of extremely minute particles (molecules), quite invisible to the eye, which have the property of gliding over, under, around, to and from each other, as circumstances dictate, in we may say a perfectly free manner, almost entirely without friction or resistance. When the apparatus is charged and the fire lighted, the particles nearest the fire become heated and expanded, and are, bulk for bulk, rendered lighter than their fellows, and consequently rise to the top of the boiler; finding an outlet there they rise up into this, and continue to rise until they reach the highest limit, which in No. 2 system is the top of the tank, and in No. 1 system, the top of the cylinder, unless the rising main is “returned,” in which case it will be where this “return” commences. Immediately the expanded particles leave the heated surface of the boiler, other cold particles descend into their place and are heated and expand to follow their predecessors, and so it continues as long as there is heat applied to the boiler. The circulation is really a continuous stream of expanded (heated) particles of water ascending the flow pipe, and a corresponding stream of cold or cooler particles descending the return pipe, a natural and very simple means of automatically transporting the hot water from the heating chamber (boiler) to the reservoir (tank) and automatically providing a supply of cold water to be heated in its turn.

The specific gravity of water at the boiling point, compared with water at the freezing point, is as 21 to 20, i.e. 20 gal. of very cold water will balance 21 gal. of very hot water.

The following are the few general rules to be observed for the efficient, economic, and safe working of either description of apparatus.

Commencing at the boiler, it is very necessary that the flue under this be quite cleared of cinders and ash once daily, and the length of the flue should be ascertained, as they differ considerably, and many instances occur where these flues are scrupulously cleaned but only in half or three-fourths their length, and very quickly the accumulation at the end of the flue becomes hard and solid, and an inexperienced person would then consider it to be the wall which forms the boundary at the back of these flues; this stoppage of course effectually prevents the water heating as it should do. Another cause of the water failing to heat quickly is omitting to have the interior of the boiler cleared of the incrustation or deposit (commonly known as fur) that accumulates more or less according to circumstances that will be fully described later on; when this inner coating attains a moderate thickness it very naturally retards the heat in passing from the fire to the water, especially as it is a poor conductor. There is, however, a more important reason why this incrustation should be removed regularly, and that is, when the boiler is coated to a certain thickness (which coating is more or less porous according to the district) it prevents the water coming in contact with the iron, and the boiler plate, however thick, is soon destroyed the same as if it contained no water at all, or to use a more familiar illustration, the same as a kettle would be “burnt” if left on the fire without having any water in it; this is a serious result from the costly nature of the repair.

The general form of incrustation is caused by the lime or chalk (bicarbonate of lime generally) held in solution, being separated from the water and precipitated; this precipitation commences at a moderately low temperature and gradually increases as the temperature rises, and the whole (excepting a very small quantity) is deposited when the water boils. The incrustation varies very much in quantity according to the district, as before stated; it is generally what is known as hard water that has the greatest percentage of this depositable matter; in some favoured districts the water is so soft that no appreciable deposit occurs, whilst in others it is not safe to leave the boiler longer than a month without cleansing to keep it in good order. There is also a variation according to whether the water boils much or otherwise, therefore the only reliable plan is to have a good workman in after a certain period, and he can then decide whether the amount of incrustation is too great or whether it might be permitted to go longer, and how long.

With London water, boilers that are in ordinary daily use should be cleaned out every 6 months to keep them in really good order, but to avoid the trouble of remembering dates, &c., many good firms keep a register for this work.

The most important places in the boiler that need cleaning are the parts immediately where the fire plays, especially the angles, where the boiler plates are welded or joined--and careless workmen are apt to neglect these parts--as the deposit is very hard and stone-like at these places.

It may be said without exaggeration that three-fourths of the fractures that occur to wrought-iron boilers are due to excessive incrustation, i.e. want of regular cleaning or removal of deposit.

Incrustation does not occur (but to an extremely small extent) in boilers used for heating purposes only, as in this instance the same water is heated over and over again, and water only contains a certain quantity of lime in solution, which is all deposited when it first boils.

It might be mentioned that in some places the deposit is organic matter, and is found in the boiler much resembling a layer of mud; in such instances the water should be filtered for obvious reasons.

The tank, cylinder and pipes, and in fact the whole apparatus (excepting the boiler) will be rendered more efficient by being covered with some non-conducting material to prevent loss of heat by radiation. Radiation is an important feature occasionally, as very many instances are known of apparatus being a complete failure, solely by reason of the tank or pipes (or both) being in very cold situations (cold draughty roofs, stone passages, &c., &c.); and a moment’s reflection shows that loss of heat is really loss of fuel attended with certain inconveniences well known to many who are suffering with this trouble. The common non-conducting material used is felt in its various forms. Hair felt is the best, as will be readily understood, and can be obtained at many ironmongers and may be applied by any one; for pipes it should be cut and put on in strips, wound round spirally, and tied. Another method is to encase the tank and pipes and pack the casing with a non-conducting material, such as cow hair, slag wool, sawdust, &c., but it is most necessary that the casing be packed, otherwise the heated pipes will render the casing a flue which will draw in cold air and very materially assist in cooling the water, especially if the casing has open or badly fitted ends, in which case failure of the apparatus can be confidently anticipated.

In addition to the heat-saving properties, this covering also possesses the advantages of keeping the different places cool (an advantage for certain seasons only, excepting the kitchen) and saves the pipes from attack of frost, and under ordinary circumstances, if a small fire is left at night with the boiler flue closed, moderately warm water can be had for bathing before the fire is lighted in the morning; these two latter advantages are perhaps the greatest.

In reference to this subject, it is a great convenience if the range (if the boiler is in a range) is provided with a means of opening the fire, as, with an open fire a small quantity of fuel can be placed on it the last thing at night and it will burn in safety for a considerable time, and really hot water can by this means be obtained at an early hour in the morning if the apparatus is “insulated” as explained above.

If the felt is placed round the pipes and tank without casing it should be one or two layers thick, say about ½ in., so that the hand can scarcely perceive any heat when the apparatus is in full action; a single layer of felt will answer, but not so perfectly.

Boiler explosions are at all times most serious disasters, for not only is the damage very great, but if any living thing is moderately near at the time the result is almost certain to be fatal, and it is a much-regretted fact that three-fourths or nearly all the terrible accidents of this kind could have been avoided with ordinary care; the reason that this form of accident is so serious is that before the explosion takes place, the steam has to attain sufficient power to burst the boiler, which is from ¼ to ½ inch thick of wrought iron, compared to which the human body is a frail object, and suffers accordingly.

The causes of explosions at present known are, firstly, stoppage in both the circulating pipes, caused by frost or by the terrible practice of putting stop taps in these pipes, which prevents escape of steam generated in the boiler, and steam must and will escape if it bursts the boiler to effect its release.

Secondly, failure of water supply. This is sometimes caused by a hidden or unnoticed leakage, or in country residences where the water is pumped this failure is not an uncommon thing (but only rarely results in an accident). If the want of water is unnoticed for a time, the boiler will empty itself by evaporation and afterwards become red hot; should the water then run in, steam will be generated so rapidly that the pipe outlets will not be sufficient for its free escape, and the boiler bursts; all this happens in much less time than is occupied in explaining it, in fact so quick that there is no time for escape if any one is unfortunately near; this, however, under ordinary circumstances cannot occur with the No. 1 system.

There is another though rare cause of accident (which, however, once came under the writer’s notice) that may occur with either system, and that is the ends of the circulating pipes nearest the boiler becoming stopped by incrustation; this incrustation, as has been before explained, takes place in the greater proportion of boilers, and also to a less extent in the pipes, especially near the boiler, and in course of time the pipes will both become completely stopped, but the reason that accidents from this cause are rare is that abundant notice is given by the steam making a variety of unpleasant noises and sometimes violent shaking, in forcing its way through the partly closed pipes, but this noise must not always be confounded with the sounds produced when pipes are imperfectly run or “trapped” and contain air, but whenever noises are heard a practical man should be consulted at the earliest convenience, and if a tap is opened and no water should flow, after it has been open say one minute, the fire should be immediately extinguished and kept so until the reason of failure of water is discovered and remedied. No alarm need be experienced at the rumbling noise to be heard when the water is boiling, but this water has no need and should not be permitted to boil; when the noise is heard, 4 or 5 gal. should be drawn off, this will be replaced in the tank or cylinder by the same quantity of cold water, and the temperature will be reduced; the damper which regulates the boiler flue should be out only when the water is cool and requires rapid heating; even then it must not be pulled out so far that the flame, &c., roars as it passes under the boiler, as the boiler will not experience the full benefit of the heat.

It has been suggested by some authorities that to prevent the water in pipes becoming frozen (this may be considered the most likely cause of explosion) a tap or taps should be left a little open at night so that the water is kept in motion; this, however, cannot be relied upon in a really severe frost, and it is also a waste of water, which is a consideration where the supply is by manual power, &c. Another method suggested is to empty the whole apparatus every frosty night; this is a very good plan to save damage to pipes as well as prevent accidents, but there is the doubt that but few would care to practise this on account of the trouble, and there is a serious risk if it is forgotten to turn the water on until after the fire is lighted. Tolerable reliance can be put on felting or casing the pipes, but the most efficient remedy is to see that the boiler is fitted with a safety valve, which, as the name betokens, is a source of safety and most probably of comfort also; if it is not convenient to attach a safety valve direct into the boiler, it should be connected by a short length of pipe, which however is a weakness, as the pipe may eventually be stopped by incrustation, and on that account it should be of good size and should be cleared, if necessary, every time the boiler is opened for cleaning. Safety valves should always be fixed in sight so that they can be tested whenever desired. The working principle of a spring safety valve (which has general preference just now) is, firstly, a brass sealing which closes the opening leading to the boiler and is held in position by a spring and central pin, and the whole works in a strong brass case which is perforated with several good-sized holes; when the valve is fixed, the workman can and does set the spring (generally by a screw-down cap at top) so that it withstands about 3 or 4 lb. more pressure than the boiler is subjected to by the pressure of water; when by any reason an undue pressure is exerted inside the boiler it causes the seating to rise, and the steam and some water escape into the brass case and through the holes above referred to, and the boiler is relieved. The noise occasioned by this escape is very plainly heard, and notice is thus drawn, but the fire need not be extinguished.

It would be a desirable feature if every boiler fixed (except open ones) was provided with a valve, as it is purchasing freedom from risk at a low price (a few shillings only).

There is a common cause of complaint and annoyance in having at some taps to draw off a quantity of cold water that lies stagnant in the service pipe before the hot water can be obtained from the circulation; this is caused by the draw-off service being a long and single pipe, and can be only remedied by “returning” it something after the manner shown in the illustrations, and so cause the water to circulate along it; this trouble is not only a source of annoyance but a practical loss also, as for every quantity of hot water drawn a certain quantity is left in the service to get cold, and this happens every time the tap is used, excepting such taps as are in constant use, and the water only remains stationary 2 or 3 minutes, but this in domestic purposes only applies to the scullery service at certain hours in the day.

It may have come to many people’s notice that when some lever-handle taps are shut a noise and jarring in the pipe ensues; this is caused by the sudden stoppage of the flow of water when the pressure is considerable; when the vertical pressure is say 50 or 60 ft. (height of cistern above the tap) and the tap is opened, the water rushes out and gains a strong momentum; by turning the handle or lever of the tap the stoppage is so sudden that a shock is sustained almost the same as an object falling from a height being suddenly stopped by coming in contact with the ground; this concussion and noise is not only unpleasant but does harm, which is quickly noticeable with light lead pipe, which is either stretched or has protuberances formed upon it, and a continuance of the shocks or really blows will then cause it to split; it will be therefore commonly found that screw-down taps are used with lead pipe where any pressure exists, and the screw-down tap would meet with more favour but for an objectionable feature, which is the number of times it has to be screwed or unscrewed to shut and open it; but there are now made screw-down taps that open or shut with one turn, and these no doubt will come into more general use if found practically good and when the patent expires.

Retarded circulations arise from a variety of causes, amongst which may be mentioned incapacity of the boiler for the work, caused by the boiler not having sufficient heating surface; this is shown by the whole apparatus becoming fully charged with hot water late in the day after several hours firing; the only remedy is to reduce the work the boiler has to do or change the boiler itself. Another cause is by pipes being dipped or trapped. The flow pipe having an inclination or dip downwards, which causes the circulation to become air-locked, this causes noises in the pipes and shakings as the steam is passing or trying to expel the air; this air is eventually expelled, but occurs again when the apparatus is emptied and recharged in boiler cleaning, repairing, &c.; to remedy this the pipes must be traced up and the defect so discovered. Another cause is by incrustation in the pipes; this can be noticed by its gradual growth, also incrustation in boiler, but if boiler is kept clear as referred to earlier in the chapter, the pipes will keep in very fair order. The only remedy for furred pipes is to take them out and by heating and striking to dislodge the deposit; this costs as much almost as renewing the service; with care in regular cleaning it will not occur. Obstructions either stationary or floating are sometimes found in the pipes and retard circulation; these are generally caused by the workmen failing to look through the tubes before fixing them, or the obstruction may be in the form of sediment in rural districts, &c.; the only efficient remedy that can be suggested is to engage the services of an experienced hot-water fitter in any of the cases mentioned, as it lies beyond the power of the householder to remedy them.

There are a number of errors commonly found in apparatus that has been fitted up by those somewhat wanting in experience, such as connecting draw-offs from the return pipe in No. 2 system; result is that the whole of the water in the tank having to be heated before any hot water finds its way down the return pipe, it is naturally a considerable time after the fire is lighted before hot water can be obtained from the tap; connecting draw-offs direct from the tank, result nearly as bad as connecting from the return; dipping or trapping the flow pipe, causing circulation to become air-locked as before mentioned; connecting the cold supply to the tank or cylinder without forming a syphon (inverted) in the pipe, so permitting hot water to find its way up into the cold-water cistern: result, loss of heat and water lukewarm which should be cold; placing tank and pipes in very cold situations, causing serious loss of heat, as before explained. Another common error, or piece of bad work, is connecting or screwing the flow pipe through the top of the boiler so that it projects through the inner surface, as Fig. 130. Now when the apparatus is finished it is, of course, before being charged with water, full of air; when the water flows in, it expels the air as it fills, but it cannot expel the stratum of air existing between the lower edge of the flow pipe and the top of the boiler; this is not noticeable when the water is cold, but when heat is applied and steam is generated, the steam naturally wants to expand into this space, but at the same time the air has no desire to be evicted, so a struggle ensues, and the steam is eventually the victor; but the struggle is fierce, and can be heard and felt in every part of a building of moderate size. The trouble does not end here, for when the position is gained, the steam has to pass away, when it has gained sufficient strength to force its way back through the water and up the flow pipe, and this is an unpleasant experience. Exactly the same result is obtained if the rising main is screwed too far through the top of cylinder or the expansion too far through the top of tank--an air or steam chamber is formed in either case; these pipes should be quite flush with or above the inner surface of the receptacles they are screwed into. There is no more annoying or alarm-producing error than this.

Still another error is in running the circulating pipes up a casing containing other pipes without felting the former, or even without separating them; the result of placing a hot pipe against a cold one for several feet is obvious, and if a hot pipe is placed against a soil (w.c.) pipe, the result is offensive; these errors are commonly found. There are numberless minor errors to be met with; to enumerate all would occupy much space and be of no real use to the reader. Errors are not uncommon things in this work, and some of them are of so extraordinary a nature as scarcely to be creditable. An objectionable feature in an old apparatus is the small supply or feed cistern fixed at the side of the tank, but this is now almost totally in disuse, for it has at last dawned upon some one that it is quite unnecessary; this feed cistern must have a ball valve or cock, and, this is where the mischief lies, no reliance can be placed on a ball valve or cock of any description; they are commonly a source of never-ending trouble. We give this description, as there are some people who still persist in the use of this secondary cistern.

Discoloured water is sometimes caused by the rust that is naturally created in new work, and lasts but a short time, as the pipes get covered internally with a very thin coating of lime, which then prevents the water coming in contact with the metal of the pipe.

Water is discoloured to a greater or less extent if it is permitted to boil very hard, as this agitates any loose sediment that is lying in the tank, and the boiling is much like churning the water.

The water in the tank or cylinder should not be permitted to boil, as it creates an unpleasant noise, and is a certain strain upon the work, and answers no good purpose; it can be stopped by drawing a quantity of water off, so causing cold to flow in, but the remedy is to keep the boiler flue closed by the damper; if this does not prevent the overheating of the water, there is the possibility that the flue is out of order, or “leaks.” This can be tested by closing all the dampers when fire is in working order, which in the ordinary way would cause all the smoke to be discharged into the room; if this is not the cause, there must be an improper exit for the smoke and heat, and a loss is of course being sustained.

Coils and hot-water pipes for heating a small conservatory or chamber are sometimes connected with the circulating service, or direct by a distinct service from the boiler, but there are no especial rules to be observed in using these, as there are only stop-cocks to be turned on or off as the requirements demand.

It may now be useful to give a few hints to those having a new apparatus fitted.

There is a rather old saying to the effect that the “best is the cheapest”: this especially applies to hot-water work. It would be waste of time and space to enumerate the evils of cheap work of this description, as the list would be a very long one. The best plan is to apply to a good firm (not necessarily a large one) who makes somewhat a specialty of this branch (generally boiler or stove manufacturers, or good plumbers and builders). They will provide an estimate of cost with detailed specification free of charge if the distance is not great. The object of a detailed specification is, as probably the reader guesses, to know exactly what size, strength, quality, &c., of boiler, cylinder, or tank; pipes, iron and lead; cocks, &c., &c., that are to be used; and before finally deciding, the purchaser should insist upon the efficiency of the apparatus being guaranteed. Boilers are of many various shapes and sizes, but the best form has been proved to be that with a good flue or heating surface underneath, so as to present as much bottom or under surface as possible to the flame and heat; the best surface is easily determined by any one, by applying the heat to the top of a kettle, and afterwards applying it at the bottom, and noting the difference in results; there are many other perhaps better forms of boilers made for heating purposes; but it must be remembered that the boiler for hot-water supply must not be of complicated form inside, but must be quite clear, offering every facility for removing the incrusted deposit. Fig. 131 shows the common form of boiler used in kitchen ranges; the size must be governed by the capacity of the range itself, but it should have as great a width and length as possible, to increase the bottom surface; and the flue should be as large as the size of fire will possibly permit. A most important point is to see that the boiler has a large manhole easily accessible.

Experience has proved that the best material from which these boilers should be constructed is wrought iron or copper; the wrought iron should be of 5/16 in. or ⅜ in. substance, and copper can be of a little less substance except the front where the external wear and tear takes place (chiefly by the poker). The principal of these remarks apply to independent boilers also, which, however, are generally set in brickwork and are of larger capacity and strength in proportion. Fig. 132 represents a more powerful form of boiler for domestic purposes, and is found a very rapid heating and efficient shape, in instances where a large number of draw-offs are in use, or a coil or heating pipes are in connection. Care should be taken to avoid boilers with narrow water-ways where the heat is applied; there are occasionally made boilers with 2 projecting horns or cheeks which occupy the place of the fire-bricks in the range firebox; these narrow parts, which are subjected to almost the most intense heat, will fur up solid and crack in 6 months with London water. The advantages of a copper boiler are quicker heating, greater durability, and greater expansion and contraction, which prevents the incrustation adhering to the surface so firmly as it does inside an iron boiler; and although a copper boiler is of greater first cost, yet when worn out it is of almost sufficient value to purchase a new iron one.

These boilers are recognised by several names, viz. “high pressure,” “Bath,” and “circulating,” &c., boilers. The first term is generally known.

Cast-iron high-pressure boilers have now gone almost entirely into disuse on account of the unsatisfactory results experienced.

Safety valves have been generally treated of in an earlier part of this chapter, but it might be impressed upon the reader that the valve should be as near as possible or directly in the boiler; they are sometimes put in the circulating pipes or in the cylinder or tank, but this is away from the seat of danger; it would be a rarity to hear of a cylinder or tank exploding.

The reason that cylinders are used when the No. 1 system is adopted, and tanks with No. 2 system, is that the cylindrical shape is better adapted to bear the greater pressure; otherwise a tank would answer as well to all intents and purposes; to show the pressure-resisting strength, a tank of ⅛ in. plate is tested and warranted to bear 5 lb. pressure to the square inch. This is equal to the cistern being 10 ft. above the tank, whereas a ⅛ in. plate cylinder is tested and warranted to bear 25 lb. pressure to the square inch, equal to 50 ft. In speaking of pressure by feet this alludes to the vertical height between the cylinder or tank and the cold cistern; it does not matter what size pipe connects them. A cylinder or tank can generally be depended upon to bear a little greater pressure than they are tested to. There are 3 or 4 strengths made to meet the various requirements, and the makers’ lists show what pressure they are tested to in lb., and every lb. can be calculated as equal to 2 ft. of vertical pipe.

The general sizes of tanks and cylinders for domestic purposes vary from 30 to 60 gal. according to requirements; the disadvantage of too large a tank is the time taken in heating its contents and completing the circulation, and in some instances the space it occupies; tanks of 100 gal. capacity are sometimes fixed in residences where there are only 4 or 5 taps (hot water). This is much too large for any but large mansions or for business purposes; for say 5 taps, including bath, a 50 gal. tank or cylinder will be found large enough and will admit of 3 baths in succession about 1 hour after lighting the fire.

The pipes or tubes commonly used are iron steam tube, galvanised iron steam tube, iron gas tube, or barrel, and lead pipe; the two latter, though commonly found, should be avoided as being totally unsuitable for this work. Gas barrel is sometimes used on cheap work and in small speculative property, and answers well, when no real work is put upon it; but no respectable firm would undertake to use it, as satisfactory results cannot be relied upon except under very favourable circumstances.

Steam tube, commonly known as “red steam” tube on account of its colour externally, is much like gas barrel, but especially strong for engineering purposes, and the utmost reliance can be put in it. Galvanised steam is the same quality tube, but galvanised to prevent rust; this is much liked, and is absolutely necessary in some districts where unprotected iron rusts at an alarming rate; but care should be exercised to see that it is galvanised inside as well as out; preference, however, is on the side of the “red steam” as it is considered that the tube is deteriorated in strength by the process of galvanising.

Galvanised iron boilers are sometimes used, but the same remarks apply as are given respecting galvanised pipes.

The best size of tube for ordinary domestic purposes is 1¼ in. internal diameter for the circulation and 1 in. for the major portion of the draw-off services; ¾ in. may be used for minor purposes, as lavatory draw-off, &c. There are, however, many apparatuses being fitted at the present moment with 1 in. circulation and ¾ and ½ in. draw-offs, and even ¾ in. circulations are to be met with; but the advantage of a good-sized pipe is the freer flow of water when taps are opened, and most important its less liability of being stopped or rendered unfit for use by incrustation; 1¼ in. tube has fully 30 per cent. more inner surface than 1 in., so that it would take a third longer time to get a ¼ in. coating of deposit in a 1¼ in. tube than it would in a 1 in., and when this thickness has accumulated, the 1 in. tube requires renewing, whereas the 1¼ in. is fit for still further service, so that it can be calculated that 1¼ in. tube will last about double as long as 1 in. so far as incrustation is concerned, and this incrustation, as the reader now knows, is an important element requiring every consideration in almost all districts.

When circulating pipes have to be carried round angles, bends (which are nearly a segment of a circle) should be used invariably, and not elbows, unless absolutely necessary in rare instances. A bend permits the water to circulate round the angle much more freely than an elbow, as the turn in the latter is abrupt, and tends to check the circulation; this only applies to the circulating pipes; it should also be seen that connecting-pieces known as “connectors” are inserted at intervals where they will be of practical use, as they permit of a piece of pipe being removed without disconnecting the whole service, as is so often necessary for a small repair or inspection. A connector is a piece of the tube with the socket so arranged that it performs the function of a union.

When an apparatus is being fitted up, it must be borne in mind that the most perfect arrangement would be to place the tank immediately over the boiler, and carry the pipes in a vertical line between them; this can rarely, in fact, never be done, so it should be arranged and carried in a manner as near this as possible; every angle and every piece of horizontal pipe is objectionable, but regard must be had for positions where the pipes or casings would be unsightly. Where pipes must be run laterally, they should if possible be given a rise towards the cylinder or tank if only 1 in. in 5 ft., but more if possible; these remarks only apply to circulating pipes.

The “flow” pipe should always proceed from the top of the boiler, never from the sides or back (although this is often done), as it will be understood that the heated water, wanting to rise, much objects to starting along a horizontal pipe however short, and another reason is that an air chamber will be formed in the top of the boiler, and cause much annoyance already alluded to.

In No. 1 system the cylinder and circulating pipes cannot well be placed in a cold position, but with No. 2 system ingenuity must be exercised to carry the pipes and place the tank in as warm positions as possible near to chimneys and not on outside walls, &c., if possible; it is time well invested to cover the pipes and tank with a non-conducting covering in any case for the reasons already stated. Pipes should on no account be let into the wall and cemented over, as, with the best work, investigation may at some time be needed, and this would necessitate serious damage to the decoration of the wall in question. On no account sanction the idea of carrying circulating pipes outside the building, however well or carefully they are to be cased or covered. These remarks apply also to the cold-supply pipe to prevent failure in supply by frost. It is also necessary to see that neither circulating pipe comes in contact with a cold-water pipe or a soil (w.c.) pipe.

It will be noticed in the illustrations that before the cold supply enters the tank or cylinder, it descends below its entrance level a short distance, about 12 in., and rises up to the tank or cylinder; this dip in the pipe is called a “syphon,” and prevents the hot water rising up this pipe, as it must be understood that hot water will not circulate downwards.

The cold supply is usually of lead pipe ¾ in. internal diameter, but lead pipe is quite unsuited for soft or pure water (distilled). The same applies to lead cisterns, as this water attacks (oxidises) lead vigorously, and lead pipe is not looked upon with favour for many reasons. Iron is now often used for the whole apparatus, including cistern, tank, &c. (excepting where copper is used for boiler or cylinder). There is a marked advantage if the cold-supply pipe is 1 in. instead of ¾ in., for this reason, if two or three ¾ in. (usual size) taps are opened at once, as commonly occurs, the flow of water must be reduced at each of them if only a ¾ in. supply exists.

The advantages of draw-off services being “returned” have already been explained, and cocks or taps have been treated upon. There are numberless good cocks in the market, but of course the best are subject to wear and tear; those with lever handles, known as plug cocks, have to have the plugs reground in occasionally, and with the screw-down cocks the sealing, generally of prepared indiarubber, has to be renewed periodically; but money is well invested in really good quality taps.

If after the apparatus is fitted and finished there are any leaks noticeable, the purchaser should insist upon these being remedied before the workmen finally leave; there is a common saying amongst workmen that small leaks or “weeps” pick themselves up, i.e. the aperture rusts up; very small leaks will pick themselves up sometimes, but no reliance can be placed in this unworkmanlike way of finishing, and it is commonly necessary to have the men in the house a second time to remedy one or more obdurate “weeps,” which are really defective joints.

Baths and lavatories are of very numerous variety; but a good feature with a bath is to have the hot-water inlet near the bottom, so that when the taps are opened this inlet quickly becomes below the water level, and this prevents the steam rising as the water is discharged, rendering the room unbearable if small; but this inlet must not be in any way connected with the waste outlet as it often is, as when the water runs in it will bring back a portion of the last bather’s soapsuds. A good feature in a lavatory basin is a flushing rim: the rim of the basin is hollow and provided with a fine slit or aperture which extends all round its lower edge. When the tap is turned, the water is discharged into this rim, and from there flows into the basin, through this aperture around the whole of its circumference; this is of especial use to wash away sediment from the sides of the basin after use.

Both baths and lavatories should have large supplies (hot and cold) and large wastes, to fill and empty rapidly.

No. 2 system can, when desired, be converted into No. 1 system at a moderate expense (about one-third the cost of a new apparatus); and a range can be fitted with a high-pressure boiler in such a manner that it can be used for low-pressure purposes first, and when the high-pressure apparatus is fitted up it can be connected and started to work upon the latter principle in 2 or 3 hours.

If two ranges are in proximity they can both be provided with high-pressure boilers and the two services united, flow to flow and return to return, and work the one tank or cylinder and apparatus, either assisting each other or working independently. This is oftentimes a very great convenience; the union of the services should be as near the boilers as possible; no stop taps are needed (avoid these whenever possible).

Twin boilers can sometimes be fitted to a range, and each used for a different purpose, viz. one for hot-water supply, and one for steam cooking, &c.

Fig. 133 represents the common form of self-supply or self-filling apparatus as attached to low-pressure boilers in kitchen ranges. By the term “low pressure” is meant open top or closed boilers that are not usually filled quite full, and the draw-off is below the water-level within them. A represents the small supply cistern, which is supplied from the general cold supply of the house; the quantity and level of the water in this small cistern is regulated by a ball valve D, as shown; this cistern is connected with the boiler B by a supply pipe C, usually of lead and ¾ inch internal diameter, and provided with a “syphon” as shown, and for the purpose described in cold supply to tanks, &c.; this supply proceeds from the bottom of the supply cistern A to the bottom or near the bottom of the boiler B. There is a very common error in arranging the apparatus so that the boiler fills up to about 4 in. from the top; this is not high enough, it should fill up to within about 1½ in., this is ample room for expansion and boiling; if a 4 in. space is left it means 4 in. for the flame and heat to act upon without having water to protect it, and consequently it becomes destroyed. This does not always produce a leakage, but it permits the smoke and soot to enter and discolour the water. There is another still more common form of error in this description of apparatus, and that is, failing to draw from the upper part of the boiler where the hottest water is, and where it first becomes hot; it will be understood from Fig. 133 that when the tap (if placed near the bottom of the boiler as usual) is opened, a portion of the contents of the boiler flows out and a supply of cold immediately flows in, to make good the loss. Now the hot water being lightest, remains at the top of the boiler, so it can readily be seen that it cannot be drawn, for it will not descend, and the inflow of cold is right opposite the tap, therefore when the tap is opened a small quantity of hot water is drawn, and then there sets in a flow of cold water from the cistern, across the bottom of the boiler, and out at the tap almost without disturbing the hot water in the upper part of the boiler. There are two remedies; one is to have the tap inserted in the upper part of the boiler (by the manufacturer) when purchasing it; another is with existing ranges to screw an elbow on to the end of the tap inside the boiler, and into this elbow to screw a short length of pipe to stand up to about 4 in. below the water-level, as in Fig. 134; this elbow and pipe can be fitted by any one, as no jointing is required, and to fit it the tap does not require to be moved in any way. The reason that it is necessary to keep the end of the pipe so much below the water-level is, that the ball valve by which the cold water is supplied is smaller than the tap from which the water is taken, or, in other words, the inlet is smaller than the outlet, and the level of the water sinks or becomes lower in the boiler and cistern as you draw.

It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the reader that good work executed by a good firm, although the expense is increased, is a source of comfort and many advantages, and is “the cheapest in the end.”

Preventing Frost in Pipes.--The common practice is to leave a tap slightly open, so as to maintain a constant current through the pipe. This plan is wasteful, and is not always successful. Perhaps the safest course is to empty the pipes and cisterns, and only to allow water to flow in from the main as it is wanted for consumption. To do this an outside stop-cock is required on the service pipe, and a drawing-off cock at the lowest point in the course of the pipe inside the building. It also requires more intelligence and attention than domestic servants usually display. Another way is to empty the pipes only. For this, a valve of special make is screwed to the end of the house main service pipe in the cistern, and a piece of wire is connected with it to any convenient place. When frost is expected, the spring must be unhooked, when the valve falls into its seat, and air being admitted through the small pipe which rises above the surface of the water, the pipes can be emptied by turning on the taps in the usual manner, and the water in the cistern is thus saved. To prevent the effects of forgetfulness on the part of servants, electricity has been employed. Again, a means of emptying the pipes as soon as the water is turned off at the main, so as to leave none to freeze, is to perforate the supply pipe by a mere pin-hole aperture just behind the ball-cock of the lowest cistern on the premises, so as to allow the water contained in the pipe to drain into the cistern when the supply ceases. It is obvious that the puncture must be in the most dependent part of the pipes, otherwise the water would not entirely escape, and that other punctures will be required if the lowest one does not drain the pipes of other cisterns. This plan can only be adopted where the supply is intermittent. Where the supply is constant, a small warming apparatus may be placed at the lowest level the pipe reaches, so as to circulate a current of warmed water throughout the whole length of the pipe. This might be either separate from it, as a cylinder through which the pipe might pass, or simply an enlargement of the pipe itself, on which the gas flame could play. Considering the enormous injury done annually by frost bursting the pipes in houses, the small outlay that would be required would soon be repaid in security from such disasters; for if the warming apparatus were placed over a gas flame used for ordinary illumination, a very small additional consumption of gas would keep the vessel warm when the light was no longer required. If gas were not available, the water-pipe might be arranged to pass through a vessel connected with the kitchen boiler, and so obtain the required heat. But failing these, the pipes might still be supplied at night after turning off the water, even where the supply is constant. Thus the chance of its freezing would be reduced to a minimum.

To thaw a frozen pipe, the simplest and safest way is to pour hot water upon it, or apply cloths dipped in hot water to those points where the pipe is most exposed. The freezing will generally be found to have taken place near a window, or near the eaves of the roof, or at a bend. If pipes are frozen and a thaw is expected, care should be taken to close all stop-cocks as a precaution against flooding. To prevent kitchen boilers exploding, it is necessary to see that they always contain water, and that there is no stoppage in the pipes connected with them.

F. Dye.

See also p. 1009.

THE LAUNDRY.

DOMESTIC WASHING.

The great cost of having household and personal linen washed at a laundry drives many housewives to have their washing done at home. The methods of cleansing clothes &c., have been already described in another chapter; it remains to say a few words about the apparatus.

Certainly the most common form of washing apparatus is the familiar “copper,” a large metallic pot set in brickwork, as shown in Fig. 135. The point to be aimed at in setting this pot is that the flame shall pass as nearly as possible all round it. Care must be taken to cut off all communication with the fire except at the outlet shown, and to erect a brick-on-edge stop a. The flues b should be not less than 3 in. wide, and 3 courses deep; c is the fire-place, d the ashpit, and e the chimney.

The boiling, scrubbing, and emptying incidental to this plan of washing should be sufficient to condemn it everywhere; it entails much labour, is wasteful of fuel and water, and most destructive to the articles, which are only partially washed after all.

A most useful improvement on this crude system is the little steam washer introduced by J. Greenall, 120 Portland Street, Manchester, of which two forms are shown in Figs. 136 and 137, heated respectively by gas and stove. It entirely abolishes all rubbing and brushing of the clothes, thus saving a great amount of work and wear and tear. The set copper or boiler is dispensed with, and not half the usual quantity of soap is required. It will wash a fortnight’s washing for a family of 8 persons in 2 hours, and can be easily worked by a child. It improves the colour of the linen, keeps it as white as snow, and does not injure, or wear in the least, the most delicate fabric. The cost of gas used is very trifling, being only ½_d._ per hour (16 cub. ft.). Being made of copper throughout (with the inside parts coated with block tin) it cannot rust and ironmould the linen; is very strong and durable, cannot get out of order, and there is no offensive smell from the gas. It may also be heated by coal or charcoal stove, oil lamp, or in the case of specially large machines, by steam pipe from boiler if desired. The clothes only need steeping in water for a few hours, or overnight; then wring them out, soap well, put them in the cylinder, and when the water in the machine boils, turn slowly for 10 minutes, then turn them out and rinse thoroughly, blue, and wring out, and they are ready for drying,--without any rubbing, brushing, peggying, or boiling in the ordinary boiler. The water (3 in. deep in machine and 1 in. in cylinder) is made to boil, and is kept boiling by gas-burner or coal-stove on which the machine rests; thus steam is continually rising and passing through the articles which have been placed in the cylinder; the dirt is carried off by the expansion of the cold water with which they were saturated, and, as the cylinder revolves, the clothes are always changing position, and the dirt is washed out and got rid off. The clothes are washed in steam, and will be found cleaner, whiter, and purer than when washed by any other process. It is made in various sizes and at corresponding prices.

Bradford’s Domestic Laundry Fittings.--When for economy and convenience it is desirable to do “washing” at home, the first consideration is a suitable copper for providing hot water for washing, and for boiling the clothes in after they are washed. A copper boiler seated in brickwork is generally adopted, but where there is no room for seating such a copper, a galvanised iron or copper pan, self contained in an iron frame and fitted with furnace, is recommended. This can be easily connected by means of an iron flue-pipe to an existing flue. After having provided for hot water, the most important appliance in the laundry is the washing machine, of which several kinds have been made, but the most popular and the one that has stood the longest test is Bradford’s “Vowel” machine, of which, we are told, the sale is increasing every year. It is made in sizes to suit the various requirements of households. It may be desirable that we should here state the principle of this machine. It is an octagonal box, with internal fixed ribs and a midfeather collecting and delivery board. The machine is turned slowly, so that the clothes turn from the different ribs and angles, rubbing one article against the other, and at each revolution collecting them by the fixed midfeather boards and raising them to a point, when they slip from the board on to the first rib, where the rubbing is again taken up. There being no movable internal machinery, it is obvious there can be no injury to the finest articles washed; in fact, lace articles, muslin curtains, and delicate fabrics are washed in this machine without any injury whatever. For a small household of, say, six or eight persons, and where space is somewhat limited, the “Vowel A 1” combined washing, wringing, and mangling machine (Fig. 139) is recommended, and for a larger household of, say, 12 to 16 persons, a “Vowel E” combined washing, wringing, and mangling machine (Fig. 140). Where, however, in addition to the wash-house there is a convenient room that may be used for the laundry, separate machines will be found most desirable, as follows: for the small household, Bradford’s “Vowel Y” combined washer and wringer (Fig. 141), the washing compartment of which is equal to that of the “Vowel A 1,” and will wash at one time a quantity of clothes equivalent to about 8 shirts, 3 or 4 large sheets, or a large double blanket or counterpane--and a rinsing and blueing trough, fitted with “Acorn C” or “CC” rubber wringer. The best blue is Keen’s Oxford blue, which is used in many of the largest laundries, and always gives satisfaction. The blueing trough is furnished with two compartments, one for first rinse or “sudding” water, and a second for blueing, a movable board being provided, which can be placed on either side to catch the things as they fall from the wringing rollers. This trough and wringer can be subsequently used for wringing starched goods. In addition to the above a mangle will be needed, and the “Reciprocal” is the most popular (Fig. 142). The No. 79 with 21″ rollers, or No. 80 with 24″ rollers, is a very suitable size for working in conjunction with the washer and wringer before named.

For a large family requiring separate machines, the “Vowel A,” with “Acorn” rubber wringer, is advised (Fig. 143). The washing compartment of this machine is equal to that of the “Vowel E” combined machine, the capacity of which is 12 to 15 shirts, 3 pairs of sheets, 2 large counterpanes or double blankets, or other articles in proportion. The rinsing and blueing trough (Fig. 144) is also required, together with a larger sized mangle--No. 81 “Reciprocal,” or No. 1 or No. 2 lever and weight machine (Fig. 145). In the larger sizes of these two-roller mangles the lever and weight machine is preferable--the advantage is that the pressure is self-regulating.

Amongst other articles for the laundry is the ironing stove, and Messrs. Bradford and Co. have recently introduced a novelty in this respect, viz. the “Pagoda.” This stove is made in many sizes, but the No. 12 is large enough for family purposes (Fig. 146). It requires very little fuel, but every part of it is heated, and in addition to heating about 12 flat-irons it throws off a regular heat in the laundry for drying or airing. It is well known that for the maintenance of good colour in the linen it is always desirable as far as possible to dry out of doors, but in this uncertain climate of ours fine weather is not to be depended upon, and for convenience in drying in wet weather a frame or rack fitted with rails is provided. This rack is raised to the ceiling or lowered for filling, by means of lines and pulleys. It should not be fixed immediately over the stove, but sufficiently aside that, when lowered, articles hung on the rails will not touch the stove.

This racking is also useful for airing linen after it is mangled or ironed.

For all other laundry sundries, such as flat-irons and stands, goffering tongs, clothes baskets, &c., &c., we recommend our readers to do as we have done, viz. pay a visit to Messrs. Bradford’s Show-rooms, 140 to 143, High Holborn, where they will find everything, from a hot-water boiler to a linen press.

Having described the appliances adapted for small and medium sized families, we now come to larger establishments, such as mansions, schools, hotels, &c. For such establishments similar machines will be required, but of larger sizes, and instead of the two-roller mangle a “Premier” box mangle (Fig. 147) is recommended; and for drying, a “Radial” or “Draw-out” drying closet (Figs. 148, 149). The “reversible” stove in these closets is so constructed that it serves for heating flat-irons as well as for drying or airing the clothes. Messrs. Bradford have also recently introduced a new ironing machine (“The Little Marvel”), the price of which is 10_l._ 10_s._ (Fig. 150). This machine consists of a concave heated plate, under which is fixed gas heating apparatus, or a furnace for fuel. The roller, obtaining the requisite pressure by means of weights fixed upon the ends of levers, works in this heated plate, and draws the articles to be ironed over its surface, producing a finish much superior to that obtainable by hand, and in considerably less time. The machine can be worked by a girl.

STEAM LAUNDRIES.

In connection with steam laundry machinery for use in large institutions, hotels, and public steam laundries, we cannot do better than describe one of the many successful laundries that Messrs. Bradford have fitted up during the last 25 years, and which contains every appliance and a system likely to be conducive to good and successful work.

We cannot, however, pass on without briefly referring to the first important steam laundry started by Mr. Bradford at Upper Norwood in 1865, and which is still working with the most gratifying results. Ever since, and especially during the last few years, the development of this branch of industry has been simply remarkable, adding not only to the convenience of the public but also to the means of employment of girls, women, boys, and men in very large numbers.

Reverting to Mr. Bradford’s original laundry, we find that although some of his latest novelties are worked there, many of the appliances which were put in the laundry when it first started are still working--a sufficient evidence of their substantial character.

At the entrance to a steam laundry should be a covered way, for the vans to stand under when loading and unloading, and the vanmen should deposit the linen in the hall when they bring it from customers, keeping each load separate. Space is also here provided for the storage of empty baskets. On one side of the hall at the laundry in question is a door, leading to the

Receiving and Sorting room, where a female clerk checks the customers’ books as the goods are counted by an assistant. Books are provided by the laundry in which are printed detailed lists of ladies’, gentlemen’s, children’s, and servants’ washing, blank spaces being left for the customers to insert number of articles sent, and for any special instructions.

In several partitioned compartments young women examine the linen--each family’s being kept distinct--to see whether it is marked with the customer’s name, and to all articles not so distinguished a private coloured cotton mark is attached.

Leading from the Receiving Room is a long passage, on one side of which is a number of clothes bins, each marked with the name of the class of linen it contains. On the opposite side of this passage is a small private wash-house, intended for special work.

The General Wash-house (Fig. 151) is furnished with 4 Bradford’s “Vowel” washing machines--2 large size for house linen and large quantities of work, 2 smaller size for finery, handkerchiefs, and small quantities of goods. These machines are similar in principle to those referred to in the paragraphs relating to domestic machines, but wash at one time any quantity of linen up to, say, 150 men’s shirts. Each machine is fitted with cold water and steam boiling apparatus. The water is first let into the machine, and then heated by steam to whatever temperature is required, and the requisite quantities of dissolved soap and soda are then added. Specially constructed boilers are provided, one for dissolving soap and the other for dissolving soda; and the proportions of soda and soap put into the machine are suited to the class of goods being washed. The consumption of soap in these machines is very small, owing to the moderate quantity of water used for washing; in fact it is one of the essential points that only sufficient water be employed to thoroughly saturate the clothes.

The time occupied for washing a batch of linen varies from 10 to 20 minutes, some things of course requiring longer than others. As before mentioned, there are two machines of each size. After washing in the first machine, the linen is passed between the indiarubber rollers--which wring out the dirty suds--and then placed in the second machine in clean hot water and soap for the second or clearing operation; the time occupied for this clearing is about 10 minutes. During the time the clearing is going on, steam is let steadily into the washing compartment, and in many cases the clothes are during this second operation boiled in the machine, after which cold water is let in to cool them down, so that they may be easily lifted out by hand. The suds that have been used for this seconding operation can be employed, with a little additional soap and soda, for the first washing of another batch of goods. It will be seen that the time occupied for actual washing is very short, so that in addition to the washing machine having no internal mechanism to operate deleteriously upon the clothes, the time occupied is so short that the wear upon the linen is reduced to a minimum, and the advantage of the “seconding” process is obvious to anybody as being important for thoroughly clearing the linen from discoloured water and soap suds. Although, as already stated, steam is attached to the washing machine, so that clothes can when desired be boiled in the machine, yet many articles require separate boiling, such as body-linen, and for this purpose tanks are provided.

Boiling Tanks are fitted with special arrangements for steam boiling and hold a large quantity of clothes and water, the latter being very essential for the maintenance of good colour in the linen. The linen is constantly floated and turned over by pressure of steam rising through the water, keeping it in perpetual agitation.

The original system for boiling in these tanks was to drop the clothes into the water, pushing them down with a copper-stick, and, after boiling, to lift them out on to a drainer by means of the copper-stick; but Messrs. Bradford have recently introduced a new arrangement, consisting of a cage which when filled is let down into the water, and remains there until the whole batch of clothes is boiled--occupying about 10 minutes. This cage is then raised by means of pulleys and chains, which are attached to a travelling arrangement overhead, so that it may be run up to the rinsing tank and the clothes tipped into the cold rinsing water. The boiling tanks in this system are 3 or 4 in number, placed in a line with the rinsing tank at the side, so that the travelling cage may run from either one or the other to the rinsing compartment.

Rinsing Apparatus (Fig. 153) consists of a large tank with 2 compartments, the first being twice as large as the second, and having an apparatus fixed in the bottom for letting the water in under pressure, which forces the scum that separates from the clothes as they are being rinsed, and carries it to one end, whence it is removed by the overflow. This operation proceeds constantly while the clothes are being washed, so that the water is ever fresh and clear, and in a continued state of agitation, sufficient to thoroughly rinse the linen without fear of injury. From this compartment the clothes are passed between rubber rollers, or lifted upon a drainer, and then put into the second or blueing compartment, from which they are passed between indiarubber wringing rollers.

A hydro-extractor (Fig. 154) will extract more water than can be done by any other means. The clothes are placed in a wire basket which revolves at a high speed, being driven by gearing worked by a strap, or by direct action of a steam engine attached to the machine. Hand-power hydro-extractors are also recommended for hand laundries where a large quantity of work has to be done.

Drying Closet.--After leaving the hydro-extractor, the clothes are taken to the drying closet (Fig. 155), which consists of a number of horses running upon wheels in and out of a chamber, which is heated by means of a steam coil underneath the horses; and by a special arrangement, fresh air is constantly let into the underside of this heating coil, and, rising amongst the clothes, extracts all the moisture, which is effectually carried off by means of a ventilating apparatus. Of course when weather will permit, drying is done out of doors, for which a spacious open drying ground is provided.

Starching.--Such goods as require starching are taken to the starching machine, collars and cuffs to one kind of machine-which is specially fitted for rubbing the starch into the linen--and dresses, petticoats, aprons, &c., to the trough, in which is a specially prepared starch, and which has a wringing machine with rubber starching rollers.

Mangling, Calendering, and Ironing.--The first machine in the finishing and ironing department (Fig. 155A) is a “Premier” box mangle, which is used for mangling all plain household linen, and next to this is a “Crescent” ironing machine (Fig. 155B), which iron in a superior manner table linen, pillow cases, pocket handkerchiefs, and plain body-linen. The ironing surface of this machine is concave and made in sections, under which a roller revolves. The chief advantage of the “sections” in the ironing surface is that during the process of ironing the moisture from the articles is carried off through the apertures between the sections, thereby retaining a good colour in the linen and drying it quickly. The roller besides having a forward has also a lateral motion, worked by a very ingenious but simple contrivance in the driving gear, and by this lateral action the polish upon the surface of the articles is produced.

The advantage of this machine in ironing body-linen is that when the skirt or plain part of the garment has been “taken in” as far as the gathers, the roller can be instantly lowered by pressing the foot upon a treadle close behind the operator, and the article withdrawn, so that the gathered portion may be finished by hand. The ease with which the pressure can be regulated is a very excellent feature of the machine. A special arrangement is provided with this machine for finishing lace and muslin curtains.

Messrs. Bradford have recently introduced the “Invert Crescent” ironing machine (Fig. 155C), the ironing surface of which is a concave plate of bright polished iron, made in sections similar to the “Crescent” above described, the ventilation being equally efficient in both machines, and is, indeed, an important patented feature in these ironers. This machine is specially adapted for plain ironing, such as table linen, bed linen, and other straightforward work. The roller is heated by steam, which also adds to the efficiency of the machine, as it keeps the flannel upon the roller constantly dry, thereby reducing the wear and tear of ironing flannel.

Special facilities are afforded for raising or lowering the roller.

The Endless Band Calender (Fig. 155D) is in constant use ironing body-linen, pocket handkerchiefs, and other small and plain articles.

The Collar Ironing Machine (Fig. 155E) is worked by a girl (as in fact are all the previously mentioned ironing machines); it is capable of ironing 90 to 100 dozen collars and cuffs per diem. It is fitted with 2 rollers or cylinders--the bottom one (the feeder) being of large diameter, and the top one, made of polished metal, much smaller--and heated by gas mixed with air to produce perfect combustion. The collars, taken straight from the starching machine, are stretched upon a board, which is by an automatic arrangement continually sliding backwards and forwards between the 2 rollers, the pressure being regulated by means of a spiral spring. A very high finish is imparted to the surface of the collars. This machine is also made as a combined collar, cuff, and shirt-front ironer.

The “Pagoda” Iron Heating Stove is placed on one side of the ironing room; and on either side of it is fixed a “Radial” drying or airing horse. The stove heats at one time 54 irons. The advantage of the radial horse on each side of the stove is that the heat is utilised for airing and stiffening the ironed articles, a large quantity of which can be hung upon the radial arms.

In some steam laundries gas irons are now employed; where these are used exclusively, it is necessary to provide a steam-heated airing closet for airing and stiffening the finished work before it is taken to the packing room.

The packing department (Fig. 155F) has on all sides convenient latticed wooden racks or compartments, ranged in various sizes for different sized washings, the name, address, and mark in coloured ink (representing the coloured cotton mark on the goods) of each customer being placed over each rack. Body-linen, shirts, collars, and finery are all sorted in the racks, but house linen, which is of course much heavier, is sorted on separate shelves, dresses and other starched work being hung upon rails overhead, in close proximity to the racks to which they belong.

In the centre of the room is a hot table or closet with open shelves, in which is a steam coil. This is used for airing the house linen and other things before they are sorted away. There is also round the room and underneath the racking a steam coil for warming the room. The linen is conveyed from room to room as required, by means of clothes wagons and barrows running upon rubber tyred wheels.

On emerging from the packing room we found ourselves in the entrance hall, immediately opposite the door leading to the sorting room, showing that we had made a tour of the laundry, from one department to the other, without going over any part of the ground twice. The different doors we then noticed had each a name upon its outside, as “sorting,” “receiving,” and “marking” room, next “general wash-house,” next “ironing room,” and, upon the door through which we had just passed, “packing and delivery room.”

The offices, private and general, are placed at the back of this entrance hall, and command a view of the reception and dispatch of all work and of the entrance or departure of visitors or workpeople. A general sight is also obtained from here over the working departments (with the exception of the private wash-house).

The building generally is lofty and well ventilated; and we were pleased to note that the proprietors, in addition to having well considered the arrangement of workrooms, have provided a spacious dining and recreation room, fitted with cookery range and every convenience for the use of the workpeople. This is on the first floor, over the entrance hall.

Public Institution Laundries.--Most of the large public institutions, such as hospitals, workhouses, infirmaries, and asylums throughout the country, are fitted with Bradford’s “Vowel” washing machines, and for hospital purposes the washing compartments are made of metal, and can be used for special cases where desirable.

One of the first important washing plants constructed by Messrs. Bradford was fixed in the London Hospital, Whitechapel Road, London, in 1867, and it is still working in this institution.

Architects and others interested in steam laundry apparatus will do well to consult Messrs. Bradford & Co. when arranging their plans.

THE SCHOOLROOM.

The Room.--Provided that the room fulfil all the ordinary conditions of sanitation, the foremost question then for decision is the lighting of the room. As remarked by Dr. Power, the amount of light, both day and artificial, supplied in schools is a matter of great importance, for the feebler the light the closer is the object instinctively brought to the observer to be recognised, and amongst the various suggestions of a practical nature that have been made is one by Hoffmann, of Wiesbaden, that in every schoolroom a set of Snellen’s test types should be suspended, and as soon as they are no longer legible by the healthy at a normal distance the school should close. In school buildings the windows should, if possible, look to the south or east, a much greater amount of light entering with equal window space from those directions, especially in the earlier hours of the day, than from the north, whilst type of a given size is read at a much greater distance with south than with north light. Cohn and Javal alike think that it is almost impossible to get too much light in a schoolroom, the latter maintaining that there should be sufficient light in the darkest part of the room to read easily and well even on dark days. The size of the window must manifestly exert a great influence upon the amount of light admitted, and Cohn has laid down the rule that there should be at least 1 sq. ft. of window pane for every 5 sq. ft. of flooring, and in some recent Parisian models there is actually 1 ft. of window to each foot of flooring. The height of the window from the floor is of importance, since a room is always dark with high windows, owing to the obliquity of the entering rays and the loss by reflection; the sill of the window should not be lower than 1 ft. from the ground. The light should enter from the left hand, since it enables the letter that has just been formed in writing to be distinctly seen; whereas, if the light enter from the right, the last written letters are in the dark. The total area being the same, 3 windows are better than 2, for since the illumination obtained from a given light diminishes as the square of the distance, more light will be obtained in the remoter parts of the room with 3 than with 2 lights.

Desks and Benches.--The form of the desks and school furniture is a point that has been almost entirely neglected in England. The slope of the table is of importance. If a book be placed vertically in front of us, we can see well, and no inclination of the head is required. If it be placed at such an inclination as to form an angle of 45° with the horizon, we can still, by turning the eyes down, read well without inclining the head; but if the book is placed horizontally, the head is naturally bent downwards to relieve the exertion of turning the eyes strongly downwards, and this tends to congest the vessels of the head. Hence the desk should be inclined, and not flat; but an angle of 45° would be too much, the books, &c., would slide off. A rise of 2 in. for each 12 in. of table breadth is sufficient. Fahrner considers that the first movement of the child in leaving the normal position consists in inclining his head forward and to the left, and that this apparently unimportant movement is the root of the whole evil; for it in the first place causes the centre of gravity of the head to fall in front of the vertebral column. The muscles of the neck are consequently called into play; they soon, however, become fatigued, and transfer the work to the muscles of the back, and thus at the expiration of a few minutes the head sinks upon the left arm, and the eyes are brought into very close proximity with the paper. All physicians are now agreed that the desk should be a little higher than the elbows when hanging naturally, and that the size of the child should be taken into consideration.

The distance between the edge of the desk and the front edge of his seat must be 0, or they must even somewhat overlap each other; the difference in height between the bench and the desk must be as great as the distance of the elbow from the bench when the arm is hanging freely down 1 or 2¼ in.; every school bench must have a proper back, which must not be the back of the desk behind. There is much difference of opinion amongst high authorities as to the best form of back, some preferring a high back, others a T-back of moderate height, and others again a low back. The high back supports the lower part of the dorsal region of the spine, and thus relieves the lumbar (or loins) region of part of the superincumbent weight. The moderately high T-back supports the sacrum or the lower lumbar vertebræ, fixes the pelvis, and renders the sitting position one of rest. The low back fits into the curvature of the loins, and fulfils the purposes of both the other forms partially. It is the form which is generally regarded as being the best. It is on the whole best that each seat should have its own back, since with continuous backs, overcrowding, which should be religiously avoided, may occur. The back should be curved to suit the form of the body, and be firmly and solidly constructed.

The bench on which the scholar sits should be hollowed out continuously with the back, and be either flat or a little raised in front. Its breadth should be, in accordance with the size of the child, 9-13¼ in. The height of the bench should be such that the knee is bent at right angles to the well-supported and resting thigh, and that the soles of the feet may be planted flat on the ground or on a foot-board. The table-top must be broad enough to support books and papers, and to allow them to be pushed forward so far that they do not interfere with writing: 12½-15½ in. are the right dimensions. The desk-top must, moreover, form an inclined plane; nothing conduces so much to stooping as a flat desk. The limit is that the ink should not flow back in the pen; but this is much too great, since books and papers would slide off unless prevented by a raised edge at the bottom of the desk, and such edges are objectionable, since they hurt the arm in writing. An inclination of 2 in. in 12 is about right. For reading, the desk inclination may be as steep as possible, but this is not easy to manage in school desks. The height of the desk is from a medical point of view secondarily determined as soon as the height of the bench and the difference between the bench and the desk is determined. If the feet are to rest on the ground, the height of the desk will have to be different, according to the size of the child, which may be inconvenient to the teacher. The difficulty may be overcome by having a movable latticework for the feet to rest on. The desk lastly should be sufficiently broad (19½-23½ in.) for each child. Arrangements require to be made to allow of standing as well as sitting. A typical form (Varrentrapp’s) of school desk and seat is shown in Fig. 156. The dotted lines of the seat give the position and dimensions suitable for older scholars. The distances a b (14 in.) and c b (2¾ in.) remain the same for all children; the difference b d is slightly increased with the age.

Type of Books.--Much attention has lately been directed to various points in printing, shown to exert an influence on the vision. First, in regard to the letters themselves. No one can compare the Gothic with the modern Roman letters without being struck with the superior legibility of the Roman type. The flourishes of some of the letters, the close similarity to one another of others, as of the “h” and “k,” the “f” and “s,” the “u” and the “n,” all render a closer examination of the print requisite in the one case than in the other. Javal, to whom we are indebted for much interesting observation on this subject, says that the increased number of myopes (shortsighted persons) noticed in Elsass since the annexation consequent on the war of 1870 is due to the introduction of German type and writing into that province. Weber considers that the absence of fine upstrokes in the Roman form of type is a distinct advantage, and, further, that the arched, instead of the pointed, shape of the letters in the Roman type renders them more easy to read, and therefore require less earnest fixation. Weber maintains that a child 8 years of age who has read and worked with Latin or Roman type for 3 months is in advance of a child who has read the Gothic type for 2 years. The size of the short letters, such as “m” or “n,” should not be less than 1·5 mm. and the interspaces between two words should be somewhat greater, 2 mm. or 2·5 mm. It is considered that letters smaller than this are injurious. The leader of the Times has a height of short letters of this size, and that is a very legible print to the ordinary eye at a distance of 12-15 in., while much smaller type can be seen.

Other conditions deserve attention, and amongst them may be mentioned quality of paper, character of type, excellence of impression. Now and again the fount of type of one of our daily newspapers gets worn out, and every one is aware of the unpleasant effects that are produced by impressions of letters which are partly imperfect--when, for example, c cannot be distinguished from o or from e, when t and l become confused, and the rounds of a, b, d, g, and p become filled with ink. Such imperfections are greatly increased by roughnesses and inequalities of the paper, and it is only requisite to read a page or two of one of the cheap editions of a popular author and then a page or two of an edition de luxe to appreciate the influence of paper and printing. The introduction of pictures is of decided advantage, since they both excite the attention and relieve the eye.

Brudenell Carter advises, in the case of every child whose vision is subnormal, to ascertain the cause and nature of the defect, and to regulate not only the studies, but also, as far as possible, the future career, in accordance with it. He would urge that the vision of every new pupil should be tested, and that the tasks required should be controlled in accordance with its capabilities; that all lesson books for very young children be printed in large type, and that the children be compelled to keep such books at a distance (the type in which we often see texts of Scripture printed to be hung up in railway waiting-rooms would be a good size for the purpose); that many of the school-books now in use should be abandoned, and that new editions should be prepared, in type of at least twice the size, and twice the legibility (the latter depending much upon the shape and design of the letters) of that now in use. It would be useful, especially in cases where there is hereditary tendency to shortsightedness, to teach by means of long slips or wall texts with a picture at the head, sold by most stationers. The child should be placed with his back to the light, and at a distance of 4-6 ft. from the slip, the separate letters of which, as well as the details of the picture, may be indicated by the teacher with a light wand.

Writing.--Writing has a powerful influence in inducing shortsightedness. Cohn has made the sensible suggestion that stenography (shorthand) should be introduced into schools a little above the lowest classes. The size of the type or symbols is, it is acknowledged, smaller than that of ordinary writing, but not smaller than the Greek. The acquirement of the art is easy, and the saving of time is very great.

The question of the advisability of using slates for instruction in writing has been considered, and developed some difference of opinion. With the same amount of light and an equal degree of sharpness of vision, letters of the same size written with ink and with slate pencil are seen, the former at a distance of 4 ft., the latter at only 3 ft., even when the unpleasant reflex from the slate is avoided. Weber thinks that many of the difficulties and troubles occasioned by writing are the same, whether slate-pencil, lead-pencil, or pen and ink be used; but still thinks it desirable that after the first half-year pen and ink should be preferred. Cohn agrees with Horner, but suggests the employment of white artificial tablets, made by Emanuel Thieben, of Pilsen, which can be written upon with lead-pencil, and which he has found to be so far superior to slate that writing which can be read at 6 yd. on the white slab can only be read at 5 yd. on slate.

Writing is done with the least strain when the copy-book is tilted towards the left; when the child is compelled to write with the book parallel to the edge of the desk, he brings the base line perpendicular to the down-strokes by turning his head towards the right and twisting his spine. This contortion brings the eyes nearer to the page, and the left eye nearer to it than the right. In a discussion on this subject at the meeting of the Ophthalmic Society, at Heidelberg, Laqueur and Manz favoured the slanting system of writing with an oblique position of the book, on the ground that it throws the work more on the flexor muscles of the forearm, which are naturally stronger than the extensors, and Berlin dwelt upon the fact that this system admits of greater rapidity of execution.

Mental Training.--The object of the teacher is to teach to think. The pupil thinks enough, but he thinks loosely, incoherently, indefinitely, and vaguely. He expends power enough on his mental work, but it is poorly applied. The teacher points out to him these indefinite or incoherent results, and demands logical statements of him. Here is the positive advantage the teacher is to the pupil. The prevailing habit of slovenly reading is largely due to the slovenly way in which children are taught to read at school. Be very careful about this; teach scholars to read with precision and understanding, thinking of every word, getting the sense of each sentence, and grasping the full meaning of any piece that may be before them.

There can be no greater mistake than to imagine that all children develop at the same rate during the corresponding years of their existence. In a group or class of children, each of whom is 11 years old, there will be many shades of difference of development. It follows, therefore, that the drawing of a hard and fast line as to acquisitions appropriate to any special year of a child’s life is a mistake both from an educational and from a medical point of view.

To urge a child to great mental exertion while it is passing through a period of bodily growth is to put an undue strain upon its powers. A dull child will be rendered more dull and hopeless because it cannot perform its task, and the urging to exertion may produce nothing but a sullen resistance to authority. An eager, docile child will respond to the impulse, and will exert itself beyond its powers; and then an exhaustion will follow which may permanently injure both bodily and mental health. It would, however, be unwise to conclude that, because a child is unable to make great mental exertion while growing, it is not to be required to make any exertion at all.

If an adult can apply himself to the acquisition of knowledge in one direction for only 1 hour (and how much longer can an audience listen to a lecture?), the child can evidently do very much less. At the ages of 5 to 7 he can attend to one subject--a single lesson--for 15 minutes; a child from 7 to 10 years of age, about 20 minutes; from 10 to 12 years, about 25 minutes; from 12 to 18 years, about 30 minutes. (Chadwick.) Hence great care is demanded to avoid engaging the brains of pupils in work for more than very short periods, and to provide intervals during which there may be rest of the centres specially taxed. Much may be done by changing the kind of work frequently. No growing child should be kept longer than ½-¾ hour at even the same description of work. Again, the great centres of relation should not be overtaxed. Vision, hearing, the speech centre, and the centre specially concerned with written language, whether in writing or reading, should not be wearied. Brain weariness is the first indication of exhaustion. The faculty of “attention” is perhaps one of the most easily vulnerable of all the parts or properties of brain-function. It is the faculty which most readily becomes permanently enfeebled, and, when weakened, entails most trouble in adult life. In children it is difficult to catch and fix the attention. No effort should be spared to secure this fixity of thought; but in order to avoid weakening the power of “thinking” as distinguished from “thought-drifting,” the teacher should not strive, or desire, to hold the attention by any effort on his part longer than it is voluntarily given by the child--the slightest indication of exhaustion should at once be met by a change of task. If these hints, general as they are, can be reduced to practice, there is little fear of “overwork” or harm from brain activity. Desultory and insufficient work is more to be feared by far than “overwork,” because the brain, like every other part of the organism, grows as it feeds, and it can only feed as it works. (Lancet.)

Children, especially at the age of 10-17, should not be over-taxed, and girls in particular should not be pressed to work at periods when they are naturally languid and exhausted. The work to be done should be mainly done in school; night-work and night-lessons should be short. Nor should children be made to do much work in the morning before breakfast, nor immediately after food. The books given to young children ought to be light to hold in the hand; the paper should be clean, white, and smooth. The letters should be large in proportion to the youth of the child, well formed, and well printed. The spaces between the lines and the interspaces of the words should be relatively wide. The lines should not be too long. The light should be abundant, and should enter from the left. In writing he should sit upright and square to the desk. The desk itself should be inclined, and there should be a due proportion between the height of the desk and the bench or stool on which the child is sitting. Reading small print by a dim light is to be discountenanced, and reading should not be permitted in bed. The work given to girls to learn sewing should not be too fine, and no black work should be given, especially at night.

How vastly would the world benefit if the hours wasted on Bible history, dead languages, and higher mathematics (except for special objects, of course), were given to modern languages and useful (as distinguished from pure) science. How many “educated” men know a word of French or German, or a score of the physical facts which govern our existence, or anything about the structure of their own bodies, or of the names, properties, and uses of our native plants?

The work performed by girls, especially when young, is not beneath the attention of the surgeon. There cannot be a doubt that every girl should be taught the use of the needle and thread; but it is by no means necessary that the work which is put into their hands should be of a nature to make a severe strain upon their eyes. That such strain applied to the eyes in this particular way is injurious is well known from the effects of lace-making in Belgium and France, which is admitted on all hands to seriously impair the vision of many workers annually. In moderately fine calico there are about 72 threads to the inch; and if two of these are taken up at every stitch, the work is done to 1/36 in., which is even so very small. But finer kinds of cambric run to 150 or more to the inch, and must be very trying to the eye. Weber observes:--“Who need trouble himself about a girl learning to knit a stocking requiring 35,000 or even 60,000 loops, when the whole article can be finished by machine work in an hour or two?” But, as Cohn remarks, if the girl is, instead of knitting stockings, occupied with Greek characters or conic sections, she is not much better off. On the whole, it appears that no child should be given work to do which requires to be held closer to the eye than 1 ft., and with this all due care should be taken in regard to light and other particulars.

The special culture of the senses is too much neglected in modern busy life. Probably at no previous period of human history has the nervous system generally, and more particularly, have the sense-organs been so severely taxed as they are now, but never have they been less carefully cultivated. This is, in part, if not wholly the cause of the progressive degeneracy of the faculties of special-sense which is evidenced by the increasing frequency of the recourse to spectacles, ear-trumpets, and the like apparatus, designed to aid the sense-organs. The mere use of faculties will not develop strength--it is more likely to exhaust energy. Special training is required, and this essential element of education is wholly neglected in our schools, with the result we daily witness--namely, early weakness or defect in the organs by which the consciousness is brought into relation with the outer world. It is not necessary to adduce proofs, or to argue at length or in detail. The truth of the proposition laid down is self-evident. On the one hand we see the neglect of training, and on the other the increasing defect of sense-power. The matter is well worthy of the attention of the professional educators of youth. Muscular exercise wisely regulated and apportioned to the bodily strength is felt to be a part of education. Sense-culture, by appropriate exercises in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, would, if commenced sufficiently early in life, not merely prevent weakness of sight, deafness, loss of the sense of feeling, and impairment of the sense of smell, long before old age; but by its reflected influence on the nutrition of the brain and upper portion of the spinal cord, would do much to reduce the growing tendency to paralytic diseases, which are very decidedly on the increase. (Lancet.)

Physical Comfort and Training.--Attention should be directed more than at present to the physical side of school life in its relations to the ordinary bodily wants and processes. Many children suffer much from a fear or dislike of asking for temporary leave of absence from their classes. They suffer pain, and often cause serious illness, by this somewhat natural aversion to “asking out.” Foolish teachers have sharply reproved pupils because they appeared to demand absence from the class-room too frequently. The teacher evidently imagined there was some attempt at malingering; whereas the pupil was really in pain, suffering from an irritable digestive system, which demanded rest. Such pupils should not be sent to school, it is true; but if they are allowed to take their place in a class, they should not be treated as if their demands were dictated by foolishness or frivolity. The wise teacher is one who, seeing a pupil evidently suffering, will investigate the cause of the discomfort, and set the child’s mind and body at rest. Education under physical suffering is, at its best, the merest farce. You need not be prudish; nor fear any rebuke from common sense, when you think that children have bodies which, as well as minds, are placed temporarily under the teacher’s care. (Wakeham.)

There is a risk at the present day that the claims of intellectual education, which are being so strongly put forward, may have the effect of postponing, or causing to be neglected, the care and cultivation of the bodily powers. In some respects we have rushed from a state in which too little care was given to mental development into one where intellectual work predominates. Children must have several hours’ play daily in the open air; this is much better than calisthenics or gymnastics for the generality of children; and girls should be allowed to play as vigorously as boys do.

One exercise which will give permanent strength, which will build up healthy bodies for girls and ultimately for women, is the swimming bath, which brings into play all the muscles of the body; another is the gymnastic class, where, in suitable dresses and under the direction of competent instructors, exercises fitted for the strength of girls are set for them to do; and a third is the playground, where such games as fives, rackets, and lawn tennis give amusement and ample exercise. The benefits arising from trained muscular activity are not confined to development of the muscles of the arms and legs, but all the functions of nutrition of the body are helped to become effective by means of exercise. Much of the weakness and suffering of women would be spared if early physical training had been allowed to them.

Punishments.--Such brutal punishments as boxing the ears, pulling the ears, knocking heads together, rapping knuckles with rulers, &c., belong to a past ignorant age. For corporal punishment nature has provided a muscular cushion on which the cane may be applied without fear of serious consequences. “Impositions” mean ruin to the handwriting, and being closeted in the foul air of the class-rooms during hours that ought to be spent in getting fresh air. Double tasks are a still worse form of the same evil. The plan of “keeping in” boys for breaches of school discipline is objectionable, and it is infinitely better to require some loss of recreation time in more healthy ways. In large public schools, where the drill-sergeant is an institution, there will probably be found no more efficacious mode of dealing with forgetfulness and petty turbulences than by calling in the aid of this functionary, who exercises a wholesome influence over the boys, and inflicts punishments without impairing their physical condition in any way, while at the same time lending “tone” to their bodily exercises.

Foreign Schools.--The only good to be gained by sending children to foreign schools is acquiring facility in speaking foreign languages, with more chance of good accent than can be usually gained at home. Against this there are many things to set off; and even this advantage itself is often rendered nugatory by one or two circumstances. In a school where there are many English children there is very often as much English spoken as French or German--there are schools in which an idle child might speak English all day long, and in which the well-paying “Anglais” is not brought too sharply to task for faults of omission. Again, the acquisition of good accent is a matter of ear, and no amount of hearing others speak well will make a child who has no imitative power reproduce an accent with purity. Scotch or Irish children in English schools do not always lose their distinctive accent, nor do Lancashire and Yorkshire tongues always lose their special characteristics. The advantages of foreign schools are thus shown to be less than they at first seem to be.

But there are also positive disadvantages; and one of the most evident and most disastrous in its results, as far as the health is concerned, is that, in matters of food and of arrangements conducive to health, the ways of foreigners are not our ways. English children, brought up to the age of 15 or 16 upon English meat and bread, with plenty of both, cannot accommodate themselves to the diet which suffices for Frenchmen or Germans; and English children in foreign schools not unfrequently know what it is to be hungry from sheer inability to obtain a sufficiently nutritive meal. Many instances have occurred in which long and troublesome illnesses have been distinctly traceable to living in schools abroad, and others in which a life has been cut short through the same agency.

A few words must be said as to the comparative uncertainty regarding the kind of agencies which may be brought to bear in the moral training of a girl, and the little power which a parent has of ascertaining the real nature of these in a foreign, especially a French school. Nor again, is it to be forgotten that, for those parents who are desirous that their children should receive religious training, and should not lose their hold of home habits in that important matter, there are innumerable anxieties in store in sending children abroad.

For those who desire to give their children the advantages of foreign education, there are only two really good courses open. One of these is to establish the home abroad for a certain time. In that case the children are under home influence as to training, are under home care as to food, cleanliness, and personal habits, and do not form a set of associations distinct from those of other members of the family. If the family life is considered important, and if it is desired that the children should early acquire a knowledge of foreign languages, this is the most advisable plan. In case this is not possible, it would be advisable to postpone the foreign residence until girls have reached maturer years--till they have sense to look after themselves, and until their characters are somewhat formed. There would be then the additional advantage that home ties would be strong enough to resist the weakening influence of living apart from the rest of the family, the foundations of a good English education (too often entirely neglected in the cases of those reared in foreign schools) might have been securely laid; and, what is perhaps not the least recommendation, the children themselves would have their minds more advanced, and would be more intelligent and ready recipients of the instruction given to them. (Queen.)

SUPPLEMENTARY LITERATURE.

John H. Howard: ‘Gymnasts and Gymnastics.’ London, 1873.

C. Löfving: ‘Home Gymnastics, for the preservation and restoration of health in children and young and old people of both sexes, with a short method of acquiring the art of Swimming.’ London, 1883. 1_s._

Archibald Maclaren: ‘A System of Physical Education, theoretical and practical.’ Oxford, 1869. 7_s._ 6_d._

THE PLAYGROUND.

Aim of Exercise.--The aim of exercise is not solely to work the organism which is thrown into activity, though that is a very important part of the object in view, because as the living body works it feeds, and as it feeds it is replenished; but there is another purpose, and that is to call into action and stimulate the faculty of recuperation. Those who believe in the existence of a special system, or series, of trophic nerves, will not object to this designation of the recuperative function as a separate “faculty,” and those who believe nutrition to be effected in and by the ordinary innervation will recognise the sense in which we employ the terms in italics. It is through defect or deficiency in the vigour of this faculty that unaccustomed feats of strength, whether of mind or muscle, are exhausting. The task is performed, but the underlying faculty of restorative energy, or power of recuperative nutrition, located in the particular part exceptionally exercised, is not in a condition to respond to the unusual call made upon it. When a man goes into training, or, which is practically the same thing, when he habituates himself to the performance of a special class of work, he so develops this recuperative power or function that the repair or replenishing necessary to restore the integrity, and replace the strength of the tissue “used up” in the exercise, is instantly performed. The difference between being accustomed to exercise and able to work “without feeling it,” and being barely able to accomplish a special task, and having it “taken out” of one by the exploit, whether mental or physical, is the difference between possessing the power of rapid repair by nutrition, and not having that power in working order--so that some time must elapse before recovery takes place, and during the interval there will be “fatigue” and more or less exhaustion. The practical value of a recognition of this commonplace fact in physiology will be found in the guidance it affords as to the best and most direct way of developing the power or faculty of recuperation by exercise. Many persons make the mistake of doing too much. Exercise with a view to recuperation should never so much exceed the capacity of the recuperative faculty as to prostrate the nervous energy. The work done ought not to produce any great sense of fatigue. If “exhaustion” be experienced, the exercise has been excessive in amount. The best plan to pursue is to begin with a very moderate amount of work, continued during a brief period, and to make the length of the interval between the cessation of the exercise and the recovery of a feeling of “freshness” the guide as to the increase of exercise. We do not mean that false sense of revival which is sometimes derived from the recourse to stimulants, but genuine recovery after a brief period of rest and the use of plain nutritious food. If this very simple rule were carried into practice by those who desire “to grow strong,” there would be less disappointment, and a generally better result, than often attends the endeavour to profit by exercise unintelligently employed. (Lancet.)

Training.--There are few subjects on which it is more difficult to lay down exact laws than that of training, and yet, notwithstanding this, there is no lack of books by writers who profess to be thoroughly acquainted with every detail of the course an athlete must go through in order to be at his best. Nearly every writer agrees as to the end to be obtained by training. As to how this end is to be obtained, however, these doctors sadly disagree. For instance, one author says, very properly, that the harder a man works physically the more food he requires. “Amator,” on the other hand, lays down this law, “the less food, the more work.” In books a regular dietary is laid down for the man in training, in which some kinds of food are recommended and others condemned. These vary so much, that were the unfortunate athlete to avoid everything that he is warned against, he would be more likely to die of starvation than to win a race. It is quite impossible to lay down exact rules for everybody. No two men are of the same physique or temperament, and no one but an experienced trainer who has his eye continually on his man, can tell him what to eat and drink, or what exercise to take. A book of the kind cannot be perfect; but the best we have yet come across is that published at the Sportsman office. We can recommend it to those who cannot secure a really good trainer. Such men are rare; but a month or two under the care of a man who really understands his business will do more for a beginner than all the books ever published. Experienced trainers like Bob Rogers, Nat. Perry, or Jack White, can tell at a glance whether a man wants hard or light exercise, or whether he ought to put on flesh, or the contrary. These are subjects that books are powerless upon, and with which no athlete can be familiar till he has had considerable experience. (Field.)

Regulation of Exercise.--Dr. Cathcart gives the following rules for the regulation of physical exercise. (1) It should be conducted in an abundance of fresh air, and in costumes allowing free play to the lungs, and of a material which will absorb the moisture, and which, therefore, should be afterwards changed--flannel. (2) There should always be a pleasant variety in the exercise, and an active mental stimulus, to give interest at the same time. (3) The exercises should, as far as possible, involve all parts of the body and both sides equally. (4) When severe in character, the exercises should be begun gradually and pursued systematically, leaving off at first as soon as fatigue is felt; and when any real delicacy of constitution exists, the exercise should be regulated under medical advice. (5) For young people the times of physical and mental work should alternate, and for the former the best part of the day should be selected. (6) Active exertion should be neither immediately before nor immediately after a full meal.

A fact of paramount importance is to bear in mind that exercise demands an abundance of fresh air, without which it is injurious. The same man who when naked is capable of inspiring (taking in) 196 cub. in. of air at a breath, can only inspire 130 cub. in. when dressed. Dr. Parkes points out that during exercise, whether directly involving the use of the shoulders or not, the lungs should have the freest possible play; therefore there should be no tightly contracting garments round the chest which would interfere with its expansion, and thus tend to neutralise the very benefit it is destined to bestow; and it follows further from this, that where exercise has to be taken in such ill-designed garments, the amount of work done must be in proportion diminished. Hence the miscalled “constitutional” walk is about the worst form of exercise (next to dancing), and deserving of actual condemnation, except in the case of people whose age precludes their enjoying any outdoor game; it is very apt to become monotonous, can never be really enlivening, often is reduced to a crawl, is liable to be interrupted by meeting friends (when chills are easily caught), and always entails wearing the least suitable garments. Running, on the other hand, when dressed in athletic costume, is one of the best forms of exercise and an essential accompaniment of our most popular outdoor games. Among the means which nature has bestowed on animals in general for the preservation and enjoyment of life, running is the most important. Since, then, it is pointed out to us by nature, it must be in a high degree innocent.

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