Chapter XIII: Part V: Mistress--Mother--Nurse--And Maid (1)

_In which are set forth the prominent Duties of each department,
and the most important Rules for the guidance and care of the
Household._

OF THE TABLE

814. The taste and management of the mistress are always displayed in the general conduct of the table; for, though that department of the household be not always under her direction, it is always under her eye. Its management involves judgment in expenditure, respectability of appearance, and the comfort of her husband as well as of those who partake of their hospitality. Inattention to it is always inexcusable, and should be avoided for the lady's own sake, as it occasions a disagreeable degree of bustle, and evident annoyance to herself, which is never observable in a well-regulated establishment.

Perhaps there are few occasions on which the respectability of a man is more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may accidentally bring home a visitor. Every one ought to live according to his circumstances, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but, if merely two or three dishes be well served, with the proper accompaniments, the table-linen clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the expectation of both the husband and friend will be gratified, because no interruption of the domestic arrangements will disturb their social intercourse.

Should there be only a joint and a pudding, they should always be served up separately; and the dishes, however small the party, should always form two courses. Thus, in the old fashioned style of "fish, soup, and a roast," the soup and fish are placed at the top and bottom of the table, removed by the joint with vegetables and pastry; or, should the company consist of eight or ten, a couple or more of side-dishes in the first course, with game and a pudding in the second, accompanied by confectionary, are quite sufficient.

In most of the books which treat of cookery, various bills of fare are given, which are never exactly followed. The mistress should give a moderate number of those dishes which are most in season. The cuts which are inserted in some of those lists, put the soup in the middle of the table--where it should never be placed. For a small party, a single lamp in the centre is sufficient; but, for a larger number, the room should be lighted with lamps hung over the table, and the centre occupied by a _plateau_ of glass or plate, ornamented with flowers or figures.

815. _Carefulness._--A proper quantity of household articles should always be allowed for daily use. Each should also be kept in its proper place, and applied to its proper use. Let all repairs be done as soon as wanted, remembering the old adage of "a stitch in time;" and never, if possible, defer any necessary household concern a moment beyond the time when it ought to be attended to.

In the purchase of glass and crockery-ware, either the most customary patterns should be chosen, in order to secure their being easily matched, when broken; or, if a scarce design be adopted, an extra quantity should be bought, to guard against the annoyance of the set being spoiled by breakage--which, in the course of time, must be expected to happen. There should likewise be plenty of common dishes, that the table-set may not be used for putting away cold meat, &c.

The cook should be encouraged to be careful of coals and cinders: for the latter there is a new contrivance for sifting, without dispersing the dust, by means of a covered tin bucket.

Small coal, wetted, makes the strongest fire for the back of the grate, but must remain untouched till it cakes. Cinders, lightly wetted, give a great degree of heat, and are better than coal, for furnaces, ironing-stoves, and ovens.

816. _Attention to little things._--By attention to _little things_, the neat appearance of a house may be secured, and time and labor saved. For instance, when you are sewing, carefully deposit your bits of thread, &c., in a little basket or box, instead of throwing them on the floor. And again: set your chairs out a little from the wall, instead of putting them close to it, which would not only rub the paint from the chairs, but would soon deface the beauty of the wall-paper. These appear like trifling things--but nothing is too trifling to demand our attention, when we are endeavoring to fulfil the duties of our sphere.

817. _Cheerfulness._--Does it seem singular that _cheerfulness_ is placed among the requisites for good house-keeping? But it is of far more importance than you would, at first view, imagine. What matters it to a brother or husband, if the house be ever so neat, or the meals punctually and well prepared, if the mistress of it is fretful and fault-finding--ever discontented and complaining. The _outside_ of such a house is ever the most attractive to him, and any and _every_ excuse will be made for absenting himself; and the plea of business or engagements will be made to her who is doomed to pass her hours needlessly in solitude.

818. _Of Economy in Expenditure._--Economy should be the first point in all families, whatever be their circumstances. A prudent housekeeper will regulate the ordinary expenses of a family, according to the annual sum allowed for housekeeping. By this means, the provision will be uniformly good, and it will not be requisite to practise meanness on many occasions, for the sake of meeting extra expense on one.

The best check upon outrunning an income is to pay bills weekly, for you may then retrench in time. This practice is likewise a salutary check upon the correctness of the accounts themselves.

To young beginners in housekeeping, the following brief _hints on domestic economy_, in the management of a moderate income, may perhaps not prove unacceptable.

A bill of parcels and receipt should be required, even if the money be paid at the time of purchase; and, to avoid mistakes, let the goods be compared with these when brought home; or, if paid or at future periods, a bill should be sent with the article, and regularly filed on separate files for each tradesman.

An inventory of furniture, linen, and china should be kept, and the things examined by it twice a-year, or oftener if there be a change of servants; the articles used by servants should be intrusted to their care, with a list, as is done with the plate. In articles not in common use, such as spare bedding, tickets of parchment, numbered and specifying to what they belong, should be sewed on each; and minor articles in daily use, such as household cloths and kitchen requisites, should be occasionally looked to.

819. _Books and Accounts._--Housekeeping books, with printed forms for the various heads of expenditure, and the several articles, are used in many families; but accounts may be kept with as much certainty in plain books.

820. _Servants._--In the _hiring of Servants_, it is an excellent plan to agree to increase their wages annually to a fixed sum, where it should stop, and to recommend that a portion of it should be regularly placed in a savings-bank. An incentive will thus be offered to good conduct; and when the hoard saved up amounts to any considerable sum, the possessor will generally feel more inclined to enlarge than to expend it.

A kindly feeling of indulgence on the part of the mistress towards her servants, in the matter of petty faults, coupled with good-natured attention to their daily comforts, and occasional permission to visit and receive a few of their near friends, would go far to create a cordial degree of attachment, which must be ever desirable to a respectable family, and cheaply purchased by such consideration. Mildness of language will generally be met by respectful language on the part of a servant, and of itself will produce a saving of temper at least to the master or mistress. Due praise will mostly be found a powerful stimulus to good, and in some measure a preventive to bad conduct, on the part of a servant.

Do not speak harshly or imperatively to servants, or tell them of their faults in the presence of strangers or visitors; but take the earliest opportunity of reproving them after your company have left.

821. _Store-room._--A store-room is essential for the custody of articles in constant use, as well as for others which are only occasionally called for. These should be at hand when wanted, each in separate drawers, or on shelves and pegs, all under the lock and key of the mistress, and never be given out to the servants but under her inspection.

Pickles and preserves, prepared and purchased sauces, and all sorts of groceries, should be there stored; the spices pounded and corked up in small bottles, sugar broken, and everything in readiness for use. Lemon-peel, thyme, parsley, and all sorts of sweet herbs, should be dried and grated for use in seasons of plenty; the tops of tongues saved, and dried, for grating into omelets, &c.; and care taken that nothing be wasted that can be turned to good account.

Coarse nets suspended in the store-room are very useful in preserving the finer kinds of fruit, lemons, &c., which are spoiled if allowed to touch. When _lemons_ and _oranges_ are cheap, a proper quantity should be bought and prepared, both for preserving the juice, and keeping the peel for sweetmeats and grating, especially by those who live in the country, where they cannot always be had; and they are perpetually wanted in cookery.

822. _Sugar._--The lowest-priced and coarsest sugar is not the cheapest in the end, as it is heavy, dirty, and of a very inferior degree of sweetness; that which is most refined is the sweetest: the best has a bright and gravelly appearance. East India sugars appear finer in proportion to the price; but they do not contain so much sweetness as the other kinds. Loaf-sugars should be chosen as fine and as close in texture as possible, except they are for preserving, when the coarse, strong, open kind is preferable.

823. _Pepper._--The finest Cayenne pepper consists of powdered bird-pepper; but, as this is of a bad color, it is often adulterated to heighten the color. English chilies, dried and pounded, make good pepper.

White pepper is inferior to black, although the former is sold at the highest price. White pepper is merely black pepper deprived of its outer coating, which has a stimulating property; so that white pepper is much weaker than black.

824. _Cinnamon_, when good, is rather thin and pliable, and about the substance of thick paper, of yellowish-brown color, sweetish taste, and pleasant odor: that which is hard, thick, and dark-colored, should be rejected.

825. _Articles in Season._--Some weak-minded persons affect to despise articles of food when they are plentiful and cheap, not knowing that such is the time when the articles are in the greatest perfection.

Young and inexperienced housekeepers sometimes incur unnecessary expense by ordering articles of food when they are scarce, dear, and hardly come into season. This can only be prevented by attention to the seasons of different articles.

826. _Every Family to make their own Sweet Oil._--With a small hand-mill, every family might make their own sweet oil. This may easily be done, by grinding or beating the seeds of white poppies into a paste, then boil it in water, and skim off the oil as it rises; one bushel of seed weighs fifty pounds, and produces two gallons of oil. Of the sweet olive oil sold, one-half is oil of poppies. The poppies will grow in any garden; it is the large-head white poppy, sold by apothecaries. Large fields are sown with poppies in France and Flanders, for the purpose of expressing oil from their seed for food. When the seed is taken out, the poppy head when dried is boiled to an extract, which is sold at two shillings per ounce, and it is to be preferred to opium, which now sells very high. Large fortunes may be acquired by the cultivation of poppies. Women and children could attend to the cultivation of any quantity required for their own use, in making oil, and it would be found a profitable branch of industry, when engaged in on a large scale.

827. _Candles and Lamps._--In purchasing wax, spermaceti, or composition candles for _company_, there will be a saving by proportioning the length and size of the lights to the probable duration of the party. Mixed wax and spermaceti make the best candles, of which a long _four_ (that is, four to the pound,) will last ten hours; a short _six_ will burn six hours; a _three_, twelve hours.

A moderate-sized French table-lamp, will consume a quarter of a pint of oil in twelve hours and a half.

A common japanned kitchen-lamp, with one burner, will consume one-eighth of a pint of oil in nine hours.

828. _Neats'-foot Oil._--Boil the feet for several hours, as for making stock for jelly; skim off the oily matter from time to time as it rises, and, when it ceases to come up, pour off the water; next day, take off the cake of fat and oil which will be found on the top; boil it and the oil before obtained, together with a little cold water; let it cool; pour off the water, and bottle the oil for use. This oil being perfectly pure, and free from smell, may be used with the French lights in a sick-room.

829. _Soap._--Soap, as well as candles, is improved by keeping. Buy your store for the winter as early as September, and cut the large bars of soap into pieces, to dry. It goes farther, and is better.

830. _Coals._--Lay in your stock of coal and wood, during summer, when fuel of all kinds is cheapest.

831. _Good method of making Fires._--In managing your fires during the day, first lay on a shovelful of the dust and ashes from under the grate, then a few coals, then more ashes, and afterwards a few more coals, and thus proceed till your grate is properly filled, placing a few round coals in front. You will find that the ashes retain the heat better than coals alone; you will have less smoke, a pleasant fire, and a very little waste left at night.

832. _Kitchen-Paper._--Whited-brown and common writing is much used: it should be bought by the ream or half-ream, which will be much cheaper than by the quire. White paper only should be used for singeing, and for covering meat, pastry, &c.

833. _Economy in Tinder._--The very high price of paper, at present, renders the saving of even the smallest quantity of linen or cotton rags of consequence, as they sell very dear. Trifling as it may be thought, yet it will be found that a considerable quantity of rags may be saved in a family, by using as tinder for lighting matches, the contents of the common snuffers, collected in the course of the evening.

834. _To prevent Accidents, from leaving a poker in the fire._--The following invention is equally simple and secure:--Immediately above that square part of the poker, by blacksmiths called "the bit," let a small cross of iron, about an inch and a half each way, be welded in.

The good consequences of this simple contrivance will be--

1st. If the poker, by the fire giving way, should slip out, it will probably catch on the edge of the fender.

2d. If it should not, it cannot injure the hearth or carpet, as the hot part of the poker will be borne up some inches.

3d. The poker cannot be run into the fire further than the bit, which, in regard to a polished poker, is also of some consequence.

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF INFANTS, YOUNG CHILDREN, AND THE SICK.

835. In a previous work--"Mrs. Hale's New Cook Book,"--I gave many receipts for preparing food for invalids and children; but something more is needed. Young mothers and nurses, who are often inexperienced, will, I am sure, thank me for taking pains to procure, from the most eminent authorities, the best directions and recipes to aid them in the discharge of their arduous and most important duties. The preservation of life, and the formation of the physical constitution, as well as the moral development of the young beings committed by Divine Providence to the especial care of woman, render it one of the best accomplishments of our sex, to learn all we can respecting the high vocation whereunto we are called, viz., that of conservators of humanity.

836. _Of young Infants._--Immediately on the birth of the child, it should be received into soft fine flannel, sufficient completely to envelop or wrap round the body, in which, with the mouth and nose scarcely exposed, it should repose at least an hour. The child may then be washed with _tepid_ water, tenderly and cautiously, yet speedily made dry with soft linen cloth. Afterwards let it be expeditiously dressed, and put into a warm, bed, and, during the first week or fortnight, exposed as little as possible to cold air: how long this caution may be necessary, will depend on the season of the year, or the temperature of the atmosphere. By strictly adhering to this mode of managing a new-born infant, it will not suffer from catarrh, cough, difficulty of breathing, diarrhea, sore eyes, or stoppage in the head.

Children are frequently placed under the care of a nurse, who, from her experience, is supposed qualified for the important trust; but it often happens, either from her obstinacy or self-importance, that the most judicious plan of treatment recommended by the attending physician, is defeated.

At this period the mother is called on, by religious and moral obligation, as well as by the ties of natural affection, to suckle her infant: no doubt could be entertained of her immediate assent to so powerful an impulse, if uninfluenced by her friends or relatives. It cannot be denied, that she may be disqualified for the office by various maladies, by an incipient phthisis, by a scorbutic or scrofulous taint, by hysterical or nervous affections, &c. However, the fitness or unfitness of the mother for this endearing office, should be determined by the attending physician. There are many instances recorded of women who had been extremely delicate and sickly previous to their first confinement, becoming afterwards healthy and robust. On the contrary, there are several histories of other women, who previously had enjoyed good health, suffering from counteracting the regular process of nature. The flow of the milk being checked, undue determinations have taken place to the chest or head, and in some cases proved fatal.

In the bowels of children at the time of their birth, there is an accumulation of what is called "the meconium." For whatever purpose it was intended before the birth of the child, it would become injurious were it afterwards suffered to remain. Nature has provided the means for its removal, by giving to the new milk an aperient quality. Therefore it is advisable to wait, even to the third day, for the appearance of the milk, rather than attempt to remove the meconium by castor oil, or any other mild aperient medicine. The coats of the child's stomach and bowels are so extremely tender and irritable, that the mildest purgative will give pain, and disorder the health of the infant. By waiting for the milk, relief is obtained by the means nature has provided, without the slightest inconvenience.

837. _Clothing._--The clothing for children cannot be too simple: it should be so formed as to admit of being easily and quickly changed, free from all bandages or pins, and secured only by tape. Shoes or stockings may be dispensed with, until the child begins to use its legs, as they keep the feet wet and unpleasant, unless changed every hour. The child left to itself, will soon begin to enjoy the use and freedom of its limbs.

838. _Food._--The proper food for children is a subject of more importance. That which nature has provided is the milk of its parent; but, when this is lacking, a preparation formed of cow's milk and water, with a little loaf sugar, in the following proportions, supplies the desideratum:--Take of fresh cow's milk, one table-spoonful; hot water, two table-spoonfuls; loaf sugar, as much as may be agreeable. Such nourishment will alone be sufficient for its support, until the end of the first three months. At this period, it may require a small portion of light animal food, of which, how to select the most nutritious, to regulate the quantity, and to administer it, after proper intervals, must depend on the experience of the nurse. Experience is often superseded by convenience: if the child cries, the nurse attributes it to a want of food, and, by her agency, it is fed almost every hour, both night and day. It is seldom that a child cries from abstinence, if it be healthy and free from pain. In the infantile state, the powers of the digestive organs are much weaker than at a more advanced period of life; and therefore, although the food is more simple, it requires an interval of some hours to convert it into chyle: if this process be interrupted by frequent feeding, the chyle will be crude, and pass off without affording due nourishment to the child. Sickness in children arises from the quality or quantity of their food, unduly administered. The food for children should be light and simple--gruel alone, or mixed with cow's milk; mutton broth, or beef tea; stale bread, rusks, or biscuits, boiled in water to a proper consistence, and a little sugar added. The great mortality of children in large towns, may be attributed to the poverty of their parents, who cannot purchase the necessary food or clothing, nor find leisure to attend to cleanliness, air, and exercise, so indispensably necessary to the well-being of their offspring. In the wealthy ranks of society, these means are easily obtained; and in the management of their children, we have only to dread the abuse of these advantages. Happy would it be both for rich and poor, if the superfluities of the one could be transferred for the benefit of the other.

When six months old, a child may be fed every four hours, when awake. Nothing can be more injurious to health than too frequent or irregular meals. Children, if left to themselves, soon acquire the habit of passing through the night without being fed.

839. _Weaning_ of children should not take place under six months, if the mother be in health, nor be deferred beyond nine months. It cannot be too frequently impressed on the mind of the parent, that the future health and strength of her child depend on a due supply of the food which nature has provided. Regarding her own health, the chances are that it will be improved--at all events, it is incumbent on her to make the experiment; if her strength falls off, she may at any time retire from the effort, and engage a wet-nurse.

This _foster-parent_ should not be more than thirty years of age, nor should her milk be more than three months old. She should be in health, free from scorbutic or scrofulous taints, from cutaneous scurf, or eruptions, perfectly clean in her person, and extremely neat in her management of whatever concerns the child. She must be sober and temperate: her diet should consist of a due proportion of bread, fresh meat, and vegetables; her drink, tea, chocolate, and milk and water; but on no consideration either wine or any other spirituous liquors. These, if drank by the nurse, will prove injurious to the child.

840. _Proper Medicines for Infants._--Nature has not only provided food for infants, but likewise given to them a constitution capable of correcting those slight deviations from health, to which alone they are liable when properly nursed. This has induced many to assert that medicines are not required in the nursery: perhaps the assertion might be correct, if children were suffered to remain in a state of nature: the further they are removed from it, the evils they have to contend with bear a proportionate increase. As most of their complaints arise from a want of attention to their food, to air, and exercise, by a prompt and skilful use of medicine, these complaints may be removed; therefore, it is not the use but the abuse of medicine that should be avoided. If a child be tormented by a pin running into the flesh, no one would contend against the removal of the pin.

The diseases to which children are liable, are sore eyes, sore ears, sore head, scald head, sickness and vomiting, thrush, red gum, yellow gum, pain in the bowels, diarrhea, dentition, chilblains, rickets, worms, scrofula, catarrh, cough, measles, &c.

841. _Sore Eyes_ frequently occur on the second or third day after the birth, occasioned by too early an exposure of the child to a cold atmosphere: the eyelids swell, become closed, and discharge a purulent matter. It may be relieved by fomenting the eyelids with equal parts of lime water and elder-flower water. Dip some fine old linen cloth into this mixture, moderately warmed, and apply it to the eyelids. This is a mild astringent application: if the swellings should not be reduced by it, the following, which is more astringent, will probably succeed: Take of white vitriol, two grains; rose-water, two ounces; mix them together. Should it be necessary, the quantity of white vitriol may be increased.

842. _Sore Ears._--Excoriations of the skin frequently happen either behind the ears, in the folds of the skin, on the neck, in the groins, or wherever the folds of the skin, come in contact. Wash the skin morning and evening with cold water, make it perfectly dry with a fine linen cloth, then shake on lightly the following powder: Take white ceruse, one part; wheaten starch, in flour, three parts; mix them together. Or, take Goulard's extract, French brandy, of each, one drachm; rose-water, four ounces. Mix them together, and apply it with soft linen cloth to the excoriations of the skin.

The following liniment may be relied on: Take acetate of lead, one scruple; rose-water, half an ounce; melted beef marrow, one ounce. Rub the acetate of lead in the rose-water, until they are intimately mixed, then melt the marrow over a gentle heat; afterwards pour the mixture upon the marrow by little and little, taking care that each addition be incorporated with the marrow, so as to form an uniform mass. This may be applied with a camels'-hair pencil.

843. _Sore Head._--This complaint appears first on the forehead, in large white spots or scabs, which, if neglected, soon spread over the whole surface of the head. It is sometimes dry, at others moist, with a thin, watery discharge. It is named the crusta lactea, or milky crust. There are two methods of treating it. Nurses encourage the discharge by applying cabbage leaves, oil-cloth, &c.; this is by no means necessary; it makes the head offensive, and the appearance of the child disgusting. It is much better to cure it as soon as possible, by washing the scabs night and morning with equal parts of brandy and water; then lay on the following ointment: Take, olive oil, five drachms; white wax, two drachms; calcined zinc, one drachm. Melt the oil and wax together, then add the zinc by degrees, and keep stirring it until they are intimately mixed.

844. _Scald Head_ is totally unlike the preceding disease: brown-colored scabs appear on the crown of the head, which discharge a glutinous matter, and unite the hairs, so as to prevent their being separated with a comb: these scabs continue to spread until they occupy the whole of the scalp.

Keep the hair cut as close as possible, wash the head with a strong solution of soap in water, night and morning; as soon as it can be done, instead of cutting the hair with scissors, let it be shaved close once a day.

Every one has a remedy for this complaint; perhaps the following ointment will be found one of the most effective: Take Barbadoes tar, one ounce; the dust of the lycoperdon, or puff fungus, one drachm. Mix them well together, and rub in a part of it to the roots of the hair, after washing the head with the soap and water. By steadily persevering in these means, and giving an occasional purge, the cure will soon be accomplished.

845. _Sickness and Vomiting._--Soon after the birth, children are frequently annoyed by these symptoms: they are occasioned by the indiscreet conduct of the nurses, who are apt to give either improper food or medicine. At this early period, as before remarked, the stomach is incapable of digesting any other food than the milk of its mother; consequently, whatever is forced into it, remains there undigested, until, by a convulsive effort, it is thrown off by vomiting. So long as it remains in the stomach, the child is restless, and in other respects indisposed. It may be relieved by a tea-spoonful of castor-oil, to be repeated, until one or two motions are occasioned.

Children who are dry nursed are most subject to sickness and vomiting; the natural remedy is the breast of a healthy woman. Without this relief, gripings and diarrhea frequently come on and prove fatal.

Children so circumstanced, may be relieved by the following emetic:

Take of ipecacuanha, two drachms; boiling water, four ounces. Let them stand together until the water grows cold, then strain off the liquor. To one ounce of the liquor, add eight drops of antimonial wine. Dose, two tea-spoonfuls every half hour, until it excites vomiting.

846. _The Thrush_, or sore mouth, is a complaint very painful, and, if neglected, fatal to children. When it first comes on, it resembles small pieces of curd lying loose upon the tongue; it gradually spreads itself over the inside of the mouth, but afterwards rapidly advances to the throat, stomach, and bowels. Therefore, when the white specks appear, proper means should be instantly employed to remove them, or to suspend their progress. If the child be costive, give the following aperient:

Take of calcined magnesia, two scruples; common mint water, two ounces; mix them together. The dose, a dessert-spoonful every half hour, until it operates. Or, take of manna, one ounce; senna leaves, one drachm; common mint-water, four ounces. Boil them together, until the manna be dissolved, then strain off the liquor. Dose, two drachms every half hour, until two or more motions are occasioned.

For cleaning the mouth, take equal parts of borax and white sugar; rub them together into a fine powder. Of this put a small quantity into the child's mouth, which will be distributed to every part by the motion of its tongue. Repeat this application three or four times a day: if used early, it will keep the mouth free from white specks, and remove the complaint in a few days.

If, on the contrary, it should be neglected, and suffered to extend to the stomach and bowels, gentle emetics ought to be employed, such as the following antimonial emetic: Take of antimonial wine, forty drops; mint-water, two ounces. Mix them together. Dose, a dessert-spoonful every half hour, until it excites vomiting.

This disease rarely occurs in children, who take no other food but the milk of the mother, or foster-parent. It is so far contagious, that if a healthy child be put to the breast of a woman, who is suckling another child, having the thrush, it will contract this complaint.

847. _Red Gum_ requires no farther attention than keeping the bowels gently open, and avoiding an exposure to cold air. It is symptomatic of healthy action, and ought not to be checked.

848. _Infantile Jaundice._--The skin of new-born infants is sometimes tinged with bile, and gives the appearance of jaundice; by some it has been named the yellow gum. It seems to be occasioned by the sudden change in the circulation of the blood, immediately on the birth, by which an increased flow of blood is conveyed to the liver, and consequently an increased secretion of bile follows, which from various causes may be prevented from passing off freely into the intestines. It is attended with no danger, and is generally removed by mild purgatives.

The hare-lip, frænum linguæ, or tongue-tied, requires surgical aid.

849. _Pain in the Bowels_ may happen with or without diarrhea, and is often produced by improper food, or exposure to cold air. The symptoms are frequent fits of crying, drawing up the knees towards the bowels, which are hard and tense to the touch, accompanied either with an obstinate costiveness, or thin, watery, and frequent evacuations, slimy, sour, and of a green color. This complaint is oftentimes relieved by the following powders: Take Turkey rhubarb, in very fine powder, calcined magnesia, of each, twelve grains; compound powder of ipecacuanha, four grains. Mix them well together, and divide them into six doses: one to be given night and morning, to a child under three months; above that age, the dose should be increased.

The health and diet of the mother, or nurse, should be strictly attended to. In some cases the pain is extremely acute, and the agony of the child is known by its cries. Whenever this happens, the following mixture may be given: Take of Turkey rhubarb, in fine powder, twelve grains; magnesia, eight grains; tincture of rhubarb, one drachm; syrup of poppies, two drachms; simple mint-water, an ounce and a half. Mix them together. Dose, if within the first or second month, two tea-spoonfuls every fourth hour. The phial should be shaken before the medicine is poured out.

850. _Other remedies for the Colic in Infants._--A great variety of cordials, spices, and opiates, has been recommended, and frequently used, to relieve the pain and expel the wind. They may sometimes answer the purpose, especially in sudden fits of pain in the stomach, from cold or any other accidental cause. At all times, they should be sufficiently diluted with water, cautiously given, and seldom repeated. When the effects of these medicines go off, the pain returns; therefore it is not a desirable mode of obtaining relief. Of the cordials, Geneva, mixed with water, is the least objectionable; being impregnated with the essential oil of juniper-berries, it is an excellent and safe carminative. However, these warm medicines are by no means to be relied on for the removal of the cause of this malady, their effect being merely temporary: such as Godfrey's cordial, and other nostrums--being compounds of opium, spices, and brandy. Opium, when judiciously administered, is an invaluable remedy; the dose of it should be most accurately proportioned to the age of the patient, and urgency of the symptoms, otherwise it may become a _poison_; and, therefore, should never be given to children, unless under the direction of the most skilful in the profession. Few nurseries are without a medicine of this kind; it quiets the pain of the infant, induces sleep, and leaves the nurse to her repose. Children under this treatment become languid, pallid, incapable of exertion, and, at length, rickety.

The following anodyne mixture will generally relieve the griping pains of diarrhea:--Take of prepared chalk, and gum-arabic, each one drachm; syrup of white poppies, three drachms; Geneva, two drachms; water, four ounces. Mix them together. Dose, a dessert-spoonful after each motion.

In bowel-complaints, chalk has been objected to, as too powerful an astringent in checking diarrhea suddenly: this may be obviated by giving it only after each motion. When the bowels have been previously acted on, either by the rhubarb powders, or by the antimonial emetic, the chalk mixture is a never-failing remedy. It may be given with or without opium, according to the urgency of the symptoms.

The following medicine, by exciting a determination to the skin, effectually relieves the sufferings of the child:--Take ipecacuanha, in coarse powder, two drachms; boiling water, four ounces. When cold, strain off the liquor through a fine piece of linen cloth: then add to three ounces of this liquor--of Geneva, three drachms; syrup of white poppies, two drachms. Dose, a dessert-spoonful every fourth hour.

When this state of the bowels is followed by convulsions, the lower extremities, or the whole body, should be immersed in a warm bath. During the preparation of a bath, flannel dipped in warm water and wrung dry, may be applied to the extremities. Leeches and blisters, under skilful directions, will subdue the violence of the symptoms.

851. _Convulsions_--Are generally symptomatic, and, for the most part, in children, occasioned by the growth of their teeth: therefore, the gums should be carefully examined, to ascertain whether they arise from this cause; if so, the lancet should be immediately and freely used, to divide the gum down to the teeth. This operation is not painful, nor in the least degree hazardous, therefore ought not to be delayed.

852. _Dentition._--There is no period in infancy that requires more skill and attention, than that which passes from the first movement of the teeth in their sockets, to their subsequent advance through the gums. At the birth of the child, the teeth are lodged within the jaw-bones, and enveloped by a membrane or bag, which is distended as the teeth enlarge and press forward, frequently attended with pain, fever, diarrhea, and convulsions. These symptoms first appear towards the end of the third month, when the child is said to be breeding its teeth: they arise from the first enlargement of the teeth in their sockets, and subside as soon as they pass above the jaw. Between the sixth and ninth month, the teeth as they rise, press upon the gums, when the same train of symptoms take place. Some children suffer very little pain during this process; others suffer most severely: this depends chiefly on the nerves being more or less irritable. When the child preserves its appetite and cheerfulness, and is free from fever, no medicine can be required, except what may be necessary to obviate costiveness. This should be carefully attended to, as nothing tends more effectually to relieve or prevent the symptoms of dentition, than a free discharge from the bowels.

An increased secretion of saliva marks the first advance of the teeth, followed, in irritable habits, by diarrhea, fever, thirst, and convulsions. The use of the gum-lancet should not be neglected, whenever the symptoms are urgent. The parents frequently object to this mode of relief, conceiving it to be a painful operation. As a proof of the contrary, children that have once been relieved by it, will eagerly press their gums upon the lancet. If the tooth should not appear after the first use of the lancet, the incision may be frequently repeated.

The symptoms may be relieved by the following emetic:--Take of tartar-emetic, one grain; dissolve it in two ounces of distilled water. Dose, two tea-spoonfuls every half-hour, until it excites vomiting.

This remedy will relax the tension of the gums, and lessen the force of the fever.

If the habit of the child should be costive, the mildest purgatives should be employed, to occasion two or more motions daily--such as manna, dissolved in common mint-water; or senna-tea; or the following:--Take of senna leaves, one drachm; the yellow rind of the lemon, eight grains: boil them in two ounces of water; strain off the liquor, when cold; and give a dessert-spoonful as a dose for children three or four months old. Or, take manna and fresh-drawn oil of sweet almonds, of each, one ounce; syrup of roses, two ounces: mix them together. Dose, a dessert-spoonful.

853. _The Croup_--At its commencement has the appearance of common catarrh, but speedily assumes its peculiar character, which is marked by hoarseness, with a shrillness and ringing sound in coughing and breathing; so shrill is the noise made by the child, that it resembles the sound of air forced through a tube of brass. This inflammation, seated in the membrane which lines the windpipe, is attended with stricture, difficult respiration, cough, quick pulse, heat, and a flushed countenance.

This disease comes on suddenly, and is extremely rapid in its progress; therefore, vigorous measures must be instantly adopted. Give an emetic, then apply a blister across the throat, and keep the bowels open with laxative injections.

854. _Cure for Croup._--Dr. Fisher, of Boston, relates in a late number of the Medical _Journal_, a case in which a severe attack of croup was cured by the application of sponge, wrung out of hot water, to the throat, together with water treatment, which he describes as follows:--

"Soon after making the first application of sponges to the throat, I wrapped the child in a woolen blanket, wrung out in warm water, as a substitute for a warm bath, and gave twenty drops of the wine of antimony in a little sweetened water, which was swallowed with difficulty. I persevered in the application of the hot, moist sponges for an hour, when the child was so much relieved that I ventured to leave it.

"These applications were continued through the night, and in the morning the child was well."

It will never do to trifle with this terrible disease. The quicker the remedies are applied, the better. Instead of antimony, we would recommend small quantities of alum water, given every ten or fifteen minutes, until the child vomits.

855. _Rickets_--Are, for the most part, induced by improper food and bad nursing. Their approach is marked by a sickly, pallid countenance, cough, and difficult respiration. The bones of the legs and arms lose their firmness, and become more or less crooked; the bones of the head do not unite, and the spine becomes distorted. At its first appearance it may be successfully counteracted by a strict attention to cleanliness in every thing that concerns the child, by exercise in the open air, by cold bathing, by friction of the limbs night and morning, and by a light, nutritious diet. Before the use of the bath, the bowels should be cleared by the following aperient powder:--

Take of Rhubarb, in fine powder, six grains; calcined magnesia, three grains; common mint-water, six drachms. Mix them together.

During the use of the cold bath, either Peruvian bark or steel may be employed to strengthen the child: such as,

The precipitate of the sulphate of iron, three grains; syrup of cinnamon, a tea-spoonful. When mixed, to be taken three times a-day. Or, take of the resinous extract of bark, one drachm; the syrup of cinnamon, seven drachms. Mix them together. The dose, a tea-spoonful, three times a-day.

856. _Scrofula._--Although it has been considered as an hereditary disease, may be induced in a child, whose parents have no such taint, by a neglect of proper food, air and exercise. On the contrary, when the taint does exist in the parent, the offspring may pass through life with the enjoyment of tolerable health, by a strict attention to those means which are known to invigorate the body. Of preventives, there are none so efficacious as sea air, sea bathing, and the internal use of the sea water, in sufficient quantity to act on the bowels, and the local application of it to the glands which are enlarged. Indeed, the children of diseased parents should reside on the coast, in order to have the full benefit of these advantages. Friction should be applied generally on the surface of the body, with the hand covered with a flannel glove, night and morning. Food of easy digestion is to be preferred, such as shell-fish, game, poultry, beef or mutton. Bark and steel, as medicines, may be occasionally administered with good effect. This disease, which bids defiance to the regular physician, cannot with propriety be placed on the list of casualties, or sudden seizures.

857. _Worms._--There are three species of worms which infest the intestines: namely, the flat worm, or tænia; the long, round worm, lumbrici; the short, round worm, or ascarides. The tænia is of rare occurrence when compared with the lumbrici or ascarides, but more difficult to remove. Full doses of sulphate of iron, with occasional active doses of calomel, force them to retire. The lumbrici are destroyed by repeated doses of calomel and scammony. The ascarides, being found in the lowest portion of the intestines, are easily removed by injections of lime-water, or a solution of aloes.

Parents who would preserve their children from worms, ought to allow them plenty of exercise in the open air; to take care that their food be wholesome and sufficiently solid; and, as far as possible, to prevent their eating raw herbs, roots, or green trashy fruits. It will not be amiss to allow a child who is subject to worms, a glass of red wine after meals; as every thing that braces and strengthens the stomach, is good both for preventing and expelling these vermin. In order to prevent any mistake of what I have here said in favor of _solid_ food, it may be proper to observe, that I only made use of that word in opposition to _slops_ of every kind; not to advise parents to cram their children with meat, two or three times a-day. This should only be allowed at dinner, and in moderate quantities, or it would create, instead of preventing, worms; for there is no substance in nature which generates so many worms as the flesh of animals, when in a state of putrefaction. Meat, therefore, at the principal meal, should always be accompanied with plenty of good bread, and young, tender, and well-boiled vegetables; especially in the spring, when these are poured forth from the bosom of the earth in such profusion. They promote the end in view, by keeping the body moderately open, without the aid of artificial physic. The ripe fruits of autumn produce the same effect; and, from their cooling, antiputrescent qualities, are as wholesome as the unripe are pernicious. I also very earnestly conjure parents not to take the alarm at every imaginary symptom of worms, and directly run for drugs to the quack, or apothecary. They should first try the good effects of proper diet and regimen, and never have recourse to medicines till after unequivocal proofs of the nature of the complaint.

Honey and milk are very good for worms; so is strong salt water; likewise, powdered sage and molasses taken freely.

858. _Quinsy_--Is the common inflammatory sore throat, attended by a sense of heat and fulness in the throat, by difficult deglutition, generally preceded by shivering, with a sense of coldness. On inspection, the tonsils appear red and enlarged. These symptoms continuing to increase, the patient is threatened with suffocation, the tonsils suppurate, when, by a spontaneous bursting of the abscess, relief instantly follows. It often happens that the abscess does not give way so soon as expected, when the puncture of a lancet puts an end to the alarming sufferings of the patient. In some cases, the quantity of matter contained in the tumor is very considerable, and instances have occurred, when, from the sudden bursting of the tumor, the patient being in a horizontal position, suffocation has followed, from the matter falling into the lungs.

To guard against these evils, an emetic of ipecacuanha should be administered, and a blister applied to the neck. As soon as the effect of the emetic has ceased, and the stomach will receive it, give the following aperient mixture:--Take of tartarized kali, three drachms; infusion of senna, two ounces; tincture of senna, two drachms. Mix them together.

If blisters are objected to, a piece of fine flannel, moistened with the compound spirit of ammonia, may be placed round the neck. Gargles are to be used in every stage of this disease; at first, they should be mildly detergent, as the following:--Take of barley-water, six ounces and a half; honey of roses, one ounce; tincture of myrrh, and vinegar, of each, two drachms. Mix them together, and cleanse the mouth and throat with some of the gargle from time to time.

When the violence of the symptoms begins to subside, a sharper gargle becomes necessary; for this purpose the following is recommended:--Take of infusion of red roses, seven ounces; honey of roses, one ounce; diluted sulphuric acid, twenty drops. Mix them together.

Throughout the course of this disease, keep the bowels open with mild purgatives or laxative injections. When the swelling of the tonsils comes on rapidly, send instantly for a surgeon.

859. _Whooping Cough._--This is a violent, convulsive cough, attended at first with slight febrile symptoms. Its shortest duration is three weeks; during this time, the symptoms may be rendered milder, or more aggravated, by the mode of treatment.

During the first three or four weeks, keep the child or patient in an uniform degree of temperature; if possible, never below 64 degrees of Fahrenheit's scale. The diet should be light, chiefly bread, milk, and vegetables with butter. Rice or Indian puddings, with plenty of molasses, are good food for children in this disease. If the cough is very violent, and the phlegm hard in the throat, a gentle emetic of ipecacuanha, or some preparation of antimony, should be given every second or third morning, to clear the stomach from the mucus which, in this cough, is constantly secreted. By these means, the violence of the disease will soon be overcome; whereas, by an exposure to cold air, and neglecting all precautions, you may aggravate and continue the cough for months. In the summer, change of air is one of the best remedies; and be sure to avoid whatever has a tendency to irritate the throat, or excite the action of the heart. In this, as in every other disease, the state of the bowels should be carefully attended to. A mild aperient is sometimes necessary.

860. _Colds._--The best _preventive_ of colds, is to wash your children every day thoroughly in cold water, if they are strong enough to bear it; if not, add a little warm water, and rub the skin dry. This keeps the pores open. If they do take cold, give them a warm bath as soon as possible; if that is not convenient, bathe the feet and hands, and wash the body all over in warm water; then give a cup of warm tea, and cover the patient in bed.

861.--If a _Sore Throat_ follow, take a tumbler of molasses and water, half-and-half, when going to bed; and rub the throat with a mixture of sweet or goose-oil and spirits of turpentine; then wear flannel round it.

862. _Canker, or Sore Month._--Steep blackberry-leaves, sweeten with honey, sprinkle in a little burnt alum, and wash the mouth often with this decoction.

863. _Cutaneous Eruptions in Children._--Children, while on the breast, are seldom free from eruptions of one kind or other. These, however, are not often dangerous, and ought never to be dried up but with the greatest caution. They tend to free the bodies of infants from hurtful humors, which, if retained, might produce fatal disorders. The eruptions of children are chiefly owing to improper food and neglect of cleanliness. If a child be stuffed at all hours with food that its stomach is not able to digest, such food not being properly assimilated, instead of nourishing the body, fills it with gross humors. These must either break out in form of eruptions upon the skin, or remain in the body, and occasion fevers and other internal disorders.

Eruptions are the effect of improper food, or want of cleanliness: a proper attention to these alone will generally be sufficient to remove them. If this should not be the case, some drying medicines will be necessary. When they are applied, the body ought at the same time to be kept open, and cold is carefully to be avoided. We know no medicine that is more safe for drying up cutaneous eruptions than sulphur, provided it be prudently used. A little of the flour of sulphur may be mixed with fresh butter, oil, or hog's lard, and the parts affected frequently touched with it.

The most obstinate of all the eruptions incident to children are, the _tinea capitis_, or scabbed head, and chilblains. The scabbed head is often exceedingly difficult to cure, and sometimes, indeed, the cure proves worse than the disease. I have frequently known children seized with internal disorders, of which they died soon after their scabbed heads had been healed by the application of drying medicines. The cure ought always first to be attempted by keeping the head very clean, cutting off the hair, combing and brushing away the scabs, &c. If this is not sufficient, let the head be shaved once a-week, washed daily with yellow soap, and gently anointed with a liniment made of train-oil, eight ounces, red precipitate, in fine powder, one drachm. And if there be proud flesh, it should be touched with a bit of blue vitriol, or sprinkled with a little burnt alum. While these things are doing, the patient must be confined to a regular light diet, the body should be kept gently open, and cold, as far as possible, ought to be avoided. To prevent any bad consequences from stopping this discharge, it will be proper, especially in children of a gross habit, to make an issue in the neck or arm, which may be kept open till the patient becomes more strong, and the constitution be somewhat mended.