Chapter XVII: Part VII: The Change of Life (9)

'Let the baby while asleep have plenty of room in the bed. Do not allow him to be too near, or, if this be unavoidable from the small size of the bed, let his face be turned to the opposite side. Let him lie fairly, either on his side or on his back. Be careful to ascertain that his mouth be not covered with the bed-clothes. Do not smother his face with clothes, as a plentiful supply of pure air is as necessary as when he is awake. Never let him lie low in the bed. Let there be no pillow near the one his head is resting on, lest he roll to it and bury his head in it. Remember a young child has neither the strength nor the sense to get out of danger; and if he unfortunately either turn on his face or bury his head in a pillow that is near, the chances are that he will be suffocated, more especially as these accidents usually occur at night, when the mother or the nurse is fast asleep. Never entrust him at night to a young, giddy, and thoughtless servant. A foolish mother sometimes goes to sleep while allowing her child to continue sucking. The unconscious babe, after a time, loses the nipple, and buries his head in the bed-clothes. She awakes in the morning, finding, to her horror, a corpse by her side! A mother ought therefore never to go to sleep until her child has ceased sucking.'

When a couple of months have elapsed, the child, if a healthy one, may sleep alone. What the child sleeps in is not a matter of great moment, provided it has a sufficiency of clothing, and be not exposed to currents of air. A large clothes-basket will serve all the purposes of a crib. The mistake is often made of burying the child under too heavy a mass of bed-clothes in a warm room when asleep. And this inconsistency is committed by the very mothers who scantily clad the child during the day in order to inure it to the cold. The great transition from its wrappings by night to those by day is injurious to the health and comfort of the infant.

'In arranging night coverings, the soft feather-bed is very often estimated as nothing; or, in other words, the same provision of blankets is considered indispensable, whether we lie upon a hard mattress or immersed in down. The mother, looking only to the covering laid over the child, forgets those on which it lies, although in reality the latter may be the warmer of the two. An infant deposited in a downy bed has at least two-thirds of its body in contact with the feathers, and may thus be perspiring at every pore, when, from its having only a single covering thrown over it, the mother may imagine it to be enjoying the restorative influence of agreeable slumber. In hot weather much mischief might be done by an oversight of this kind.'

It is of course essential to the health and comfort of the infant that its bed and bed-clothing be kept perfectly dry and sweet. They should frequently be taken out and exposed to the air.

A child should be accustomed early to sleep in a darkened room. Plutarch praises the women of Sparta for, among other things, teaching their children not to be afraid in the dark. He says they 'were so careful and expert, that without swaddling-bands their children were all straight and well proportioned; and they brought them up not to be afraid in the dark or of being alone, and never indulged them in crying, fretfulness, and ill-humour; upon which account Spartan nurses were often bought by people of other countries.'

_Position in sleeping._--It has long been a popular opinion that the position of our bodies at night, with reference to the cardinal points of the compass, has some influence on the health. This belief has recently been corroborated by some observations made by a prominent physician, Dr. Henry Kennedy. In an essay on the 'Acute Affections of Children,' published in the Dublin _Quarterly Journal of Medical Science_, he states that for several years he has put in force in his practice a plan of treatment by means of the position of the patient, and often with very marked results. He asserts that, in order to ensure the soundest sleep, the head should lie to the north. Strange as this idea may at first sight appear, it has more in it than might be supposed. There are known to be great electrical currents always coursing in one direction around the globe. In the opinion of Dr. Kennedy there is no doubt that our nervous systems are in some mysterious way connected with this universal agent, as it may be called, electricity. He relates several cases of acute diseases in children, in which, by altering the position of the body so that the patient should lie from north to south instead of from east to west, quiet sleep was induced. This plan of invoking sleep is often successful; but not always so, for all are not equally susceptible. It applies likewise to adults. It is not so striking in its effects on the poorer as on the richer classes of society. This is what might be expected, for it cannot be doubted that the nervous system in the middle and upper ranks is always in a much more sensitive state than with their poorer brethren. It is worth noting, that even in healthy persons sleep will often be absent or of a broken kind, from the cause of which we are now speaking. It is very common to hear people saying they can never sleep in a strange bed. Although many causes may conspire to this, Dr. Kennedy cannot doubt that amongst these ought to be placed the one to which we are now drawing attention.

THE CLOTHING OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

A fertile cause of disease and death is to be found in the negligence or ignorance displayed in regard to the dress of children. And it is not the poorly attired, but nearly always the fashionably robed child, which suffers the most. To parental vanity can be traced many a catarrh on the chest or the inflammation of the bowels which has resulted in death. Most mothers appear to be ignorant of the fact that children are exceedingly susceptible to the influence of cold. The returns of the Registrar-General of England show that a very cold week always greatly increases the mortality of the very young. While adults carefully protect themselves against every change of the weather, and against currents of air, children, who most need such protection, are too often neglected.

The warmth of the infant's body is best secured by that of the nurse, and by warm clothing. It is more effectually and healthfully provided for in this manner than by confining the child to a warm atmosphere. Young children should never be dressed _décolleté_--in low necks and short sleeves. That fashion is a dangerous one which leaves the neck, shoulders, and arms uncovered. To this irrational custom may be traced a vast amount of the suffering and many of the deaths of early life; doubtless, also, in many cases it lays the foundation of consumption, which manifests itself a little later. But, it is said, the child will be 'hardened' by having its chest and limbs thus exposed. The surest and safest way to harden the child is to so care for it that it shall pass through its first months and years of life without any ailment. Every mother should see to it, that her charge is so clothed that every part of the body is effectually protected from dampness and cold. She can then best secure for it a hardened constitution by carrying it daily into the sunlight of the open air.

_The material_ of the clothing should be such as will unite lightness with warmth. Flannel and calico are therefore to be preferred. At first, as the skin of the child is very delicate, a shirt of fine linen may be interposed between it and the flannel. But, after the first few months, the gentle friction of fine soft flannel next the skin is desirable, as it stimulates the circulation of the blood on the surface of the body, and promotes health. Flannel under-clothing should be continued all the year, during the summer months a very light texture being used. When the dress of the child is shortened, care must be taken that the feet are well covered with soft stockings of cotton or woollen (which in winter should extend up above the knees), and with light leather shoes.

The _night-dress_, at least during cold weather, is best made of flannel, thin or thick according to the climate. It has been recommended that, after the child is somewhat advanced, the night-clothes be constructed in the form of night-pants, so that it may not be exposed if the bed-clothing be thrown off. Every article of dress worn during the day ought to be removed at night.

The rule in regard to the _quantity of clothing_ is, that it should be in sufficient amount to preserve due warmth. It must therefore be regulated by the season of the year and the state of the weather. We have mentioned the fatal practice of leaving bare at all seasons of the year the upper part of the chest and arms of the little one, while the rest of the body is warmly clad. We can scarcely speak too emphatically nor too often of the danger to which the mother thus exposes that life, which it is her duty to wisely and safely conduct through the period of dependent infancy and childhood. It is of course possible for the child to be too closely enveloped, and the skin thus rendered highly susceptible to the impressions of cold. The prevalent error, however, at the present time, is in the direction of too scanty clothing.

_The make of the dress_ should be loose and easy, so as to permit of the free movement of all portions of the body; it should be cut high in the neck, and with sleeves to the wrists; its construction should be simple, so that it may be quickly put off and on; and the fastenings employed should, as far as possible, be tapes, not pins. In the clothing of children the laws of hygiene, and not the code of fashion, should direct the shape and style.

THE BATHING OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

Many advantages attach to the daily use of the bath for infants. It secures cleanliness, strengthens the nervous system, and preserves from colds and coughs.

We have already endeavoured to impress upon the mind of the reader the great susceptibility to cold which exists in early life. On this account the water for the bath should be warm (96° or 98°) for the first few weeks of infancy, especially during the winter season. Gradually the temperature may be reduced to that of the apartment, never to actual coldness. It is as foolish and hazardous to attempt to 'harden' infants by plunging them into cold water, as it is by carrying them with uncovered necks, chests, and limbs into the keen and damp air. Knowledge of these facts would bring safety to many children who now suffer, because of the dangerous ignorance of mothers in regard to the susceptibility of the infant organisation.

An infant should be immersed in its tub every morning. Besides the regular morning bath, it is often advisable to put the child for a few minutes in tepid water in the evening. This will quiet the nervous system, and induce sleep. The bath should not be too long a one, for fear of exciting perspiration; nor, for the same reason, should the water be too warm. If the child be of a delicate constitution, the evening bath will be especially useful, and can be made more so by the addition of two table-spoonfuls of salt to the water necessary for the bath.

The time immediately after nursing or feeding is not proper for bathing. An hour or two after a meal should be allowed to elapse. Neither should a bath ever be given in a cold room. Even in a warm atmosphere, care should be taken, both after and during the ablution, that the wet skin of the infant be not exposed to the air. Its body should be completely immersed; it should not be held up out of the water, nor, if it be old enough, allowed to stand or sit in the tub. It is well also to have a warm blanket in which to receive the child as it comes dripping from the bath. It should be wrapped up in this for a few minutes, to absorb a part of the moisture. Then a portion of the body should be uncovered at a time, and dried before exposing the rest.

_Drying the skin._--For this purpose a piece of soft flannel will be found serviceable. By gently rubbing the surface of the body with it the skin will be warmed and stimulated, and the resulting glow will be as agreeable to the child as is that in the adult which follows the Turkish bath. The actual grooming of the human body is very useful to improve the health of scrofulous children.

At first from three to five minutes will be a sufficiently long immersion. In a little while, however, this period may be lengthened, all the precautions mentioned against injurious exposure being observed.

The lukewarm daily bath, taken either in the morning or evening, ought to be continued until at least the age of four years. If, after the fourth or fifth year, ablutions of the entire body be resorted to only every second or third day, the practice should be commenced of sponging the chest every morning with cold, or alternately with cold and hot water, followed by brisk frictions.

Soap is to be used but sparingly in the bath of young children. It must be of the blandest and purest quality. Various eruptions are caused by the employment of impure soaps, and even by the excessive application of the best kind.

In illustration of the importance of our present subject, we may state that Dr. Hufeland, to whose admirable work on the art of prolonging life we have before alluded, lays down, as one of the means which lengthen life, the care of the skin. He dwells upon the benefit of paying such attention to it from infancy that it may be kept in a lively, active, and useful condition.

The power of the bath to ward off disease in childhood is not sufficiently appreciated by parents. Properly managed, it soothes, but never increases, any internal irritation which may exist, and often does away with the necessity of resorting to the administration of drugs. If due attention were paid to the condition of the skin in early life, many of the most common ailments of childhood would be averted. The daily employment of the bath, and scrupulous attention to cleanliness of the person and clothing, would materially lessen the demand both for purgative medicines and for soothing syrups.

One word more in regard to the washing of the infant. The mother herself, if she be in health, should always perform this office, and not entrust it to the child's nurse. Plutarch awards high praise to Cato the censor, for his invariable custom of being present when his child was washed. Every mother, at least, would do well to follow the example of this old Roman. It will give her the opportunity to detect many incipient affections which would for a long while escape her attention if she saw the child only when dressed. The mother will also take pains to engage the mind of the little one, and render the bath a source of amusement to it.

After the fourth or fifth year, two or three baths a week during the colder seasons of the year will be sufficient to keep the skin clean, and properly active. During the summer, however, a daily bath is of great advantage to children, and ought not to be neglected.

Swimming is very useful and very invigorating to the health of both sexes. It is desirable that children be taught this art.

The importance of the _culture of the skin_ to the well-being of infancy and childhood cannot be brought too prominently to the notice of all mothers. We have therefore endeavoured to give some useful hints in regard both to the preservation of its cleanliness, and to the prevention, by means of garments and warming, of its exposure to too great changes of temperature.

By proper attention to the skin in the manner pointed out, many of the eruptions with which children are afflicted might be prevented. The appearance of these the mother ought to regard as a great calamity, for they are often difficult of cure, and render the child an object of disgust. She ought also to look upon them as the mischievous consequences of the neglect of those laws of health which it is her duty to learn and observe.

AIR AND VENTILATION IN CHILDHOOD.

Fresh air is necessary for the robust development of infancy and childhood. Infants born in the summer season should be carried out daily when the weather is pleasant, from the second or third day after birth. Those born in the winter should be kept in the house for two or three months before being introduced to the outer world on some sunny noonday. Older children can scarcely pass too much time in the open air.

A change in the dress must, of course, be made before exposing the child to the outdoor air. The head should be covered, and the chest and limbs well protected from the cold.

As a rule, a child ought to be carried out, or permitted, when old enough, to walk out, at least once every pleasant day during the year. The time of the day is to be varied with the season. In the winter, the middle of the day is to be chosen; in summer, the early portion of the forenoon, a few hours after sunrise.

Children show very quickly, even when in ill-health, the beneficial results of a ride or walk. It quiets the irritability to which they are liable, more effectually than any other procedure. For a delicate child, or one recovering from sickness, fresh air and sunshine are the best tonics which can be administered. A fretful, peevish child will soon learn to look forward to its daily jaunt on the street or road, and will be quieted by it for the rest of the day.

At all times of the year regard must be had to the state of the weather. The infant ought never to be taken out on a wet day. Exposure to a damp atmosphere is one of the most powerful causes of catarrh on the chest and inflammation of the lungs, to which young children are so subject. A very high wind, even though the day be bright and dry, is injurious to a young infant, as it has been known to suspend its breathing for a time, which accident might, if not at once observed, bring about a fatal result.

Besides fresh air, _light_ is an indispensable requisite to the health of children. Nothing can compensate for the absence of its beneficial effects. It is to be remembered, however, that during the first week or two the eyes of the new-born babe are not strong enough to bear the full glare of light. The first eight days of its existence should be spent in a half-darkened room. Gradually the apartment may be brightened, until finally, after about two weeks, the young eyes become entirely accustomed to the light, and may be exposed to it without injury. A neglect of this precaution is one of the most common causes of the bad inflammation of the eyes so frequently met with among young infants. After the sight has become quite strong, a bright room will strengthen the eyes, not weaken them; for light is the natural stimulant of the eye, as exercise is of the muscles, or food of the stomach.

Scrofulous diseases are the heritage of those children who are deprived of a plentiful supply of pure air and light. A distinguished writer upon the laws of health ascribes to the careful avoidance of the salutary influence of air and light by so many young girls, who are fearful of walking out while the sun is powerful, much of their sickly appearance, the loss of consistency of their bones, and their being able to afford but a deformed temple to the immortal soul.

Humboldt states that, during a five years' residence in South America, he never saw any national deformity amongst the men or women belonging to the Carif, Muyscas, Indian, Mexican, or Peruvian races. If parents in our own country were to accustom their daughters from an early age to daily exercise in the open air and sunlight, there would be fewer weak backs requiring the support of apparatus from the surgical-instrument maker, and less pallor in lips and cheeks to be remedied by iron from the shop of the apothecary.

EXERCISE IN CHILDHOOD.

The first exercise which a child obtains, is had of course in its nurse's arms. Are there any directions, then, to be noticed in regard to the _manner of carrying an infant_?--Dr. Eberle gives the following useful advice upon this subject:--'The spine and its muscles seldom acquire sufficient strength and firmness before the end of the third month to enable the child to support its body in an upright position without inconvenience or risk of injury. Until this power is manifestly acquired, the infant should not be carried or suffered to sit with its body erect, without supporting it in such a manner as to lighten the pressure made on the spine, and aid it in maintaining the upright posture of its head and trunk; therefore, at first (a few days after birth), the infant should be taken from its cradle or bed two or three times daily and laid on its back upon a pillow, and carried gently about the chamber. After the third or fourth week, the child may be carried in a reclining posture on the arms of a careful nurse, in such a manner as to afford entire support both to body and head. This may be done by reclining the infant upon the forearm, the hand embracing the upper and posterior part of the thighs, whilst its body and head are supported by resting against the breast and arm of the nurse. When held in this way, it may be gently moved from side to side, or up and down, while it is carefully carried through a well-ventilated room.'

After the child is three months old, it will probably have become strong enough to maintain itself in a sitting position. It may then be carried about in this upright posture, with the spine and head carefully supported by the nurse, which aid ought not to be withdrawn until the age of six or seven months.

'In _lifting_ young children,' as has been well observed by Dr. Barlow, 'the nurse should be very careful never to lay hold of them by the arms, as is sometimes thoughtlessly done; but always to place the hands, one on each side of the chest, immediately below the armpits. In infancy the sockets of the joints are so shallow, and the bones so feebly bound down and connected with each other, that dislocation and even fracture of the collar-bone may easily be produced by neglecting this rule. For the same reason, it is a bad custom to support a child by one or even by both arms, when he makes his first attempt to walk. The grand aim which the child has in view, is to preserve his equilibrium. If he is partially supported by one arm, the body inclines to one side, and the attitude is rendered most unfavorable to the preservation of his natural balance; and consequently, the moment the support is in the least relaxed, the child falls over and is caught up with a jerk. Even when held by both arms, the attitude is unnatural and unfavorable to the speedy attainment of the object. To assist the child, we ought to place one hand on each side of the chest in such a way as to give the slightest possible support, and to be ready instantly to give more if he lose his balance. When this plan is followed, all the attitudes and efforts of the child are in a natural direction; and success is attained not only sooner, but more gracefully, than by any ill-judged support given to one side.

'There is one very common mode of exercising infants, which we think deserves particular notice: we mean the practice of hoisting or raising them aloft in the air. This practice is of such venerable antiquity, and so universal, that it would be vain to impugn it. The pleasure, too, which most children evince under it, seems to show that it cannot be so objectionable as a cursory observer would be disposed to consider it. Still there are hazards which ought not to be overlooked. The risk of accident is one of some amount: children have slipped from the hands, and sustained serious injury. Some people are so energetic as to throw up children and catch them in descending. This rashness there can be no hesitation in reprobating; for, however confident the person may be of not missing his hold, there must ever be risks of injury from the concussion suffered in the descent, and even from the firmness of the grasp necessary for recovering and maintaining the hold. The motion of the body, too, has a direct tendency to induce vertigo; and when the liability of the infant brain to congestion and its consequences is considered, when the frequency of hydrocephalus in infants is borne in mind, an exercise which impels blood to the brain will not be regarded as wholly insignificant. There is one more objection which seems not to have attracted attention. The hold taken of the child in the act of hoisting him is by the hand grasping the chest. The fingers and thumb, placed on each side of the breast-bone, compress the ribs; and any one with the hand so placed will at once perceive that if the pressure were strong, and the resistance from the elasticity of the ribs weak, the impression on the chest resulting would correspond exactly with the deformity named chicken-breast. That any force is ever used capable of inducing speedily such a change, is in the highest degree improbable; but that reiterated pressure of this kind, however slight, would in a weakly child have power to impress and distort the chest, few, we imagine, will doubt.'

LEARNING TO WALK.

When two or three months old, the infant may be placed on a soft mattress upon the floor or on the carpet. He can then toss his limbs about without danger, and develope the powers of his muscular system.

'The best mode of teaching a child how to walk,' says Dr. Bull, 'is to let it teach itself; and this it will do readily enough. It will first learn to crawl: this exercises every muscle in the body, does not fatigue the child, throws no weight upon the bones, but imparts vigor and strength, and is thus highly useful. After a while, having the power, it will wish to do more. It will endeavor to lift itself upon its feet by the aid of a chair; and though it fail again and again in its attempts, it will still persevere until it accomplish it. By this, it learns first to raise itself from the floor; and secondly, to stand, but not without keeping hold of the object on which it has seized. Next it will balance itself without holding, and will proudly and laughingly show that it can stand alone. Fearful, however, as yet of moving its limbs without support, it will seize a chair or anything else near it, when it will dare to advance as far as the limits of its support will permit. This little adventure will be repeated day after day with increased exultation; when, after numerous trials, he will feel confident of his power to balance himself, and he will run alone. Now time is required for this gradual self-teaching, during which the muscles and bones become strengthened; and when at last called upon to sustain the weight of the body, are fully capable of doing so.'

It is not merely want of strength which prevents an infant from walking at first. The natural shape of the legs renders it impossible. The feet are turned in so that the inner sides look upwards. When placed upon its feet, therefore, the soles will not rest upon the ground. In a short time the position of the feet changes, and they become fitted for the purposes of support and locomotion. When he begins to walk, the child should have shoes with tolerably broad soles, which ought to be at least half an inch longer than the foot.

The first efforts of the little one to support and propel itself are to be carefully watched, but not unnecessarily interfered with; neither frightened by expressions of fear, nor rendered timid by too frequent warnings.

ADVANTAGES OF GAMES AND PLAYS.

The first seven years of life should be one grand holiday for all sports and amusements which will bring into play the muscles, and divert at the same time the mind. Time cannot be more usefully employed than in thus laying the foundation of health, upon which alone can rest the physical, mental, and moral well-being of after-life.

No greater mistake can be made by parents than to deprive the young of the innocent pleasures of childhood. Yet there are persons occasionally met with who think it their duty to check the natural lightness and gaiety of heart of their children for fear that they shall become too fond of pleasure. In this way great harm is done to both mind and body, and the very fault created which it is desired to avoid.

The wise parent sees in the games and plays of childhood not only necessary recreation and exercise, but a valuable means of education--of moral, mental, and physical training. He also seeks to impress early upon the young mind that play is most enjoyed when it has been earned by work, and that pleasure flies from those who continually pursue it.

The faculties of _memory_ and _attention_ can be called upon and developed by proper games in a most satisfactory manner. These exercises are all the more effective because the pleasure conceals, as it were, the mental labor, and the intellectual efforts are made, in a sense, unconsciously, though none the less efficiently.

Certain plays form a valuable means of educating the eyes and other senses. Such, for instance, are the toys which represent objects of natural history or of different trades and arts; the pictures which teach through the quick eye of the child what no dry descriptions could ever convey; and the games which develope closeness of observation and habits of order. A genial French physician has happily said, 'Every time I see a toy based on the reproduction of a scientific fact or of an industrial process, and which pleases while it enlightens, I feel a sentiment of real gratitude to him who has designed it.'

We are glad to see that each year more and more attention is being paid to the utilization, as it were, of the games of infancy. Although all education can never be made a play, all play can be made an effective education. Do not therefore, reader, restrict the games of your children, but direct them; do not render them less amusing, but seek to make them more instructive.

The schooling afforded by instructive plays should be the only schooling of the first seven years of life. Late springs produce the most abundant harvests in the mind as in the field. Precocious and delicate children especially should be kept from a too early and close application to books. By means of healthful and instructive games and sports; by visits to workshops and factories where familiar objects are made; and by a cultivation of the sense of the beautiful in nature and art, more can be done towards securing a sound mind in a sound body than by the easier and more common method of sending the child to school almost as soon as it can walk.

IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING CHILDREN HYGIENIC HABITS.

The force of habits should never be lost sight of by those having the charge of children. They constitute a power of which parents should early avail themselves. J. J. Rousseau has said, 'The only habit which one ought to permit the child, is of not contracting any.' But this is impossible and undesirable. When it is remembered that _a good habit is just as hard to break as a bad one_, the importance of seeking from the very cradle to frame good habits is evident. It is easy to create, but difficult to reform. What then are some of the principal hygienic habits which it is desirable to teach children?

First we will mention, _a liking for proper food at regular times_. The indigestion, or weakness of digestion, from which many children suffer, is in some cases hereditary or the result of feeble health. But most frequently it is the effect of bad management. The giving to the child of pastry and cakes at meals instead of simple and nutritious food, the encouragement of capriciousness of appetite instead of teaching it to like everything that is healthful, and the neglect to inculcate the habit of eating at regular hours, these are the principal causes of many cases of diarrhoea, vomitings, weak appetite, colicky pains, and indigestion among children.

The daily use of at least a sponge-bath of the entire person is an excellent habit. Cold water should be employed after the fifth or sixth year. This simple practice of a cold sponge-bath every morning, if more generally taught children, would avert many a cold and rheumatic attack in after life.

The habit of quenching the thirst with only simple drinks, milk and water, should be early and thoroughly formed. No American mother would think of giving spirits to her child, excepting under medical advice; but many permit almost from infancy the use of tea and coffee. These drinks are not only unnecessary in childhood, but to a certain extent injurious. They excite the nervous system and disorder the digestion. Before the age of puberty, neither tea nor coffee should be allowed.

ON THE TRAINING OF THE SPECIAL SENSES.

The special senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, have been called the windows of the soul, by which it observes what passes without. The most noble and intellectual of these are the sight and hearing. Neither of them receives the attention at the hands of parents and educators which it should. Indeed, the Indians who yet inhabit our western plains, have better eyes and ears than we. The reason of this is evident. The savage is obliged to make other use of his eyes than to dreamily admire the beautiful landscape, and other use of his ears than to listen to the singing of birds and the murmuring of wind and stream. These senses are the defenders of his life. He depends upon them for food, clothing, and protection against his enemies. Hence, urged by necessity, he trains them from infancy, and brings them to a perfection which astonishes us. It will be said, however, that we in our civilized life, have no need of any such acuteness of sense. True, but we cannot avoid the consciousness that our organs of sight and hearing do not afford us the service they ought, and that they commence to fail us too early. The remedy is to be sought in the training of the special senses in early life. These senses, which are the first of our faculties to form and develope, should be the first to be educated; yet, as has been well said, they are nearly the only ones which are forgotten, or at least they are the most neglected.

The education of a sense has been compared to the education of a child,--it has its physical, its intellectual, and its moral side. It is necessary to maintain the organ in a condition of health in order that it may perform its work well; this is the physical education of the sense. The mind must learn to properly elaborate the impressions thus conveyed to it, this is the intellectual education of the sense. Finally, in the service of morality and justice, these impressions ought to be turned to the advantage of the good and the beautiful, this is the moral education of the sense. The subject of the training of the special senses is therefore, when properly viewed, a serious and most important one. It might well demand more attention at our hands than we have space to give it here. We will make our remarks as concise and practical as possible commencing first with

THE TRAINING OF THE SENSE OF SIGHT.

A recent French writer on the hygiene of the sight has brought forward striking evidence in support of his statement, that in our time the sense of sight is growing markedly weaker. The number of the near-sighted is augmenting, as is also the number of those who become 'far-sighted' before old age. Cases of debility and disease of the eyes seem to be multiplying at a rate which should awaken general attention to this matter. The causes are to be found in the neglect, often the hurtful management, of the eyesight of children; in the influence of improperly regulating artificial light; and in the injury done by bad printer's ink and paper.

In the education of the child's eyesight, _acuteness_ of vision is one of the first objects to be sought for. That this is largely a matter of training is apparent from the fact that persons in certain professions can readily distinguish objects too small or too distant for ordinary eyes. Children brought up in the country or at the sea-side, have a power of vision unknown to city children, with their limited range of observation. But it is not only necessary that the eyes should be able to make out the forms of distant or small objects, but that they should be quick to detect shades of color and delicacies of outline. The child should be stimulated and encouraged to make efforts in this direction. Here, also, there is room for the skill of the intelligent toy-maker, for toys can be made very useful educators.

One of the forms of sensorial _memory_ which it is most desirable to develope is that of objects seen, that is to say, the fixing in the thoughts, to be brought up before the mind's eye when wanted, the recollection of visual impressions. This embraces the memory of forms, of dimensions, of the relations between various objects and between different parts of the same object, and of colors. When applied to places it is what is known as _local_ memory, applied to the human face, it is the memory of _physiognomy_; applied to objects, it is _graphic_ or _descriptive_ memory; applied to colors, it is _chromatic_ memory.

_Local_ memory is sometimes developed to an extraordinary degree. It is only necessary for some persons to have once traversed a locality, a street, a city, in order to preserve of it a most minute and vivid recollection. This topographical memory is enjoyed by a number of the inferior animals; the elephant, the dog, and the horse, for instance, are well-known as being capable of noticing a road taken and of returning by it, of recognising readily a place once seen, and of showing a tendency to stop of their own accord at places where they have been arrested or kept. This local memory, useful as it is to every one, is necessary to the painter who draws upon it for the elements of his artistic creations.

The faculty of recollecting faces is a peculiar one, and possessed by different persons in vastly different degrees. There are those who recognise invariably every face they have once seen, and who by a simple effort can at any time recall with the utmost distinctness the features of the absent. On the other hand, there are those so wanting in this special form of memory that they are constantly exposed to serious social inconveniences, and, for fear of failing in politeness, often salute perfect strangers. The ancient Greeks possessed to an extraordinary degree the power of seizing and retaining types of face and form; it is to this, doubtless, that they owe, to a great extent, their unapproached excellence in sculpture and painting.

_Graphic_ or _descriptive_ memory is that which photographs, as it were, upon the brain the visual impressions that objects have made upon the retina, in such a manner that the thought can reconstruct them ideally. This, in particular, is the form of memory required by designers of all kinds, and, like the other forms of visual memory, is susceptible of education. The child is first taught to copy with his pencil and produce exact _imitations_ of the objects about him. Then, little by little, he is to be taught in closing his eyes to reconstruct mentally the contours of objects, at first simple, then more complicated, and finally to penetrate into their details and give to the fictitious mental image all the relief of reality. This exercise not merely trains the child in correct observation, but quickly leads to the conquest of descriptive memory.

_Chromatic_ memory, or the memory of colors, is a form of visual memory different from those we have enumerated. It is more difficult, perhaps, and technical than the others. The attention of the child should early be directed to the colors of natural and artificial objects, and he should be encouraged to imitate them.

But it is not our intention to go further into this important subject, the education of the sense of sight. Our space will not permit it. By these few elementary remarks, we have merely wished to remind parents that they can do much towards the development of this important faculty in their children.

TO PREVENT NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS.

Near-sightedness is, as we have said, greatly increasing. In Germany, this is particularly the case, and has led there to a careful study of the subject within the last few years.

Near-sightedness, like most of the disorders of the eyesight, is to be traced to causes which act during childhood, _and which causes are all entirely preventable_. Imperfect lighting of rooms in which children study or play is one of the chief among these preventable causes. When the windows are improperly constructed or placed, or when the artificial light is faulty in school-rooms, the book is naturally brought close to the eyes in order that it may be more easily read. The consequence of this is either that near-sightedness is quickly produced, or that the eyes soon become fatigued and permanently weakened. No less injurious is the effort to read 'between the lights' or before the fire. School-books with too small type, and school-desks which are too low or too far from the seats, are the direct cause of much mischief to many young eyes. Let parents, therefore, see to it that the school-rooms to which they send their children are clearly and properly lighted, that the books which they study are printed in a bold, clear type, and that no reading or study is permitted by a flickering or a dim light, nor before a desk or table which forbids a tolerably erect position of the head and shoulders.

THE EDUCATION OF THE SENSE OF HEARING.

The education of this sense is second only in importance to that of the sight. First of all, attention should be directed to the preservation of the _health_ of the organ.

Many cases of deafness among children originate in long standing diseases of the nose and throat; others in obstinate skin affections; while not a few are caused by a want of cleanliness, which permits of the accumulation of wax in the passage of the ear.

The sensibility of the nerve which conveys impressions of sound from the ear to the brain can be greatly increased by exercise and training, when the organ is in a condition of health. It can be so highly developed that the ear will readily catch very feeble sounds.

A learned physician has recently pointed out with some force that sufficient attention is not paid to the conformation of the pavilion of the ear. Upon this conformation much of the delicacy of hearing depends. The hats which children wear, usually compress and deform the pavilion. Physiologists have shown that it ought to make an angle of about thirty degrees with the skull, in order to best collect sonorous vibrations. This angle is very much diminished by our artificial head-dresses, and to the detriment of acuteness of hearing.

Can education do much for the improvement of hearing? Everyday experience answers in the affirmative. There is an exercise which cannot be too highly commended to parents, which consists in inducing in play their children, even those very young, to detect from as far as they can faint and fading sounds. It is a game which amuses them much, and it is a pleasing sight to see the rivalry of several young children, each of whom with head bent forward, is earnestly trying to distinguish a receding sound longer than its fellows. A little ingenuity will readily devise amusing and useful plays with this object in view.

The training of the remaining special senses is of comparatively minor importance to that of those we have been considering, and need not detain us. We will only remind the reader of the wonderful adroitness and delicacy of touch possessed by the blind as an example of what this sense is capable of when educated.

HOME MANAGEMENT OF SOME COMMON DISEASES OF CHILDREN.

CROUP.

Although this disease is said to be more severe in Europe than in our own country, and more frequent in our northern than in our southern States, most American mothers, in all parts of the country, know and dread its alarming and often fatal attacks. It is a disease of childhood, but not of early infancy, being rarely met with under the first or after the tenth year of life.

Children who have once had this affection are very liable to another attack upon exposure to any of the causes which excite it. It has been noticed also that croup runs in certain families, and not unfrequently, children of a ruddy complexion and of a fleshy and apparently vigorous appearance are those most subject to it.

Among the _causes of croup_, which should be specially guarded against by mothers of croupy children, are checking of the perspiration, sudden alterations in the dress, change of climate, and even in some cases a residence at the sea-side. Croup also often follows measles, and at times is epidemic.

The unmistakable _symptoms of croup_ quickly show themselves at the outset of the disease. Sometimes a sore throat, a short, dry cough, and a slight harshness of breathing, usher in the affection; in other instances, that which first attracts attention is hoarseness in the cry or tone of the voice, attended with, or quickly followed by, feverishness, thirst, and dulness, or fretfulness; while in another class of cases the disease suddenly developes itself without any noticeable premonitory signs. In all these cases the characteristic symptoms of the disease commonly make their appearance at night. The child's sleep is disturbed by a peculiar clanging cough, which, when once heard, will ever afterwards be remembered and easily recognised. The skin becomes hot and dry, the breathing difficult, the cough more frequent, and the child is soon awakened, frightened, and struggling for breath. With flushed face and staring eyes, the little sufferer starts up, grasping the throat with the hand as if seeking to remove some encircling pressure which is choking it. Each drawing in of the breath is attended with a hissing sound, the redness of the face and neck increases, and speech becomes impossible. This attack may pass off in a few minutes, or be prolonged, with varying degrees of intensity, for an hour. Almost invariably, however, it is followed by a period of relief, in some instances so complete as to deceive the anxious relatives into the belief that the disease is over and the child safe. This false confidence is, unfortunately, generally soon rudely dissipated by a return of the attack in all its first violence.

The disease attains its height by the end of the second, or at the latest the close of the third day. The fever is now the hottest, the tongue becomes white, the face and forehead red and covered with perspiration, the lips at times purple, the veins of the neck and temples distended, the countenance distressed, and the voice whispered or suppressed. The cough is now also most frequent and noisy; its peculiar sound has been compared to that made by a fowl when caught in the hand. The thirst is great, but swallowing difficult. The child often inserts its fingers in the mouth as if trying to clutch something which closes the air passages. These symptoms may either increase to the rapid exhaustion of the patient or take a favorable turn. One of the first evidences of the latter is a change in the character of the cough, which, although it may not lessen in force or frequency, becomes lower in tone, less dry, and finally moist.

The _treatment_ should be most prompt, active, and energetic. Few diseases require, for the safety of the patient, such quick and efficient aid at the outset. Prepare at once sufficient hot water for a bath, and make a fire in the room. In the meanwhile, immerse the child's arms in some hot water, and apply cloths, wrung thoroughly dry from it, to the throat. Give the child a tea-spoonful of powdered alum in a little syrup, molasses and water, or honey. Repeat the dose in a quarter of an hour if full vomiting be not excited by the first tea-spoonful. So soon as the warm bath is ready (the water should have the temperature of 98° Fahrenheit), place the child in it, and keep up the heat of the bath by the occasional addition of hot water. Have hot towels in readiness to dry the skin completely, and a warm blanket in which to wrap the patient. See that the temperature of the room is raised to about 66° Fahrenheit, and that it does not fall below this. Moisten the air by putting a kettle of boiling water on the fire and diffusing the steam from it by means of a long roll of paper fixed to the spout.

The warm bath and the emetic will usually relieve the breathing; but no matter how complete this relief may appear to be, nor how quietly the little one may sleep, it must be carefully watched all night, so that the first return of unfavorable symptoms may be promptly treated. In all instances also, however favorably the case may progress, the patient must be confined to bed for several days, and the temperature of the room, and the moisture of the air, carefully maintained, as directed for the first treatment of the attack. If the child has had previous attacks, or if the weather be cold and inclement, it should be kept in this warm moist atmosphere for two weeks. Were these precautions known and heeded we should have to lament fewer fatal cases of croup.

Of course in this, as in all other serious diseases, skilled medical advice should be secured as quickly as possible. We have given the above directions, not only for those so situated that they cannot secure medical aid, but also for all others, in order that no valuable time may be lost in commencing the treatment, that the efforts of the physician may be intelligently seconded and carried out, and that the importance of _promptness_ at the outset, and _prolonged care_ during convalescence, maybe impressed upon every mother who consults these pages.

HEAD COLDS.

Young infants are very liable to take cold when being washed, or carried about the house into rooms and passages of different temperatures. This cold often shows itself by sneezing and "snuffles" in the nose. In a short time a discharge from the nostrils appears, the eyes become watery, and the voice sounds "through the nose." The skin is hotter than natural, and the infant cross. If the child be able to talk, it will complain of headache, some soreness in the limbs and back, and of a burning, uncomfortable feeling in the nose. These symptoms last for three or four days, when in mild ordinary cases they begin to disappear. After one or more attacks of this kind the child is very liable to a return on every slight exposure to cold.