of long duration means serious trouble
and demands expert advice and attention. Abnormal temperature will be
more fully considered in that section of this work entitled "Common
Disorders of Infancy."

BABY BOUNCING

The common custom of bouncing or trotting baby on the knee is a
harmful one. The young and growing nervous system of the child is
decidedly injured by this constant jolting and jiggling, to say
nothing of the "spoiling" effects of this practice. There is a vast
difference between the sensitive nervous system of the infant, with
its liability to shock and disturbances, and that of the settled and
developed nervous system of an adult. The strength of the mother or
nurse is so great that the jarring not only often causes indigestion
and vomiting in the infant, but sometimes also lays the foundation for
"wrecked nerves" in later life.

The tossing of baby in the air comes in for the same condemnation.
Baby is not "our plaything," and must not be bounced and tossed about
like a rubber ball.

CARRIAGES AND GO-CARTS

The first carriage should be roomy and comfortable. The bed should be
thirty-three inches long and fourteen inches wide, and should be
twenty-eight or thirty inches from the floor. The wheels should be
rubber tired. The cover should be a good sized hood containing a dark
lining, and provided with a wind shield. This dark lining creates a
neutral shade for the eyes and protects them from the glare of the sun
and the bright skies.

The bed of the carriage should be soft and warm; and, with the size
before mentioned, there is ample room for the "tucking in" with warm
blankets, which are first spread out on the bed and then the baby
placed into the blanket, after which it is brought up and over him.

The folding go-cart and the small carrying-basket are to be used only
in an emergency. They are convenient in traveling or shopping for the
mother who has no maid or caretaker with whom to leave the baby; but
they are not satisfactory pleasure vehicles, neither should the baby
be left to sit fastened in one of these carts for any great length of
time.

The mattress of the carriage should be of hair, while needed warmth
may be secured by the use of a thick, light-weight woolen blanket,
placed under the child and brought up and around him.

A top covering for the carriage must have washing or dry cleaning
qualities. A crocheted afghan, a washable embroidered cover, or a firm
silk puff, are good