al observer bearing the appearance of
health. The child lived only three months, and the nurse died of a
rapid consumption shortly after. This discouraged the mother from
adopting wet-nurse suckling for the third child (a great error); and an
artificial diet of cow's milk was resorted to. The third day from
commencing this plan, flatulence, griping, purging, and vomiting came
on, one symptom quickly following the other; the child wasted, and on
the sixth day had several convulsive fits. The diet was immediately
changed for ass's milk, and in less than twelve hours the sickness and
purging ceased; the flatulence was relieved; the motions, from being
green, watery, and passed with great violence and pain, became of a
healthy consistence and colour, and the screaming ceased. The symptoms
did not return, the child thrived, very soon consuming regularly one
quart of the ass's milk daily, and is now a fine healthy girl two years
old. A fortnight since the parent was confined with a fourth child.
Cow's milk was given to it for two or three days (from the difficulty
of obtaining that of the ass), the same train of symptoms, precisely,
came on with which the third child had been affected, which again gave
way upon following up the same plan of diet--the substitution of the
ass's milk for that of the cow. The evident conclusion from this is,
that the breast-milk of a healthy woman is incomparably the most
suitable diet for the infant; but that, if she be not of a healthy
constitution, it may be destructive to the child; and that where this
cannot be obtained, and cow's milk is found to disagree, ass's milk may
sometimes be resorted to with the happiest results.[FN#8]

[FN#8] An infant will generally consume a quart, or a little more, of
ass's milk in the four and twenty hours; and as this quantity is
nearly as much as the animal will give, it is best to purchase an ass
for the express purpose. The foal must be separated from the mother,
and the forage of the latter carefully attended to, or the milk will
disagree with the child.

Sometimes the mother's breast, and every description of milk, is
rejected by the child; in which case recourse must be had to veal or
weak mutton broth, or beef tea, clear and free from fat, mixed with a
very small quantity of farinaceous food, carefully passed through a
sieve before it is poured into the sucking-bottle.

THE MODE OF ADMINISTERING IT.--There are two ways--by the spoon, and b