m, and reapplied. In those cases in which the trouble seems to be not
so much an over-supply as an inability to retain the milk, the
administration of tonics addressed to the nervous system, and the local
use of astringents and of collodion around the nipples, will overcome
the difficulty; but these remedies can only be employed successfully by
the physician. And to him alone should be entrusted the use of those
medicines which directly diminish the amount of milk secreted within the
breasts. The expedients we have mentioned are the only ones which can be
safely employed by the mother herself in this annoying affection.

SCANTINESS OF MILK.

Some mothers have habitually an insufficiency of milk. They are most
numerous in large cities, and among working women whose daily
occupations require a separation from the infant. Indigestion, and the
want of a proper amount of nourishing food, cause a diminution in the
quantity of milk. So also do over-feeding and gormandizing. Age lessens
the secretion of milk, as has been already mentioned. Those who first
bear children late in life, have less milk for them than they who begin
earlier. In some cases want of milk in the breasts seems to be due to
its reabsorption. In such instances it may make its appearance at
distant parts. Thus, a case has been recorded of the coughing up of milk
following sudden arrest of the secretion, and others in which it
presented itself as an exudation in the groins.

In the treatment of a scanty formation of milk, one of the best measures
which can be resorted to is the frequent application of the child to the
breast. In addition, the flow may be increased by milking the breasts by
means of the thumb and finger, suction through a tobacco-pipe, or the
breast-pump, or by the use of another infant. Friction of the breasts,
and forcible drawing upon the nipples, will make them sore, and so
irritate them as to defeat the object in view. A change of scene, fresh
air, and outdoor exercise, attention to personal cleanliness, and the
improvement of the general health, all increase the quantity, and
produce a favourable effect upon the quality, of the milk. A sojourn at
the sea-side often promotes an abundant secretion of milk. The diet
should be regulated by the condition of the constitution. By those who
are weak and pale, a large proportion of meat is required. On the
contrary, those who are full-blooded and corpulent should restrict the
amount of their a