which
alone is said to have destroyed forty thousand children in England
between the years 1686 and 1799, is being _overlain_ by the parents. For
this reason, some physicians caution the mother against having the
infant in bed with her while she sleeps.

The frightful waste of life caused by bringing children up by hand has
been mentioned, and the importance of avoiding it when possible.

The natural feebleness of the system of infants is the reason why they
succumb so easily to any malady. Deaths from any given disease are more
numerous among infants than children, and among children than adults.
Hence the importance of timely corrective measures in infantile
affections; hence, also, the need that mothers should know and practise
the means best adapted to preserve the health of their frail charges.

These means we shall proceed to give in detail, commencing with
directions for

BRINGING UP BY HAND.

We have already alluded to the great danger to the child, particularly
in a city, that is artificially fed from birth. But as there are many
mothers who are unable, on account of the expense, to have a wet-nurse
for the child they cannot suckle themselves, we will give such
directions in regard to the diet as are best calculated to lessen the
risk invariably incurred under such circumstances.

The child's food should be of the best quality, and prepared with the
most scrupulous attention to cleanliness. The milk of the cow is
preferable to that of the ass or of the goat, the former of which it is
difficult to procure, and the latter having a disagreeable odour. For a
child under three months of age, cow's milk should be used as the only
food. It should be fresh, and if possible from one cow. When of the
ordinary richness, it is to be diluted with an equal quantity of water
or thin barley-water. If, however, the first milking can be obtained,
which is more watery, and bears a closer resemblance in its chemical
composition to human milk, but little dilution will be required. If
green and acrid stools make their appearance, accompanied by emaciation
and vomiting, the milk must be more diluted, and given less frequently.
If the symptoms of indigestion do not yield, milk containing an excess
of cream should be used. To procure it, allow fresh milk to stand for
two or three hours, and remove the upper third, to which add two or
three parts of warm water or barley-water, after having dissolved in it
a little sugar of milk