THE 
CARE AND CULTURE 
OF 
CHILDREN. 
A PRACTICAL TREATISE FOR THE USE OF PARENTS 
BY 
THOMAS S. SOZINSKEY, M.D., Ph.D, 
Hi 7 7 7 
AUTHOR OF “THE CULTURE OF BEAUTY,” ETC., ETC. 
PHILADELPHIA, PA.: 
THE STANDARD PUBLISHING CO., 
No. 1026 ARCH STREET. 
1883. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by 
D. G. BRINTON, M.D., 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
Press of WM. F. FELL & CO., 
1320-1224 SansomSt., Phila. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
PAGE 
INTRODUCTION 9-15 
PART I. 
THE CARE OF CHILDREN. 
SECTION I. 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL REMARKS ON CHILD-REARING 17-21 
CHAPTER II. 
AIR. 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Composition of the. Air ; Relations 
of Life and Health to the Air ; The Air Within and With- 
out our Homes ; Personal Emanations, and Home-Air ; 
Excremental Emanations, and Home-Air ; Dust, and Home- 
Air ; Lighting, and Home-Air ; The Fire, and Home-Air ; 
Heat, and Home-Air; Moisture, and Home-Air ; Ventila- 
tion ; Foul Air, and Disease ; Remarks on Attention to 
Home-Air 22-40 
CHAPTER III. 
DIET. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Foods ; Remarks on the Selection of 
Foods ; Remarks on Cookery ; Eating ; The Food and Diet- 
ing of Infants 41-72 
CHAPTER IV. 
CLOTHING. 
Preliminary Remarks; Properties of Clothing ; Materials Used 
for Clothing ; Colors, and Clothing ; The Use of Clothing ; 
The Style and other Features of Clothing 73-82 CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER V. 
CLEANLINESS. PAGE 
Preliminary Remarks ; Personal Cleanliness ; Remarks about 
Bathing; Rules for Bathers ; Baths and their Effects ; Clean- 
liness in Clothing 83-90 
CHAPTER VI. 
EXERCISE. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Exercise in Early Infancy ; Creeping ; 
Walking ; Playing ; Sports and Active Games ; Work 91-101 
CHAPTER VII. 
WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Nursery ; The Bedroom ; Beds and 
Bedding ; The Posture in Sleep ; On Sleeping Alone and 
with Others; Sleep in Infancy; On Putting Infants to 
Sleep ; Hours of Sleep for the Young ; Dreaming, Night- 
mare and Night-terrors 102-112 
SECTION II. 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL remarks on caring for the sick 113-118 
CHAPTER II. 
THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Mode of Life, and Disease ; Seasonal 
Changes, and Disease; Preventable Diseases; Medicines 
as Preventives of Disease ; Amulets as Preventives of Dis- 
ease ; Disease as its Own Preventive ; Inoculation; Vaccina- 
tion 119-128 
CHAPTER III. 
CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Nature of Contagion and Infection ; 
Temperature, and Contagious and Infectious Diseases; 
Nursing, and Contagious Diseases; Disinfectants, and Con- 
tagious and Infectious Diseases 129-136 
CHAPTER IV. 
THE NURSING OF THE SICK. 
Preliminary Remarks; On Discovering the Disease Present; 
The Sick Room; Mental Care in Sickness; On Giving 
Medicine and Food; On Observing the Features of Disease ; 
Bodily Temperature in Disease 137-143 CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER Y. 
THE DIET OF THE SICK. PAGE 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Use of Food in Sickness; Absti- 
nence in Sickness; Over-Feeding in Sickness; The Character 
of Food for the Sick; Dietetic Preparations for the Sick... 144-151 
CHAPTER VI. 
REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
Preliminary Remarks ; The Use of Medicine in Sickness ; Cir- 
cumstances, and the Action of Medicines; The Medicine- 
Chest.; Remedies Referred to in this Work; Weights and 
Measures 152-167 
CHAPTER VII. 
CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
Preliminary Remarks; Debility ; Anaemia ; Chlorosis ; Maras- 
mus ; Diabetes; Scrofula; Phthisis or Consumption of the 
Lungs ; Croup ; Rickets ; Caries of the Spine ; Coxalgia ; 
Dropsy; Hydrocephalus 168-186 
CHAPTER VIII. 
ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Mumps ; Hooping Cough ; Measles ; 
Scarlet Fever ; Epidemic Roseola ; Diphtheria ; Small-pox ; 
Chicken-pox; Typhoid Fever 187-210 
CHAPTER IX. 
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Thrush ; Aphthae ; Canker of the Mouth ; 
Quinsy ; Catarrh of the Stomach and Liver ; Dyspepsia ; 
Jaundice; Diarrhoea; Constipation; Cholera Infantum; 
Cholera Morbus ;• Dysentery ; Colic; Intestinal Worms 211-232 
CHAPTER X. 
DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
Preliminary Remarks; Coryza; Laryngitis; Bronchitis; Pneu- 
monia ; Pleurisy 233-244 
CHAPTER XI, 
DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSEL SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Palpitation of the Heart; Fainting or 
Syncope 245-249 
CHAPTER XII. 
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks; Convulsions; Epilepsy; Chorea; Paraly- 
sis ; Inflammation of the Brain ; Headache 250-261 CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XIII. 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN. PAGE 
Preliminary Remarks ; Inflammatory Eruptions ; Papular Erup- 
tions ; Vesicular Eruptions ; Pustular Eruptions ; Tubercu- 
lar Eruptions ; Squamous Eruptions ; Parasitic Eruptions ; 
Poison-Eruptions; Discolorations of the Skin ; Growths 
of the Skin 262-286 
CHAPTER XIV. 
MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
Bright’s Disease; Incontinence of Urine ; Choking; On Swallow- 
ing Certain Objects ; Asphyxia; Drowning; Falling of the 
Bowel; Rupture; Club-foot; Tongue-Tied; Felon; En- 
largement of Glands ; Bleeding from the Nose ; Frost-bite. 287-296 
CHAPTER XV. 
FAULTS OF DEVELOPMENT. 
Preliminary Remarks; Cyanosis; Hare-lip; Cleft-palate; Spina- 
bifida. 297-299 
CHAPTER XVI. 
RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Shock ; Contusions ; Incised Wounds ; 
Punctured Wounds; Lacerated Wounds; Poisoned Wounds; 
Burns ; Scalds ; Sprains ; Dislocations ; Fractures; Poison- 
ing 300-314 
PART II.' 
THE CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 
SECTION I. 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER I. 
THE PHYSICAL CONDITION AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
Preliminary Remarks; The Height at Different Ages; The 
Weight at Different Ages; On the Rate of Increase in 
Height and Weight and the Ratio of the Latter to the 
Fo'rmer at Different Ages ; Relations of Sex, Race and 
other Circumstances to the Height and Weight, the Rate of 
Increase of these and the Ratio of the Latter to the Former, 
at Different Ages 315-321 CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER II. 
THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. PAGE 
Preliminary Remarks; Exercise, and the Muscular System; On 
Harmony in the State of the Muscles; On Bodily Straight- 
ness ; On Systematic Exercising; Walking as a Form of 
Exercise; Sports as Forms of Exercise; Work as a Form 
of Exercise ; Calisthenic Exercises ; Gymnastic Exercises; 
On Competitive Exercising; Exercise, and the Time of Day 322-331 
CHAPTER III. 
THE SENSE OP TOUCH. 332-333 
CHAPTER IY. 
THE SENSE OF TASTE. 334-335 
CHAPTER V. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF SMELL. 
The Organ of Smell; The Sense of Smell; Nasal Discharges; 
On Objects in the Nose and their Removal 336-337 
CHAPTER VI. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF HEARING. 
The Organ of Hearing; How Hearing Takes Place ; On the 
Care of the Ear; On Objects in the Ear and their Removal; 
Inflammation of the Ear; A Chronic Discharge from the 
Ear ; Deafness 338-342 
CHAPTER VII. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF SIGHT. 
The Organ of Sight; How Seeing Takes Place; The Care of 
the Eye ; On Objects in the Eye and their Removal; In- 
flammation of the Eye ; Near-Sightedness; Far-Sighted- 
ness ; Color-blindness ; Squint; Blindness; Styes 343-351 
CHAPTER VIII. 
THE VOICE AND SPEECH. 
On the Nature of Voice and Speech ; How and When Speech is 
Acquired ; The Compass and other Features of the Voice ; 
On Musical Training; Stammering 352-356 
CHAPTER IX. 
THE HAIR. 
The Structure and Allied Features of Hair; Properties and 
Allied Features of Hair ; On the Invigoration of the Hair ; 
Remarks on the Care of the Hair 357-360 
CHAPTER X. 
THE TEETH. 
The Structure of the Teeth ; The Temporary and the Permanent 
Teeth; Dentition; On Degeneration of the Teeth ; The 
Care of the Teeth ; Toothache ; Dental Caries and Related 
Matters . 361-366 CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XI. 
THE HANDS AND FEET. PAGE 
Structural Features of the Hands; Manual Dexterity; Miscel- 
laneous Items About the Hands ; Items About the Feet 367-371 
CHAPTER XII. 
PERSONAL BEAUTY. 
Preliminary Remarks ; On the Nature of Beauty; The Basis of 
Beauty ; Special Remarks on the Culture of Beauty 372-378 
SECTION II. 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
Preliminary Remarks; Relations of Mind and Body to Each 
Other; On the Nature of Mind; The Nature of the Mind, 
and Mental Culture; The Ends of Mental Culture ; The 
Basal Principle of Mental Culture; When Mental Culture 
Should Begin; Mental Precocity; Home-Culture of the 
Mind ; Public Schools and their Work; Mental Culture in 
Private and in Public; On the Age at -which to Enter 
School; The Kindergarten Method of Education; The 
Choice of Knowledge ; Sex, and Mental Culture 379-393 
CHAPTER n. 
THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
Preliminary Remarks; Love; Reverence; Hope; Fear; Cheer- 
fulness ; Anger ; Fortitude ; Resignation ; Animal Propen- 
sities 394-412 
CHAPTER III. 
THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
Preliminary Remarks; Observation ; Reading; Reasoning ; 
Imagination or Fancy 413-429 
CHAPTER IV. 
THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Obedience ; Rewards and Punishments; 
Good and Bad Habits ; Decision of Character 430-446 
CHAPTER V. 
THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
Preliminary Remarks; The Manners; The Sexes; Poverty and 
Riches; Games and Amusements 447-458 
CHAPTER VI. 
THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
Preliminary Remarks ; Sunday Schools; Religious Societies ; 
Sundays and Week Days ; Prayer 459-469 INTRODUCTION. 
Health and strength of body and mind and length of days 
are justly esteemed as among the greatest and most desirable 
of blessings. The philosopher, John Locke, begins his ex- 
cellent book on education with these wise words: “ A sound 
mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy 
state in this world. He that has these two has little more to 
wish for ; and he that wants either of them will be but little 
the better for anything else.” To the sick and infirm life’s 
choicest charms and possibilities are almost unknown ; and 
to those who are cut off in the morning of their years, the best 
part of existence, the part which should be the richest in 
pleasure and usefulness, is denied. 
It has been established beyond doubt that it is possible for 
man to live a full century; but how few attain to this age ! 
Less than one per cent, of the deaths (in Philadelphia) are of 
persons over ninety; and less than twenty-five per cent, are cf 
persons over fifty ! But the figures of the mortality in early 
life are still more striking. One half of all the deaths are of 
persons under twenty-one; nearly forty-five per cent, are of 
persons under ten; forty per cent, are of persons under five ; 
thirty per cent, are of persons under two ; and nearly twenty- 
five per cent, are of persons under one! 
Nc w, can it be that an appallingly large number of the 
young must die ? Can it be that the terrible waste of life 
indicated by the figures which precede is entirely unprevent- 
able ? Surely not. 
Man’s personal welfare is not wholly an affair of destiny. 
That aged creation of Shakspeare’s fancy, Adam, reasoned 
9 10 
INTRODUCTION. 
correctly when, in congratulating himself on his unusual vigor, 
he attributed it to the fact that, unlike many others, in his 
earlier days he 
“ Did not with unbashful forehead woo 
The means of weakness and debility.” 
Mortality is not regarded by people of even average intelli- 
gence as beyond control; and the weekly, the monthly, or the 
yearly record of it is properly viewed in other aspects than as 
a text for moral reflections. Sickness is never present without 
a cause; and death does not necessarily occur at any fixed 
time. Knowledge can be “ set up against mortality.” Health 
and strength may be courted and won; and the approach of 
Atropos, the fabled goddess who cuts the cords of existence, 
can be resisted until life gradually and imperceptibly ebbs 
away. Mankind admits of cultivation, of fostering, to at least 
the same extent that any other animal species does; and the 
mortality statistics of a people serve to exhibit how success- 
fully the art is practiced. From healthy, strong parents one 
can look with confidence for healthy, strong children; and with 
a duo observance of the laws of health all might live until cut 
off by old age. And in speaking of the laws of health noth- 
ing very intangible is referred to; they bear mainly on the re- 
lations of life to food, air, temperature, light, exercise and rest. 
Now, if the sickliness of the bulk of children is looked at 
in connection with the rate of mortality of the whole, it must 
be painfully evident to any one that it is high time for the 
institution of an earnest, intelligent search for the cause or the 
causes of these horrible evils and the means by which they 
can be lessened, if not removed completely. By the enact 
ment and faithful administration of proper sanitary laws, 
destructive pestilential diseases such as scarlet fever and small- 
pox could be, perhaps, completely prevented. Our National, 
State, and other Governments have, indeed, put in action 
measures which doubtless do much good; but although INTRODUCTION. 
11 
I believe that important causes of the lamentable defects of 
the species which are so observable spring from peculiarities 
in the principles of our civilization which, possibly, cannot be 
removed by the arm of the law, yet there is enough reason to 
hold that the production and maintenance of a vigorous popu- 
lation might advantageously receive much more governmental 
attention than it does anywhere. One must turn back to the 
Spartan republic to find a government systematically devoted 
to this purpose. Plutarch says, in his biography of Lycurgus, 
the great lawgiver of that remarkable people, that “ he resolved 
the whole business of legislation into the bringing up of 
youth.” Our governments might do a great deal through a 
scientific plan of education, a plan which would provide for 
the unfolding of the physical as well as the mental nature. 
Among the people there is not the widespread knowledge of 
the laws of health which there might and should be. Our 
schools do not adequately furnish to the rising generation this 
kind of information. The value of personal hygiene is not 
appreciated. Many who are otherwise intelligent know noth- 
ing scarcely as to how they are constituted and have their 
being. Nevertheless, as it is observed by the great philo- 
sopher, Bacon, “The knowledge of man, although only a 
portion of knowledge in the continent of Nature, is to man 
the end of all knowledge.” 
The ignorance of parents as to the way to rear their 
cnildren so that they shall grow up healthy and strong, and 
have in them the promise of long life, is the cause of innu- 
merable premature deaths, as well as of much vice of character. 
In his work on the management of infancy, Dr. Combe 
observes that the young mother “ enters on her important 
charge with less preparation than if it were a plant or a flower 
that she undertook to manage, instead of a being in whose 
existence and happiness her whole soul is centered.” The 
statement is, as a rule, just as true to-day as when it was 12 
INTRODUCTION. 
written. The art of rearing children is not taught to any one ; 
it is left to be picked up incidentally. On this point the 
noted English philosopher, Herbert Spencer, in his admirable 
book on education, says,. “ Is it not an astonishing fact that 
though on the treatment of offspring depend their lives or 
deaths, and their moral welfare or ruin, yet not one word of 
instruction on the treatment of offspring is ever given to those 
who will hereafter be parents ? Is it not monstrous that the 
fate of a new generation should be left to the chances of un- 
reasoning custom, impulse, fancy ? ” 
Certain it is that the management of the young is largely 
accountable, for the heavy mortality which prevails among 
them. As proof of this Dr. Bull, in his book on the mater- 
nal management of children, says: “ About a century ago the 
workhouses in London presented the astounding result of 
twenty-three deaths in every twenty-four under the age of one 
year! In consequence of a Parliamentary inquiry an im- 
proved system of management was adopted, and the propor- 
tion of deaths was quickly reduced from 1600 to 450 a year. 
In these institutions alone, then, there was an annual loss of 
1150 lives, clearly traceable to ignorance and mismanage- 
ment.” I dare say every physician has seen delicate, sickly 
children become healthy and robust when put under better 
care. Strong evidence of the existence of a close connection 
between ignorance and premature deaths is found in the fact 
that the percentage of deaths during early life of first-born 
children is considerably greater than that of others. This 
circumstance is, doubtless, attributable mainly to want of 
knowledge on the part of their guardians. Assuredly, young 
wives should become acquainted with the principles of child 
management, otherwise than at the expense of life. This kind 
of wisdom is not necessarily acquired only through experience, v 
The need for reform in the mental state of the people is 
quite as pressing as in the physical. There are as many INTRODUCTION. 
13 
feeble, deformed and diseased in mind, as in body. The 
faculties of comparatively few are well and harmoniously 
developed. Let the bent of popular tastes toward frivolity, 
vanity and things which tend to do anything but ennoble, 
witness to the truth of this statement! Crowded penal institu- 
tions throughout the land speak forcibly of the awful preva- 
lence of law breaking, of crime. In the public press may be 
found almost daily accounts of depravity of all kinds, in all 
grades of society. A sincere love of truth, honesty and justice 
is far from being present in every one’s mind. 
Now, it is possible to shape the character through a process 
of training. “ As I walked the other day,” says a writer in 
Addison’s Spectator, “ in a fine garden, and observed the great 
variety of improvements in the plants and flowers, beyond 
what they otherwise would have been, I was naturally led 
into a reflection upon the advantages of education, or modern 
culture. How many good qualities in the mind are lost for 
want of the like due care in nursing and skillfully managing 
them! How many virtues are choked by the multitudes of 
weeds which are suffered to grow among them! ” Under a 
judicious system of education the mind can be moulded and 
improved to an almost unlimited degree. The principles in- 
culcated in infancy and childhood are felt for life. This has 
always been regarded as an unquestionable fact. “ Train up 
a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will 
not depart from it,” is a familiar text of Scripture. Says Plato, 
“ Those who are rightly educated generally become good men.” 
Let it not be inferred from the remarks which precede that 
I do not appreciate the power of natural or hereditary peculi- 
arities. It has still been known that bodily traits are trans- 
missible from generation to generation. All children are 
more or less like their parents in appearance and constitution. 
Now, just as true is it that mental traits are inheritable. The 
great emphasis which has been placed on this fact, of late, is 14 
INTRODUCTION. 
not unmerited. As was said long ago by an acute observer of 
human nature (Junius), “ There are some hereditary strokes 
of character by which a family can be as clearly distinguished 
as by the blackest features of the human face.” A criminal 
propensity is as liable to be inherited as a tendency to con- 
sumption of the lungs. I think, however, that it is possible 
to overrate the force of inherited or natural peculiarities. I 
agree with Plutarch, who, in some excellent remarks on the 
training of children, says, “ If any one thinks that those in 
whom nature hath not thoroughly done her part may not in 
some measure make up her defects, if they be so happy as to 
light upon good teaching, and withal apply their own industry 
toward the attainment of virtue, he is to know that he is 
very much, nay, altogether, mistaken. For as a good natural 
capacity may be impaired by slothfulness, so dull and heavy 
natural parts may be improved by instruction.” The forces 
at play within the organism are subject to those at play with- 
out it. Existence is conditional, and every change in the 
conditions is followed by a corresponding change in the state 
of being, one in the direction of an equilibrium. If a person 
endeavors to perform a large amount of heavy manual labor, 
his muscular powder will tend to grow adequate for the task. 
Stimulation of the faculties of the mind increases their force. 
On the other hand any muscle or mental faculty that is not 
put into action will soon languish. Desirable energies can, 
and should be, fostered, and undesirable ones suppressed. The 
regimen or conditions to which children are subjected are 
hourly telling on them for good or for bad. Yes; good train- 
ing is all-powerful. Through it, as already remarked, the 
forming character can be shaped almost at will. Seasonable 
advice will prevent the development of evil propensities. Like 
the majority of the wicked, Byron’s Lara had none 
“ To point in time 
The thousand paths that slope the way to crime.” INTRODUCTION. 
15 
Between the body and the mind the relation is so intimate 
that the care and culture of both should go hand in hand. 
This is one of the cardinal principles of the art of rearing 
children properly. From infancy the two sides of human 
nature should be carefully cultivated. If begun early and 
systematically practiced, good training would do much for the 
race. The precepts of it should be familiar to all parents. 
Ignorance and neglect of them are, as already pointed out, 
accountable for a large share of the frailty of constitution, the 
premature mortality, the want of usefulness in life and the 
crime which prevail. Through the hap-hazard method of 
rearing children commonly followed, parents too often pre- 
pare for their own lips a cup fuller of bitterness than the 
waters of Marah, for to them children who are defective, in 
either their physical or mental nature, are more or less of a 
curse. 
In this book I propose to give such information and advice 
as will serve to enable people to do, in a measure, their duty 
toward their offspring, from early infancy to youth, the whole 
period during which they are under parental direction and 
control. Dividing it into two parts, I will treat in the first 
of the care of children in health and in sickness, including an 
account of each of the various diseases with which most of 
them are apt, at some time, to be afflicted; and in the second, 
of the systematic culture of children, physically and mentally. 
I hope the style will be found simple and clear enough, and 
worthy of the substance of the work, which, in the nature of 
things, should be interesting to every thoughtful mind. And 
as that sensible old tutor, Roger Ascham, says of his book on 
teaching, “ I trust good and wise men will thinke well of this 
my doing; and of other that thinke otherwise I will thinke 
myselfe, they are but men to be pardoned for their follie and 
pitied for their ignorance.” I know my intentions are right; 
and may my labors be fruitful of good to my fellow men.  ]D)AYS PART I. 
THE CARE OF CHILDREN. 
SECTION I. 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL REMARKS ON CHILD-REARING. 
When in the course of events a child is born, the parents 
of it are in duty bound to see that it is cared for properly. 
Thanks to the strong instinctive love of offspring which is 
inherent in human nature, the reception which it receives is 
rarely otherwise than kind. Among the fine sentiments ex- 
pressed by the poetess, Mrs. Norton, is this one— 
“ Of all the joys that brighten suffering earth, 
What joy is welcomed like a new-born child?” 
There are, doubtless, some who, unlike the patriarchs of 
old, do not regard it as desirable to have many descendants, 
but I fondly believe that there are very few whose hearts are 
not filled with affection for their infants, and who have not 
the wish to do all they can to promote their welfare. 
Greatly, indeed, does an infant at best require all the care 
which even parental love can inspire. What a helpless crea- 
17 18 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
ture it is ! Left to itself it could live but for a few hours. It is 
utterly dependent. Yet, in it are glorious possibilities. Let it 
be intelligently and wisely attended to, and it will gradually 
develop and grow to be, in both physical and mental attributes, 
the noblest being in the world. 
It matters not what the condition of an infant at birth may 
be, if it is not judiciously cared for it will become sickly, pine, 
and soon die. On the treatment which it receives during the 
first year or two, depends, to a great extent, its future pros- 
pects. Health, strength, long life and all the qualities and 
habits which are ennobling, are established in the budding 
period of existence. Very important, then, are the responsi- 
bilities which rest upon parents. 
Now, it is exceedingly desirable that parents should, from 
the start, be firmly resolved to do all in their power for the 
good of their children. In this both father and mother should 
be united; for the one should be as much interested in their 
offspring as the other. They should assist each other in 
caring for them. But, of course, the proper duties of the 
one are in the main supplemental to those of the other. That 
great Roman, Cato the Censor, was scarcely aware of this, for 
we are told of him, by Plutarch, that when his son was born, 
u no business, however urgent, except it related to the public, 
could hinder him from being present while his wife washed 
and swaddled the infant.” Again, both should strive to be 
always of one mind. What the one approves of should be 
approved of by the other; and what the one opposes should 
be opposed by the other. If, when a child is reprimanded, 
or chastised by the one, he can turn to the other and be 
encouraged to believe that he has been improperly treated, he 
will likely become very perverse. Many are ruined in this 
way. 
It is naturally expected of parents that they will exert 
themselves to procure the means by which their children may GENERAL REMARKS ON CHILD-REARING. 
19 
be supplied with the necessaries and, at least, some of the 
comforts of life, and can receive a fair education. Fortu- 
nately, not a great many are inclined to be remiss in this 
respect. And to see fathers toiling patiently to obtain a live- 
lihood for their little ones, and mothers clinging to them 
under the most adverse circumstances, makes one feel that 
humanity is far from being void of splendid traits. 
In bringing up children a suitable home stands among the 
very important things needful. Every family should have a 
separate house, for it is hardly possible to get along properly 
“ in rooms.” But it need be neither very large nor very 
elegantly furnished. Many of nature’s noblemen have spent 
their early years in very humble cabins. It should, however, 
be such as will enable its inmates to obtain a plentiful supply 
of fresh air, and afford them shelter from cold and rain, from 
“ wind and weather.” To be sure, it is desirable that it should 
possess all the ordinary conveniences. There should be a 
children’s room, a nursery, in which they can play and do as 
they please, \fithout restraint. But I do not desire to convey 
the idea that it is wise to keep them closely confined to an 
apartment. Those who spend most of their time in confine- 
ment are pretty certain to become delicate. Many are injured 
thus, through the mistaken tender care of their parents. 
A home in the country is much better than one in a city, 
for children. It affords a better chance, not only to get fresh 
air, plenty of healthful exercise, and a knowledge of natural 
things, but to escape forming bad sentiments and habits. I 
repeat it, the country is better than the city as a place of 
residence for the young. Indeed, it is better for people of all 
ages. Goldsmith, in an essay on education, says: “I may be 
thought whimsical, but it is truth: I have found by expe- 
rience that they who have spent all their lives in cities contract 
not only an effeminacy of habit, but even of thinking.” The 
probability of surviving childhood is far less in the city than 20 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
in the country. Destructive diseases prevail to a much 
greater extent in the former. And the greater permanency of 
the country home is a feature of it worthy of consideration. 
Most people move from house to house so often in cities that, 
really, they have no home, no fixed place around which are 
gathered tender and dear memories. It is a privilege to be 
born and bred on the same spot of earth where one’s ancestors 
were. 
Unless under very peculiar circumstances, parents should, 
in the main, take care of their children themselves. Unfortu- 
nately, a tendency to hand this duty over to others is very 
prevalent. The mother who does this errs greatly. Such a 
one does not deserve well of her children. Her highest and 
holiest function in life is to minister to them. No woman 
can do anything so ennobling. As Tennyson says— 
“ The bearing and the training of a child 
Is woman’s wisdom.” 
And one who attends to her children as she should is amply 
rewarded, for they will prosper under her as under no other. 
Unless she is very unnatural in her feelings, no one can look 
after their wants with equal interest and faithfulness. The 
average nurse does not exert a very beneficial influence over 
her charge. She may be devoted enough, she may be even 
intelligent and wise enough, but she cannot have the sympathy 
of a mother. If she be uncultured, of course, the child will 
suffer mentally as well as otherwise. For, as Plutarch says, 
“Childhood is a tender thing, and easily wrought into any 
shape.” In fact, experience proves that the young tend 
greatly to become in all respects like those around them. It 
is well said by Ecclesiasticus, “A man is known by his 
children.” 
In fulfilling the great missiqn of rearing their children, parents 
require both intelligence and sound judgment. Every hour, GENERAL REMARKS ON CHILD-REARING. 
21 
almost, they will have occasion to put in play all the wisdom 
they can possess. There can be no set rules for them to 
follow day after day. The food, clothing, and, in short, the 
whole mode of life, must be regulated by them largely 
according to circumstances. Hence they should try to inform 
themselves fully for the discharge of the duties of their high 
office. The principal object of this work is to furnish them 
such knowledge as they will be most apt to require. I would 
say, then, as is said in the Book of Wisdom, “ Receive, there- 
fore, instruction by my words, and it shall be profitable to 
you.” 22 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
CHAPTER II. 
AIR. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Composition of the Air—Rela- 
tions of Life and Health to the Air—The Air Within and 
Without our Homes—Personal Emanations, and Home-Air 
—Excremental Emanations, and Home-Air—Dust, and 
Home-Air—Lighting, and Home-Air—The Fire, and Home- 
Ah—Heat, and Home-Ah—Moisture, and Home-Ah— 
Ventilation—Foul Air, and Diseases—Remarks on Atten- 
tion to Home-Air. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The relations which the state of the air or atmosphere bear 
to life and health should be well understood by parents, both 
on their own account and that of their children; yet I am 
constrained to say that it is a subject about which the 
majority of people know very little. It is of the evil 
consequences of breathing impure air that it is especially 
important to be informed. In treating of it I will endeavor 
not only to make manifest its vital bearings, but to point out 
how to keep the air of our homes healthful. To a brief but 
comprehensive, and I hope clear consideration of the theme, 
I invite the careful attention of my readers. 
THE COMPOSITION OP THE AIK. 
The air is a material thing; it has weight and other 
properties common to all substances. It is an error to speak 
of the space around us as empty. We are immersed, as it 
were, in an aerial ocean, which is about fifty miles in depth, 
and which presses on the earth as heavily as would a stratum of Ain. 
23 
mercury thirty inches in thickness, or nearly fifteen pounds 
to the square inch. A room ten feet square contains from 
seventy-five to eighty pounds of air. 
Nor is the air a simple elementary agent; it is a com- 
plicate mixture. Chemical analyses of it show that it always 
contains nitrogen, oxygen, carbonic acid and aqueous or 
watery vapor. The relative amount of each of the three 
ingredients first named does not vary greatly; but the reverse 
is true of the fourth. The temperature has much to do with 
the amount of watery vapor which the air is capable of 
retaining. Thus at eighty degrees it is possible for four 
times as much of it to be present as at thirty-two; or in 
other words, saturated air at eighty contains about ten and 
eight-tenths grains to the cubic foot, and at thirty-two about 
two and three-tenths grains. This fact should be carefully 
borne in mind. 
There is really an atmosphere of nitrogen, of oxygen, of 
carbonic acid, and of aqueous vapor. According to a law 
pointed out by the English philosopher, Dalton, toward the 
end of the last century, all gases and vapors are self- 
supporting, and when mixed become uniformly diffused. 
Were the constituents of the air not inclined to diffuse readily 
life would be very insecure, as will be shown later. 
Of dry air, there are to every seventy-nine parts of nitrogen 
nearly twenty-one of oxygen, and about one-thirtieth of a 
part of carbonic acid. By weight there are about four parts 
of nitrogen to one of oxygen. 
Nitrogen is a gas without color, odor, or taste; but 
though inert generally it is an important element of tissues 
of the higher class. It was discovered by Dr. Rutherford, of 
England, in 1722, and found to be a constituent of the air 
by Lavoisier, the great French chemist, in 1755. 
Oxygen -is a gas without color, odor, or taste. It is in- 
flammable, or rather a supporter of combustion, and has a strong 24 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
affinity for nearly all the chemical elements, with which it 
forms innumerable compounds. It plays a vital part in the 
whole economy of nature. Hr. Priestly, a celebrated English 
philosopher, who passed sometime in this country, discovered 
it in 1774. 
Carbonic acid is a gas without color, odor, or taste, and 
does not burn or support combustion, it being the chief 
product of such action. It was discovered by Dr. Black, a 
great Scottish investigator, about 1752. 
Aqueous vapor or steam is so familiar to every one that 
no description of it is necessary. 
Among the casual constituents of the air are: ozone, an 
active form of oxygen and an excellent disinfectant; car- 
bonic oxide, an inflammable gas which is produced in com- 
bustion when the supply of air is scanty; marsh gas, the 
chief constituent of illuminating gas; sulpiiureted hy- 
drogen, a bad-smelling gas which arises from decaying organ- 
ic matter; ammonia, a gas which arises from decaying 
organic matter; DUST of various kinds; and electricity. 
RELATIONS OP LIFE AND HEALTH TO THE AIK. 
The relations of life and health to the air are intimate in 
the highest degree. Put a man or any animal in a vessel 
from which the air has been exhausted, and death will result 
almost instantaneously. Between the functions of the animal 
economy and the air there is a sort of antagonism; a full ap- 
preciation of which fact led Bichat, a celebrated French physi- 
ologist, in the early part of this century, to define life as “the 
sum of the functions which resist death.” This definition of 
it is not unlike that of Herbert Spencer, namely: “ The con- 
tinuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations; 
or, the maintenance of a correspondence between the forces to 
which an organism is subject and the forces which it resists.” 
Experiment shows that oxygen is the only constituent of AIR. 
25 
the air which is absolutely necessary to support life. Passing 
into the cells of the lungs, this subtle gas penetrates into the 
blood, and uniting chemically with carbonaceous and other 
matter present, thus not only purifies that precious fluid but 
keeps up the heat of the body. About one-fifth of the 
oxygen contained in the air which is inhaled is removed. A 
person inhales about three hundred and fifty cubic feet of air 
every twenty-four hours. Breathing air deficient in oxygen 
will induce drowsiness, torpidity and death. 
Nitrogen serves only as a diluent in the air, and the pres- 
ence of carbonic acid is positively injurious. The last named 
gas is a product of the nutritive changes going on within the 
system, and passes out of the lungs with the breath. About 
fifteen cubic feet of it are exhaled by a person every twenty-four 
hours. Exercise, liberal eating and other circumstances increase 
the amount of it cast off. Some comes away by the skin. Air 
heavily loaded with it will not support life—a fact too often 
proved by persons dropping accidentally into vessels contain- 
ing it. The presence of twenty-five per cent, of it would be 
fatal quickly, and five per cent, of it is dangerous to human 
life. More than from four to six parts of it to the thousand 
is decidedly inj urious. On going into a room where eight parts 
or so of it to the thousand are present, a disagreeable full feeling 
about the head is experienced, the whole system grows languid, 
and the mind becomes inactive. Similar effects arise from 
breathing air containing carbonic oxide in far less amount. 
The relative humidity of the air or its degree of moist- 
ness—complete saturation being represented by 100—has an 
influence on at least the bodily heat, and through it on all the 
vital processes. The average daily amount of vapor which 
arises from a person is about a quart. The lower the relative 
humidity is the more actively does the moisture tend to 
exhale from the body,from the skin and lungs; and as the 
evaporation of water is attended with the loss of much heat, 26 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
it follows that living in such air tends to depress vital action. 
This tendency of such air, however, arouses antagonistic 
activities in the system. Dry, warm air is very debilitating, 
and very moist air, either cold or warm, but especially the 
latter, is depressing. Air of a relative humidity of about 
seventy is, as a rule, the best for health. Expired air is always 
of a temperature of about ninety-five degrees, and of a relative 
humidity of over ninety, no matter what its character was 
when inhaled. 
The more nearly normal the air is in composition the more 
healthful is it likely to be. 
The degree of temperatuee of the air has an import- 
ant bearing on its healthfulness. The difference in the 
death-rate at different periods of the year is largely due to dif- 
ferences in the temperature. Considerably over a third more 
deaths occur in July than in November. Either extreme and 
sudden variations are trying to the system. The latter are 
accountable for most cases of inflammatory diseases of the 
chest and others. Very old persons suffer most from cold, 
very young persons from heat. Thus, of the deaths of chil- 
dren under two years of age, in Philadelphia, there are over 
three times as many in July as in October or November ; and 
of the deaths of persons over eighty years, over a third more 
occur in March than in July. 
THE AIK WITHIN AND WITHOUT OUR HOMES. 
I need scarcely say that if the air of our homes is different 
from the air in general, the difference must be due to local 
causes. Of course, the surrounding air may be contaminated 
by exhalations of various kinds, and be very unhealthful. 
No house that is situated where the air is bad can be health- 
ful. If there is foul air all around it there will be foul air 
within it. It is clear, then, that the site of a home is a 
matter of great importance, so far as health is concerned. I AIE. 
27 
cannot dwell at length on this matter, but I may say that the 
best location for a dwelling is on a dry hillside, looking 
toward' the south. But after all, the healthfulness or 
unhealthfulness of the air of dwellings is very largely within 
our control. 
PERSONAL EMANATIONS, AND HOME-AIR. 
Assuming that the site, the drainage and the general con- 
struction of our homes are good, the first source of vitiation 
of the air within them which I will notice is our own pres- 
ence. 
From the skin and lungs there emanate constantly various 
agents, more or less volatile, most of which are prejudicial to 
health. Solid particles of the skin are being shed always. 
From the lungs, with every breath, there issue carbonic acid 
and organic matter. Air containing from three hundredths 
to four hundredths per cent, of carbonic acid when inhaled, 
contains when expired from four to five per cent. If the air 
of an inhabited room contains over seven parts of the gas to 
a thousand, the accompanying organic matter is perceptible to 
the sense of smell. A bottle of expired air, on standing, 
soon proves by its odor that it contains more than pure air 
and carbonic acid. In persons suffering from typhoid fever 
and other febrile diseases, the amount of organic matter 
given off by the breath is very considerable. 
Now, it is evident that if one is shut up in a small, close 
apartment, the air soon becomes loaded with carbonic acid 
and organic matter; and not only this, but the proportion of 
oxygen in it becomes reduced. A lighted candle placed in a 
large, air-tight glass globe soon goes out, in consequence of the 
exhaustion of the oxygen present. In an air-tight room six 
feet square a person could not live many hours. From the 
data given in this chapter my readers can calculate the time, 
or very close on it. 28 
CHILDREN in health. 
In Hufeland’s well-known work, “ The Art of Prolong- 
ing Life/’ it is said, “ The breath of a man is deadly for his 
fellow-creatures.” This statement is, perhaps, over-emphatic, 
but beyond all doubt a vast deal of injury results from 
breathing air which has been already breathed. There 
is reason to believe that this is one of the leading causes 
of consumption of the lungs. It is the animal matter 
present which is particularly injurious; a very minute 
quantity of it is prejudicial to health. It is a wise remark of 
Benjamin Franklin, that there is “ scarcely any air abroad so 
unwholesome as air in a close room often breathed.” 
It is, of course, impossible to prevent the contamination of 
the air around us by the skin and lungs; but by keeping 
ourselves clean and in a good state of health it can be 
curtailed. 
EXCREMENTAL EMANATIONS, AND HOME-AIR. 
The worst personal source of the contamination of the air 
of homes is connected with the methods of disposal of excre- 
mental matter. In the country it may generally be deposited, 
by all but young children, at a safe distance from the house ; 
but in cities this cannot be done, as a rule. 
The cesspool or privy-well is unobjectionable in the 
country, if it be located some distance from the house, and 
where the water supply is unaffected by it; but in a compact 
town or city, it is a dangerous nuisance. With one to every 
house they may be numerous enough to contaminate, by infil- 
tration, the entire ground, as well as by exhalation, the air. To 
be sure, it is possible to case a well so that leakage is impos- 
ble; but even good casing is not apt to be retentive of 
liquids long. 
The earth-closet and allied arrangements should not be 
thought of for general every-day use. Like disinfectants, they 
may serve a useful purpose occasionally, but on the whole it AIR. 
29 
would be just as well if they were unknown. Anything in a 
house which is liable to be made dangerous by a little neglect 
should be done without, if possible. 
The water-closet is the most popular device now in use 
in towns and cities, with sewers, and in which the houses are 
supplied with water, for disposing of excremental matter. 
The matter is washed into the sewers, and by them carried 
away. But it being necessary to have a large pipe to run 
from the water-closet to the sewer, gases and the like may 
pass up through it into the house. This can be prevented. 
What is called a trap, a peculiar bend or contrivance in which 
water lodges till forced out by more from above, is placed in 
the pipe. Should the trap be very shallow and there be much 
foul gases pent up in the sewer, it will not serve the purpose; 
gases will find their way into the house. But even though gases 
do not pass the trap, any matter which may be temporarily 
in the latter will give rise to foul emanations. A water-trap 
formed by a tilting bottom attached to the basin of the seat 
will, in a measure, prevent this from happening. This trap, 
however, cannot be of great use, because as soon as it is opened 
the water which flows down the pipe displaces the gases 
contained therein, which escape into the room. By means of 
these traps and the use of an abundance of water, I believe it 
is possible to prevent gases from escaping into the house, save 
in small amount. The soil pipe may advantageously be con- 
tinued up to the roof, for the purpose of ventilation, and prefer- 
ably should open where the air the kitchen chimney will 
create a draft in it. Such an arrangement should invariably 
be present, as it lessens greatly the amount of emanations 
which are liable to pass into the house. 
No man should sleep easy until he is sure that in the water- 
closet he is not harboring a nuisance in his home, that through 
it the air he breathes is not transformed into what might be 
called, in the words of Hamlet, “ a foul and pestilent con- 30 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
gregation of vapors.” And it is well not to rely implicitly on 
the statement of the average plumber that all is right. The 
writer is familiar with a fine, new house, which was com- 
mended as a model in its sanitary arrangements, in which the 
air is contaminated, especially in cold weather, in this way: 
the waste pipe from the bath tub is without a trap, and as it 
joins the soil pipe, more or less foul air escapes by it, in spite 
of the fact that there is a ventilating pipe running to the 
roof. The remedy here is obvious. 
Now, as it is nearly impossible to entirely prevent foul 
gases and other exhalations from escaping from the water-closet, 
its location in a house should receive attention. One would 
naturally expect it to be so placed that any emanations from 
it could not be readily diffused throughout the house. The 
modern architect, in the fullness of his wisdom, is apt to put 
it in the very centre of the dwelling. He looks to comfort 
and convenience; and it is right for him to do so; but it 
should not be done at the cost of conditions necessary to 
health. 
Many aches and pains may be traced to defective water- 
closets ; and to them may be attributed much of the mortality 
from typhoid fever, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and many other 
diseases. 
I may state here that any of the pipes which carry the waste 
water from the different parts of a house to the sewer may 
give passage to emanations from the latter. With proper 
traps this need not happen * 
DUST, AND HOME-AIB. 
The presence of matter which is liable to be diffused in the 
form of dust, or to undergo decomposition, is a great source of 
contamination of the air of homes. Some houses are never 
free from dust and odors, especially about the kitchen and 
cellar. Such homes cannot be healthful. AIR. 
31 
Every dwelling should be swept and dusted clean frequently, 
from top to bottom. Not a particle of matter which is liable to 
float in the air, or what is worse, undergo putrefactive change, 
should be tolerated in any human habitation. Smoking 
tobacco should be forbidden, for breathing the smoke is 
injurious to health, and tolerating it is pandering to vice. 
In using carpets, wTall paper, curtains and upholstered 
furniture, we are favoring comfort or something else, at the 
expense of health. Wherever something easily kept clean, 
such as oilcloth or matting, can take the place of carpets, it 
should be preferred ; and for the walls, wood paper, paint, or 
whitewash should be chosen before paper, which is for the 
most part very retentive of dirt. Some paper, especially that 
of a green color, gives olf arsenical dust. Curtains and 
drapery of all kinds might be largely dispensed with, and 
unupholstered furniture, both handsome and comfortable, can 
be readily procured. Everything in a house which catches 
and holds dust of any kind, or is hard to keep clean, is preju- 
dicial in its influence on health. 
LIGHTING, AND HOME-AIR. 
In lighting our homes the air within them is vitiated. A 
candle, or coal oil, or illuminating gas, in burning consumes 
a great deal of oxygen, and throws oif as the product of 
flame a great deal of gas, principally carbonic acid. One 
cubic foot of gas in burning uses up the oxygen of eight 
cubic feet of air, and is transformed into about two cubic 
feet of carbonic acid. I may remark that in combustion 
nothing is lost; the process is simply a chemical change, 
attended with more or less light and heat. This doctrine is 
far from being as new as many suppose; it was proclaimed 
long ago. Thus, in his work on “Life and Death,” Bacon 
says, “ There is in nature no annihilating or reducing to 
nothing; therefore, that which is consumed is either resolved 32 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
into air or turned into some body adjacent.” The oil, or 
whatever is burned for the production of light, merely 
changes its state and passes into the air of the room. These 
facts should be carefully weighed by all. 
An arrangement by which the products of combustion 
would be carried out into the open air might be attached to 
chandeliers and lamps, but there is little reason to hope that 
this will ever be generally done. 
So far as health is concerned, the domestic use of elec- 
tricity for illuminating purposes would be an inestimable 
boon. Any one who shall devise a method of using it 
conveniently and economically for such purposes shall deserve 
the plaudits of all sanitarians, of everybody, in fact. The 
light furnished by it through a piece of carbon or of 
platinum is attended with scarcely any chemical action—it 
takes nothing from the air and gives nothing save a little heat. 
In this connection it is proper to say that plenty of sun- 
light should be allowed to pass into every part of a dwelling 
every day; for it has a purifying influence on the air. In 
her excellent work on “ Nursing,” Miss Florence Nightingale 
says, “ Who has not had occasion to observe the purifying 
action of light, and especially that of direct rays of the sun, 
upon the air of a chamber ? Enter a room where blinds are 
always kept closed, and although it may be uninhabited, 
although the air may not have been tainted by respiration, 
you are struck with the disagreeable odor of mould which it 
exhales.” Any room which is kept dark constantly is not 
healthful. It is only during the hot days of midsummer 
that one is at all justified in excluding the light. And in all 
hygienically constructed houses every room can receive some 
sunshine daily. 
THE FIRE, AND HOME-AIR. 
The fire is a fertile source of vitiation of the air of homes. 
This subject deserves very careful study. AIR. 
33 
Now, speaking as a sanitarian, I must say that an entirely 
unobjectionable apparatus for the consumption of fuel I 
have never seen; and it is not often that a person is met 
with who understands how to properly manage even an 
ordinary stove. 
The open fire-place is a good arrangement for supply- 
ing artificial heat. The chief objection to it is the excessive 
drafts which it tends to produce. The small amount of heat 
afforded by it in proportion to the fuel consumed is a serious 
obstacle in the way of its coming into popular favor in places 
where coal is used. It is a powerful ventilator. 
The great objection to a stove is, that more or less of the 
products of combustion pass from it into the apartment. No 
difference how well it is constructed, some gas will escape 
from it, through crevices about the doors and flue, and even 
through the iron. The upper door of a heating-stove should 
be kept shut, save when it is necessary to put in a fresh sup- 
ply of coal; for if it is open the chances are great that gases 
will escape by it. If the fire burns too fast, less air should 
be allowed to enter at the bottom door. If a stove is properly 
designed, and all its parts fit closely, it is possible to limit to 
any degree the amount of air which enters it. A damper in 
the flue is of use in regulating the draft, but it requires good 
sense to operate it properly. Through it gases are often 
forced out of the stove. I have found that an arrangement 
by which air can be allowed to enter the flue direct from the 
room makes a good damper. A small pipe, an inch or so in 
length, with a close-fitting register in it, carefully joined to an 
opening in the lower side of the flue, some distance from the 
body of the stove, enables one to control the draft at pleasure. 
The little register in the upper door of some stoves, by which 
the burning of the fire can be regulated, acts on much the 
same principle, but it is not only more apt to give exit to 
gases, but is more wasteful of heat. 34 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
A stove made of wrought iron, being far less pervious to 
gas, is preferable to one of cast iron. 
From there being more crevices about the cooking-stove 
and the range than the heating-stove, more gases will escape 
from them than from the latter. As a rule, these mechanisms 
consist of far too many pieces and are too loosely put together. 
In managing them the lid or lids should not be kept off. 
Yet this is often done; and a very irrational and injurious 
practice it is. The average individual does not seem to be 
aware that any gas of any kind can escape from a fire, except 
when fresh coal is present. 
A furnace or hot-air heating apparatus being similar in 
principle to a heating-stove, nothing more need be said of it 
than that it is a cleaner method of heating. Of course, the 
utmost care should be taken to see that none of the gases 
produced in combustion enter the air-pipes. 
HEAT, AND HOME-AIR. 
A fire produces changes in the character of the air of a 
room, through the heat afforded by it. The heating effects 
of it are desired in the colder half of the year, in most places. 
Now, to properly regulate the state of the air, as regards 
heat, of a house, in cold weather, is a difficult matter. By the 
use of fuel it is easy enough to furnish plenty of heat; but 
constant attention is required to keep the temperature at or 
near the same degree. If the air is very warm at one period 
of the day and very cold at another, the effect on health is 
bad; it would be better if it were cold all the time. Dr. 
Armstrong, in his poem, “ The Art of Preserving Health,” 
well says— 
“ Dry be your house, but airy more than warm, 
Else every breath of ruder wind will strike 
Your tender body through with rapid pains; 
Fierce coughs will seize you, hoarseness bind your voice, 
Or moist gravedo load your aching brows.” AIR. 
35 
Passing from where the air is highly heated to where it is 
cold is dangerous to any one, but especially to feeble persons 
of all ages, and is the exciting cause of many deaths. On the 
other hand, passing from a very cold atmosphere into a very 
warm one is just as dangerous. Turning from a room at 
eighty degrees, or so, into the open air at zero, or even at 
thirty-two or the freezing point, cannot but profoundly dis- 
turb the various functions of the body ; and so of the contrary 
course. Living constantly in warm air is very debilitating. 
Multitudes become weak, pine, sicken and die, from this 
cause. To crave an artificial temperature of eighty or eighty- 
five is to crave suffering and a premature grave. The highest 
authorities on the subject in England declare that sixty degrees 
is the most healthful temperature. In our climate five degrees 
more might be allowed. At Philadelphia the average tem- 
perature of September, the month in which the fewest deaths 
of all beyond childhood occur, is almost precisely sixty-five. 
I may here observe that the sensation of heat or of cold is 
relative to a high degree. The late Dr. Edward Smith, a phi- 
losophical physician of England, writes: “ The sensation of 
air at fifty-six degrees in winter is that of warmth, and equal 
to that of sixty-five or seventy degrees in summer. The great- 
est sensation of cold that we ever experienced was in the 
morning at five o’clock, with the thermometer at fifty-six 
degrees, in Texas, where we were accustomed to ride under a 
sun heat of one hundred and fifty degrees during the day.” 
MOISTURE, AND HOME-AIR. 
In heating the air of a house we change its degree of 
humidity. Here the danger lies in making it too dry. As 
already stated, the capacity of the air for moisture increases 
with the temperature. Hot, dry air licks up moisture very 
fast. Any one can readily verify this statement by placing a 
plate of water where the heated air from a furnace will strike 36 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
it; and one’s head, similarly placed, will dry just as fast. In 
such air it is hard to keep warm, because the process of evapo- 
ration is attended with the abstraction of a great deal of heat 
from the body. At some distance from the stove or the hot- 
air register the degree of dryness of the air is much lower, on 
account of the temperature being lower. 
If the temperature of the room is not kept above sixty-five 
degrees the degree of humidity may not be too low, except 
close to the stove, or register, and in very cold weather; but 
when it is kept at seventy and over, there should always be 
an arrangement for supplying moisture. A plate, or some- 
thing similar, placed on the stove, or heater, from which the 
water evaporates that is regularly placed therein, answers in 
a manner. Attaching a porous vessel to the register of each 
room in a house heated by means of hot-air from a furnace is a 
method practiced to some extent, and there is some merit in it. 
In supplying moisture by either of these methods one is 
liable to have the air too moist in the colder parts of the room. 
The right way to do is to furnish sufficient moisture to keep 
the humidity of the air at a proper point at some distance from 
where the heat is supplied to the room. 
At Philadelphia the mean relative humidity in September 
is about sixty-eight. 
Breathing dry, heated air debilitates and induces nervous- 
ness and irritability. People in general derive more injury 
from very dry than from very moist air. If breathing moist 
air were as injurious as some would lead us to hold, the people 
of an insular country, like England, should furnish an apt 
illustration ; but the English live quite as long as any Conti- 
nental people, and are relatively strong and healthy. The 
Constable of France says of Shakspeare’s countrymen— 
“ Where have they this mettle? 
Is not their climate foggy, raw and dull? 
On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale, 
Killing their fruit with frowns ?” AIR. 
37 
VENTILATION. 
I have spoken of the chief sources of vitiation of the air 
of homes, and pointed out the influence of each. It is very 
unfortunate that it is impossible to entirely prevent vitiation 
from going on constantly. The only remedy for unprevent- 
able vitiation is ventilation. 
By ventilation is meant the replacing of objectionable by 
unobjectionable air in a house, or apartment. Very little 
provision is made for this operation in our dwellings, or 
indeed in many buildings; it is allowed to occur incidentally, 
as it may. Were it not that the diffusive tendency of gases 
is very strong many people would soon kill themselves. It 
is scarcely possible to find an air-tight room, and consequently 
one without ventilation is just as rare. The bad air within 
tends to find its way out, and the pure air without tends to 
find its way in. Contrary to popular belief, the air of any 
apartment is nearly alike in composition throughout. Some 
think that as carbonic acid is heavier than oxygen or nitrogen, 
it should, in a room, be found almost exclusively near the 
floor. 
The warmer air is the greater is its tendency to rise. Now, 
warm air can be gotten rid of faster by lowering the sash of 
a window from the top than by raising the sash at the bottom; 
but the operation is expedited by having an opening at the 
bottom as well as the top, one by which the hot air can go 
out and one by which the cold air can come in freely. 
If the air in a room is colder than it is outside—which is 
sometimes the case—it will tend to go out faster by an open- 
ing near the floor than by one near the ceiling. 
If a room is provided with two openings for ventilation, 
one should be near the ceiling and the other near the floor 
on the opposite side. A very small opening is sufficient to 
let a great deal of air pass. 
In ventilating there should be no perceptible drafts; for 38 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
these are injurious to health. Every room of a house, how- 
ever, should be thoroughly aired for a while every day. 
If the system of ventilation is perfect, it is very little 
difference how much space there is to each inhabitant of a 
room. A well ventilated small room is much more healthful 
than a badly ventilated large one. But as the ventilation is 
rarely very good, it is well to have plenty of space, not less 
than four hundred cubic feet, to each individual in a bed- 
room, or any one closely occupied. In hospitals, schools, and 
other public buildings, from five hundred to one thousand 
feet should be allowed. In many institutions the allowance 
is very small; in many schools it is less than one hundred feet. 
As there should be supplied to each occupant of a room not 
less, and preferably more, than two thousand cubic feet of 
pure air per hour, it is evident that the ventilation should 
never be neglected. Of course, if there is gas burning in the 
room, the amount of pure air required by each is proportion- 
ately greater. 
It has been declared that in large cities fifty per cent, 
of the deaths are caused by foul air; but this estimate is, 
doubtless, too high. At any rate, there is sufficient reason for 
dreading its presence. Drinking impure water is bad, but 
breathing impure air is worse. Breathing is a continuous 
operation; so, however slightly the air is tainted, it may 
surely be expected that the system will suffer. Let every one, 
then, beware constantly lest, as Cowper says— 
“With his breath he draws 
A plague into his blood.” 
FOUL AIR, AND DISEASES. 
It is not alone in itself that foul air is destructive to life; 
for it is the chief cause of the prevalence of many diseases. 
This latter point is of great importance, and will be referred 
to repeatedly later. AIR. 
39 
It may safely be asserted that a filthy state of the air has 
had much to do with the origin and progress of all epidemics. 
The great plague of Athens, which occurred during the Pelo- 
ponnesian war, in the year B.c. 430, may be cited as an ex- 
ample. Thucydides, the historian of the time, says: “ Those 
who came in from the country had no houses, but dwelled all 
the summer season in booths, where there was scarcely room 
to breathe.” The remarks made by Plutarch, in his biography 
of Pericles, are very suggestive. He says : “ A pestilence at 
that time broke out, which destroyed the flovrer of the youth 
and the strength of Athens. And not only their bodies, but 
their very minds were affected; for as persons delirious with a 
fever set themselves against a physician or a father, so they 
raved against Pericles, and attempted his ruin, being persuaded 
by his enemies that the sickness was occasioned by the multi- 
tude of out-dwellers flocking into the city and huddled together, 
in the height of summer, in small huts and close cabins, 
where they were forced to live a lazy, inactive life, instead 
of breathing the pure and open air to which they were accus- 
tomed. Of all this he (they affirmed) was the cause, who at 
the commencement of the wrar admitted within the walls such 
crowds of people from the country, and yet found no employ- 
ment for them, but let them continue penned up like cattle, 
to infect and destroy each other, without affording them the 
least relief or employment.” 
REMARKS ON ATTENTION TO HOME-AIR. 
Not only people in general, but many, far too many, phy- 
sicians, know but little of the relations of aerial conditions to 
health and disease. As the late Dr. Thomas Laycock, of 
Edinburgh, says, in his book on medical studies: “ Meteor- 
ology, in its practical applications, is as important to the 
medical art as to agriculture or navigation, and no practitioner 
is complete in practical tact without a knowledge of these 40 
CHILDEEN IN HEALTH. 
applications.” As hinted already, the subject is one which 
should be well understood by every one. A knowledge of it is 
of far more value than a knowledge of much that is taught in 
the schools. Learning a little about it and allied subjects 
would be of great value to all in passing through life. To 
any one who has charge of a house, to any wife and mother, 
it is infinitely more important to know how to keep it health- 
ful than to be possessed of any accomplishment that I can 
call to mind. For, what is life without health ? Ecelesiasti- 
cus well says: “ Better is a poor man who is sound and strong 
of constitution, than a rich man who is weak and afflicted with 
evils.” And again, “ Better is death than a bitter life, and 
everlasting rest than continual sickness.” DIET. 
41 
CHAPTER III. 
DIET. 
Preliminary Remarks—Foods—Remarks on the Selection of 
Foods—Remarks on Cookery—Eating—The Food and 
Dieting of Infants. 
A sufficient supply of wholesome food is necessary to life 
and health. One may fast for a few hours, or even days, but 
it induces debility and sickness. 
The necessity for food arises from the chemical and other 
changes which go on incessantly in the system. The materials 
of which the body is composed are constantly being replaced, 
and heat and other kinds of force are being lost, every moment 
of life. I may here remark that there is but little ground for 
the popular notion that the body is renewed every seven years. 
Some glands and other parts are almost entirely renewed 
every day or two. Bony tissue is the most permanent. 
The body is composed of a great variety of materials. 
Thirteen of the sixty-five or more elements found in Nature 
are always present in it, namely: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, 
nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorus, chlorine, sodium, potassium, 
calcium, magnesium, iron, flourine. The blood, the stream of 
matter from which all the tissues draw their nourishment, 
contains, about forty different substances. From these state- 
ments it is evident that the composition of the food should be 
somewhat complex. 
The manner in which food is digested will be spoken of 
elsewhere. 
Food is drawn from all the kingdoms of Nature, the mine- 
ral, the vegetable and the animal. Excepting water, but little 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 42 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
of it, comparatively, is exclusively inorganic or mineral. The 
whole number of articles used is very great. But, as Dr. 
Edward Smith says, “although foods apparently differ in the 
greatest degree, they are very much alike in the kind of 
nourishment which they afford, so that they are easily classed 
together, and one member of a class can be taken instead of 
another. Thus bread, meat and milk have little similarity in 
appearance and taste, and yet they are made of similar things, 
and perform the same kinds of duties in the body. Again, 
fat, starch and sugar seem very unlike each other, yet they 
are alike in their composition.” 
It is very desirable, for purposes of study and otherwise, to 
have a classification of the different substances used as 
food. The celebrated German chemist, Leibig, divided them 
into the nitrogenous, the non-nitrogenous and the mineral. 
The nitrogenous or albuminous he regarded as flesh-producers; 
and the non-nitrogenous or fatty, starchy and sugary, he re- 
garded as producers of heat or calorifacients. It is now well 
known that articles of the first class also yield heat and other 
forms of force, and that those of the second can sustain, to some 
degree, the muscular energies of the body. 
The proximate chemical composition of milk, a fluid which 
in itself contains all the matter necessary to nourish the body, 
may be taken as the basis of a classification of essential foods, 
similar to that of Leibig. According to this plan they are 
divisible into the albuminous or nitrogenous, the oleaginous 
(the oils and fats), the amylaceous (the starches and sugars), 
the saline (the various salts), the acidulous and the aqueous. 
Practically, no classification of foods or all substances, 
whether solid or liquid, which are consumed, can be of great 
importance. Each article has some peculiarities which call 
for special notice. I will, then, proceed at once to make a 
few remarks on each of the several substances which are used 
extensively, taking them up in alphabetical order. DIET. 
43 
foods. 
Ale. See beer. 
Apples are nourishing to but a slight degree; but they are 
wholesome and easily digested, when ripe. About eighty-five 
per cent, of their composition is water, three of albuminous 
and pectous or gelatinous matter, about ten of starch and 
sugar, and over one of malic acid. To this acid their sour 
taste is due. It is very abundant in the unripe fruit, and 
there is much more of it in some kinds than others. 
Arrowroot now really means simply starch or fecula. 
Many varieties of it are sold. The true article, which is 
obtained from the rhizome or thickened underground stem of 
a tropical plant (maranta arundinacea), is very palatable and 
easily digested. It should never be forgotten, especially by 
mothers, that it is not at all a flesh-producer. 
Asparagus, when 'immature, is easy of digestion. It 
contains about ten per cent, of solid, mucilaginous matter, one- 
lialf of which is nutritious. The action of the kidneys is, 
perhaps, slightly increased by it. 
Bacon or pork which has been salted and dried generally 
contains from eight to ten per cent, of nitrogenous matter, 
over seventy of fat, and about fifteen of water. It is not 
unwholesome, and digests readily if it is well cooked and 
masticated. 
The cured meat of the hind quarters of the animal is 
called HAM. It is the choicest form of bacon. 
Baking-powders mostly consist of about one part of 
tartaric acid, one and a half of carbonate of soda, and four 
of dry starch of some kind, with a little turmeric to give the 
whole a yellow tint. The presence of water causes the acid to 
unite with the soda and displace carbonic acid, the agent 
which causes dough to rise. Some baking-powders contain 
alum (sulphate of alumina and ammonia), and some bisul- 
phate of potash, instead of tartaric acid. Both of these 44 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
articles are decomposed during the process of baking. They 
tend to whiten bread. It may safely be declared that bread 
in which a large amount of baking-powder of any kind has 
been put is unwholesome. Yeast, a substance the body of 
which consists of minute vegetable organisms, which is produced 
in beer while fermenting, is preferable to any of the powders 
for leavening purposes. 
The object of using baking-powder, or yeast, is to make 
bread and the like lighter, and consequently more easy of 
digestion. 
Bananas contain about five per cent, of nitrogenous matter, 
seventy-five of water, and the rest of sugar, starch and other 
elements. Their nutritive value is about the same as that of 
rice. They are somewhat hard of digestion, but are whole- 
some. 
Barley-meal consists of a little over six per cent, of 
nitrogenous matter, nearly seventy-five of starch and allied 
substances, between two and three of fatty matter, two of 
salts and about fifteen of water. Hence it is moderately 
nutritious. Bread made of it is apt to be heavy and difficult 
of digestion. Pearl-barley, or the grains of the cereal 
deprived of their husks and rounded by attrition, is of much 
the same nutritive value as the meal. 
Beans and peas contain over twenty per cent, of nitro- 
genous matter, and are consequently very nutritious. They 
are deficient in fat, but are rich in salts of potash, lime and 
soda. When mature they are very indigestible, especially if 
not thoroughly cooked and masticated, and are apt to 
produce flatulence. The principal food of the German 
soldiers during the Franco-German war was a peculiar 
sausage named the erbswurst, which was made of peas-meal 
or pea-soup, mixed with a certain proportion of lard, 
onions, etc., and dried so as to be easily carried. 
Beef is the best of all meats, and perhaps more of it than DIET. 
45 
any other is used. When lean it contains about twenty per 
cent, of nitrogenous matter and five of salts. In it are found 
all the elements necessary to support the body. If it be of 
good quality, and be both cooked and masticated properly, it is 
easily digested. 
Neither beef nor any other kind of meat should be given 
in large amount to children, particularly if they do not 
exercise freely. It is to them rather hard of digestion and 
rather stimulating. Indeed, people in general use too much 
meat. Locke says, “ I impute a great part of our diseases in 
England to our eating too much flesh and too little bread.” 
This opinion holds to some extent, I think, in most parts of 
our own country. 
When of an average degree of tenderness beef is easier 
of digestion than veal. The latter is rich in gelatinous 
matter. 
Beer is usually defined as being a fermented infusion of 
malt, flavored with hops. Mult is barley or any cereal which 
has undergone germination, through which process the starch 
is converted into a species of sugar. In making beer it is 
often largely replaced by ordinary sugar, and the hops by 
other bitters, such as gentian and quassia. I am not aware, 
however, that any agent used for bittering it is of a more 
injurious nature than hops. These are narcotizing as well as 
bitter. 
Lager, ale and porter are simply forms of beer, and 
are consequentlv, in the main, alike. The first contains the 
most hops, and is consequently the most narcotic, but it con- 
tains the least alcohol. There is generally more alcohol and 
less hops in porter than in ale. 
The amount of alcohol found in beers varies from two to 
eight per cent. If taken in large amount they will intoxi- 
cate, but the hops have more to do than the alcohol with the 
production of this effect. 46 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
The nutritive value of beer is small; but on account of 
containing some sugary, saline and other matter, it is greater 
than that of distilled or spirituous liquors. I believe, however, 
that its fattening power arises to a great extent from its 
quieting action on the mental functions. 
The use of beer as a beverage is injurious at any period of 
life, but most so in childhood and youth. 
Beets are rich in sugar, but contain very little nitrogenous 
matter. They are wholesome and not difficult of digestion. 
Blackberries contain about ninety per cent, of water, 
four of sugar, and about one and a half of an acid similar to 
ma'lic. They are cooling. From containing some astringent 
matter they are slightly constipating. 
Bran is the outer coating of wheat and other cereals. That 
of wheat and of oats contains considerable nutritious matter, 
but it is excessively indigestible. A large percentage of all 
that is eaten passes through the system unchanged. Hence, 
it tends, in a mechanical way, to relax the bowels. 
Brandy is obtained from wine by distillation. It contains 
from forty-five to fifty per cent, of alcohol, the ingredient on 
which its properties depend. See whisky. 
Buckwheat contains eighty per cent, of starch and about 
two and a half of nitrogenous matter. The breakfast-cakes 
made of it are apt to be very indigestible. 
Butter is formed from the fatty or oily portion of milk. 
It docs not contain any nitrogenous matter, consequently it 
yields only heat and other forms of force to the system. In 
nutritive value it does not rank any higher than other fats. 
When rancid it is unfit for use in any way. The substitute 
for it called oleo-margarine, which is prepared from tal- 
low, is not unwholesome. It may not be very agreeable to 
either the sense of smell or of taste, but it is otherwise unob- 
jectionable, I believe. 
Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and allied articles are DIET. 
47 
very similar in composition to the carrot. They are all but 
slightly nourishing, and are difficult of digestion if not well 
cooked. 
Cantaloupes or musk-melons contain some sugar, starch, 
salts and other substances, but over ninety per cent, of their 
composition is water. Their nutritive value is very small. 
They are wholesome and may be eaten freely. The action of 
the kidneys is stimulated by them. 
Caeeots contain about one and a half per cent, of nitro- 
genous matter, fourteen of starch and sugar, eighty-three of 
water, a little fat and salts. They are less nutritious than 
potatoes, but are wholesome, and when well cooked are not 
very difficult of digestion. There is little ground for the 
belief that they stimulate the action of the kidneys. 
Celeey resembles the carrot in composition. It forms a 
wholesome salad, but when not completely blanched it is 
possessed of acrimonious properties, and is hard to digest. 
Cheese or the pressed and dried curd of milk consists at 
first of about eiglity-five per cent, of caseine, which is a nitro- 
genous, highly nutritious principle, twelve per cent, of water, 
and the rest of fat and lactic acid. On standing, it gains a 
peculiar flavor from acids and salts of ammonia, which are 
formed, and the proportion of caseine lessens, while that of 
fat increases. Many changes which occur in it are produced 
through the presence of moulds or vegetable growths, and of 
the larvae, which are commonly called “jumpers” or “skippers.” 
The poorer and closer kinds of it are extremely indigestible. 
There is little reason for the popular idea that it promotes the 
digestion of other articles. 
Cheeeies contain about ten per cent, of nitrogenous matter 
and ten of sugar, besides malic acid and other substances. 
They are laxative and cooling. Of course, the skins and 
stones of them should not be eaten. 
Chocolate. See cocoa. 48 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
Cider is the fermented juice of the apple, or as Pliny 
expresses it, “wine of apples.” Besides malic acid, which is 
the main cause of its acidulous taste, and other substances, it 
contains from five to ten per cent, of alcohol. When pure it 
is very refreshing, and is altogether one of the most desirable 
of alcoholic beverages. If taken in large amount it will 
intoxicate. 
Cloves, like number of other small, dried berries which 
are used as condiments, contain a volatile oil of very stimu- 
lating properties. It is unwise to use them freely. 
Cocoa and chocolate are preparations the basis of which 
is the roasted and pulverized seeds of a tree (Theobroma 
cacao), of South America. The proportions of sugar, starch, 
and flavoring agents present in them are very variable. The 
seeds contain about fifty per cent, of fat (cocoa-butter), eighteen 
of nitrogenous m After, about one and a half of theobromine 
(a principle which resembles caffeine and theine in properties), 
and the rest of gum, water, coloring matter and salts. 
Either cocoa or chocolate prepared with milk makes a very 
palatable, mildly stimulating beverage, one which is much 
preferable to either tea or coffee for the young. 
Coffee or the seeds or berries of a small tree (Caffea 
Arabica), which is largely cultivated in Arabia, South 
America, and elsewhere, consists of about fifteen per cent, of 
nitrogenous matter, about one of a peculiar crystalline 
substance called caffeine, an essential oil, and various other 
elements. Little or no tannic acid is found in it. The 
amount of it consumed is enormous. It is a decided nervous 
stimulant. When taken in large amount it produces wake- 
fulness and increases mental power. Very large doses of it 
cause nervous debility. The use of it promotes the action of 
the bowels and allays hunger to some extent. As a beverage, 
it is injurious to children, and it is bad for people of any age 
if used very freely. DIET. 
49 
Corn-meal contains about eleven per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, sixty-two of starch, eight of oil, one and a half of 
salts, and the rest of water, gum and other substances. It is 
an excellent article of diet, but it is not as nutritious as either 
oaten meal or wheaten flour. It is particularly rich in oil. 
Corn-starch is far less nutritious than corn-meal. It is 
a bland article, but should never be regarded otherwise than 
as a mere auxiliary to more nutritious food. No mother 
should let her child rely on it as even the chief item of diet. 
Confectionery or sweetmeats are injurious if eaten 
habitually and largely. Not the least objection to them is, 
that they are generally used between meals. Preparations of 
lead, arsenic, aniline, and other poisonous agents are some- 
times used to color them. But even if no poison is present 
in them the persistent use of sugar cloys the appetite and 
weakens the powers of digestion. Chocolate is the basis of a 
good variety. When made principally of cocoanut, walnut, 
or other kernels, they are more nutritious than, if of sugar 
alone, but are not easily digested. I would add that giving 
sweetmeats to children whenever craved is bad for them, 
mentally, as well as physically. One indulgence leads to 
others. 
Cottage-cheese consists of the curd or cheesy part of 
milk. It is a nourishing but somewhat indigestible article. 
Cranberries are very acidulous. They contain but little 
nutrient matter. They sharpen the appetite, and if not eaten 
in excess are wholesome. 
Cucumbers are extremely indigestible, and contain little 
nutritive matter. They sharpen the appetite, and being 
acidulous, are cooling. The liberal use of them is bad for 
both old and young. 
Currants contain about eighty-five per cent, of water, 
five of sugar, two of malic acid, less than one of nitrogenous 
matter, and various other substances. Their skins and seeds 50 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
are insoluble. They are moderately easy of digestion, and 
are cooling and laxative. 
Dates contain over half their weight of sugar. They are 
nutritious. In ancient times athletes were in the habit of 
using them freely. 
Eggs are highly important articles of diet. They contain 
all the elements necessary to form the various tissues of the 
body. There are in them about fourteen per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, ten and a half of fat, one and a half of salts, and 
seventy-four of water. The white of them contains about 
twenty and a half per cent, of nitrogenous matter, one and a 
half of salts and seventy-eight of water. 
Hard-boiled eggs are more difficult of digestion than those 
that are done to a medium degree, especially if they are not 
thoroughly masticated. 
Eggs should constitute an important item of the diet of the 
young. They are much preferable to meats, for them. 
Farina is the name given to different mealy and starchy 
preparations. Hence it is of uncertain meaning. This fact 
should be borne in mind. 
Fats and oils are very similar in composition. None of 
them contain any nitrogenous matter. Those obtained from 
animals are easier of digestion than those of vegetable origin. 
They serve to form fatty tissue, and to some extent, that of 
nerves, and are very productive of heat and other forces. In 
the production of energy one part of them is equal to one and 
three-quarters of starch. Here I may remark that it is now 
believed that starch and sugar do not produce fatty tissue ; it 
comes from nitrogenous matter. The use of them, however, 
spares the fat which is in the body. 
Many young people dislike fatty or oily substances. Dr. 
Edward Smith observes: “ Children who dislike fat cause 
much anxiety to parents, for they are almost always thin, and 
if not diseased, are not healthy. If care be not taken they fall DIET. 
51 
into a scrofulous condition, in which diseased joints, enlarged 
glands, sore eyes, and even consumption occur, and every effort 
should be made to overcome this dislike.” 
Fish is less nutritious than meat. It contains nitrogenous 
matter, fat, salts and water. Most fish, excepting salmon, 
mackerel, herring, trout and eels, contain little fat. Salmon is 
perhaps the most nourishing. All, when fresh, are easy of 
digestion. 
Generally speaking, fish is better than meat for the young. 
In speaking of its use, regardless of the period of life, Dr. 
Edward Smith says : “ If fish can be obtained as a relish or a 
change of food it may be both agreeable and useful, but if it be 
the only animal food, it is insufficient to maintain good 
health.” 
Fowls and birds furnish food which is for the most part 
easier of digestion, and only a little less nutritious than any 
of the meats. The flesh of all contains nitrogenous matter, 
fat, salts and water. The proportion of fat in that of most of 
them is small. 
Game. See venison. 
Gin. See whisky. 
Ginger is complex in composition, and is an energetic 
stimulant. Through the habitual and free use of it the digest- 
ive organs are weakened. 
Gooseberries contain from six to eight per cent, of sugar, 
from one to two of malic and citric acids, and over eighty-five 
of water. Their skins and seeds are insoluble. They are 
cooling and laxative. 
Grapes contain from nine to fifteen, or more, per cent, of 
sugar, about one of malic and other acids, less than one of 
albuminous matter, about one half of one of salts, especially 
potash, and over eighty of water. Their seeds and skins 
are insoluble. They are somewhat nutritious, and are both 
diuretic and laxative. 52 
children in health. 
Grits are more nutritious than either meals or flours, on 
account of containing a greater proportion of gluten, which is 
nitrogenous matter. Thewheaten and the oaten varieties are 
the best. The latter is the richer in nitrogenous and fatty 
matter. Both constitute admirable food for old and young, 
but especially the latter. In order to have them easy of 
digestion, they must be well boiled. They are laxative. 
Hominy is wholesome and more nutritious than ordinary 
corn-meal. 
Honey consists largely of sugar, which it about equals in 
nutritive value. It is laxative. 
Horse-radish is an acrid stimulant. Young people, at 
least, should abstain entirely from the use of it. 
Huckleberries or whortleberries are very indigest- 
ible, on account of the insoluble nature of their skins, which 
are generally eaten; but otherwise they are unobjectionable. 
They are laxative. 
Iced-Cream is, when eaten habitually and in large amount, 
a fertile source of indigestion. The chilling effect of it stops 
digestion for a time. The use of it as a dessert is certainly 
injurious. The addition to it of things such as starch, or 
chocolate, or strawberries, or peaches, is advantageous. 
Jelly made from fruit is somewhat nutritious. That 
which consists of gelatine, purified and flavored, is of a nitro- 
genous nature; but there is some reason to believe that the 
nutritive value of it is small. Dr. Edward Smith says of it: 
“ It is an .animal food of valuable qualities, but not so good 
as meat, and is probably inferior to both fish and egg.” 
Kidneys of sheep and other animals contain from fifteen 
to twenty per cent, of nitrogenous matter. They are very 
nutritious, but are too difficult of digestion for delicate 
stomachs. 
• Lager. See beer. 
Lamb. See mutton. DIET. 
53 
Lemons constitute a useful item of diet. Their rind con- 
tains a stimulating, volatile oil and a bitter principle. Their 
juice contains about two per cent, of citric and a little 
malic acid. It forms, with water and sugar, a very cooling 
and agreeable beverage. 
Limes are very similar to lemons, in all respects. 
Liver of the calf and of other animals, including birds, 
contains about twenty per cent, of nitrogenous matter. It is 
very nutritive, but not easy of digestion. 
Macaroni and vermicelli are manufactured from 
Italian wheat, which is rich in gluten. They are highly 
nutritious, but are difficult of digestion. Weight for weight 
they contain over twice as much flesh-forming material as 
ordinary flour. 
Mace. See nutmeg. 
Milk is a model food. The average composition of that 
of the cow is as follows: Caseine 4.14 parts (by weight), fat 
3.08, milk and sugar 4.62, salts .71, water 87.45. The fatty 
part of it is liable to vary greatly in amount. The caseine is 
nitrogenous matter. The salts consist mainly of lime, potash 
and soda. 
Milk is very digestible, especially when fresh. On passing 
into the stomach it is curdled by the gastric juice—a fact 
which should be noted by mothers. That it is apt to disagree 
with many, and that it causes constipation, are almost ground- 
less notions. By attempting to live on it alone for a long 
time a dislike for it may be generated, but I believe there are 
very few stomachs which cannot readily digest it. It is only 
apparently constipating. All or nearly all of it being 
absorbed, one who lives on it largely cannot expect much 
refuse matter to pass out of the system. 
The use of plenty of milk by the young is highly com- 
mendable. “ Nothing,” says Dr. Edward Smith, “would so 
much tend to save the life of infants and to enable children to 54 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
grow up into healthy men and women, as an abundant use of 
good milk, and nothing would tend more to lessen disease and 
mortality.” These are not ideas of recent origin. Homer 
pronounces as thrice happy a people of Scythia, the “ far- 
famed ” Hippemolgian or mare-milking race— 
“ Renown’d for justice and for length of days,” 
who 
“ From milk innoxious seek their simple food.” 
The removal of the cream from milk does not render the 
latter much less nutritious. 
Milk which has become acidulous, and from which the 
butter has been removed, or in other words buttermilk, is 
a cooling, nutritious beverage. 
Molasses. See sugar. 
Mustard is an acrid stimulant, and the use of it as a con- 
diment by the young is injurious. 
Mutton, when lean, consists of about eighteen per cent, 
of nitrogenous matter, five of fat, five of salts, and seventy- 
two of water. It is not as easy of digestion as beef, nor is it 
as nutritious. Lamb is less nourishing, and is not much 
easier of digestion. 
Nutmeg contains six per cent, of a stimulating, volatile 
oil. It is unwise to season the food of children highly with 
it. The aril or inner covering of it as it comes from the tree 
is called mace. The general properties of both are alike. 
Nuts are nutritious, but are very indigestible. Most of 
them contain a considerable amount of fatty matter. Al- 
monds, walnuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, peanuts, and in fact 
any kind, if eaten freely, will cause indigestion. 
Oaten meal is very nutritious and wholesome. See 
GRITS. 
Onions contain an acrid oil which is possessed of stimu- 
lating properties. In boiling them the oil is largely dissipated. DIET. 
55 
Sugary and mucilaginous elements are present in them in 
considerable amount, and so is sulphur. They are moderately 
nutritious and are somewhat diuretic and expectorant. 
Oranges contain less bitric acid and far more sumir than 
o 
lemons, but otherwise the two are very similar. They are 
very agreeable and wholesome. 
Parsnips consist of about one per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, six of sugar, nearly ten of starch, eighty-two of water, 
and the rest of oil and salts. They are wholesome and com- 
paratively easy of digestion. 
Peaches contain from one to two per cent, of sugar, from 
six to eight of albuminous and pectous or gelatinous substances, 
less than one of malic and other acids, nearly one of salts, 
and about eighty of water. They are not very nutritious, but 
are easy of digestion and wholesome. When stewed, and 
indeed, in any shape, they are laxative. 
Pears contain about seven per cent, of sugar, from three 
to four of albuminous and pectous substances, about eighty- 
four of water, a trace of malic acid ayd less than half of one 
of salts. They are harder of digestion than either peaches or 
apples, but are more nutritious. 
Peas. See beans. 
Pepper is a powerful irritating stimulant. The red is 
stronger than the black, but the use of either habitually 
weakens the stomach. It and most other condiments should 
be unknown to children. 
Pickles or cucumbers, cabbage, onions, and other articles 
preserved with vinegar, salt, pepper, and other agents, are 
much relished by some. Altogether, however, they merit con- 
demnation. The use of them is injurious to all. To children 
they are little short of poisonous. 
Pine-apples are agreeable and wholesome, but are not 
very nutritious. In the raw state they are very indigestible. 
Plums contain from two to six per cent, of sugar, from 56 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
two to five of albuminous and pectous substances, about one 
of malic acid, half of one of salts, and about eighty of water. 
They are wholesome. When dried they are called prunes. 
These have always been regarded with favor. In that curious 
little work, “ The Code of Health of the School of Salernum,” 
it is said— 
“Prunes cool the body and the bowels move; 
To all in many ways a blessing prove.” 
Pork that is fat contains about ten per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, forty-nine of fat, two and a half of salts, and the 
remainder of water. It is not very easy of digestion, but it 
is wholesome. It is more suitable for use in winter than in 
summer. 
Porter. See beer. 
Potatoes constitute one of the most important articles of 
diet. The white and the sweet are very unlike each other in 
composition and properties. 
The white potato contains about two and a half per cent, of 
nitrogenous matter, twenty of starch, over one of sugar and 
gummy matter, a trace of fatty matter, over one of woody 
fibre, one and a fourth of salts of potash, magnesia, lime and 
soda, and seventy-four of water. It is deficient in soda, hence 
it is well to eat some salt with it. Both the nitrogenous 
matter and the fat are scanty, so scanty that it is far from 
being a complete food. However, it is very easy of digestion 
and is wholesome. 
The <sweet 'potato contains about thirty-two per cent, of solid 
matter, of which sugar constitutes ten, starch sixteen, nitro- 
genous matter one and a half, gum one, fat about a third of 
one, and mineral matter nearly three. It is palatable and 
wholesome. The nutritive value of it is less than that of the 
white potato. 
Prunes. See plums. DIET. 
57 
Pumpkins and squashes are of little nutritive value, but 
are wholesome. 
Raspberries contain three to five per cent, of sugar, about 
half of one of albuminous matter, from one to two of malic 
acid, from a quarter to a half of one of salts, and about 
eighty-five of water. Their seeds are insoluble. They are 
agreeable and wholesome, and are laxative. 
Radishes resemble carrots in their composition. Eaten 
in the raw state they are difficult of digestion, but are not 
unwholesome. 
Rhubarb is somewhat nutritious, and is easy of digestion 
if properly cooked. It is decidedly laxative. 
Rice contains from six to seven per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, nearly eighty of starch, half of one of salts, 
thirteen of water, and a little fatty matter. It is nutritious, 
but is not in itself a perfect food. When properly cooked 
it is easy of digestion. 
Sago is simply pure starch. It is easy of digestion. 
Salt or chloride of sodium is a necessary article of diet. 
It is found in all the secretions of the body. The dietetic 
value of it has been recognized from the earliest times. When 
eaten in moderate amount it promotes digestion and increases 
the appetite. It is only when it is eaten in excess that it 
occasions thirst. 
Meat that has been salted, besides being denser, and con- 
sequently harder of digestion, is less nutritious than when 
fresh; but the difference is not so great, probably, as it was 
formerly held to be. The brine dissolves out some nutritive 
matter. 
Sauces or appetizing mixtures should not be used by the 
young otherwise than sparingly, and preferably not at all. 
The natural powers of digestion should not be forced by any 
artificial stimulus. 
Shell-fish are nutritious, but are, generally speaking, 58 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
very difficult of digestion. Oysters contain fourteen per 
cent, of nitrogenous matter, and lobsters from fifteen to twenty. 
The former is more easily digested than the latter, as well as 
crabs and clams. They are apt to be hardened and rendered 
tough in the process of cooking. 
Spinach contains but little nourishment, but it is easy of 
digestion and wholesome. 
Squashes. See pumpkins. 
Strawberries are about as nutritious as raspberries, and 
are quite as digestible and wholesome. They are altogether 
a very choice and excellent article of diet. 
Sugar is present in most foods, but particularly in fruits 
and vegetables, and it is found in great abundance in the 
juices of the sugar-cane and of the sugar-maple. It is of 
various kinds and of various degrees of purity. In any form 
it, as a food, produces only heat and other forces. It is, how- 
ever, an important article of diet. When eaten in excess it 
destroys the relish for things less sweet, cloys the appetite and 
produces indigestion. I may remark here that through the 
action of the saliva and the pancreatic secretion, starch is 
transformed into a species of it, in the process of digestion. 
Molasses is substantially a solution of impure sugar. It 
can scarcely be put down as unwholesome, but the use of it 
in large amount is injurious. It is laxative. 
Tapioca consists of starch exclusively. It is moderately 
easy of digestion. 
Tea is the dried leaves of several varieties of a shrub 
(Thea viridis), cultivated largely in China, Japan, India, and 
elsewhere. The black and the green do not differ essentially 
in composition and properties; they may be and often are 
obtained from the same plant. The green teas are generally 
formed from the immature, and the black from the mature 
leaves. The mode of curing is not alike for both. The 
former are dried more quickly. Tea contains from less than DIET. 
59 
one to over four per cent, of theine, less than one of a volatile 
oil, and from ten to twenty of tannin. Gum, resin, various 
minerals, and other substances are also found in it. Generally 
speaking more theine exists in black than in green teas, but 
the reverse is true of oil and tannin. 
The stimulating properties of tea are chiefly due to the 
theine, which is a nitrogenous principle precisely similar to 
caffeine, its aroma to the essential oil, and its astringency to 
the tannin. 
Tea, as a beverage, should be regarded as a stimulating 
infusion. It does not contain any nutritive matter, except 
the leaves are much boiled. The free use of it is injurious, 
especially to the young. 
In preparing tea it should not be boiled, for boiling 
dissipates the volatile oil and dissolves out a large amount of 
tannin, which is unhealthful. It is ready for use as soon as 
the water in which it has been placed reaches the boiling 
point. Soft water is the best. 
The following remarks of Dr. Edward Smith are worthy 
of attention : “ Tea and coffee are both drank so universally 
that it might be inferred that they are taken indiscriminately; 
but although some persons prefer tea and others coffee, a 
selection is usually made, so that coffee is drank at breakfast 
(as it should be) and tea at the tea meal. As tea tends to 
increase and coffee to decrease perspiration, the former is 
more fitted for hot and close weather, when we do not perspire 
enough, and the latter for cold or any kind of weather when 
the skin is soft and we too readily perspire.” 
Tomatoes are somewhat nutritious, and are wholesome. 
They contain about one and a half per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, six of sugar, over half of one of malic acid, nearly 
one of minerals, over one of fibrous matter, and about ninety 
of water. 
Turnips are not of much nutritive value, but are wholesome. 60 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
They contain between one and two per cent, of nitrogenous 
matter, seven of starch and sugar, less than one of salts, and 
over ninety of water. 
Veal. See beef. 
Venison and game of all kinds are nutritious and easy 
of digestion. As a rule, they contain little fat. 
Vermicelli. See macaroni. 
Vinegar or dilute acetic acid is of doubtful dietetic 
value. A little of it stimulates digestion. Taken habitually 
and largely it weakens the stomach and induces general 
debility and emaciation. 
Water, when pure, is simply a condensed mixture of eight 
parts by weight of oxygen and one of hydrogen. That 
which is obtained from springs generally contains a large 
amount of mineral substances, and that from running streams 
often contains great numbers of minute animal and vegetable 
organisms and unorganized organic matter, as well as mineral 
substances. When it contains much lime it is said to be hard. 
Water forms over two-thirds of the entire weight of the 
body. From this fact it is evident that the dietetic importance 
of it cannot be over-estimated. In its pure state it is not in 
itself nourishing, but without a sufficient amount of it other 
articles could not be assimilated, and all the nutritive changes 
progressing in the system would soon become perverted. 
Water is rendered very unwholesome by the presence in it 
of sewage and some other forms of organic matter. The 
microscopic plants and animals commonly found in it do not 
seem to produce any injurious effects. Still, it is well that it 
should be as free as possible from all kinds of organic matter, 
and of minerals too. Rain water is the purest of all. 
Water is the best of all beverages for people of every age. 
Under no circumstances should the advice, to either young or 
old, be, “Drink no longer water.” It is the natural and 
proper drink for every one. DIET. 
61 
Of course, it is possible to use an excessive amount of 
water. Such intemperance is debilitating. It is largely a 
habit. Drinking iced-water in excess is particularly 
injurious; it is very apt to disorder the digestive organs and 
weaken the entire system. 
Water-cresses form a wholesome salad, and are compara- 
tively easy of digestion. 
Water-melons consist largely of water. Sugar is the prin- 
cipal nutritive element found in them. They are wholesome. 
Wheaten flour contains from twelve to fifteen per cent, 
of nitrogenous matter, about sixty of starch, from one to 
one and a half and over of salts, about fifteen of water, 
and small amounts of other substances. It contains more 
phosphorus but less lime than oaten meal. That which 
contains most of the outer covering of the grain is the most 
nutritious, for it contains most gluten. The unbolted flour, 
however, is difficult of digestion. It is from it that the 
so-called Graham-bread is made. Practically this bread is 
little or no more nutritious than that made from ordinary 
flour. Being somewhat laxative is something in its favor. 
Bread which is well leavened is easier of digestion than 
that which is unleavened. 
Freshly baked bread is more difficult of digestion than that 
which has been baked some hours before it is used. 
Bread should be the principal item of diet of the young, 
and, indeed, of persons of all ages. In itself it affords 
nourishment to the whole system. 
Whisky consists of about equal parts of alcohol and 
water. Some of it, however, contains various impurities. 
When pure its peculiar properties depend on the alcohol 
present in it. 
Alcohol is produced through the fermentation of solutions 
containing sugar; and it is separated by distillation. The 
best whiskies are obtained from fermented malt. 62 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
Alcohol is a powerful stimulant. When taken in large 
amount it paralyzes the mental and other energies or intoxi- 
cates. The habitual use of it is extremely injurious to the 
system. 
Dietetically alcohol is not of much value. Some hold that 
all of it which is consumed passes out of the system 
unchanged, that it does not become transformed into either 
force or fat; but this view is erroneous. However, it should 
never be regarded in any other light than as a medicine. 
The use of any spirituous liquor as a beverage cannot be too 
emphatically condemned. 
Whisky flavored with juniper berries is called gin. These, 
however, are often replaced by oil of turpentine, creasote, 
fusil oil, lemon-peel, and other agents. But at any rate gin 
is always somewhat diuretic. It is mostly on account of this 
property that it is prized. 
Wine is the fermented juice of grapes; but to most 
varieties of it additions of various kinds are made. It con- 
tains from five to twenty-five per cent, of alcohol, which is the 
active constituent of it. Ports, Madeiras and sherries contain 
most of this agent. 
Wine yields but little nourishment to the system. It is 
simply a mild stimulant. The use of it as a beverage is not 
so objectionable as that of spirituous liquors; indeed, as 
Shakspeare makes Iago say, “ good wine is a good, familiar 
creature, if it be well used.” But it is wrong for parents to 
help their children to form a liking for it. A desire for it 
not infrequently becomes a desire for something stronger. 
REMARKS OK THE SELECTION OF FOODS. 
There is plenty of room for the exercise of intelligence in 
the selection of foods. Besides knowing the dietetic value of - 
each article, it is necessary to be able to judge of their condi- 
dition. Meats, vegetables, and all aliments are liable to be DIET. 
63 
of very poor quality, or to be in such a state, from either 
disease or adulteration or otherwise, as to be unfit for use. 
All decaying substances are, as a rule, unwholesome. 
Unripe vegetables and fruits are apt to be very indigestible. 
In speaking of the possible digestive derangements which 
may be induced by the latter, the great Scottish physician, 
Dr. Cullen, says, “ There are, indeed, stomachs whose gastric 
liquor may obviate all this, but certainly in many cases it 
may fail; and, therefore, the taking in of unripe fruits is 
always hazardous, and may be hurtful.” The last clause of 
these remarks should be brought frequently to the attention 
of children. 
REMARKS OE COOKERY. 
Cookery or the preparation of foods for use is an art of 
the highest importance, one which is not duly appreciated. 
The elementary principles of it should be carefully studied by 
girls as a part of their education. 
Cooking is practiced in order to render foods more digestible, 
or more palatable, or more pleasing to the sight; or it may 
subserve all these purposes. 
Care should always be exercised to see that the process of 
preparation to which any article of diet is subjected does not 
make it unwholesome. 
It is well to make as few composite dishes as possible. 
The application of heat has the effect of coagulating albu- 
minous and coloring substances, of gelatinizing fibrous and 
tenclonous tissues, and of rendering muscular or fibrinous 
matter more dense. 
The principal modes of cooking commonly practiced are 
boiling, stewing, roasting, broiling, baking and frying. 
Boiling abstracts a large percentage of salts and other 
substances from foods, especially if they be tender. In cook- 
ing meat of any kind in this way the piece should be large 64 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
and as compact as possible, and it should be put into boiling 
water. On putting it into such water the albuminous matter 
upon and near the surface of it is coagulated, and hence forms 
a coating through which the juices and other substances cannot 
readily escape. The boiling should be continued for only a 
few minutes; and then the temperature of the water should 
be allowed to fall from thirty to forty degrees. 
The addition of a little salt to soft water renders fish which 
is boiled in it firmer and better-flavored. 
Vegetables boiled in salt water are less tender than if boiled 
in fresh water, but their color is preserved better. 
Stewing is practiced when the object is to extract the nu- 
tritive elements of meats and other substances. The article, or 
articles, should be cut into small pieces, and put into cold water. 
In roasting, as in boiling meats and other foods, the heat 
to which they are subjected should be highest at first. Articles 
cooked in this way are not as digestible as if boiled, and if 
much browned they are unwholesome to some extent, on 
account of the presence of different acids which are produced. 
Remarks similar to those j ust made on roasting apply to 
broiling, FRYING and baking, which are not essentially 
different modes of cooking. 
Cooking utensils should always be kept perfectly clean, and 
none from which lead or any poisonous substance may be 
dissolved should be admitted into the kitchen. 
EATING. 
The subject of eating is one of supreme importance. Health 
and strength are vitally related to the diet, and it is account- 
able for much disease. Herodotus, the ancient historian, says 
of the Egyptians, that they “suppose that all diseases to which 
men are subject proceed from the food they use.” This 
supposition is, doubtless, erroneous, but certainly people have 
great reason to pay attention to what they eat. DIET. 
65 
It should always be remembered that the only essential 
object of eating is to supply the body with nutritive matter. 
Now, careful observation goes to show that an adult 
who performs a fair amount of labor needs daily from 
four to six ounces of nitrogenous matter, from one to 
three of fat, from ten to twenty of starch, from two to four 
of sugar, about three-fourths of one of solid mineral matter, 
and about a quart of water. In his work on “ Health and 
Healthy Homes,” Dr. George Wilson says: “ In a standard 
or well-arranged diet the proportion of the different constitu- 
ents should be as follows: albuminates one, fats six, and 
carbo-hydrates (starches and sugars) three; and experience 
shows that these are the proportions which man’s unaided 
instinct has all along striven to maintain, so that when any 
particular food is deficient in any single constituent, it is 
generally associated with another which contains an excess of 
it. * Thus, certain kinds of animal food which are deficient in 
fat, such as veal, fowl and liver, are invariably associated with 
ham or bacon. So, too, we use melted butter with certain 
varieties of fish, or fry them in oil, while salmon, eel and 
herring possess fat enough in themselves, and are eaten alone. 
Then, again, in making puddings we mix butter, milk, or 
eggs with sago, rice, or tapioca; salad is dressed with oil; 
rice boiled with milk ; cheese or butter is taken with bread; 
bacon is used with cabbage and beans, and so on. These 
combinations are alike indicated by science and experience, 
and if the just proportions are departed from, sound health 
cannot be maintained.” 
Starches, sugars and oils are more called for in cold than in 
warm weather. Meats and animal foods in general are not 
required in large amount by the young. 
Females require somewhat less food, as a rule, than males, 
It is unwise to diet exclusively on a very few articles, if 
others as good, or better, can be readily procured. Abstaining 66 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH 
wholly from the use of meat and other food of an animal 
nature, or of milk, or anything which is wholesome, is 
unreasonable. It is a mistake, however, to have the diet very 
complex in character. The mixture of numerous articles 
will certainly derange the digestive organs. That many 
dishes make many diseases is a true observation. Armstrong 
well says— 
“ Would you long the sweets of health enjoy, 
Or husband pleasure; at one impious meal 
Exhaust not half the bounties of the year 
Of every realm.” 
Tempting the appetite with choice things is not to be 
commended. Says Plutarch : “Socrates advises us to beware 
of such meats as persuade a man to eat them, though he be 
not hungry, and of those drinks that would prevail with a 
man to drink them when he is not thirsty.” 
The temperature of food should be neither very high nor 
very low. When moderately warm it is most agreeable to the 
stomach. 
All solid food should be eaten slowly, so that it may be 
thoroughly masticated and mixed with saliva. If it be bolted 
the stomach is forced to perform an extra amount of labor. 
There should be fixed times for eating. For all but very 
young children three meals a day are sufficient. The digest- 
ive organs should have some time to rest. It requires from two 
to four hours to digest an ordinary meal. In “ The Code of 
Health of the School of Salernum” it is said— 
‘ ‘ Eat not again till thou dost certain feel 
Thy stomach freed of all its previous meal. 
This may’st thou know from hunger’s teasing call, 
Or mouth that waters—surest sign of all.” 
The mouth of the average child, perhaps, “waters” too often. 
Children should not eat at the same table with adults, for 
similar food is not equally suitable for both. This is a matter 
which parents should seriously consider. DIET. 
67 
THE FOOD AKD DIETING OF INFANTS. 
-Milk, the mother’s milk, is the proper food for an infant. 
Nature indicates this beyond all question. In his work on 
“Diseases of Children,” Dr. West, of London, makes the 
following remarks: “The infant whose mother refuses to 
perform toward it a mother’s part, or who by accident, disease, 
or death, is deprived of the food that Nature destined for it, 
too often languishes and dies. Such children you may see 
with no fat to give plumpness to their limbs, no red particles 
in their blood to impart a healthy hue to their skin; their face 
wearing in infancy the lineaments of age, their voice a con- 
stant wail, their whole aspect an embodiment of woe. But 
give to such children the food that Nature destined for them, 
and if the remedy do not come too late to save them, the 
mournful cry will cease, theface will assume a look of content, 
by degrees the features of infancy will disclose themselves, 
the limbs will grow round, the skin pure red and white, and 
when at length we hear the merry laugh of babyhood it seems 
almost as if the little sufferer of some weeks before must have 
been a changeling, and this the real child brought back from 
fairyland.” 
No ordinary cause should be sufficient to prevent any 
mother from furnishing nourishment to her offspring. Any 
one who, from mere caprice, or fear of trouble, or any unim- 
portant reason, declines to perform this great duty, merits the 
severest censure, utter condemnation, in fact. This she should 
do for her own sake, as well as her child’s; for it contributes, 
as a rule, to her health. At no other time is a woman so 
strong and free from diseases as when nursing. To be sure, 
excessive and prolonged suckling will debilitate, unless great 
care be taken to support the strength. 
I am aware that there are mothers who cannot, or 
should not suckle their children. The breasts may be struc- 
turally defective, or the temperament may be so markedly 68 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
nervous that the milk is liable to be frequently unwholesome, 
or the system may be in a scrofulous condition. 
By properly regulating her diet and mode of life nearly 
every mother can. yield her child sufficient nourishment. 
Exercise and warm, liquid food of a nourishing character 
will serve to increase it. Farinaceous and other articles of 
vegetable origin are better than those of an animal nature as 
milk-producers. Dr. Cullen says, “ Nurses living entirely or 
for the greater part upon vegetable aliment afford a greater 
quantity of milk and of more proper quality than nurses 
living upon much animal food. This I venture to assert 
from the observation of fifty years, during which time I have 
known innumerable instances of the healthiest children 
reared upon the milk of nurses living entirely upon vegetable 
aliments; and I have known many instances of children 
becoming diseased by being fed with the milk of nurses who 
had changed their diet from entirely vegetable to the taking 
in a quantity of animal food. Nay, I have known instances 
of children becoming diseased from a nurse’s taking a single 
meal of an unusually large proportion of animal food.” 
Beer, wine and spirituous liquors of all kinds, as well as 
strong tea and coffee, and all other stimulants, should be 
avoided, as a rule, while nursing. In almost every instance 
these agents are decidedly harmful to both mother and child. 
Exercise is an infinitely better appetizer than the best of them, 
and there is more milk afforded by eating a slice of bread 
than by drinking a quart of the most nourishing among 
them. If it be thought wise to resort to any special agent to 
improve the appetite, let it be a simple, non-stimulating, 
bitter preparation, such as an infusion of gentian. • 
A mother, while nursing, should scrupulously observe all the 
rules of health. If she does not she is not dealing justly by 
her child. Indeed, as Dr. Combe says, “the circumstances 
which among the middle and higher classes are most influen- DIET. 
69 
tial in impairing the fitness of the parent for the duties of a 
nurse are precisely those which deteriorate the general health, 
namely: neglect of exercise, living in over-heated, ill-ven- 
tilated rooms during the day and worse ventilated rooms, 
often made still closer by drawn curtains, during the night; the 
use of soft, relaxing feather beds, dissipation of mind, or the 
absence of any serious or health-inspiring occupation, in- 
dulgence in late hours, night and morning, and giving way 
to passion and caprice of temper, eating more than the 
system requires or the stomach can digest, drinking unseason- 
ably, or too largely of strong tea, malt liquors and other 
beverages, living in an unhealthy situation, inattention to the 
state of the skin, and to proper and sufficient clothing, exces- 
sive novel reading, and, in short, all the circumstances which 
are destructive of health.” 
A wet-nurse may be procured when a child cannot have 
the blessed privilege of deriving its nourishment from its 
mother; but it is so difficult to get an unobjectionable one 
that generally speaking it is better to resort to artificial feeding. 
She should be from twenty-five to thirty-five years of age, 
healthy, conscientious, of a happy nature, affectionate and 
intelligent. Her child should not have been born more than 
two months previous. 
If a child is to be fed artificially, cow’s milk, warmed to a 
blood-heat, is the food which should be used. That of one 
healthy animal should be obtained, if possible, but not that 
of one confined in the city and fed principally on swill. If 
it be of an average degree of richness it should be diluted 
with an equal amount of pure water, and a little sugar may 
be added to it during the first few weeks. In a month, or so, 
the mixture should not contain more than one-third of its 
bulk of water, and by the fifth, or sixth month no water 
should be added. The water renders it more digestible by 
preventing a very solid curd from forming in the stomach; 70 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
hence a strong child need not have it- diluted to as great a 
degree as a weak one. It is also rendered more digestible 
by adding to it a preparation of barley, or oatmeal, or 
unbolted flour, or arrowroot, or corn-starch, or gelatine, or 
isinglass, or gum-arabic. All these articles act in much the 
same way as the water, that is, they prevent a solid curd from 
forming. Of course, they are more or less nutritious. The 
best of them, perhaps, is oaten meal, and it should be prepared 
as follows: Put a tablespoonful of it in a quart of cold 
water, for ten, or twelve hours, and then boil the whole until 
it is reduced to a pint. Strain it while it is hot. When it is 
cold it should be of the consistency of syrup. It should be 
mixed with an equal amount of milk when about to be used. 
Pearl-barley may be prepared and used in the same way, and 
it is preferable for a child whose bowels are inclined to be 
relaxed. But no other food except milk need be given to a 
child, as a rule, until the ninth month. The addition to it, 
however, of a little of a preparation of oaten meal, or of any 
of the articles named above, or of Ilorlick’s, Melin’s, or any 
other baby food, may be of advantage long before that time. 
Condensed-milk is held by some physicians to be just as 
good as ordinary cow’s milk, for babies. The large amount 
of sugar which it contains renders it palatable to them. I 
agree with Dr. Edward Smith, who says, It is much liked 
by them; but it is an error to assume that a given quantity 
when dissolved in water will yield new milk, or be as useful 
as new milk in feeding infants and young children, and it 
should never be used as a substitute in such cases whenever 
new milk can be obtained.” 
A nursing-bottle should be used in feeding a child 
artificially; because it prevents the food from being passed 
hastily into the stomach, and hence prevents indigestion. 
The simpler it is the better. The best consists of simply a 
soft, black rubber nipple and a bottle with a tapering neck. DIET. 
71 
One with a tube attached .is very difficult to keep clean. 
But whatever kind is chosen let it be well washed frequently, 
and always be kept immersed in water when not in use. 
Every day, or two, it may be rinsed with soap and water, or 
with a solution of baking-soda. The utmost care should be 
exercised to keep it in a sweet condition, so that milk or 
whatever food is used be not rendered unwholesome by it. 
On the second day after birth a child should use about a 
quarter of a pint of milk ; on the third about two-thirds of 
a pint; and on the fourth about a pint. By the sixth month 
about a quart is required daily. 
During the first month after birth a child should receive 
some nourishment every two hours, or so, by day, and every 
three hours by night. During the second month nourish- 
ment need not be given oftener than every three hours by 
day and every four hours by night. By the third month a 
healthy child need not receive food oftener than every four 
hours by day and once in the night. After the third month 
nothing need be given at night. 
From the first let there be set times for nursing. An 
infant should receive its nourishment at the same hours, day 
after day. In this way a desirable habit is formed. And 
here I may say that it is a great mistake to feed a child every 
time it cries. Mothers should know that crying is not always 
due to hunger. It is often caused by colicky pains, which may 
be traced to irregular- and over-feeding. 
Weaning or the act of replacing breast nourishment by 
an artificial diet should not, as a rule, be postponed to a much 
later date than the twelfth month, unless the child has not a 
sufficient number of teeth to enable it to masticate soft articles 
of food, or is very delicate. As Dr. Fonssagrives, of France, 
says in his book, “The Mother’s Work with Sick Children,” 
it happens that between the eruption of the anterior molars 
and that of the canines there is an interval of several months, 72 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
in the first dentition, which is an exceedingly favorable time 
for weaning. Mothers should know this fact, and, when 
possible, weaning should be deferred until the child has 
twelve teeth. This rule is infinitely better than any founded 
on age. Forced weaning, in conjunction with dentition, leads 
to disorders of the digestive passages. It will, therefore, be 
readily understood that it is inopportune, or rather, really 
dangerous to begin weaning during a teething crisis. 
It is not well, as a rule, to wean any child, but especially 
one that is not very healthy, in the heat of summer; for the 
reason that serious bowel complaints are then very liable to 
occur. 
The process of weaning should be gradual. Let the child 
be nursed for a shorter period each time, day after day, for a 
week, or so, and then lessen by degrees the number of times it 
is allowed daily. Cow’s milk should be the principal item of 
the new food. CLOTHING. 
73 
CHAPTER IY. 
CLOTHING. 
Preliminary Remarks—Properties of Clothing—Materials 
Used for Clothing—Colors, and Clothing—The Use of 
Clothing—The Style and other Features of Clothing. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
It may be taken for granted that ever since man appeared 
on the earth clothing- of some kind and form has been used. 
There are few parts of the world in which it is possible to live, 
if entirely unprotected; but at any rate the instinct of pro- 
priety prompts people everywhere to use more or less covering 
for the person. 
In our climate clothing is absolutely necessary; for the 
changes of temperature are so great and so frequent that disease 
and death would inevitably soon occur, in absence of it. 
While the temperature of the body can vary but little—not 
more than three-quarters of a degree below and about the 
same above that which is normal, namely, ninety-eight and 
four-tenths degrees—consistently with health, that of the air 
may have an annual range in this city (Philadelphia) of one 
hundred and five degrees. 
When the temperature of the air falls to sixty-two degrees, 
or so, the unprotected body, in a state of health, tends to lose 
its heat faster than it is produced, unless an unusually large 
amount of fatty and starchy articles of diet is consumed. 
What, then, would the result be, if a person were exposed to 
a temperature far below, or even at the freezing point or 
thirty-two degrees ? 
There is room for the constant exercise of intelligence in 
choosing the kind and amount of clothing, so as to provide 74 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
for personal peculiarities and the daily and seasonal changes 
in the state of the atmosphere; and in its artistic bearings 
there is field enough for the display of much talent. 
PROPERTIES OE CLOTHING. 
In its properties, clothing may vary to any extent; it may 
be either warm or cool, heavy or light, loose or close in 
texture, and absorbent or non-absorbent of moisture. 
It is an error to hold that some kinds of clothing furnish 
more heat than others, for none furnish any ; all serve only to 
retard, in a measure, the heat which is produced in the body, 
in its escape; or, as Franklin puts it, “Clothing does not 
make a man warm by giving warmth, but by preventing the 
too quick dissipation of the heat produced in his body, and 
so occasioning an accumulation.” The reason why some kinds 
seem to be warmer than others is chiefly because of the 
difference in their power of conducting heat. Generally speak- 
ing, the worse the material is as a conductor the warmer it 
seems to be. 
When the material used as clothing is close in texture, it is 
warmer than if it be loose. But if it be very thick the reverse 
may be true. The explanation of this is found in the fact that 
air is a poor conductor. Then, if the material is in itself a 
good conductor, it is rendered less so by being thick and loose 
of texture. Hence, if a garment be of a given weight as a 
whole, the thicker and looser it is the warmer will it be. 
Practically, this is a matter of much importance. 
Other things being equal, the more layers there are in one’s 
clothing, the warmer it is. Thus, two thin garments placed 
one over the other afford more protection against cold than 
does a single one, which contains an equal weight of material. 
The explanation of this is found in the fact that between 
layers of clothing some air is confined. 
A garment is warmer if it be moderately loose than if it be CLOTHING. 
75 
tight-fitting. If it be very loose, of course, this does not hold 
good, for under such circumstances the air is allowed to 
circulate freely. 
The drier clothing is the better does it retain heat. This 
arises from the fact that water is a comparatively good 
conductor. Hence the clothing which one feels warm enough 
in while dry, one feels cold in while damp. But, of course, 
the chilling effect of very moist clothing is due mainly to 
evaporation. 
The relative powers of different kinds of clothing as 
absorbers and retainers of moisture should be well considered. 
Such materials as absorb quickly and much are objectionable 
in outer garments, at least, and such as absorb slowly and 
little are not the best in the garments which come into contact 
with the skin. Again, such materials as part with moisture 
very fast are the least suitable for garments which come into 
contact with the body. For, as already stated, evaporation is 
a chilling process. Of course, a garment that is moist will 
dry less fast if there is another over it than if there is not. 
This fact should be carefully borne in mind. 
MATERIALS USED FOR CLOTHING. 
The materials of which clothing is made are drawn from 
all the kingdoms of Nature. Nearly all, however, are either 
vegetable or animal in character. A few remarks on each of 
the several classes of them will be of interest. 
Cotton fabrics are made of the downy fibres found in 
connection with the seeds of the cotton plant, and are more 
extensively used than anything else for clothing, being the 
cheapest of all. Compared with linen and woolen goods 
they occupy an intermediate position as heat-retainers, and 
consequently, they are not as desirable for use in summer as 
the first, and in winter as the second. They are markedly 
non-absorbent of moisture, and dry moderately fast. 
Linen fabrics are made of the fibre of flax, an annual 76 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
plant. Being good conductors of heat they are far better 
suited for use in summer than in winter. They are not very 
absorbent of moisture, but are more so than those of cotton, 
and dry faster than the latter. 
Woolen fabrics are made of the wool of various 
animals, but principally the sheep. Their heat-retaining power 
being relatively very great they are more suitable for use in cold 
than in warm weather. They are capable of absorbing much 
moisture, but they neither take it in nor give it off fast. 
Hence, apart from their lieat-retaining power, they form the 
best under-wear for persons who are liable to perspire much. 
From being very absorbent special care must be taken to keep 
them clean. 
Silken fabrics are made from the cocoon or covering 
spun for itself by the silkworm to serve as a protection while 
it is developing into the perfect insect. They are very 
retentive of heat. As with woolen materials, by varying 
their weight it is possible to wear garments made of them 
with satisfaction all the year round. 
Mixed fabrics are produced in such great variety that I 
cannot attempt to give any description of them. They consist, 
for the most part, of various proportions of cotton and flax, 
or cotton and wool, or wool and silk. Merino, a fabric of 
cotton and wool, is very suitable for garments which come 
into contact with the body. 
India-rubber fabrics are made of the gummy exudation 
of several tropical plants, but particularly the Ficus elastica. 
They are still more retentive of heat than those of silk or than 
furs, and are almost completely impervious to both water and 
air. It is only for occasional use, to protect the body against 
wet, that they can be recommended, because they prevent per- 
spiration and other skin exhalations from passing off. The 
baby-wear, then, of this kind, which is to be found in the 
market, is not deserving of favor. CLOTHING. 
77 
Furs or the dressed skins of various animals, being very 
retentive of heat, are extremely serviceable in very cold climates. 
With us they are used mainly for wraps and for trimming 
purposes in winter. 
COLORS, AND CLOTHING. 
The color of the materials used for clothing is a matter of 
importance; for it has a great deal to do with their receptive- 
ness of heat from without, from the sun, as well as with 
their appearance. 
It is unnecessary to dwell on the nature of color. I may 
say, however, that it is intimately connected with structure. 
Light may be broken up by means of a three-cornered piece 
of glass, a prism, into seven marked colors, the colors which 
are seen in the rainbow, namely: red, orange, yellow, green, 
blue, indigo, violet. A substance which reflects the entire 
rays of the light of the sun completely appears white; one 
which does not reflect any of them at all appears black ; one 
which reflects only the red rays appears red, and so on. It is 
evident, then, that the reflecting power or color of any 
material used for clothing has much to do with its warmth, 
for heat and light are closely related to each other. 
Franklin drew particular attention to the practical signifi- 
cance of color in clothing. His conclusions on the subject 
were drawn from experiments with pieces of cloth of different 
colors, placed on snow, where the rays of the sun could fall 
on them. “ In a few hours,” says he, “ the black, being 
warmed most by the sun, was sunk so low as to be below the 
stroke of the sun’s rays; the dark blue almost as low; the 
light blue not quite so much as the dark; the other colors 
less as they were lighter; and the quite vrhite remained on 
the surface of the snow, not having entered it all.” It has 
been shown that a piece of shirting which, when white, 
receives a hundred degrees of heat, receives a hundred and 78 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
two when of a pale straw color, a hundred and forty when 
dark yellow, a hundred and fifty-five 'when light green, a 
hundred and sixty-eight when dark green, a hundred and 
sixty-five when Turkish red, a hundred and ninety-eight 
when light blue, and two hundred and eight when black. 
From the remarks just made it is clear that black, blue, 
and other dark colors are far less suitable than white, yellow, 
and other light colors, in the clothing, if one wishes to keep 
cool. 
THE USE OF CLOTHING. 
The use of clothing is essentially to protect the body against 
cold, and to some extent also against heat. This fact should 
always be kept in mind in choosing it. That this is not 
generally done is evident to the most casual observer. In 
children especially, it is apt to be deficient in amount in some 
seasons of the year, and over-abundant and of ill-selected 
materials and colors in others, and badly distributed over the 
body in all. By it the extremities should be at least as well 
cared for as the trunk, so that an equal degree of heat may 
be maintained throughout the whole person. If one part be 
kept over-warm while another is allowed to be unnaturally 
cold, it is obvious that the system cannot be in a well-balanced 
state. Exposure of the limbs to cold while the rest of the 
body is kept excessively warm, is particularly injurious to the 
latter. It is under such circumstances that congestions and 
inflammations of the air-passages and other internal parts 
often arise. Beyond all doubt it is quite as important to see 
that the whole person is equally protected, as it is that it be 
shielded from becoming abnormally cold. 
I am far from being an advocate of the use of such an 
amount and kind of clothing as will keep the body almost 
constantly wet with perspiration. This very practice is the 
cause of much debility and many attacks of disease. The CLOTHING. 
79 
so-called hardening system of dressing is not half as bad in 
its consequences. It is better to be always a little too cold 
than a little too warm; for one who is overheated contracts 
catarrhs and other affections very easily, as every observer 
knows, Too many do not seem to be aware that through 
exercise and plenty of non-nitrogenous and other foods it is 
possible to preserve the body in a sufficiently warm state 
under exposure to a very low temperature. It is only when 
one must remain still and cannot diet suitably that it is wise 
to trust more to the conservation of heat than to its generation 
in the system. I would say, then, that for a healthy child, 
whose mode of life is properly regulated, it is better to be 
clothed rather scantily than otherwise. 
THE STYLE AND OTHER FEATURES OF CLOTHING. 
The style or make of the clothing is a matter which should 
be carefully considered, for it is often open to criticism in 
many respects. 
Custom leads people to provide a different type of dress for 
different periods of life, and after early childhood for either 
sex. This is in no wise improper. 
For infants, plenty of light, warm clothing, made so that it 
can be fastened without any pins, except perhaps two, or three 
safety ones, is necessary; and it should fit loosely. In them 
the power to generate heat is often not very marked. Next 
their skin flannel, or merino should be worn all the year 
round; or for a while at first a shirt of linen, on account of 
being smoother to the touch, may be placed beneath the gar- 
ment of one or the other of these materials. Of course, the 
material should be of a heavier grade in winter than in sum- 
mer, unless the rest of the clothing is changed so as to meet 
the requirements of the season. It serves not only to protect 
the child from the effects of draughts and variations in the 
temperature of the air, but to gently excite the surface of the 80 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
body, and thus ward off, in a measure, congestions and the 
like, of internal parts. 
For the first two or three months a linen, or muslin, or 
merino, or flannel band should be placed around the body of 
a child; for in early infancy straining may give rise to a rup- 
ture. It also tends to prevent flatulent colic. But let it not 
consist of more than two folds, and let it not be very tight. 
The very long dresses which are usually worn for three or 
four months after birth keep the lower limbs warm, but they 
are objectionable, in that they impede the movements of the 
child and in that they drag heavily upon it. 
The head-dress of young children* should be carefully 
regulated. I believe the error of having it too warm is com- 
moner than the reverse. None at all is required, as a rule, 
unless the air is unusually cold. Nature furnishes an appro- 
priate covering, as soon as it is needed. In his popular work, 
“The Physical Training of Children,” Dr. Chavasse, of 
England, says: “ The head ought to be kept cool. Caps, 
therefore, are unnecessary. If caps be used at all they should 
only be worn for the first month in summer, or for the first 
two, or three months in winter. If a babe take to caps it 
requires care in leaving them off, or he will catch cold. When 
you are about discontinuing them, put a thinner and a thinner 
one on every time they are changed, until you leave them off 
altogether. But remember my opinion is that a child is better 
without caps ; they only heat the head, cause undue perspira- 
tion, and thus make him more liable to catch cold.” 
If a child be much exposed to bright sunshine, some sort 
of light covering for the head should be worn, and be so 
arranged as to afford protection to the eyes. Undue exposure 
of the eyes of young children is both an injurious and a 
common practice. 
As regards the use of a cap to support the head until it is 
well closed, I may remark, that it is seldom required, and CLOTHING. 
81 
rarely does any good. If the head is very open and is 
inclined to spread, it is well to use it, but let it be of very 
light, cool material. 
I need scarcely say that great care should be exercised in 
replacing clothing that is very warm by that which is cooler. 
And in this connection I may observe, that in winter *wraps 
which can be both easily put on and easily removed should 
be used. By means of them the body can be protected 
against extremes of temperature. 
The style of dress commonly worn in childhood exposes 
the extremities too much. It is little short of criminal to leave 
a child’s legs unprotected in cold weather. But I have dwelt 
on this subject sufficiently above. 
A tendency prevails now to dress boys and girls after the 
manner of grown up people. This is not well, especially for 
the latter, either physically or mentally. Immature bodies 
and minds should not be treated as if mature. A style of 
dress which interferes with the growth of the body is unsuit- 
able for the young. 
There is less fault to be found with the adult costume of 
males than of females. That of the former is in the main 
both healthful and comfortable, while that of the latter is too 
generally neither. 
The dress of females mostly compresses the chest exces- 
sively, through the use of corsets, and weighs too heavily on 
the abdominal region, on account of the absence of shoulder 
straps and the way in which it is distributed. The head-dress 
worn by them is generally void of use. Indeed, the fashion 
which happens to be in the ascendency often leads most mothers 
to dress themselves, as well as their children, in a manner at once 
unhealthful and inartistic. It is a pity that the fashions are 
not always dictated by persons who understand something 
about both art and the laws of health. 
Of the evils which spring from compression of different 82 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
parts of the body, but especially about the waist, I might say 
much. Many premature deaths might be traced to this cause. 
A very slight obstruction of the action of the lungs or of the 
circulation of the blood reduces the strength and induces 
disease. In the period of growth it is sure to stunt and 
deform. Far less pressure than most people suppose is 
required to modify the growth and conformation of any part 
of the body. It matters not how loose corsets are, they will 
interfere with the development of the chest-walls. Let 
parents mark these words, and as rational beings draw some 
practical lessons from them. 
In conclusion, I would say, in reference to female costume, 
in the words of Dr. George Wilson, that it should always be 
fashioned so as to obey the proportions of the body, and never 
to contradict the natural lines of the figure. Any dress or 
article of dress, therefore, which interferes with free movement 
and easy and graceful carriage, is objectionable. Tight 
dresses are objectionable because they cramp the move- 
ments of the lower limbs; long dresses are objectionable 
because they drag by their weight, and because the skirts often 
become wet and dirty; garters worn below the knee are 
objectionable, because they impede the free circulation of the 
blood, and are apt to induce varicose veins; low bodices are 
objectionable, artistically, because they detract from the height, 
and from a health point of view they are still more objection- 
able because many suffer severely from such exposure during 
cold weather. The present close-fitting dresses, provided they 
are not made too tight, are to be commended, because they are 
strictly in accordance with the natural lines of the body, and 
they are certainly calculated to display the beautiful proportions 
of a well made figure. But they tempt those who are inclined 
to be a little too stout to brace themselves in every way too 
tightly, and those who are somewhat thin and angular to resort 
to padding and other strange devices. CLEANLINESS. 
83 
CHAPTER Y. 
CLEANLINESS. 
Preliminary Remarks—Personal Cleanliness—Remarks about 
Bathing—Rules for Bathers—Baths and their Effects— 
Cleanliness in Clothing. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
It is proper to regard cleanliness as a virtue. In the laws 
of Moses much emphasis is placed on it, and among Oriental 
peoples it still forms a part of the prevailing religions. That 
it is next to godliness is a phrase familiar to every one. It is 
observed by the Spectator that “the more any country is 
civilized the more they consult this part of politeness.” 
Whether this is true or not, it certainly is civilizing as well as 
wise to be cleanly. 
Some there are who are so enamored of dirt that they think 
it positively injurious to wash themselves. Such use of water 
they regard as unhealthful. Just why this idea should be 
entertained by any one it would be hard to tell. I am not 
aware that, under any circumstances, is an ablution harmful 
to a person in an unclean state. That it is weakening is 
untrue, unless it be indulged in injudiciously. Nor is there 
any ground for the idea that it renders the system very sus- 
ceptible of colds and the like. In fact, it has always the 
reverse effect, except, perhaps, when the water used is very 
warm. None of the arguments which can be brought forward 
in favor of uncleanliness are of any weight. Indeed, when 
any are presented, it is generally by way of extenuation of 
one’s neglect of what all sensible people hold to be a duty. 84 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
PERSONAL CLEANLINESS. 
It is desirable to keep one’s self clean, on account of its 
being necessary to both decency and health. It must be said 
that it is too generally viewed in the former light only. 
Certainly a large percentage of people rarely wash any but 
the parts that show; and even these are neglected greatly by 
many. The unsightliness, however, of children, at any rate, 
besmeared with dirt, is sufficient reason why those in charge 
of them should take pains to keep them clean. As it requires 
but little labor and not much time to discharge this duty, 
there can be no excuse for not attending to it. And in this 
connection I cannot help remarking that it tends to injure the 
morals, as it unquestionably does the manners of a child, or 
indeed, of any one, to be dirty. As Dr. George Wilson says: 
u Filth and moral depravity generally go hand in hand.” 
It is for the sake of health especially that frequent ablutions 
of, not only the face and hands, but the whole body, should 
be made. If the skin is dirty it cannot perform its functions 
properly; and if it does not do so, some disturbance of the 
system will follow. From it exhale, as I have elsewhere 
stated, through its numerous pores, water, carbonic acid, and 
other substances; or in the words of Armstrong— 
“ Through the small arterial mouths that pierce 
In endless millions the close woven skin, 
The baser fluids in a constant stream 
Escape.” 
If the action of the countless little glands which are situated 
in the skin be seriously interfered with disagreeable erup- 
tions and serious constitutional disturbances result. Dr. 
Erasmus Wilson, a celebrated English authority on cuta- 
neous diseases, writes: 111 counted the perspiratory pores in 
the palm of the hand, and found three thousand five hundred 
and twenty-eight in a square inch. Now, each of these pores 
being the aperture of a little tube of about a quarter of an inch CLEANLINESS. 
85 
long, it follows that in a square inch of skin on the palm of 
the hand there exists a length of tube equal to eight hundred 
and eighty-two inches, or seventy-three and a half feet. 
Surely such an amount of drainage as seventy-three feet in 
every square inch of skin, assuming this to be the average of 
the -whole body, is something wonderful, and the thought 
naturally intrudes itself—what if this drainage were ob- 
structed ? ” 
Besides the improvement to the personal appearance and to 
health consequent on frequent ablutions, any unpleasant 
aroma which might be present is generally not only prevented 
but replaced by one of an agreeable character. And let me 
observe in respect to personal odors, that everybody should 
at least strive to be like Alexander the Great, of whom it was 
said, as we are told by Plutarch, that “ a most agreeable scent 
proceeded from his skin, and that his breath and whole body 
were so fragrant as to perfume his under-garments.” A 
healthy, clean child should be possessed of an aroma not 
unlike and quite as pleasant as that of violets. 
REMARKS ABOUT BATHING. 
At birth it is, perhaps, best not to give a child a full bath, 
on account of the chilling effect which may result. It can be 
cleansed well enough through the use of a little sweet oil, or 
lard, and a soft napkin. If sponging or any form of bathing 
be resorted to it should be with water of a temperature little 
below that of the blood; and it should be done as quickly as 
possible. 
In washing or bathing young children care should always 
be taken to wipe every part of the body thoroughly dry. All 
deep creases of the skin should be dusted with rice flour, or 
some other absorbing powder; for in this way excoriations 
and other sores which are often very troublesome may be 
prevented from occurring. 86 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
Throughout infancy a bath daily may be set down as ab- 
solutely necessary. Except a child is very delicate, it should 
be given in the morning before any nourishment is supplied. 
The reason why it is not well to bathe very delicate children 
before they have received some nourishment is because their 
heat-producing powers are feeble. But it is wrong to bathe 
them immediately after eating, because it will interfere with 
digestion. Let it be postponed for an hour, or two. How- 
ever, a child must be very weak if it cannot bear a short bath 
in tepid water, at any time. 
The temperature of the water in which to bathe a child 
may range from sixty degrees upward ; but it is well in nearly 
all cases to have it below ninety. For strong children it 
should be colder than for weak ones. But almost a'ny child 
may be bathed in very cold water, if it be kept in it for only 
a minute, or so. 
The temperature of the water used in bathing should not 
be regulated by the impression made by it on the hand, for 
sensation is a fallacious index of its degree. Let a thermo- 
meter be provided. This instrument costs but little, and is 
so simple that any one can use it. 
If a suitable bath-tub is not at hand, any vessel which is 
large enough will answer in its place. Certainly the absence 
of one in a house is no excuse for not bathing children every 
day. 
In proceeding to bathe a child, let his head be wet and 
then place him at once in the water and keep him there for 
the desired length of time. On removing him let him be 
wiped dry, as quickly as possible, and be gently rubbed until 
the skin is in a glowing state. If the wiping is delayed the 
chilling which arises from the evaporation of the water may 
possibly be followed by a cold. If any soap be used fine 
Castile is the best. These directions should be observed in 
bathing children of any age. CLEANLINESS. 
87 
In place of immersing the body in water, what is called a 
sponge-bath may be given. Through it the system is not 
very profoundly impressed. If the person is feeble it must 
not be prolonged. This mode of bathing is not so objection- 
able to many children as the plunge-bath, and altogether it 
is to be highly commended. Dr. B. W. Richardson, of 
England, says, “ The simplest and best bath is the ordinary 
sponge-bath. Plungings, splashings, showers, and the like, 
are mere pastimes.” Those that are old enough to be able to 
take it for themselves cannot be taught a better habit than to 
indulge in it every morning on arising. Any one who prac- 
tices it every day for a while will not likely give it up, for it 
is very refreshing. All talk of getting cold from it is little 
short of nonsense. Indeed, there is no better means by which 
to ward off colds. The great surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper, has 
left these words on record: “ The methods by which I 
preserve my own health are, temperance, early rising and 
sponging the body every morning with cold water, immedi- 
ately after getting out of bed, a practice which I have adopted 
for thirty years; and although I go from the hot theatre 
into the squares of the hospital on the severest winter nights, 
with merely silk stockings on my legs, I scarcely ever have a 
cold.” 
As it is wise for parents to give their children special 
instructions about bathing, I append the following, which 
are those issued by the Royal Humane Society, of England: 
“ Avoid bathing within two hours after a meal. Avoid 
bathing when exhausted by fatigue or from any other cause. 
Avoid bathing when the body is cooling after perspiration. 
Avoid bathing altogether in the open air, if after having been 
a short time in the water there is a sense of chilliness with 
numbness of the hands and feet; but bathe when the body is 
RULES FOR BATHERS. 88 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
warm, provided no time is lost in getting into the water. 
Avoid chilling the body by sitting, or standing undressed on 
the banks, or in boats, after having been in the water. Avoid 
remaining too long in the water, but leave the water imme- 
diately there is the slightest feeling of chilliness. The vigor- 
ous and strong may bathe early in the morning on an empty 
stomach. The young and those who are weak had better bathe 
two or three hours after a meal. The best time for such is 
from two to three hours after breakfast. Those who are sub- 
ject to attacks of giddiness or faintness, and those who suffer 
from palpitation or other sense of discomfort at the heart, 
should not bathe without first consulting their medical 
adviser.” 
BATHS AND THEIR EFFECTS. 
The different kinds of baths and their effects are deserving 
of careful study. I do not propose, however, to speak here of 
any but those of ordinary water, which are generally resorted 
to in health. 
The cold-bath may be of any temperature below eighty- 
five degrees. When very cold it is not agreeable to the feel- 
ings of persons unaccustomed to it, and it may be dangerous 
to the feeble. For the abstraction of heat from the body of 
one having little to lose is weakening, and if reaction is slow 
congestion or some other morbid condition of the lungs and 
other organs may be produced. 
If a cold-bath be given to a very young child, or a delicate 
one of any age, it should be less than five minutes in duration, 
and the skin should be quickly dried and be freely rubbed. 
Healthy, strong children can remain in a bath of a tempera- 
ture of sixty degrees for a considerable time without becoming 
excessively cold. But it is well to remember that the tempera- 
ture of the body continues to become lower for a few minutes 
after coming out of the water. This is due to evaporation. CLEANLINESS. 
89 
A taste for bathing in cold water may be formed, and it should 
be cultivated. Even for children only two, or three months 
old it is best to have the temperature of it considerably below 
eighty-five degrees, for it tends greatly to tone up the whole 
system, and fortify it against the impression of cold. One of 
the most important advantages derivable from a cold bath, as 
also to some extent from all others, is its equalizing effect on 
the circulation of the blood. Thus, if a child is suffering 
from a full feeling about the head, a congestive headache, 
caused by sitting in a bent posture, or by over-study, there is 
no remedy equal to it. 
It is not amiss to remark that the temperature of the sur- 
rounding air has an important bearing on the feelings aroused 
by the temperature of a bath. As Bacon says, “ Heat, with 
regard to the human senses and touch, is various and relative, 
so that lukewarm water appears hot if the hand be cold, and 
cold if the hand be hot.” Hence one may prepare the body, 
as it were, for a cold-bath by getting as cool as possible before 
going into it; but it is generally wrong to do this, the marked 
impression at once made on the system being one of the 
benefits to be had from bathing in cold water. 
Tepid-baths may be of any temperature from eighty-five 
to ninety-five degrees. They are soothing and sedative in 
their effects. However pleasant they may be, the use of them 
is weakening and favors the contraction of colds. 
The quieting effects on the system of a bath at ninety 
degrees, or so, may be taken advantage of occasionally in the 
evening, to procure sleep for children when inclined to be 
restless at night. 
Warm-baths are those of a temperature of ninety-five 
degrees and over, and should be regarded exclusively as 
remedial, for in health they are harmful, being very relaxing 
and debilitating. Indulging the craving of children for them 
is a serious mistake. Elsewhere more will be said of them. 90 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
CLEANLINESS IN CLOTHING. 
It is highly important that the clothing, as well as the 
person, should be kept clean. The idea prevails to some 
extent that it is weakening to make frequent changes, particu- 
larly of the under-clothing, but there is no ground for it. 
Special care is required to keep the clothing of infants 
clean. From an early age, however, a child can be taught to 
give warning of its necessities. Children on whom napkins 
must be kept for much over three months are badly trained. 
Wet and soiled linen should always be removed from a 
child as soon as possible, for if it be not, skin affections will 
be produced by it. 
Keeping children dressed so elegantly that they are con- 
stantly afraid to play is bad for them. This is one of the 
great causes of the sickness which is so common among 
children of rich people, especially in cities. For it is not 
because they are the dirtiest that the children of the poor are 
often the healthiest, but because they are most at liberty to 
play as they please. EXERCISE. 
91 
CHAPTER YI. 
EXERCISE. 
Preliminary Remarks—Exercise in Early Infancy—Creeping 
— Walking—Playing—Sports and Active Games— Work. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Action is the very fount of vitality. That sharp and 
friendly observer of natural things, Cowper, remarks:— 
“ By ceaseless action all that is subsists ; 
Constant rotation of the unwearied wheel 
That Nature rides on maintains her health, 
Her beauty, her fertility. She dreads 
An instant’s pause, and lives but while she moves.” 
Life itself is simply the sum of the functional activities of 
the various parts of the body. Let the nutritive changes 
progressing within the organism stop and existence is immedi- 
ately at an end. But the speed and volume of these changes 
vary, not only from day to day, but from hour to hour; 
consequently life may ebb and flow like the water of the 
ocean. 
Now, the various activities of the system are subject to con- 
trol. Through exercise and food they may be either increased 
or diminished within wide limits. By keeping still and fast- 
ing, it is possible to reduce them to any degree, to bring life, 
at will, to the verge of extinction. In animals which hiber- 
nate, or pass the colder part of the year in a motionless state, 
such as bats and moles, the torpidity of their functions may be 
so marked that it is almost impossible to say whether or not 
they are alive or dead. On the other hand, by exercising and 
eating freely life may be made both more intense and more 92 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
ample. It would seem, then, that the regulation of the move- 
ments of the body is eminently deserving of attention. 
Exercise is beneficial at every period of life, but pre- 
eminently so in its early stages. By nature children are fond 
of it, even from birth. Nor can it be indulged in too early. 
The playful struggling of the infant in its mother’s arms is 
the expression of a wholesome instinct. As the educational 
reformer, Froebel, says, “When the child is born its first 
manifestation is motion ; motion of its limbs and motion of its 
interior by screaming. Physical development can come only 
by motion. The child a few months old, lying in its cradle, 
plays with its limbs, grasps its tiny feet, kicks and plays with 
its fingers.” 
There is no surer way of blighting the development and 
growth of children than by forcing them to be inactive. 
Confining them closely in their home or in a school room is 
an unwise policy, yet it is one which prevails to a great extent. 
Many are ruined in this way. Let them gratify, then, their 
instinctive craving for motion. • 
Girls are generally restricted more in their movements than 
boys. This doubtless is one of the reasons why women are 
less robust and healthy than men. Exercise is equally good 
for children of either sex; and restraining activity is as bad 
for females as males. 
A child’s-nuese should be a person fond of exercise and 
youthful, a person who can take an interest in the likings of 
childhood. An aged, morose, precise one is very unsuitable. 
Such a one is not unfrequently the means of bringing a child 
to an untimely grave. 
EXEKCISE IN EAELY INFANCY. 
During the earlier months of infancy a child should be 
given plenty of exercise by its mother, or nurse. It should 
be taken into the open air at stated periods every day, unless EXERCISE. 
93 
the weather is very cold, damp and boisterous. But let it be 
handled carefully and be kept in a semi-recumbent position. 
Until after the second month is reached the head must be 
supported, for up to then the power to hold it erect is not 
acquired. The back also should receive attention up to and 
beyond the third month, or in other words, until the child 
has strength enough to enable it to sit alone. 
The use of a perambulator or baby’s carriage, in early 
infancy, or later, is not entirely commendable. A ride in it 
affords a child fresh air, but not a great deal of exercise. Dr. 
Chavasse says, “ A perambulator is very apt to make a child 
stoop, and to make him both crooked and round-shouldered. 
He is cramped by being so long in one position. It is pain- 
ful to notice a babe a few months old in one of the new- 
fangled carriages. His little head is bobbing about, first on 
one side and then on the other—at one moment it is dropping 
on his chest, the next it is forcibly jolted behind. He looks, 
and doubtless feels, wretched and uncomfortable. Again, 
these perambulators are dangerous in crowded thoroughfares.” 
Evidently a perambulator may be very harmful to a child. 
However, if used with discretion, it is not meritless. 
CHEEPING. 
Creeping is an excellent as well as a natural species of 
exercise. By practicing it freely for a while a child gradually 
gains the strength necessary to enable it to walk. As Dr. 
Combe remarks, by exercise thus adapted to the state of the 
system the infant will learn to walk much sooner and with a 
firmer and more erect carriage than if too early set on its 
feet and supported either by the arm or by leading-strings. 
The chest will be better developed and, consequently, the 
whole system benefited. With moderate caution on the part 
of the attendant, there is nothing to fear in thus indulging a 
child ; for it is even amusing to see how carefully it generally 94 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
is about its own safety when left to itself. When a mother 
takes entire charge of the exercise of an infant, and judges 
of its risks by her own anxious feelings, she is sure to err. 
But remove all external means of injury and leave the child 
to its own direction and it will rarely hurt itself. It will 
crawl till its bones become firm enough to bear the weight of 
its body and its muscles powerful enough to move them. 
I am inclined to believe that a great many children are 
denied the wholesome privilege of creeping. The only objec- 
tion which can be urged against it is, that the clothing may 
be injured; but this is a matter of too little importance to be 
allowed to stand in the way of the allowance of a valuable 
means of physical development and growth. 
WALKING. 
Walking is the most natural form of exercise, as soon as the 
art is acquired; and as it calls into play almost all the 
muscles of the body in a gentle way, it is the best. It should 
consequently be encouraged. It is a great mistake, however, 
to force children to walk very early. The art is usually 
acquired from the tenth to the twelfth month; but it may not 
be for a considerable time afterward without being a cause for 
any anxiety. The delay can do no harm, and if the bony 
system of the child is not well developed, walking early may 
bow its legs, and still more injuriously atfect its spine. 
Walking-chairs, leading-strings and the like should not be 
used; for they injure by encouraging the desire to keep on 
the feet before the body has become sufficiently strong and 
subject to the will. Let creeping be indulged in freely, and 
the power to stand up will soon be gained. 
After children are able to walk they should be allowed to 
move about at pleasure. 
From even an early age walking three, four, or five miles 
every day is advantageous to health. EXERCISE. 
95 
PLAYING. 
Playing is as natural as eating to a person of tender years, 
and is but a little less necessary to life. The young are 
liberally endowed by Nature with the propensity for it. They 
seem to “ loathe the languor of repose,” to use the words of 
Byron. It is proper for parents to fully appreciate this fact. 
Nor is it unbecoming for them to join their offspring in their 
childish sports. Plutarch relates of the great Lacedemonian 
general and king, Agesilaus, that “ it is said when his children 
were small he would join in their sports ; and a friend hap- 
pening to find him one day riding a stick, he desired him ‘not 
to mention it till he was a father of children himself.’ ” 
Children are greatly benefited by play, especially if it be in 
the open air. The little boys and girls who are allowed to 
romp about at will generally grow up healthy and strong. 
SPORTS AND ACTIVE GAMES. 
It may not be amiss to at least refer to each of the various 
sports and active games which are more or less indulged in by 
the young. But I may first throw out a few words of caution. 
When in a state of perspiration from exercise, one should 
not sit on the ground, if cold and damp, or rest in a strong 
current of air in the shade, or drink liberally of cold water; 
for a sudden chilling of the body may induce catarrhs and 
other diseases. This advice is summed up in “ The Code of 
Health of the School of Salernum” thus— 
“In whate’er engaged, or sport, or feat, 
Cool not too soon the body when in heat.” 
Archery or the art of shooting with a bow and arrow 
has been practiced from the earliest times. It was, formerly, 
the chief means of offence in war. As a sport it exercises, to 
some extent, all the different parts of the body and trains the 
eye. In England and elsewhere it is popular with girls as 96 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
well as boys. Of late it has been growing in favor with the 
young of both sexes in this country, and a taste for it is 
worthy of encouragement. 
Ball-playing exercises the various parts of the body; it 
brings all the muscles which are above as well as those below 
the waist into play; and through it the eye is trained and the 
mental faculties are rendered alert. We are told by Ilomer 
that the Phseacian girls played ball to the sound of music. 
It was a leading sport among both the Greeks and Romans. 
Base-ball affords plenty of exercise to both body and 
mind. Through batting, bowling, catching the ball, and 
running, all the muscles are brought into play and most of 
the mental faculties are kept in action. Like some other 
sports, it may be indulged in to excess, and accidents have 
occurred from it, but altogether, it is worthy of great favor. 
Girls might play it to advantage, but custom forbids it. 
Battle-door and shuttle-cock, or driving a ball stuck 
with feathers (a shuttle-cock) backward and forward, keeping 
it in the air, with a flat bat (a battle-door), is an old-time 
sport. As an exercise it is very similar to ball-playing, but 
is not attended with as much risk of accidents. Girls enjoy 
it quite as much as boys. 
Carriage-riding affords little or no exercise. The value 
of it lies in the opportunity it gives to get fresh air and 
change of scene. 
Cricket is very similar, both as a sport and as an exercise, 
to base-ball. In England and other European countries it 
is very popular, and it is growing in popularity among us. 
Croquet is an agreeable but not a very active field sport. 
It is very suitable for girls. Like archery, it merits particular 
attention, because of the fact that persons of either sex can 
engage in it together. On this point Hr. B. W. Richardson 
remarks, a It cannot be too strongly urged that all recreations 
which bring the young of both sexes together are doubly EXEECISE. 
97 
useful. Such combinations in recreation impart courage and 
strength to women, gentleness and strength to men.” 
Dancing or moving in harmony with the sounds of music 
formed a part of the religious ceremonies of nearly all the 
peoples of antiquity, and it is still so employed by many. It 
is one of the most ancient of sports, and it promises to be 
popular forever. Nor is it unworthy of esteem, for through 
it the body is exercised, the mind is exhilarated, and the 
intercourse of the sexes is promoted. Children cannot be 
taught the art too soon, because in addition to the advantage 
just named as being derivable from it, the practice of it imparts 
to them, better, perhaps, than anything else, grace of motion, 
self-confidence, and ease of manner. 
Of course, it is possible to dance too much. Indulging in 
it frequently and excessively, in hot, ill-ventilated rooms, 
until a late hour at night, is ruinous to the health of persons 
of either sex, but particularly of females. 
Fishing is to many an amusing sport, but it is, generally 
speaking, not attended with much exercise to either mind or 
body. Indeed, it rather soothes than excites the system. 
Persons of either sex who require rest may resort to it with 
advantage. The cruelty of it is something of an objection 
to it. 
Foot-ball is a very exciting sport, one which is much 
enjoyed by most boys. It is an excellent way to exercise the 
body, but it is very exhausting. 
Geaces or a play in which a little hoop is thrown from 
one person to another, by means of two sticks in the hands 
of each, is amusing to many children of either sex. Like 
all gentle out-of-door exercises, it is commendable. 
Gunning and hunting afford excellent exercise, but they 
are not suitable sports for the young. They are not without 
danger, and are cruel. 
Haee and hounds oe hunt the haee is an excellent 98 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
sport. As an exercise it is of much the same import as 
running. 
Hoop-rolling is an admirable exercise for both boys and 
girls. 
Horseback-riding has always been highly recommended 
as an exercise. Through it the whole body is gently put in 
action, and it may afford an unlimited amount of diversion to 
the mind. It is equally advantageous to both boys and girls. 
Jack-stones afford more exercise to the mind than the 
body. Playing with them is very pleasing to the majority of 
little girls. 
Jumping is not a commendable sport. It shocks the system 
too much, and it is a common cause of sprains. 
Kite-flying is a favorite sport of children of both sexes, 
but especially of boys. It affords some exercise to the body, 
and also amuses the mind. Practicing it on the roofs of 
houses has led to many serious accidents. 
Leap-frog or a play in which one boy stoops down while 
others jump over him may be the means of much exercise, 
but the objections raised to jumping are applicable to it. 
Marble-shooting is a game which affords considerable 
exercise to both body and mind, as well as training to the 
hand and the eyes. It is very interesting to boys. 
Military-drills are certainly very improving to the 
physical condition of boys. Through them the bearing and 
gait are often quickly changed for the better. The practice 
of them in schools is deserving of commendation. And they 
are as advantageous to girls as to boys. 
Nine-pins is a play in which nine pieces of wood are set 
up on their ends on the ground, to be knocked down by a 
bowl or ball which is thrown at them from some distance. If 
ten pieces of wood are used it is called ten-pins. As an 
exercise it calls for no special remark. 
Quoits, as a game, resembles the ancient one of throwing EXERCISE. 
99 
the discus. It is played with round, flat, metallic rings, from 
a few inches to a foot in diameter. These are pitched at a 
pin or hob, which is placed on the ground at any desired 
distance, the object being to throw the quoit over the hob, or 
as near to it as possible. This sport affords some exercise to the 
body as well as the eye, and may be practiced by persons of 
either sex. 
Ring-games of various kinds not only afford exercise, but 
are very amusing to children of either sex. As I pen these 
lines the sweet voices of a company of little girls thus at play 
are heard. And it is very pleasant, indeed, to listen to the lisp- 
ing of “ London bridge is falling down, falling down,” and of 
“ Here we go round tlie mulberry bush, 
Mulberry bush, mulberry bush— 
Here we go round the mulberry bush, 
So merrily. 
Rowing is an interesting sport, and it brings into play 
all parts of the body. The practice of it tends greatly to 
strengthen the lungs and enlarge the chest. But it is possible 
to indulge in it to excess. And here I may say that boat-racing, 
like all matches which call for the exercise of all the power at 
one’s command, is very injurious to those who engage in it. . 
Running is a powerful form of exercise. Through it the 
functional action of every organ in the body is stimulated, and 
all the muscles are brought into play. 
Shinny or Bandy is a play in which one set of boys 
endeavors to force a ball to one end of a plot of ground, while 
another endeavors to force it in the opposite direction. Each 
boy uses a bent stick. This is an extremely exciting sport, 
and it yields plenty of exercise to the body, and not a little 
to the mind. 
Singing calls most of the muscles of the chest into action 
and both enlarges and strengthens the lungs. 
Skating is a commendable winter sport, but to a person 100 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
who cannot do it expertly it is apt to be very straining to the 
system. The circumstances under which it is generally prac- 
ticed are obviously such as require that great care be taken 
not to catch cold. 
Skipping the rope is one of the few active sports which 
custom allows girls to indulge in. It involves too much jump- 
ing to be altogether commendable. Still, if not practiced 
excessively it is a desirable exercise. 
Sledding and coasting are amusing sports to children of 
either sex, and if proper care be exercised against accidents 
and catching cold, they may be practiced freely with advan- 
tage. 
Swimming should be learned by persons of either sex, not 
only because it is an excellent exercise, but because it may be, 
at some time, the means of preserving life. 
Swinging is certainly bad for children, until they get used 
to it. If it cause giddiness it is harmful. 
Tennis is very similar to battle-door and shuttle-cock, and 
the remarks made on the latter are applicable to it. 
Top-spinning is a healthful sport for boys. 
Wrestling is not a desirable sport. The exercise afforded 
by it is not gentle enough; it is of a straining character. 
Velocipede- and bicycle-riding are sports which are 
much enjoyed by children, and as'exercises they are healthful. 
WORK. 
Working early in life is looked on by many as undesirable. 
I am far from being of that opinion. Of course, it is wrong 
to keep the very young, children who ought to be at school, 
at steady work; and to be sure, there are forms of employment 
which are stunting and otherwise injurious to both body and 
mind ; but there are others which are just the reverse. 
Boys brought up on a farm, as a rule, turn out to be the 
healthiest men, as well as the most successful in life. The EXERCISE. 
101 
explanation of this is to be found, for the most part, in the 
fact that they are led to engage, more or less, in out-of-door 
labor from an early age. And here I may observe that all 
children have naturally a taste for cultivating the soil and 
caring for animals. Frcebel well says, “After children 
have obtained free use of their limbs, we see all that are not 
kept from it by their parents, who fear the soiling of their 
clothes, digging in the earth. With the nearest stick, or 
shovel they throw up the ground, make hills and other forms, 
with great delight. They soon begin to cultivate the earth 
with a purpose. * * * The child who has never owned 
a little piece of land, never worked it in the sweat of his 
brow, never taken loving care of plants and animals, will 
always have a blank in the development of his soul.” 
In cities there are, unfortunately, not many kinds of work 
suitable for either boys or girls. It is certainly bad for either 
to be confined for many hours daily in factories and stores, 
particularly if the employment is not such as calls for much 
physical exertion. 
Girls should be taught to do either housework or something 
else, from an early period. As quaintly remarked in the 
Spectator, they should be kept busy, “ if it were only to keep 
them out of harm’s way.” Many after giving up going to 
school become sickly and unhappy, simply because they do 
nothing. With plenty to do life would be far more interest- 
ing to them, and their condition, physically and mentally, would 
be very different. 
Idleness is bad for the young of either sex. It is a sort 
of infirmity, and the more complete it is the lazier is one apt 
to be made by it. Some are so affected by it that they are too 
lazy to even take recreative exercise of any kind. But the 
worst of idleness is that it leads to wrong-doing. As Ecclesi- 
asticus says, it “ hath taught much evil.” Spending youth 
idly is a fruitful source of uselessness and crime in after life. 102 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
CHAPTER VII. 
WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
• Preliminary Remarks—The Nursery—The Bed-room—Beds 
and Bedding—The Posture in Sleep—On Sleeping Alone 
and with Others—Sleep in Infancy—On Putting Infants 
Asleep—Hours of Sleep for the Young—Dreaming, Night- 
mare and Night-Terrors. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
In passing through life most people spend about one-third 
of the time in an unconscious state. Nor is this unnecessary. 
Some sleep is almost as essential as food or as air; no one can 
do without it more than a few weeks. 
When rapt in sleep the body and mind rest and gather 
strength. For, while awake the system tends to run down, 
to become exhausted. Hence, sleep is a restorative; and it is 
because it is so that it serves in early years to favor growth. 
In infancy, the faculties of the mind being undeveloped, 
the system is in a comparatively passive state. Until intel- 
lectual activity begins, intense consciousness does not exist. 
But from a very early period there is a wide difference between 
the state of the system while waking and while sleeping. 
Sleep follows wakefulness as a natural result. During 
the waking hours the body grows tired and weak from exer- 
cise, physical and mental. It is evident, then, that exertion 
tends to bring on sleepiness; and hence the best way to induce 
sleep is to be active while awake. 
Mere languor of the system may be the cause of constant 
heaviness. This state is not attended with sound, refreshing 
sleep. It may be, and often is induced by idleness, by sloth- 
fulness. A habit of taking naps in the day-time leads to it WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
103 
in persons who do not exercise much. In the Salernian Code 
of Health people are very properly told to “ shun idle, noon- 
day slumber.” From early infancy a person should keep well 
awake wdien not asleep, so that when sleep is indulged in it. 
will be sound. 
THE NURSERY. 
The room, or rooms, selected for nursery purposes, should 
be large, on either the second floor or higher, of a southern 
exposure, easily heated, and provided with proper facilities 
for keeping the air pure. The prospect or view should be 
interesting and cheerful, so that the child may have in it the 
source of pleasant impressions. Let the windows be provided 
with bars, so as to preclude the possibility of a fall. The 
furniture should be more for use than ornament. None of it 
should be upholstered, or in any way such as cannot be easily 
kept clean. It is well to keep the floor bare. This need not 
be the cause of colds, but at any rate, it would be better to 
suffer occasionally from a cold than run the risk of being 
slowly poisoned by dust and various exhalations, which are apt 
to arise from a carpet, in spite of efforts to prevent them. 
As a rug can be taken up, shaken, and exposed in the open 
air readily, it is not so objectionable as a carpet. On the walls 
there should be only a few pictures, and these of such a nature 
as to inspire the youthful mind with pleasant feelings and 
noble sentiments. At the proper time it should be provided 
with toys, hobby-horses, and such things generally as will 
tend to make its inmates happy and playful. 
The temperature of the air of the nursery should be at 
from seventy to seventy-five degrees during the first two or 
three months of infancy, but at from sixty-five to seventy it 
is high enough for children in general. In winter it is 
usually kept far too warm and dry. Dr. Bull justly says: 
“Heated rooms make children very susceptible of disease, 104 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
particularly during the period of teething; and such as are 
accustomed to immoderately warm rooms wTill always, when 
taken into the cold external air, be much more liable to suffer 
than others, and during cold and humid weather, will seldom 
be free from coughs and colds.” 
THE BED-ROOM. 
A bed-room should not, if possible, be occupied during the 
waking hours, especially in winter. If the same room has to 
be used by day and by night, it is difficult to keep it in a 
healthful condition, for it cannot be properly cleaned and 
aired easily with a child in it. 
A bedroom should not be small; for if it is the child will 
likely have to suffer the effects of either close air or draughts. 
The floor may be uncarpeted, and the less furniture there is 
beyond what is necessary the better, because the more there is 
the harder it is to preserve the room free from dust and dirt 
generally. Curtains about either the bed or windows are 
seriously objectionable, and the same is true of drapery of all 
kinds. With multitudes of objects liable to be covered with 
particles of matter more or less subject to decay in it, a bed- 
room may be the source of many evils. Hence, it should 
contain as few unnecessary things as possible, and all that is 
in it cannot be too frequently cleaned. 
Except for very young children the air of a bed-room should 
not be kept at a temperature above sixty-five degrees. 
That night-air is injurious to health is an idea which is 
still somewhat prevalent. On this important subject I cannot 
do better than quote the pertinent words of Miss Nightingale. 
“ Another extraordinary fallacy,” says she, “ is the dread of 
night-air. What air can we breathe at night but night-air ? 
The choice is between pure night-air from without and foul 
night-air from within. Most people prefer the latter—an 
unaccountable choice. What will they say if it be proved to WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
105 
be true that fully one-half of all the diseases we suffer from is 
occasioned by people sleeping with their windows shut ? An 
open window most nights in the year can never hurt any one. 
In a great city night air is often the best and purest to be had 
in the twenty-four hours.” Of course, it is important that 
there should be no perceptible draughts in the room. 
A few words about the presence of flowers in a bed-room 
may not be out of place. Now, in growing a plant absorbs 
carbonic acid from the air, but while flowering it exhales a 
little of this gas. Hence, there is some reason to object to its 
presence when in the latter state ; but the cheering influence 
of the blossoms far more than compensates for the effects of 
any carbonic acid which may be given off*. A few seem to suffer 
from the odors of some flowers. In these cases it is generally 
an ardent imagination which does the work. This is well 
exemplified by a story, related of a French lady who fancied 
she could not bear the smell of a rose. One day she fainted 
on receiving a visit from a friend who carried one. Yet 
the flower was an artificial one. I really know of no valid 
objections to the presence of a few flowers in an inhabited 
room. In winter they may be of great service as the means 
of supplying moisture to the air. 
The use of artificial light in the bed-room of a child, 
and, indeed, of any one, should be limited as much as possible, 
for, as elsewhere pointed out, it is a great source of vitiation 
of the air. The custom of letting the light be present during 
the entire night, which prevails to some extent, is wrong; it 
is prejudicial to the well-being of both body and mind. 
BEDS AND BEDDING. 
The bed of an infant should be comfortable, but by no 
means so luxurious as to cause its occupant to be constantly 
moist with perspiration; for if it be, enervation and sick- 
ness will surely be induced. Feathers may be used, but a 106 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
mattress of wool, or hair, is preferable. At any rate, the bed 
should be so firm that the child will not sink in it much. 
There is little or no need for a pillow, until the child has 
reached its second, or third year; and even then the bed may 
be so made that it can be dispensed with. If one be provided 
for a young child, it should be so tightly filled, whether it be 
of feathers or something else, that the head will not sink in 
it, for in early life it is wise to keep this part cool. But, of 
course, if it be very round and firm the child will likely slide 
down off it entirely. A feather-bed which is soft renders the 
part of the body which is in contact with it too warm; it acts 
just like warm clothing when in excess in spots. 
The covering of a bed should be very light, but warm in 
nature. There are too many who associate the idea of warmth 
in any material with weight, who erroneously hold that in 
order to protect the body against cold it is necessary to burden 
it heavily. If the bed is of feathers less clothes is required 
than if it be of wool, or hair, or husks, or straw. Besides a 
coverlet or spread, either blankets or a comfortable of cotton, 
or of down, or both, may be used, and a sheet, being easily 
washed, should be placed over as well as beneath the person. 
The latter is coolest when it is of linen. Comfortables are 
somewhat objectionable, because they are difficult to keep clean, 
and also because they are apt to be too impervious to air. A 
piece of a thick woolen fabric, being capable of absorbing much 
moisture, should be put under the lower sheet, in infancy. 
Care should be taken to keep it clean. It cannot, or rather 
should not, be replaced by oilcloth, or any other water-proof 
fabric; but there may advantageously be placed under it a 
piece of such material. 
Of course the amount of clothes required on a bed varies 
with the season of the year, with the temperature of the air, 
and other circumstances. On the regulation of it no set 
rules can be given. WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
107 
Unless to guard against flies or other insects, a canopy 
should not be placed over the bed of a child, or, indeed, of any 
one, for it serves to confine the breath, and thus render the 
air impure. 
I may remark that in early childhood the night-dress should 
be so made as to ensheathe the entire person, from the head 
down. When made thus there is no risk of exposure to cold. 
It may be of either woolen or cotton material. 
In this connection it is proper to say that none of the 
clothing worn by day should be kept on at night; it should 
be all taken off and placed where it will get well aired. 
It being necessary that the whole bedding outfit be specially 
adapted to the age and general condition of a child, I need 
scarcely say that a crib, or some sort of a substitute for it, is 
indispensable. It should not rock, for rocking confuses and 
benumbs the mental faculties and deranges the action of the 
whole nervous system. Let it be placed where the air will 
circulate freely around it, but not where there are draughts. 
THE POSTURE IN SLEEP. 
Infants are too generally put to sleep in the supine position. 
At any age lying on the back is scarcely consistent with sound, 
refreshing sleep. While resting on the side the weight of the 
contents of the abdomen does not fall on the large blood- 
vessels, and consequently does not disturb the circulation of 
the blood. 
In going to sleep soon after eating, which, by the way, it 
is scarcely right to do, especially if what has been eaten is 
difficult of digestion, it is better to lie on the right than on the 
left side, because it is more favorable to the digestive process, 
the outlet of the stomach being on that side; but except under 
such circumstances, it is wiser to go to sleep resting on the 
left side, as it allows the heart to beat somewhat more easily. 
In sleep the limbs should be extended; for if they are 108 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
flexed to any extent the blood and nervous force cannot circu- 
late freely. For a like reason curving the body forward 
should be forbidden. Let the head be well thrown back, so 
as to favor full, free breathing. 
In children of all ages the spine is apt to suffer while lying 
on either side, through placing the head on a high pillow. 
One should so lie that the spinal column is straight, that is, 
not curved to the right or to the left. This is a matter of 
considerable importance. 
ON SLEEPING- ALONE AND WITH OTHERS, 
Except the weather be warm an infant should sleep for a 
month, or so, in the bosom of its mother, or of some one else; 
for if it be placed in a bed by itself it will likely be injured 
by cold, its power of generating heat being feeble. Only when 
it would disturb the parent so as to harmfully influence her 
milk should it be taken charge of by another person. After 
the first or second month it is best for it to sleep alone, until 
it is at least nearly two years of age. 
If a child of two years, or so, is allowed to sleep with 
others, they should not be very different in age, or otherwise. 
When two very unlike in size and strength lie together, one 
is very liable to suffer from too little and the other from too 
much clothing. 
There is certainly reason for the popular idea that it is 
wrong for the young to sleep with grown up persons. If very 
young, a child may get crushed to death, or smothered, or 
injured either by cold or heat; and if not, such companionship 
will depress the nervous and other energies of the body. 
Children derive advantage from their natural tendency to be 
cheerful and playful, and hence, it should not be curtailed by 
associating closely with adults. 
I need scarcely say that a healthy child should not lie with 
a sickly one. With a restless bed-fellow it is impossible to WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
109 
sleep well; and with one suffering from a chronic pulmonary, 
nervous, or other disease, there is a likelihood not only of 
having the slumbers broken but of becoming diseased. 
SLEEP IN' IUFAXCT. 
Iii infancy much sleep is needed, on account of the rapidity 
at which growth progresses, for growing is an exhausting 
process. 
For the first month, or two, a healthy infant is scarcely ever 
awake save while it is satisfying its appetite. Under one 
year and over, keeping awake during the entire daytime, or 
most of it, is indicative of unhealthfulness. Under this age, 
if it be in health and be properly trained, it will sleep 
sufficiently without any forcing. 
Except during the first three months, or so, of infancy, 
sleep should be continuous at night, and during the day, at 
any age, it should be had at stated hours. The power of 
habit is far greater than many imagine, and in nothing is it 
more potent than in respect to sleep. Then, on getting awake, 
at seven o’clock in the morning, the child should be taken up 
and be kept awake in the nurse’s arms, until about ten, when 
it should be put to bed for three hours. Waking up at one 
in the afternoon, it should be taken up as before, and be kept 
up until about four, when it should be put back in bed. At 
seven it should be taken up again, and this time it need not 
be kept up more than an hour, or so. Of course, the time 
need not be divided in this way precisely. At any rate, eight 
hours of the twenty-four is sufficient time for children under 
one year to keep awake. For a child a year old, a single 
nap by day is enough. 
From the tenor of the preceding remarks, it may be 
inferred that I approve of waking a child when it tends to 
sleep past the appointed time. There need be no reason to do 
this often. And here let me say, that it is bad for a child to 110 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
be aroused from sleep suddenly, by shaking it roughly, or by 
making a loud noise. Some of the ancients resorted to music 
for the purpose. 
When a child awakes it is wrong to let it lie in its crib. 
If it be not taken up and given exercise it will not sleep well, 
likely, when put in bed again. Moreover, it is only by 
taking it up when it awakes that the excellent habit of 
awaking at fixed hours can be maintained. 
ON PUTTING AN INFANT ASLEEP. 
In putting an infant to sleep during the daytime the room 
should be darkened. In place of doing this some are in the 
habit of putting a cover over the crib, and not a few draw 
the bed-clothes over the child’s head; or, in other words, 
there are people who assist their children to go asleep by 
stupefying, by poisoning them with their own breath. Let 
its clothing be removed, or, at any rate, be loosened; for a very 
slight feeling of restraint may prevent sleep from occurring. 
As I have already hinted, it is wrong to rock an infant to 
sleep; and the same is true of shaking of any kind, for the 
purpose. The whole system, but especially the brain, may be 
injured by such usage. And I may say that it is unwise to 
put a child asleep habitually in one’s arms. If this is done 
for a while it will be afterward expected. 
I need not say that I disapprove of scolding, or beating a 
child to induce it to sleep. It is not through abuse of any 
sort that rest of a refreshing nature can be won, and no one 
possessed of proper sentiments would resort to such means. 
The most reprehensible of all ways of putting children 
asleep, is by drugging them with paregoric, laudanum, or the 
abominations called soothing-syrups, which the love of gain 
impels those who vend them to vaunt as blessings. The - 
amount of harm done to the young in this way is simply 
incalculable. I hope none of my readers can be accused of WAKING AND SLEEPING. 
111 
the inhumane and criminal practice. Those who indulge in 
it are Herodian monsters. Although their hands may not be 
covered with blood, they are destroyers of life. 
A child should not. be induced to sleep, as a rule, by any 
artificial means. But if any is resorted to, a melodious lullaby 
is, perhaps, the best. If inclined to be very restless, a 
moderately warm bath may be useful, but this measure should 
not be taken advantage of, except under urgent circumstances. 
If a child is duly exercised during the hours which it should 
be awake it will generally go to sleep readily, as soon as it is 
placed in its crib. If restless from sickness, remedies for the 
latter are in order. 
HOURS OF SLEEP FOR THE YOUNG. 
Boys and girls should be taught the habit of going to bed 
early and getting up early. One-third of the twenty-four 
hours is certainly enough for any but children under three 
years of age to spend in sleep. Those who lie in bed while 
the sun is shining are wasting time. Nor can they sleep 
soundly then; they can only dose, and much dosing begets 
laziness and stupidity. Let the late-riser listen to the words 
of the poet, Herrick— 
“ Get up thou slug-a bed and see 
The dew-bespangled herb and tree ; 
Each flow’r has wept and bow’d towards the East 
Above an hour since; yet you are not drest— 
Nay, not so much as out of bed. 
When all the birds have matins said, 
And sung their thankful hymns, ’tis sin— 
Nay, profanation—to keep in.” 
DREAMING, NIGHTMARE AND NIGHT-TERRORS. 
The sleep of children, and especially those of a nervous 
temperament, may be broken by dreams, or nightmares, or 
night-terrors, all of which are closely related in nature. When 112 
CHILDREN IN HEALTH. 
in perfect health none of these things occur, except when the 
child goes to sleep in a state of excitement, or lies in an 
improper position. Lying on the back is the usual cause of 
nightmare. Some intestinal derangement is often the cause 
of night-terrors, which seems to be far more distressing than 
even nightmare, which Virgil incidentally describes as 
follows :— 
“And as when heavy sleep has closed the sight, 
The sickly fancy labors in the night, 
We seem to run, and destitute of force, 
Our sinking limbs forsake us in the course ; 
In vain we heave for breath, in vain we cry, 
The nerves unbraced, their usual strength deny, 
And on the tongue the faltering accents die.” 
In the night-terrors the child awakes suddenly and in a state 
of alarm, and issues a piercing cry. Sitting up, he uses 
repeatedly expressions indicative of fear, and continues in 
this position until the terror subsides, which it generally does 
in ten or fifteen minutes, when he lies down and lapses 
speedily into sleep again. Sometimes, however, the attack 
terminates in a fit of passionate crying and sobbing. If the 
cause continues, repeated attacks occur, but it seldom afflicts 
any child often. 
As soon as a child is seen to suffer from night-terrors he 
should be taken out of bed and aroused. No medicine is 
required, but a teaspoonful of camphor-water may be given. 
To prevent a recurrence of the trouble, a dose of castor oil, 
or magnesia, is generally all that is required. CAKING FOR THE SICK. 
113 
SECTION II. 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL REMARKS ON CARING FOR THE SICK. 
While in health, it is important that children be cared for 
properly; but when sickness is present it is a still more 
pressing duty. And necessary as intelligence is in caring for 
the well, it is, if possible, much more so in caring for those 
that are sick. 
The mother, or attendant, who has charge of a suffering 
child, should realize that she has a weighty responsibility 
resting on her, that she has a duty to perform, the right 
discharge of which calls for knowledge, practical skill, and 
faithfulness. To the ignorance, want of tact, and negligence 
of those to whom are given the grave trust of bringing up the 
young, may, as I have already hinted, be attributed a con- 
siderable percentage of the deaths which occur in early life. 
Instructed, discerning eyes should watch over them from 
birth, so carefully that disease cannot develop unrecognized, 
for timely action only, as a rule, can be effective, either in 
warding off illness or in removing it. 
A mother should be able to identify all the morbid condi- 
tions which may appear among children, and be so familiar 
with the nature of each as to be capable of bringing all the 
resources of the art of nursing to bear for its removal, as well 
as to know whether or not it can be benefited by any reme- 
dies of a medicinal character which she may safely venture to 114 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
administer. Mothers who are without such knowledge cannot 
do their duty to their offspring, and they are likely to be often 
in a painful state of anxiety. I do not mean, however, to 
convey the idea that every mother should be, or have an 
ambition to be, a doctor; for the art of medicine is too difficult 
to be understood thoroughly without prolonged special study. 
A pretence to medical skill may be the cause of disaster in 
many cases, for it may lead to delay in calling in proper 
assistance and to such drugging as will aggravate the evil 
present and possibly be in itself dangerous to life. I would 
have every mother be simply a competent nurse. I join Dr. 
Chavasse in saying, “ I am not advocating the doctrine of a 
mother treating serious diseases; far from it; it is not her 
province, except in certain cases of extreme urgency, where a 
medical man cannot be procured, and where delay might be 
death; but I do insist upon the necessity of her knowing the 
symptoms of disease. My belief is that if parents were better 
informed on such subjects many children’s lives might be 
saved, much suffering might be averted and much sorrow 
might be spared. The fact is, the knowledge of the symptoms 
of disease is to a mother almost a sealed book. If she were 
better acquainted with these matters how much more useful 
would she be in a sick room, and how much more readily 
would she enter into the plans and views of the medical man. 
By her knowledge of the symptoms, and by having his advice 
in time, she would nip the disease in the bud, and the fight 
might end in favor of life; for sickness is just a fight between 
life and death.” 
It is hard to lay down any rule as to when it is wise to 
procure professional advice in caring for the sick. A very 
simple illness may be attended with such symptoms as will 
throw a mother of average intelligence into a state of great 
alarm, while one of serious import, but with few, or no, 
striking features, may be neglected until it has seized on its CARIXG- FOR THE SICK. 
115 
victim with the grip of death. It is only by a careful study 
of the manifestations of the several morbid conditions that 
their gravity can be estimated. However, I may say, that any 
illness which may be dangerous to life, and any which is not 
clearly understood, as to both its nature and management, 
should receive special medical attention as soon as possible. 
The choice of a physician is a very important matter—a 
matter which should be carefully considered. If the nearest 
one is known to be an educated, moral man of good common 
sense, get him, and continue to employ only him whenever 
necessary; for it is only the physician who is in attendance 
habitually who can thoroughly understand the constitutions 
of the members of a family. Pay him promptly for his 
services, treat him kindly, and endeavor in all proper ways to 
enlist his interest in and devotion to the welfare of you and 
yours. In him a family may find its best friend. 
Have nothing to do with “doctors” who vaunt of their 
superior acquirements and skill in newspapers; for all such 
are impostors and knaves; they are quacks. Shun them, no 
difference what they may declare themselves able to do; for 
how to get your money is their only concern. Let none of 
my readers show by their conduct that, as is remarked by 
Bacon, “the weakness and credulity of men is such as they 
will often prefer a mountebank, or witch, to a learned physi- 
cian.” 
There can be no objection to employing a female physician, 
if she is well educated, sensible, discreet, and physically 
capable of attending to the duties of the profession. It is 
said by Plato, I believe, that some women are fitted to be 
physicians and some are not; and the same is true of men. 
Hence it may be wise to choose a female physician in prefer- 
ance to her competitor for favor, of the other sex ; but 
generally speaking this is not the case. 
As to selecting a physician of this or that school of medi- 116 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
cine, I would remark, that regular or scientific physicians are 
guided in their practice by no creed ; they draw their knowl- 
edge from the recorded experience of the people of all ages, 
and they do for each case they are called upon to treat what- 
ever they have reason to believe will do good. To speak of 
them as “ doctors of the old school,” or as “ allopaths,” is a 
mistake. Their plan of treatment, however, is largely allo- 
pathic. That great medical leader of antiquity, Hippocrates, 
whom Pliny calls “ The Prince of Physicians,” and who is 
now very properly regarded as the father of medicine, in his 
celebrated “ Aphorisms,” expresses it thus : “ Diseases which 
arise from repletion are cured by depletion, and those that 
arise from depletion by repletion ; and in general diseases are 
cured by their contraries.” The so-called “ doctors of the 
new school” or “homoeopaths” are disciples of an acute 
reasoner, but not a practical physician, a German, named 
Hahnemann, who died at Paris in 1843. They believe that, 
as said by their oracle in the book in which he propounds 
the system, in the “Organon,” “it is solely the morbidly 
affected vital principle which brings forth disease,” and that 
in practice they should always employ “ medicines which pro- 
duce symptoms similar to those of the malady.” A great 
peculiarity of their method, in its pure form, consists in the 
use of infinitesimally small doses of medicine. But homoeo- 
pathy is not strictly followed by many; and nearly all scien- 
tific men regard it as a delusion. I may say of it that for 
cases which require only regulation of the regimen, cases 
which require little or no medicine, or in other words the 
great majority of cases, it does well enough; but for all others 
it is not right to depend on it. “ Herb doctors,” “ Indian 
doctors,” “ doctors” who profess to cure all diseases by elec- 
tricity, spiritualistic “healers,” and various other irregular 
medical practitioners are, as a whole, simply mercenary pre- 
tenders ; and consequently, every one possessed of the smallest CARING FOR THE SICK. 
117 
modicum more of sense than an average idiot should be wise 
enough not to place any confidence in them, or to have any- 
thing to do with them. 
Having called in medical aid, follow implicitly the directions 
given, especially as to how and when the medicines prescribed 
are to be administered ; for as Dr. Benjamin Rush, the father 
of American medicine, remarks, “ the neglect in patients to 
make use of the remedies of their physicians at the time and 
in the manner in which they are prescribed is a frequent cause 
of death in curable diseases.” But let it be remembered that 
besides prescriptions a physician should be expected to give 
full instructions as to the regulation of the diet, the clothing, 
the atmosphere, and the conditions generally. As observed 
by the late Sir Henry Holland, one of the wisest of physicians, 
“ the prescription of the physician, however learned in its 
Latin and pharmacy, is but a slender part of his professional 
duty; of far greater import generally to his patient is his 
watchfulness over the economy of the sick chamber, its tem- 
perature, ventilation, cleanliness and quiet; the various 
appliances even of change of posture fitted to relieve pain 
and procure rest—all that the lenis sermo and hilaris vultus 
(I willingly quote from Celsus) can justifiably do in soothing 
and giving hope.” And once a system of treatment is insti- 
tuted, let it be persisted in. There is no reason to lose 
confidence in the physician if the patient does not improve 
from the moment he begins to attend; for the disease may 
not have been fully developed when his remedies were begun 
with. Nor should it be forgotten that in some cases death will 
occur in spite of all that can possibly be done. If the state of 
the patient is critical let the physician call in another in con- 
sultation. But I may say that it is not wise to call in a second 
physician, unless in presence of great danger ; for in medicine, 
as in everything else, division of responsibility is not advan- 
tageous, as a rule. 118 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
It may not be amiss to say that in caring for her sick child, 
or children, a mother should not pay much attention to the 
advice which she is likely to receive from nearly every one with 
whom she converses. Each of her particular friends, doubt- 
less, will tell her how a cure was wrought in a certain similar 
case, and will hint that it would be well for her to do the same 
thing. If she is not on her guard she will be induced to try 
all sorts of experiments. Her physician will come in for 
plenty of criticism, if the case on hand is severe, but she 
should be very deaf to it. Should she give ear to what will 
likely be said to her, she will certainly become distrustful of 
his method of treatment, and will probably get another in his 
place. Now, if she discharges him, it is extremely probable 
that she wrongs both him and her child. It is generally bad 
for a patient to be taken charge of by a new doctor in the 
midst of his illness, because it is disturbing to him, and 
because it takes some time to discover personal peculiarities in 
respect to the action of remedies. PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
119 
CHAPTER II. 
THE PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Mode of Life, and Disease— 
Seasonal Changes, and Disease—Preventable Diseases— 
Medicines as Preventives of Disease—Amulets as Prevent- 
ives of Disease—Disease as its Own Preventive—Inoculation 
— Vaccination. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Happily, the belief that disease is of supernatural origin no 
longer exists. While it was regarded as the result of other 
than natural causes a resolute desire to prevent it could 
not prevail. Knowing that it, in all its forms, springs 
only from physical conditions which are more or less subject 
to human control, the question of its prevention is one of very 
great importance. This art is one of pre-eminent significance. 
Compared with it the art of curing disease is of secondary 
consequence. 
It must not be supposed that there is a material something, 
the presence of which in the system constitutes every disease. 
Indeed, nearly all diseases are essentially changes in the 
functions, or structures, or in both, of the body. I would, 
then, advise those w7ho may hold that through medicines 
every disease may be either antidoted or forced out of the 
system, to at once lay aside this idea, as it is entirely erroneous. 
THE MODE OF LIFE, AND DISEASE. 
The greatest of all causes of disease is, living in a manner 
contrary to the laws of health. It is in this way that the 
body is gradually, if not abruptly, reduced, deranged, and 120 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
otherwise prepared for acute and other diseases. The cause 
may be so slight that it may be at play for years before there 
is any perceptible manifestation of evil. One may drink 
impure water, or breathe foul air, for a long time without 
suffering any, apparently, but, nevertheless, inroads are made 
on the system which will cause it to yield easily to influences 
which might not otherwise produce serious mischief. A run- 
ning down of life force is the true cause of an enormously 
large proportion of premature deaths. In a late Report of 
the Board of Health of Philadelphia, it is said: “ Contagious 
diseases, though at times very destructive to young life, cause 
few deaths in comparison with the diseases which arise from 
causes depending upon the use of improper food and the 
neglect of hygiene. The privation of breast-milk, and the 
substitution of artificial food of improper kind, and the use 
of unsuitable food in the later months of infancy, are a very 
prolific source of disease. Insufficient and unsuitable dress, 
both in summer and winter, but especially in the latter season, 
is without doubt accountable for a considerable proportion of 
the deaths that occur among the young. The want of proper 
ventilation and cleanliness in the over-crowded homes of the 
poor; insufficient and defective drainage, and the absence of 
fresh air and sunlight, are all serious evils, which cannot fail 
to affect prejudicially the health of such as are exposed to 
their influences, particularly those of a tender age.” Beyond 
all question, sanitary living is the chief preventive of disease. 
SEASONAL CHANGES, AND DISEASE. 
Compliance in clothing, food, and mode of life in general, 
with the requirements of atmospheric changes, is a potent 
means of preventing disease. I have already said a good 
deal on this subject, but as showing, in a manner, the great 
importance of it in early life, I will quote a few passages from 
one of a series of articles on the relations of aerial conditions PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
121 
to the death-rate in Philadelphia, contributed by me, in 1879, 
to the Medical and Surgical Reporter, a well-known weekly 
journal published in that city. 
“ The most marked feature of the infantile mortality is its 
excess in the heat of summer—it is over four times more in 
July than in November. From the falling off in the number 
of deaths in the autumn months, an increase begins in 
December, which augments until on toward the end of 
March, when a slight decrease is observable, which lasts until 
near the end of May, the time in which the great summer 
fatality begins. It is more than probable that the autumn 
months present a better showing than they deserve; for the 
reason that the very trying influence of the two months 
which precede has cut off most of the feeble children. More- 
over, the whole number of children under one year of age is 
less then, especially in November; less, I believe, than at any 
other period of the year. Perhaps, on the whole, the spring 
months are the most favorable to the infant population.” 
“ The bulk of the mortality of children between one and 
two years of age occurs in the warm months. The mortality 
in July is nearly three times what it is in October. The 
effects of the warm season are almost as manifest here as with 
younger children, the relative number of deaths being almost 
as great.” 
“ Between the ages of two and five, the month of greatest 
mortality is January ; cold now, and not heat, which has so 
marked an effect up to this period, is most fatal. The fatal 
influence of heat, however, is still apparent. During this 
period and in every succeeding one there is a notable October 
increase in the death rate.” 
“ Between five and ten the effect of heat is imperceptible, but 
the reverse is true of cold. Least deaths occur in August, and 
most in January (same in June).” 
“ From ten to fifteen, as well as from fifteen to twenty, and 122 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
in each succeeding decade, the bulk of the mortality occurs in 
the spring and early summer months.” 
PREVENTABLE DISEASES. 
Pestilential diseases or those which prevail extensively at 
times and are communicable by contagion, or infection, are the 
ones usually referred to when preventable diseases are spoken 
of. This limitation of the word preventable I do not like. 
These destructive diseases, however, deserve to be combated 
with special earnestness and power. More will be said in 
regard to them in the succeeding chapter. 
MEDICINES, AS PREVENTIVES OP DISEASE. 
Of medicines as preventives of disease I need say but 
little more than that they are of value chiefly in so far as they 
may favor health and strength of body and mind. Such of 
them as will serve to invigorate the system will serve to 
render it less liable to become disordered. Certain of them 
possibly are capable of preventing certain diseases from arising 
because of their being possessed of special virtues. But on 
this subject very little is known. 
AMULETS, AS PREVENTIVES OP DISEASE, 
Amulets have, perhaps, always been in use for the preven- 
tion of disease. A red string worn around the neck has been, 
since the Middle Ages, regarded by not a few as a shield 
against a large number of “ the ills that flesh is heir to.” 
A chestnut carried in the pocket is believed by many to be a 
certain preventive of rheumatism. Sachets or little bags of 
sulphur and various other substances are not a little used to 
ward off infectious and contagious diseases. Among the 
“ pads” of all sorts which impostors are now trading in largely, 
the credulous may find some not only for the purpose of pre- 
venting, but of curing nearly all diseases. PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
123 
Now, it is certain that amulets do serve, in a measure, to 
prevent disease. Anything which inspires confidence and 
hope, is sanative in its effects. Faith is a powerful healer. Of 
course, it is irrational to hold that the things in question act 
otherwise than through the impression made by them on the 
mind. 
DISEASE, AS ITS OWN PREVENTIVE. 
Most pestilential diseases have this peculiarity, that one 
attack renders the' system almost proof for life against another. 
Why this is so, I cannot say, but it would seem to be due to 
a change of a lasting nature in the constitution. Careful 
study of the subject may in time enable us to bring about the 
change in a simple way artificially. In the case of small-pox, 
a disease which in other days was horribly destructive to life, 
this can be done, in a manner, either by inoculation or vac- 
cination, two operations of which I will now speak. 
INOCULATION. 
By inoculation or ingrafting is meant the production of 
small-pox, or indeed any disease, in a person by introducing 
into the system through an abrasion of the skin the matter or 
virus found in the eruption of one suffering from it. The 
attack of the disease thus induced is relatively very mild. 
Inoculation was long practiced in Eastern lands before it 
became known in Western Europe. In the latter part of the 
world it was unheard of until 1717. In that year it was 
brought to the attention of the English people by Lady 
Wortley Montague, who learned of it while living in Con- 
stantinople with her husband, who was Ambassador from 
Great Britain. Her first letter about it was addressed to the 
poet, Pope, and dated April 1st. After giving an excellent 
account of it, the heroic young woman (she was only twenty- 
six) says, “ You may believe I am well satisfied of the safety 124 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
of this experiment since I intend to try it on my dear little son. 
I am patriotic enough to take pains to bring this useful 
invention into fashion in England.” The practice of it was 
bitterly opposed, but it was in time resorted to extensively. 
It is now prohibited by law in most countries, because it may 
be the means of spreading the disease, as others may catch it 
from the person operated on. It was destined to be replaced 
by vaccination, against which no such objection can be raised, 
and which as fully protects the system, without giving rise to 
any serious disturbance of it. 
VACCINATION. 
Vaccination is an operation similar to inoculation save that 
the virus is not obtained from the small-pox pustule but from 
that of an allied disease which occurs in the cow. It was 
discovered by an observing scientific physician, Dr. Edward 
Jenner, while practicing his profession in Berkeley, Glouces- 
tershire, England, toward the end of the last century. His 
attention was directed to the matter by reports that milk-maids 
who had been infected with the cow-pox were not subject to 
small-pox. After being convinced of the truth of this fact 
it occurred to him that the virus from the artificial pustule 
also would serve as a preventive of small-pox. In this con- 
nection the following letter to a friend is of interest:—- 
“ Dear Gardner :—As I promised to let you know how I 
proceeded in my inquiry into the nature of that singular dis- 
ease, the small-pox, and being fully satisfied how much you 
feel interested in its success, you will be gratified on hearing 
that I have at length accomplished what I have been long 
waiting for—the passing of the vaccine virus from one human 
being to another by the ordinary mode of inoculation. A boy 
of the name of Phipps was inoculated in the arm, from a 
pustule on the hand of a young woman who was infected by 
her master’s cow. Having never seen the disease but in its PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
125 
casual way before—that is, when communicated from the cow 
to the hand of the milker—I was astonished at the close 
resemblance of the pustules, in some of their stages, to the 
variolous pustules. The boy has since been inoculated for the 
small-pox, which, as I ventured to predict, produced no effect. 
I shall now pursue my experiments with redoubled ardor. 
“Believe me ever yours sincerely, 
Berkeley, July 19th, 1796. “Edward Jenner.” 
The great discoveries flf Dr. Jenner did not meet with favor 
when communicated to the world; on the contrary, they were 
denounced in unmeasured terms, by people generally. It was 
accounted by them as nothing short of horrible to infect man 
deliberately with a beastly disease. But he lived long enough 
(he died in 1823) to have the pleasure of knowing that pos- 
terity would always regard him as one of the very greatest 
of benefactors of the human race. That his discoveries were 
soon appreciated by at least some in this country, is evident 
from the following interesting letter:— 
Boston, 13th July,' 1802. 
Sir :—I have the honor of enclosing herewith a certificate 
of your election, by a unanimous vote, as a member of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. And in transmit- 
ting this testimonial of respect of my countrymen, I am sure 
of expressing their sentiments when I add that never since 
the institution of this Society have its members enjoyed a 
more genuine and universal satisfaction by the accession of a 
new associate than when they acquired the privilege of reckon- 
ing among their members the name of Dr. Jenner. 
I am, very respectfully, your very humble and obedient 
servant, John Quincy Adams, 
Corresponding Secretary of the American Academy 
of Arts and Sciences. 
The protective power of vaccine matter obtained directly 126 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
from the cow is not much, or perhaps no, greater than that 
obtained from the pustule produced by it on any part of the 
human body. Both are thoroughly efficacious. The follow- 
ing remarks fronTthe official report of the physician (Dr. W. 
M. Welch) who had charge of the public hospital in which 
small-pox cases were treated, during the extensive epidemic 
of the disease, in 1871, in Philadelphia, are worthy of peru- 
sal : “ It would seem at first sight almost like a work of 
supererogation to collect statistics at this late day to prove the 
prophylactic virtue of vaccination; yet the ignorance con- 
cerning the benefits to be derived from this measure, especially 
among the lower order of society, is lamentably great. This 
ignorance not unfrequently gives rise to a prejudice against 
vaccination, which, we regret to say, cannot be overcome by 
statistical proof, however conclusive. What is needed, there- 
fore, to bring protection to all classes of the community is a 
law making vaccination compulsory. The innocent offspring 
of ignorant and improvident parents especially require the 
enactment of such a law for their protection. It was no 
uncommon occurrence, during the prevalence of the epidemic, 
to admit children in whom the taper of life was barely flick- 
ering in the socket, soon to become extinguished by a disease 
eminently preventable, who, when asked why vaccination 
had not been performed, would plaintively reply, ‘ Father 
didn’t believe in vaccination,’ or, 1 Father thought vaccination 
foolishness.’ In one instance the very singular reply was 
given, (Mother says she left me for God to vaccinate.’ This 
reminds us of the gross ignorance and superstition which were 
exhibited by some in the days of the immortal Jenner, when 
vaccination was declared as taking power out of God’s hands. 
It was said by some of the rash opponents of the art that God 
had seen fit to afflict the race with small-pox, and it was there- 
fore impious to interrupt it with cow-pox.” 
Experience shows that the protective power of vaccination PREVENTION OF DISEASE. 
127 
against the contraction of small-pox lessens in time. On this 
point Dr. Welch says: “We have adduced, we think, facts 
sufficient to prove that the susceptibility to small-pox, which 
is destroyed for some years in vaccinated persons, returns 
and progressively increases, up to a period undetermined, 
with the distance of time from the primary vaccination. 
The susceptibility to second vaccination returns, we believe, 
in the same ratio. The logical inference, then, is that vaccina- 
tion will exhaust the returning susceptibility to small-pox. 
Fortunately this is not only beautiful in theory, but has been 
found to be the fact, as existing records show, whenever 
re-vaccination has been practiced. The rare occurrence of 
small-pox after successful re-vaccination, and the exceedingly 
rare occurrence of death from that disease after the latter, 
places its practical efficacy beyond question.” Of the 
twenty-three hundred and seventy-seven cases of small-pox 
which were under the care of the Doctor during the epidemic 
in question, only thirty-six were said to have been re-vac- 
cinated, and of these, four died. Evidently it is wise for 
every one to get vaccinated a second time. If it is not needed 
the matter will not take. There is no ground, however, for 
the popular idea that it should be repeated every seven years. 
As to the idea that there is danger of becoming infected 
with certain blood diseases through vaccination with human- 
ized matter, I would say that there is no substantial basis for 
it. The eruptions, or any manifestations of disease, which 
follow the operation in rare cases, would in all probability 
appear at any rate. Still it is well to obtain the matter from 
healthy children only. 
A child should be vaccinated about three months after 
birth, for at this period the irritability of extreme infancy is 
over, and the irritation produced by dentition has not 
appeared. If an epidemic of small-pox be prevailing, the 
operation should be performed at once, regardless of age. If 128 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
the child be sickly and there are no small-pox cases near, 
vaccination may be postponed until health is restored. 
Vaccination may be performed on any part of the body; 
but the arm is generally selected on account of being the most 
convenient. The matter need not necessarily be applied at 
more than one point, but it is not amiss to have it at two. 
The skin must be sufficiently abraded, but no bleeding should 
be produced. Let the arm be kept still for half an hour, or 
so, after the operation. 
On the second day after vaccination the puncture should be 
somewhat elevated; on the third or fourth a small, red pimple 
should be present; on the fifth there should be a distinct circu- 
lar vesicle with a projecting edge and a depressed centre ; on 
the eighth the vesicle should be distended with clear matter 
or lymph; and on the ninth and tenth the vesicle should 
become transformed into a pustule, and be surrounded by an 
inflamed ring from one to three inches in diameter. After 
the tenth day both the pustule and the inflammation should 
begin to decline. The scab falls off about the twenty-first 
day. The cicatrix should be well marked. 
Vaccination generally gives rise to but little disturbance of 
the system. Occasionally, about the eighth day there is some 
fever and the bowels are disordered. About the tenth day an 
eruption appears, in some cases, beginning on the extremities, 
and extending to the trunk. As a rule, the constitutional 
symptoms are less when humanized matter is used than when 
it comes directly from the cow. Beyond a dose of castor oil, 
or magnesia, no medicine is required. If the arm is greatly 
inflamed it may be bathed frequently with lead water, or 
ordinary water, moderately cold. To the vesicles a flaxseed- 
meal poultice may be applied to advantage sometimes. CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
129 
CHAPTER III. 
CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Nature of Contagion and In- 
fection—Temperature, and Contagious and Infectious Dis- 
eases—Nursing, and Contagious Diseases—Disinfectants, 
and Contagious and Infectious Diseases. 
PRELIMINARY- REMARKS. 
Being prime causes of much disease of a very serious nature, 
contagion and infection are deserving of particular study. By 
exercising all possible precautions to limit their dissemination, 
the death-rate of any community can be greatly lessened. It 
is against them that the chief efforts of public health officers 
and sanitarians are aimed. 
By contagion is meant the agent by which any disease is 
communicated from a person suffering from it to one that is 
well; and by infection, any cause of disease which may exist 
in the air or elsewhere, which is not of personal origin. 
Measles is a contagious disease; fever and ague is an infectious 
one, and scarlet fever is contagious, according to some authori- 
ties, infectious, according to others, and both contagious and 
infectious according to not a few. I may say, however, that 
many now apply the term infectious to all diseases dependent 
on specific causes, except those which arise through inoculation, 
or as Dr. George Wilson, who is a leading sanitarian of 
England, puts it, “1 Infection’ and ‘ contagion’ are now used 
as synonymous terms, or at all events, are used indiscriminately, 
and are intended to convey the same meaning.” 
An epidemic disease is, properly speaking, one the preva- 
lence of which is due to contagion, and an endemic disease is 
one the prevalence of which is due to infection. It is usual 130 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
not to apply these terms to any but severe outbreaks of disease, 
and the former only is used by all, except some medical men 
and others, who are careful in the use of language. 
THE NATURE OF CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
Of the nature of contagion and of infection our knowledge 
is incomplete. In harmony with the definitions given above 
contagion may be regarded as of an animal, and infection of 
either an animal, or a vegetal, or an inorganic character. 
However, it is certain that both have substance, that either is 
a material, a tangible thing. He must be a very loose and 
unphilosophical thinker who can look on pestilential disease 
of any kind as originating without a physical cause. Any 
tendency in this direction which may exist is a relic of an 
unscientific age, a remnant of the mode of thought of the 
superstitious Romans, who erected on the Palatine Hill a 
temple to the Goddess of Fever. The plague which raged in 
the Grecian army, and which is described by Homer, is 
attributed by him to Apollo— 
“ Latona’s son a dire contagion spread, 
And heaped the camp with mountains of the dead.” 
We, too, hold that as the influence of the sun is essential to 
all vital activity, “his darts inflict the raging pest;” but there 
must be a medium, or the disease is not pestilential; it is 
simply a condition induced by heat, or cold, or some perver- 
sion of the state of the air, or the food. This was clear to 
Thucydides, who described the Athenian plague, as well as to 
Arseteus and Galen, among ancient physicians; and from 
much that is contained in the code of hygiene of Moses, 
who was versed in the learning of the Egyptians, it is likely 
the idea is very old. But when not a gas or mineral 
infection, is this agent of disease, this materies morbi, a 
mere exhalation, or is it a specific organism? Numbers CONTAGION AND INFECTION 
131 
of medical philosophers now hold that it is a living, self- 
propagating entity, a unit in creation, just as a dandelion 
or a house-fly is, and that it never originates of itself, 
spontaneously. Against this germ theory of disease some 
objections can be raised. It would be rash to fully accept it, 
because the possible properties of particles of organic matter 
of different kinds are, as yet, but very imperfectly known. 
Thus, neither a pollen grain nor an ovule of any flower is a 
seed from which a plant wall grow; the two must unite before 
the complete germ is developed. The minute organisms which 
some microscopists have discovered in the secretions or excre- 
tions of patients may be the results of disease, and not causes. 
TEMPESATURE, AND CONTAGIOUS AND INFECTIOUS 
DISEASES. 
Contagious diseases prevail most, perhaps, in the colder half 
of the year; while those of an infectious nature prevail most in 
the warmer half. When the temperature of the air falls to, or 
near the freezing-point, infectious diseases of aerial origin 
abate and stop; but the cold seems to favor the spread of 
contagious diseases. Now, as a freezing temperature stops all 
activity in particles of organic matter which may be in the 
air, it, of course, in this way shears infection of its baleful 
power; and it necessarily also has a similar effect on contagion. 
The greater prevalence of contagious diseases in cold than in 
warm weather may be due, in a degree, to the system then 
being naturally in a condition more favorable to their devel- 
opment; but I believe it is largely attributable to a difference 
in the social behavior of the people. When it is cold people 
confine themselves more closely to their homes than when it is 
warm ; and with the closer confinement, the crowding, there is 
generally a vitiated atmosphere, which depresses vitality. 
Were it not for the influences at play within doors, it is very 
likely that contagious as well as infectious diseases would 
subside in very cold weather. 132 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
NURSING, AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 
From what has been said above it may be inferred that 
infection must be combated mainly through attention to the 
general sanitary conditions, and contagion through not only 
the general sanitary conditions, but also the mode of nursing 
of the sick. The latter method of curtailing contagion cannot 
be over appreciated. 
As the majority of children seem to be destined to suffer 
from measles, scarlet fever, and a number of other contagious 
diseases, very little precaution is exercised, as a rule, to stay 
their progress in any community. This negligence is of too 
serious a nature to be fitly characterized. Every child need 
not necessarily have scarlet fever, or any contagious dis- 
ease ; and it is nothing short of criminal for not only public 
authorities, but the head of a house to let such diseases prevail 
as they may. Of the means which should be brought to bear 
by the latter to prevent their spread I will now speak. 
As soon as a person is attacked with any disease of a con- 
tagious nature, he should be at once placed in an apartment 
into which at least all who are liable to contract it, that is, 
all who have not had it, shall be forbidden to enter. A room 
immediately under the roof is the best, and the larger and 
more easily ventilated it is the better. It should contain no 
furniture of any kind, beyond what is absolutely necessary, 
namely, a bed, a table, and a chair, or two. I need not say 
that not an inch of carpet, or of drapery should be allowed in 
it. Cleanliness being of great importance, not a particle of 
dirt which can be removed should be tolerated in it for a 
moment. It is well to keep the temperature down to and 
preferably far below fifty degrees, not only because the activity 
of contagion is checked by cold, but because the patient is 
likely to be benefited by the cold air, it being anti-febrile in 
its effects. In referring to certain ideas which prevail in 
regard to the care of patients suffering from contagious CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
133 
diseases, Dr. West says, “ There is an over-dread of catching 
cold, and the room is, in many cases, kept, in consequence, 
both hot and ill ventilated. When children are suffering 
from measles, it is, indeed, well to keep the room at a temper- 
ature of about sixty degrees; but in other fevers the 
temperature should not exceed fifty-five at the utmost. Be 
the temperature that is considered necessary what it may, it is 
not to be maintained by excluding fresh air from the apart- 
ment, and making the child breathe over and over again that 
which has already been made impure.” 
As contagion may be conveyed from place to place by 
means of the clothing, a person who undertakes to nurse a 
patient affected with any contagious disease should be dressed 
very plainly and with such fabrics as are least likely to catch 
and retain particles of matter. Hence, woolen goods should 
be avoided as much as possible, and those of linen, or of 
cotton, especially if highly calendered, should be preferred. 
DISINFECTANTS, AND CONTAGIOUS AND INFECTIOUS 
DISEASES. 
. In speaking of the nursing of cases of contagious diseases, 
I said nothing of the use of disinfectants in the sick-room. 
Nor are any required if the instructions which I gave be 
strictly followed ; but there can be no objection to placing in 
it a plate containing a teaspoonful, or two, of chloride of lime 
with a little water, every morning. Instead of the lime, half 
a teaspoonful, or less, of carbolic acid may be similarly used. 
Disinfectants, however, are of service in many ways in the 
prevention of contagious and infectious diseases. Their 
value has been appreciated from an early date. They are 
spoken of by Homer in very explicit terms, in such a way as 
to make it clear that the old Greeks realized their use. Thus 
he represents Ulysses, after returning from his ten years of 134 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
wandering, as purifying his dishonored palace with fire and 
sulphur— 
“ With fire and sulphur, cure of noxious fumes, 
He purg’d the walls and blood-polluted rooms.” 
In respect to them I will favor my readers with the Report 
of a Commission of distinguished chemists and sanitarians, 
appointed in 1879, by the National Board of Health of the 
United States, to prepare familiar instructions for their use. 
It is as follows: “ Disinfection is the destruction of poisons 
of infectious or contagious diseases. Deodorizers are not 
necessarily disinfectants, and disinfectants do not necessarily 
have an odor. 
“ The disinfectants to be used are first, roll sulphur for fumi- 
gation ; second, sulphate of iron (copperas) dissolved in water 
in the proportion of one and a half pounds to the gallon, for 
soil, sewers, etc.; third, sulphate of zinc and common salt 
dissolved together in water, in the proportion of four ounces of 
the sulphate and two ounces of salt to the gallon, for clothing, 
bed linen, etc. 
“ The Commission exclude carbolic acid, for the reason that 
it is difficult to secure the proper quality, and it must be used in 
large quantities to be of service. 
“ In using disinfectants in the sick room the most available 
agents are fresh air and cleanliness. The clothing, towels, bed- 
linen,, etc., should, on removal from the patient, and before 
they are taken from the room, be placed in a pail, or tub of 
the zinc solution, boiling that, if possible. All discharges 
should either be received in vessels containing copperas solu- 
tion, or when this is impracticable, should be immediately 
covered with copperas solution. All vessels used about the 
patient should be cleaned with the same solution. Unneces- 
sary furniture, especially that which is stuffed, carpets and 
hangings, should, when possible, be removed from the room CONTAGION AND INFECTION. 
135 
at the outset, otherwise they should remain for subsequent 
fumigation and treatment. 
“Fumigation with sulphur is the only practicable method of 
disinfecting a house. For this purpose the rooms to be disin- 
fected must be vacated. Heavy clothing, blankets, bedding 
and other articles which cannot be treated with zinc solutions, 
should be opened and exposed during fumigation, as directed 
below. Close the room as tightly as possible. Place the 
sulphur in iron pans, supported upon bricks placed in tubs 
containing a little water; set it on fire by hot coals, or with 
the aid of a spoonful of alcohol; and allow the room to remain 
closed for twenty-four hours. For a room about ten feet 
square, at least two pounds of sulphur should be used; for 
larger rooms proportionately increased quantities. 
“Cellars, yards, stables, gutters, privies, cesspools, water 
closets, drains, sewers, etc., should be frequently and liberally 
treated with copperas solution. The copperas solution is 
easily prepared by hanging a basket containing about sixty 
pounds of the copperas in a barrel of water. 
“ It is best to burn all articles which have come into contact 
with persons sick with contagious or infectious diseases. 
Articles too valuable to be destroyed should be treated as 
follows: Cotton, linen, flannels, blankets, etc., should be 
treated with the boiling zinc solution. Introduce piece by 
piece, secure thorough melting, and boil for at least an hour. 
Heavy woolen clothing, silks, furs, stuffed bed-covers, beds, 
and other articles which cannot be treated with the zinc 
solution, should be hung in the room during fumigation, their 
surfaces thoroughly exposed and pockets turned inside out. 
Afterward they should be hung in the open air, beaten and 
shaken. Pillows, beds, stuffed mattresses, upholstered furni- 
ture, etc., should be cut open, the contents spread out and 
thoroughly fumigated. Carpets are best fumigated on the 
floor, but should afterward be removed to the open air and 136 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
thoroughly beaten. Corpses should be thoroughly washed 
with a zinc solution of double strength and buried at once. 
Metallic, metal-lined, or air-tight coffins should be used, when 
possible, certainly when the body is to be transported any 
considerable distance.” 
In submitting this Report the Chairman of the Commission, 
Prof. C. F. Chandler, of New York, said, “ It has been the 
aim of the Commission to prepare concise directions for disin- 
fection, so simple and clear that they may be easily followed 
by any person of intelligence. In the selection of disinfecting 
agents the aim has been, first, to secure those which can be 
relied upon to accomplish the work; second, which can be 
procured in a state of comparative purity, in every village in 
the United States; third, so cheap that they can be used in 
adequate quantities. The people must be instructed that no 
reliance can be placed in disinfectants,simply because they 
smell of chlorine, or carbolic acid, or possess the color of 
permanganate of potash (a rich purple), and that in general 
proprietary disinfectants with high-sounding names are practi- 
cally worthless.” NURSING OF THE SICK. 
137 
CHAPTER IY. 
THE NURSING OF THE SICK. 
Preliminary Remarks—On Discovering the Disease Present— 
The Sick Room—Mental Care in Sickness—On Diving 
Medicine and Food—On Observing the Features of Dis- 
ease—Bodily Temperature in Disease. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The nursing of sick children is not, as a rule, a pleasant 
duty, but it is one which should be performed cheerfully, care- 
fully and faithfully. When ill all children are apt to be 
irritable and hard to please. To attend gently and patiently 
to many a little sufferer one must have the love which a 
mother only can possess. It is very essential, then, that the 
person who undertakes to nurse a child through a severe 
illness should undertake the work voluntarily, and fully 
resolved to do her best until the end. 
As ministering to the sick is wearisome to both body and 
mind, this duty should not be attended to by a very feeble 
person, except the illness is of a temporary nature. A nursing 
mother should avoid it, for the sake of the infant at her 
breast; for anxiety and want of sleep will seriously affect her 
milk. Many a child is ruined in this way. 
From what precedes the reader may infer that I hold that 
the duty of nursing the sick should not be divided. The 
patient who is cared for by more than one is apt to be cared 
for badly. Let the nursing of every case of severe illness, 
then, be regarded as a labor which requires the attention of a 
special individual, and let that individual be responsible for 
the manner in which it is performed. 138 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
ON DISCOVERING THE DISEASE PRESENT. 
As soon as a child begins to show some signs of illness he 
should be watched closely, so that the disease may be identi- 
fied as early as possible, for while what ails him is not known 
no definite line of action can be marked out, or pursued. And 
it often takes time to do this. As a distinguished physician 
of Philadelphia (Dr. Weir Mitchell) said recently, in an article 
in one of the monthly magazines, “ many diseases begin with 
the same symptoms, just as many words begin with the same 
letters; each added letter helps us to identify the word, and 
each additional sign helps to indicate the malady, until doubt 
ripens to certainty, and we know at length what foe we have 
to deal with.” Of course, in order to be able to always know 
precisely what disease is present it is necessary to have a 
general knowledge of the features of each of those which may 
occur; which knowledge the reader may gather largely from 
other chapters of this work. 
The fact that young children cannot tell anything of their 
feelings makes it especially difficult to discover what their 
ailments are. In them the features and the cries should be 
carefully observed. Prom these it is possible to say whether 
or not the trouble, if severe, is seated in the digestive organs, 
the lungs, or the brain—the three great divisions of the body 
which are particularly liable to become diseased. If the 
affection is in the digestive organs the lips are drawn down, and 
the cries are long, loud, passionate, and attended with a profuse 
flow of tears; if it is in or about the lungs the nostrils are 
drawn up and are in quick motion, and the cries are tearless 
and low, except after taking a deep breath, or after coughing, 
when they are raised in pitch, but. in a moment they are 
stifled, on account of the pain excited; and if it is about 
the brain the brows are contracted and the cries are of 
the character of shrieks, with periods of moaning, or of 
dosing. NURSING OF THE SICK. 
139 
THE SICK-ROOM. 
When a child is attacked with a serious disease, the first 
thing to do is to choose a room in which to keep him; for it 
is exceedingly important that the state of the air should be 
regulated suitably, and otherwise it is impossible to pursue 
any systematic plan of nursing. If the illness is contagious 
the child should be placed as described elsewhere; but if it be 
non-contagious he may be kept in any airy, clear, comfortable, 
convenient room where quiet can be maintained. In it have 
all the articles required to meet the wants of the patient, where 
they can be readily found when needed ; and above all, let it 
be kept clean and well ventilated. Let there be a thermo- 
meter by which to regulate the temperature of the air. 
MENTAL CARE IN SICKNESS. 
If a child be seriously sick, it is wrong to allow him to be 
disturbed by either the members of the family or others, and 
noises of all kinds should not be tolerated. When the nurse, 
or any one else, has to go into the room in which he is, let 
her go gently, but not stealthily; for every one, however 
young, likes to be treated in an open manner. 
It is improper to despair of the recovery of a patient, no 
matter how young he may be, in his presence, for one must 
be in a very passive state who is not alarmed and depressed 
by discouraging words. If nothing pleasant and cheering 
can be sincerely said, it is best to keep silent entirely. As 
whispering will arouse a suspicion that something is wrong, it 
should not be allowed in the sick-room of any one, but more 
especially of a sensitive child; hence, let all that must be said 
be said in a clear but gentle tone of voice. 
The nurse should always be at hand, so that the patient 
may not have to fret and get into a state of excitement before 
he receives the attention craved. 
It is wise not to interfere unnecessarily with the doings of 140 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
a sick child, for opposition is very certain to irritate and distract 
his mind. If his wishes cannot be complied with let him be 
told so in a straight-forward, positive manner, and divert his 
attention to something interesting. He should not be forced 
to lie in a particular posture, or to move against his will, 
unless there is some weighty reason for so doing. 
Great anxiety to please a sick child is apt to soon make 
him very hard to please. The following remarks from the 
article of Dr. Mitchell, referred to above, are to the point:— 
“To yield in everything to a chronic invalid is in a manner 
easy; and this is folk’s fashion in dealing with children; but 
the final result is good neither for child nor for sick person, 
and by enabling the latter to cultivate the resistible sources of 
annoyance and morbid emotions is certain to result in enlarg- 
ing for him by degrees the boundaries of misery. A little 
timely firmness from kind but steady-minded friends will do 
much to limit this cause of unhappiness to patient and attend- 
ants. I am tempted to add a few words as to the greater 
necessity of not spoiling children because of sickness. In 
acute illness it may be well very often to let them have their 
1 own way/ as the saying is, but as regards young people sick 
with chronic maladies for years, and perhaps likely to be ill 
or crippled for life, there can be no more fatal mistake. They, 
of all people, need to possess, and to have aid in forming, 
strong, self-sustaining characters; they, if any, are to be 
taught self-denial and restraint, unless we are willing to make 
them alike unhappy and the cause of unhappiness.” 
I may remark that when the period of convalescence 
has arrived great difficulty is often experienced in keeping 
children from leaving their rooms and exposing themselves to 
the risk of a relapse, or of contracting some inflammatory or 
other trouble, which may prove disastrous. Games and every 
means of amusement should be provided, and everything 
possible be done, to prevent the restraint from becoming dis- NURSING OF THE SICK. 
141 
tasteful. This is frequently a duty of far greater importance 
than people in general can realize, and hence it is one in which 
many are likely to be remiss. 
ON" GIVING MEDICINE AND FOOD. 
The medicine and food which it is proper that a child 
should have can usually be given without much difficulty if 
the right method is followed. Firmness of purpose is all 
important here. If the patient be old enough to understand, 
let him be impressed from the first that all that is being done 
is for his good. Do not deceive him, for deception cannot be 
practiced long on many. If the medicine is bitter do not say 
that it is not. Should any questions be asked about it let 
them be answered truthfully, or not at all. The very common 
custom of threatening some sort of punishment from the 
Doctor, if it be not taken, or any request is not complied with, 
is improper, both because it tends to inspire a dislike for one 
whose intentions are rarely otherwise than good, and whose 
feelings are generally friendly, and because a patient’s condi- 
tion cannot be well determined if the presence of the examiner 
is dreaded. 
Neither medicine nor food should be placed in a sick-room 
where it can be seen by the patient, and both should always 
be made as attractive to the eye as possible. It is easy to 
serve up the most palatable dish in such unseemly shape that 
a distaste for it is aroused before it is touched. More than 
one bottle of medicine should not be exhibited at once, and it 
should not be formidable in size. The whole dose should be 
poured into the spoon, or glass, at once, and the latter should 
not be any larger than necessary. The sight of many bulky 
articles of diet is similar in effect to that of many large bottles 
of medicine; both start feelings of disgust. In sickness all 
unpleasant imaginings should be guarded against with 
extreme care. 142 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
ON OBSERVING THE FEATURES OF DISEASE. 
In nursing a patient suffering from any severe illness, his 
condition should be carefully noted from hour to hour, and 
from day to day, so that the Doctor may be informed of it 
when he comes; for this will enable him to treat the case 
more intelligently and successfully than if he has to be 
guided wholly by his own intermittent observations. The 
things which are to be specially noticed depend much on the 
disease present, the stage of disease, the treatment, and other 
circumstances. 
In at least very dangerous cases it is wise for the nurse to 
make a record of her observations on paper. On this point 
Dr. West says, “ The practice of noting down the occurrences 
from time to time, in every case of serious illness, is of great 
service. I am accustomed to desire a record to be kept on a 
sheet of paper divided into five columns; one for food, 
another for medicine, a third for sleep, a fourth for evacua- 
tions, and a fifth for any special point which the nature of the 
illness renders of importance; and feel that by so doing I not 
only obtain a more accurate report than I should otherwise be 
likely to receive, but that also at the same time I train the 
nurse to habits of closer and more accurate observation.” 
BODILY TEMPERATURE IN DISEASE. 
Of late, great importance has been attached to the observa- 
tion of the bodily heat at stated intervals during the progress 
of serious diseases. For the temperature is a very correct 
index of the gravity of fevers, inflammations, and other 
diseases at each of their stages. As pointed out elsewhere, it 
depends on chemical changes in the system. When it falls 
much below or rises much above ninety-eight and four-tenths *■ 
degrees, which is the norme or normal degree, it indicates 
that the patient is very ill. Temporary variations of a degree, NURSING OF THE SICK. 
143 
or so, are not inconsistent with health, especially in children. 
It is naturally a fraction of a degree higher in the afternoon 
than in the morning, and it is about a degree higher than the 
nor me in children. 
In shock, collapse, and after the loss of much blood the 
temperature falls, and in fevers and inflammatory diseases it 
rises. An increase of from one to two degrees indicates that 
fever is present. 
It is impossible to take the temperature with sufficient 
accuracy with the hand ; for, as will be pointed out in another 
chapter, it is an unreliable guide. A clinical thermometer 
should be used. One can be obtained for from two to three 
dollars. This instrument may be placed in the axilla or 
armpit, or under the tongue, and should be retained in 
position for about five minutes. The ability to use it is very 
easily acquired. Dr. Seguin, a distinguished physician of 
New York city, has advocated the use of it by every mother. 
Says he, “ Make her love, study, and trust the little magician, 
who, like the little finger in the fairy tale, tells things that 
nobody can know otherwise. With it she will give us a 
trusty account of the condition of her patient. During our 
absence her hand will be our hand, her eye our eye; and more, 
seeing a sudden rise or fall of temperature when we are 
away, she foresees the peril that thermometry predicts several 
hours in advance, as the barometer does the storm; her mind 
becomes our mind; she hastens our return, giving us a chance 
to ward off a deadly exacerbation, or collapse; truly herself 
saving the life of the patient and eventually our own reputa- 
tion.” I may add that the Doctor advocates the use of it to 
determine the vital condition of school-children, and others, 
from day to day, so that the food, and the bodily and mental 
exercise, and conditions generally, may be duly regulated. 
Such a use of it would require great intelligence on the part 
of the observer. 144 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER Y. 
THE DIET OF THE SICK. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Use of Food in Sickness—Absti- 
nence in Sickness—Over-Feeding in Sickness—The Character 
of Food for the Sick—Dietetic Preparations for the Sick. 
The dieting of the sick is a matter to which comparatively 
few attach sufficient importance, and it is not generally 
attended to either very intelligently or very carefully. In 
early times there was a sect of physicians who depended 
entirely on dietetics in the treatment of disease; they did not 
use medicines at all. Now, I do not advise any one to become 
a devotee of such a system; for there are other things than 
food of value to the sick. The diet, however, should be 
regarded as worthy of quite as much concern as purely medi- 
cinal agents in most cases. It receives great attention from 
all scientific physicians, experience having demonstrated to 
the intelligent that if it be not duly regulated medicines are 
seldom of great consequence. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
THE USE OF FOOD SICKNESS. 
A special system of dieting is required for nearly every 
serious disease; but there is little ground for the prevalent 
idea that this, or that article is good or bad for this, or that 
disease. In sickness, as in health, food is used mainly to 
nourish the body, and not to antidote any evil which may be 
present in it. In every case the kind and amount given 
should depend on the condition of the system which is 
likely to be most favorable to the disease throughout its THE DIET OF THE SICK. 
145 
course. This being so, it follows that the constitution of the 
patient and the stage of the disease must be considered. A 
fever, or an inflammatory disease in its first stage is aggravated 
by giving food; because it serves as fuel to the existing flame. 
But in both fevers and inflammatory diseases food is some- 
times given freely from the start, not to benefit the patient at 
the time, but in the hope that it will keep up his strength so 
as to enable him to resist the disease to the end. 
Not infrequently it is unwise to give food to a patient, 
because of the stomach being in a disordered condition and 
consequently in an unfit state to perform its function. Giv- 
ing it when it cannot be digested is harmful; it will weaken, 
not strengthen the system. In any sickness, or while feeble, a 
little often repeated, is the rule; but it is well not to give it 
so often that the stomach can get no rest. 
ABSTINENCE IN SICKNESS. 
The benefit derivable from abstaining largely from food 
should be well known to every nurse. In many cases it is 
the best of remedies, and the only one which is required to 
effect a cure, pleasantly and quickly. 
It may be laid down as a rule that in all diseases of short 
duration, the less food the patient receives the better is his 
chance of recovery, and the sooner will it occur. This is 
particularly true of all diseases in which the digestive organs 
are in a deranged condition. A slight disturbance about the 
stomach may cause extreme feebleness in a few hours; but 
feebleness thus produced cannot be removed by food. This 
kind of weakness is not in the nature of debility; it is simply 
nervous prostration, and it disappears as soon as the cause 
which produced it subsides. These are facts which every one 
should commit to memory; for ignorance of them is a source 
of injury to many patients. Most people seem to think that 
weakness always calls for the use of nourishment. 146 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
OVER-FEEDING IN SICKNESS. 
Too much eating proves ruinous to many a sick child. It 
is nearly always an injurious kindness which calls on him to 
eat what he does not wish. Indeed, it is seldom wise to force 
him to make use of anything against his will. When food 
will do good there is generally a strong enough desire for it. 
In convalescence there is usually an excellent appetite, and 
food then does good, but it is easy to give it in excess. 
Through the thousand and one favorite delicacies which 
people are apt to present to children recovering from serious 
diseases, much harm is often done; they would generally get 
well faster without them and run less risk of relapses and of 
the contraction of other diseases while in their feeble state. 
As Armstrong says— 
“ While the vital fire 
Burns feebly, heap not the green fuel on ; 
But prudently foment the wandering spark 
With what the soonest feels its kindred touch. 
Be frugal e’en of that; a little give 
At first; that kindled, add a little more ; 
Till by deliberate nourishing, the flame, 
Revived, with all its wonted vigor glows.” 
THE CHARACTER OP POOD POR THE SICK. 
The food for the sick should be nutritious, easily digested, 
and for the most part liquid. If it be nutritious a small 
amount of it will suffice. This is often desirable, for bulky 
food is apt to be oppressive to the stomach, and somewhat 
hard to digest. It is proper that it should be more or less 
liquid in character, because in this shape it is speedily ab- 
sorbed and assimilated. 
It is generally a grave mistake to have the food of the 
sick consist of a great variety of articles. A few which are 
suitable should be chosen and adhered to, unless a dislike for 
them arises, when others may be selected. Mixing a multi- THE DIET OF THE SICK. 
147 
tude of things, sweet and sour, digestible and indigestible, is 
bad enough for any one in health, but it is far worse while in 
a sickly state. 
The temperature of the food for the sick should, as a rule, 
be about that of the blood; but in fevers it may be given 
colder if it is so desired. To a patient that is debilitated it 
should be rather warm than cold, so that the digestion of it 
may begin without first abstracting some heat from the system. 
In preparing food for the sick it should not be highly 
seasoned, especially if the illness is in its active stage. As 
pepper and other condiments are stimulants they are allow- 
able, in a measure, when the patient is suffering from debility; 
and as salt is cooling and excites thirst, a fair amount of it 
may be used for the purpose of getting nourishing liquids 
consumed. 
I will append some information in regard to each of a 
number of alimentary preparations which are often useful in 
the sick-room. 
DIETETIC PREPARATION'S EOR THE SICK. 
Arrowroot. Into a pint of water at the boiling-point 
stir a tablespoonful, or more, of arrowroot which has been 
previously well moistened, and let it boil a few minutes. 
Sweeten with white sugar and flavor with lemon- or orange- 
peel. Milk may be used in place of water, and either brandy 
or wine may be added. 
This preparation is easy of digestion. When made with 
milk it is blander and more nourishing than if made with water, 
and the addition to it of either brandy or wine renders it 
stimulating. 
Barley-water. Add two ounces of pearl-barley which 
has been well soaked in cold water to two quarts of boiling 
water. When boiled until there is but a quart of liquid let the 
latter be strained off. Sugar and lemon-juice may be added. 148 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
This long-popular preparation contains scarcely any nour- 
ishment, but it is an agreeable drink. The addition of 
lemon-juice to it makes it cooling. 
Beef-essence. Let a pound of good lean meat be cut 
into small pieces and be put into a bottle. Then cork the 
bottle and place it in a pan containing cold water. After 
boiling the water gently for about two hours, the essence is 
ready to be poured off. 
This is a highly nutritious and easily digested preparation. 
Beef-tea. Take a pound of good meat, from which the 
fat lias been removed, and when cut into small pieces let it be 
placed in a pint of cold water. Boil gently for about half an 
hour, and having removed the oil-drops, pour off the liquid 
and salt to taste. If strained at all, it should be through a 
coarse sieve. 
This article, when properly prepared, is very agreeable to 
the palate, and is relished by most patients. The nutritive 
value of it is great, but it is less than is commonly supposed. 
Bread-soup. Take a large slice of good stale bread, and 
having broken it into small pieces, put it and some butter into 
a pint of boiling water. Then boil for a few minutes. Salt 
to suit. Celery may be added. 
This is a nutritious and easily digested preparation. 
Chicken-broth. Let half of a cleaned chicken from 
which the skin has been removed be cut in pieces and placed 
in a quart of cold water. To this add a tablespoonful of rice, 
or a crust of bread and some salt, and then boil gently for 
about two hours. Put a little parsley in it. Skim it well. If 
strained, let it be through a coarse sieve. 
This is an agreeable and moderately nutritious preparation. 
Chocolate. Into a pint of boiling milk stir a table- 
spoonful, or so, of finely scraped chocolate, and let it simmer 
for a minute, or two. The milk may be slightly diluted with 
water. Sweeten to the desired degree. THE DIET OF THE SICK. 
149 
This preparation is nutritious and moderately stimulating. 
It is far more suitable than either tea or coffee, as a beverage, 
for most invalids. 
Coen-starch. Moisten a tablespoonful, or so, of corn- 
starch with water, and pour it into half a pint of boiling milk. 
Boil a few minutes and add a little salt. Flavor with any 
agreeable agent and sweeten to suit the taste. Then set it 
aside to cool. An egg may be added. 
This is a very bland preparation, and the addition of an 
egg to it renders it very nutritious. 
Currant-jelly. To a given amount of the juice of 
ripe currants add an equal weight of white sugar, and boil 
gently until the mixture will solidify sufficiently when cold— 
a point which is easily determined by letting a drop fall on a 
cold plate. Remove the scum and cast it into suitable forms. 
A tablespoonful of this preparation mixed thoroughly with 
half a pint of cold water makes a pleasant cooling drink. 
Egg and wine. Beat a raw fresh egg and add to it two 
tablespoonfuls of water and a little sugar. Mix with this a 
wineglassful of sherry, and let it be used soon. Instead of 
the wine a tablespoonful of brandy may be used. 
This is a useful preparation in cases of prostration, when 
nourishment as well as stimulation is required. 
Flaxseed-tea. Take of flaxseed an ounce, white sugar 
an ounce, liquorice half an ounce, and lemon juice four table- 
spoonfuls, and add to them a quart of boiling water. After 
standing in a hot place for four hours the liquor should be 
strained off. 
This is a very bland drink. For ordinary coughs and colds 
there is scarcely any remedy more useful. 
Gruel. Moisten a tablespoonful of oaten meal and stir it 
into a pint of boiling water. Then boil from ten to fifteen 
minutes. Add a little salt. It may be used either with or 
without milk and sugar. 150 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
\ 
This agreeable preparation is nourishing and easy of diges- 
tion. It is often of great service. 
Milk and lime water. Mix a wineglassful of fresh 
milk with an equal amount of lime water. 
A spoonful of this mixture will at times remain on the 
stomach when hardly anything else will. 
Milk-punch. Put from one to two tablespoonfuls of 
brandy in a tumblerful of milk, and sweeten to the desired 
degree. A little nutmeg may be added. 
In depressed conditions of the system this preparation is 
very serviceable. 
Mutton-broth. Take a pound of good lean mutton, and 
having cut it in pieces, put it in a quart and a half of cold 
water. Then boil gently for about one and a half hours, 
adding in the meantime the desired amount of salt. Some 
barley, or rice, and perhaps an onion may be added. Pour the 
liquid into a suitable vessel, and when it is cold skim olf the 
fat. It may be warmed as wanted. 
This preparation is moderately nutritious, and it is accept- 
able to most patients. 
Rice-water. Boil two ounces of rice in two quarts of 
water for an hour and a half, and add either sugar or salt as 
desired. A little grated nutmeg may be put in it. 
This makes an agreeable drink, but it contains very little 
nourishment. It is somewhat constipating, and hence it is 
held to be beneficial in diarrboeal affections. 
Sago. Put two tablespoonfuls of sago, with the juice and 
rind of half a lemon, in a pint of water, and boil gently until 
of the desired degree of consistency. Sugar may be added, 
and so may water, or wine. 
This preparation is palatable and easily digested. 
Stewed-oysters. Take half a pint of freshly shelled, 
good oysters, half an ounce of butter, a third of a pint of 
cream, and a little flour, with some salt and, perhaps, pepper. THE DIET OF THE SICK. 
151 
Scald the oysters in their own liquor, and having taken them 
out, strain the latter. Place the butter in a suitable stewing 
vessel, dust in sufficient flour to dry it up, and add the oyster- 
liquor. Bring this to the boiling-point, and having put in 
the oysters, the cream, and the seasoning, simmer for about 
two minutes. Serve on a hot plate. 
This is a nutritious as well as a palatable dish. 
Tapioca. Soak two tablespoonfuls of tapioca in a cup of 
cold water for two hours, or longer. Then put it in a pint of 
boiling water, and boil it for an hour, or until it becomes 
jelly-like. Sugar and nutmeg may be added, and so may 
lemon-juice, Qr wine. 
This preparation is similar to sago in most respects. 
Toast-water. On a slice of good stale bread, which has 
been well toasted, but not burned, pour a pint of boiling 
water. When it has cooled, let the liquid be strained. 
This is an agreeable drink, but it contains extremely little 
nourishment. 
Wine-whey. To a pint of boiling milk add enough 
sherry wine to produce a curd. Strain off the liquor and 
sweeten it to the desired degree. Any flavor may be added. 
This palatable drink is somewhat nutritious and stimulating. 152 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER VI. 
REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Use of Medicine in Sickness—Cir- 
cumstances, and the Action of Medicines—The Medicine- 
Chest—Remedies Referred to in this Work—Weights arid 
Measures. 
PEELIMINABY REMARKS. 
I am far from being of the opinion that no medicine of any 
kind should ever be administered save by a physician; on the 
contrary, I believe that there are many agents which a mother, 
or any one of an average degree of intelligence, may often 
prescribe advantageously. I hold that a person who has 
charge of children and who does not possess a knowledge of 
the properties and uses of certain medicinal substances is 
unqualified for the position. I agree with Dr. Bull in the 
statement that if “ it be granted that a young mother is not to 
send for the physician for every trifling ailment of her little 
ones—and surely no one would insist on this—then it is also 
very plain that there is a certain amount of information, in 
the way of caution as well as instruction, about medicine and 
remedies of which she ought not to be ignorant.” A doctor 
of medicine is not always at hand; and as in nearly every 
illness, whether grave or not, much, if not all possible benefit, 
may be derived from the use of various simple remedies, I 
commend mothers to gain an acquaintance with a number of 
them. 
It may, however, be accepted as a wise maxim that no 
medicine should ever be prescribed unless there is strong 
reason to believe that it will do good. It should be resorted 
to only when there is unmistakably a need for it. Many REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
153 
nurses, and mothers too, yes, and physicians, are prone to 
administer medicines for all sorts of trivial and imaginary 
illnesses. This unreasonable dosing is not infrequently a source 
of disease. Locke was not far from being right in saying 
that not upon the occurrence of “ every little indisposition is 
physic to be given, or the physician called to children, 
especially if he be a busy man that will presently fill their 
windows with gallipots and their stomachs with drugs. It is 
safer to leave them wholly to Nature, than to put them into 
the hands of one forward to tamper, or that thinks children 
are to be cured in ordinary diseases by anything but diet, or 
by a method very little distant from it; it seeming suitable 
both to my reason and experience that the tender constitutions 
of children should have as little done to them as possible, and 
as the absolute necessity of the case requires.” In this con- 
nection I may remark that the extremely erroneous idea that 
a physician’s visit is of little, or no account unless he writes 
a prescription—an idea which is entertained by many—is 
often the cause of unnecessary drugging. People should 
know that it is his advice and not a prescription only which 
should be prized and paid for. 
THE USE OP MEDICINE IN SICKNESS. 
There are, doubtless, many who believe that there is a 
particular medicine or “ cure” for each disease; but this notion 
is almost groundless. To be sure, there may be a medicine 
which is far more suitable than any other for a particular 
disease; but it is not because it possesses any property capable 
of destroying it; its curative power is due to its effects on the 
whole, or a part* of the system. 
The object of giving medicine is to bring about such 
changes in the functions of the body as are calculated to favor 
the disappearance of the abnormal condition present. If 
diseases were material things, of course, it would be possible 154 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
to aim remedies directly at them; but they are not. From 
these statements it is evident that each case, and also each 
stage of each case of every disease should be treated some- 
what differently. The true physician prescribes far more for 
conditions than diseases. 
I have said that the true physician prescribes far more for 
conditions than diseases. From this it follows that it is 
entirely wrong, that it is absolute foolishness, to attempt to 
treat any disease with this, or that receipt. Receipt-practice 
is simply quackery. No receipt can be equally suitable for 
different cases of the same disease. But it is in treating 
symptoms, such as cough and convulsions, which may depend 
on extremely different conditions of the system, that the receipt- 
plan is to be especially condemned, for it may do great harm. 
CIRCUMSTANCES, AND THE ACTION OP MEDICINES. 
In the administration of medicines it must be remembered 
that their action is greatly modified by the age, sex, tempera- 
ment, and general condition of the patient. On each of these 
points I will make a few remarks. 
The young are very susceptible to the influence of most 
medicines, but particularly of laudanum and other narcotics. 
There is a rule for the regulation of the dose according to 
the age, which, although not entirely trustworthy as a guide, 
it may be well to know; it may be expressed thus: The 
division of the resultant of the age, plus twelve, divided by 
the age, into the dose of an adult, gives the right amount for 
a child. Thus, if the child be six years of age the dose for 
him should be one-third of that for an adult; for six divided 
into six plus twelve, or eighteen, gives three, which divided 
into one, or the adult dose, gives one-third. 
Females are more easily affected with medicines than males, 
and consequently the dose for them should be somewhat 
smaller. REMEDIES IX SICKNESS. 
155 
Persons of a nervous temperament require less medicine 
of almost any kind to produce a given effect, than those of 
a less excitable nature. 
The state of the patient should always be carefully con- 
sidered in prescribing the dose of any medicine, for far more 
is required under some circumstances than others. Thus, in a 
depressed state of the system stimulants may be given in 
large doses, and in great pain unusually large doses of lauda- 
num and other narcotics are borne. 
By continuing the use of any medicine for a while it is apt 
to produce less and less effect, unless the dose is enlarged. 
Those in the habit of taking narcotics can bear amounts 
which would be poisonous to persons who had not used them 
before. 
I would advise every mother to provide herself with such 
remedies as she may likely require, so that they may be at 
hand when needed. A medicine-chest is really a necessary 
part of the outfit of every home, particularly of every one in 
which there are children. But it is not at all necessary that 
it should contain a great many articles in order to meet all 
ordinary indications for their use. 
Nothing should be found in the domestic medicine-chest 
the properties of which are not accurately known. Nor 
should there be any mixture in it the composition of which is 
not plainly marked on the label. Hence, no quack medicines 
should be placed in it. These articles are all better agents by 
which to kill than cure. Some of them may do good once in 
a while, but only by chance. I trust no mother into whose 
hands this book may come is so irrational, so void of common 
sense, so inhumane, as to be in the habit of giving any one of 
them to any of her children. Let it be well understood by 
every one that all quack doctors and quack medicine venders 
are among the vilest of impostors, scoundrels who for the sake 
THE MEDICINE-CHEST. 156 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
of gain relinquish all regard for botli truth and the lives of the 
people. Beware of the wiles of these Satanic pests of society. 
I may say that it is unwise to have this, that and the other 
herb in the medicine-chest, from which to make teas and the 
like, of uncertain virtues and strength, as there are enough 
simple articles of definite properties to be found ready for use 
in any respectable apothecary’s store. 
REMEDIES REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK. 
Below will be found a few remarks on each of the remedies 
spoken of in this work, which I advise my readers to study 
with care. 
Adhesive-plaster or either linen or muslin coated with 
resinous matter is very useful in the treatment of cuts and 
other wounds. It does not keep long if exposed to the 
air. When required for use let it be cut into strips of the 
desired length and width. It must be well heated before it is 
applied, in order to make it stick. The part to which it is 
applied should be wiped dry, if possible. In removing a strip 
of it raise both ends, so that the portion of it which rests on 
the wound may be the last to be detached. 
Alum is an astringent, that is, it is capable of increasing 
the firmness or density of tissues to which it is applied. When 
crushed into a fine powder water dissolves it easily. A weak 
solution makes a useful gargle when the parts are relaxed; 
and it will stop bleeding from the gums and elsewhere. A 
teaspoonful dose of it in a little syrup repeated every ten 
minutes may be used as an emetic, especially in croup. 
Ammonia (aqua or liquor) or hartshorn irritates the 
part to which it is applied. Inhaling the vapor of it stimu- 
lates the system, and hence is useful in swooning and the like. 
If it be applied to the skin and covered it will produce a 
blister quickly. 
Arnica, or rather a tincture or an alcoholic solution of REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
157 
the flowers of this plant, is much used as an application for 
bruises and swellings. It has a sedative or quieting effect. 
The excessive use of it may cause a troublesome eruption. 
Aromatic spirits of ammonia is a pleasant stimulant. 
It is an alcoholic solution of ammonia and various aromatic 
substances. For rousing the system no better remedy can be 
found; and being alkaline, acidity of the stomach is relieved 
by it immediately. Heartburn and flatulence yield to it 
speedily. The dose of it for a child ten years of age is from 
ten to thirty drops. Let it be given in a tablespoonful, or so, 
of water, or milk. 
Blisters are usually produced by means of a preparation 
of Spanish flies (cerate of cantharides) spread on a piece of 
chamois. The desired action is produced in from two to four 
hours. They serve to subdue congestion in internal parts 
of the body. They are too decided in their action to warrant 
their use in very young children. 
Borax (biborate of soda) is an alkaline agent, and when 
mixed with honey is much used as a local remedy for differ- 
ent sore states of the mouth. 
Brandy. See whisky. 
Bromide of potassium has a sedative effect on the system. 
It is much used for epilepsy and convulsions. The long use 
of it causes more or less of an eruption (acne). The dose of it 
for a child ten years of age is about five grains. It may be 
dissolved in mint-water. 
Calomel, blue mass and other preparations of mercury 
are so liable to do harm that it is unwise to use any of them. 
Camphor-water is a soothing stimulant. It is a good 
remedy for irritability and for diarrhoea. The dose for a 
child of five years is about a teaspoonful. 
Carbolic acid is antiseptic or has the property of pre- 
venting organic matter from undergoing change; and it is 
destructive to low organisms. The smell of it is unpleasant, 158 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
but not injurious, unless it is very marked. The soap which 
contains it is very useful in many forms of skin disease, and 
it is very serviceable in the sick room of a person suffering 
from a contagious disease. 
Castor oil is a mild but prompt and effective aperient. 
Costiveness does not follow from the use of it. The dose of 
it is from one to two teaspoonfuls, or more. To disguise its 
taste it may be given in warm milk, or mint-water. It is 
generally given to infants without any addition. 
Catnip, in the form of a tea, is given by many to babies as 
a remedy for colic. It is soothing in its effects. It should 
be used sparingly and not habitually. 
Chalk-mixture in doses of a teaspoonful, or more, is a 
good remedy for diarrhoea. A little paregoric may be added 
in severe cases. Being alkaline it allays acidity of the 
stomach. 
Chloral (hydrate) is a narcotic and sedative. It speedily 
dulls the sensibility and relaxes the system. For cramps, or 
any violent pain there is no better remedy. The dose for a 
child ten years of age is from two to five grains, and it may 
be given every ten, or fifteen minutes until the desired effect 
is produced. It may be given in a mixture of equal parts of 
syrup and mint-water. 
Chlorate of potash favors the action of the skin and 
the kidneys. From being cooling it is of service when the 
system is in a feverish condition. As it contains a, large 
amount of oxygen it makes a cleansing gargle. The dose of 
it for a child of ten years is from five to ten grains dissolved 
in an ounce, or more of water. For a gargle, dissolve a tea- 
spoonful of it in a glass of water. 
Chloride of lime destroys putrid odors and checks 
putrefaction. When mixed with water a considerable amount 
of chlorine exhales from it; and it is to this gas that its 
disinfectant properties are due. It is well to have a plate REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
159 
containing a spoonful of it and a little water in the room of a 
patient suffering from any contagious disease; and it should 
be renewed daily. 
Citrate of magnesia, prepared in the form of an effer- 
vescing mixture, is a very pleasant and cooling cathartic. The 
dose of it for a child of ten years is about a wineglassful. 
Let it be obtained fresh at the apothecary’s. 
Cod-liver oil is useful in wasting diseases of all kinds, 
but it is generally so distasteful to children that it is hard to 
give it. It acts for the most part like any animal fat. 
Cold-cream is a preparation of white wax and other 
substances. It is a mild, cooling ointment. It softens the 
skin and promotes the healing of chapping, fever-blisters and 
other sores. 
Cosmoline or petroleum ointment is an excellent remedy 
for many forms of skin disease and for sores generally. It is 
without odor and does not turn rancid. 
Creasote is very similar in its properties to carbolic acid. 
A drop of it in a little milk is a good remedy for sickness at 
the stomach, and the application of it to a decayed tooth 
allays the pain which may be present quickly. 
Court-plaster or thin silk coated with an adhesive sub- 
stance is too costly to use for any but small wounds, or sores. 
Epsom-salts is an active cooling cathartic. Generally 
speaking it is too powerful for children, and besides is so 
disagreeable to the taste that it is hard to administer it. The 
dose for an adult is half an ounce dissolved in a glass of 
water. 
Flaxseed makes a bland tea and it is very useful as a 
poultice. For the latter purpose the meal of it is used. Mix 
it thoroughly with boiling water. Place it on linen, or any 
other material. A piece of flannel or of oiled silk laid over 
it will prevent it from drying fast. To make it more draw- 
ing a little mustard may be added to it. 160 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Glycerine being a bland and slow-drying agent is a useful 
application for the skin when it is desired to soften it, or to 
allay irritation. 
Hops make a soothing poultice. A pillow of them is 
quieting. 
Hot-baths are useful when one wishes to soothe and relax 
the system. When used for convulsions the water should be 
as warm as it can be borne. Bathing the feet in hot water allays 
congestion about the head and lungs. Mustard may be added 
to it. 
Iced-water may be applied to any part of the body to 
bring down the temperature and allay congestion. 
Injection (an) or an enema is sometimes preferable to 
medicine as a means of unloading the bowels. If resorted to 
frequently it irritates and weakens the parts. The simplest 
form of it is warm water; but either barley-water, or thin 
gfuel, or milk, is preferable, being blander. Castor-oil may 
be added, and so may soap. For an infant an ounce of fluid 
is enough ; for a child of five, about four, and for one of ten, 
about half a pint. In administering an injection, place the 
child on his side, with his knees drawn up toward the body. 
After greasing the nozzle of the syringe, let it be gently 
introduced into the bowel from one to two inches. The fluid 
should be forced in very gradually; for if it is not it will 
likely be at once rejected. After withdrawing the instrument, 
stillness should be maintained until the desired action is pro- 
duced. Concentrated nourishment, such as beef-tea, may be 
administered in this way, and so may medicines. 
Inunction or rubbing the skin with lard or some other 
oily substance is a remedy of great value for catarrhs, and 
it may be practiced in scarlet fever and measles, both to allay 
irritation and to prevent the spread of contagion. 
Laudanum or the tincture of opium at first stimulates 
and afterward depresses the system. If the dose is large the remedies in sickness. 
161 
period of stimulation is short. A moderate amount of it 
soon produces sleep, and a large amount of it will cause 
death. Children are very easily affected by it. A few drops 
of it will kill an infant. A full dose for an adult is twenty- 
five drops, and for a child of ten years about five. It would 
be well for mothers never to give children any of this agent. 
The habitual use of it is ruinous to them. 
Lead-water (dilute solution of subacetate of lead) is a 
mildly astringent and sedative water. A mixture of equal 
parts of it and of laudanum is au admirable lotion for sprains 
and bruises. 
Lemonade or a drink made from the juice of the lemon is 
an excellent remedy for fever and catarrhs. There are few 
things so often of service. 
Lime-water or water in which unslaked lime has been 
dissolved is much used as an antacid. It is an efficient 
remedy for acidity of the stomach, heartburn, and often for 
vomiting and diarrhoea. A mixture of equal parts of it and 
of olive oil is an admirable application for burns and scalds. 
Magnesia is a white powder. It acts as a gentle laxative, 
and at the same time allays acidity and irritability of the 
stomach and bowels. The dose for an infant is about five 
grains; and for a child of ten years from ten to twenty. It 
may be given in milk. 
Malt-extract is a nutritive tonic, and may often be used 
to advantage in the wasting diseases of children. Let it be 
taken after eating. The principle called diastase, which is 
present in it, promotes the digestion of starchy articles of food; 
it, in a measure, takes the place of the saliva and the pancre- 
atic fluid. 
Manna is a sweet powder. It is a mild aperient in a dose 
of from one to three drachms, and may be given in warm 
milk. For persons over two years of age it is scarcely powerful 
enough. A mixture of it and senna has long been popular. 162 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Mint-water consists of the oil of peppermint and dis- 
tilled water. It is a mild aromatic stimulant. The dose of it 
for a child is a teaspoonful, or more. 
Mustard is of great value, both as an emetic and as an 
external application. To produce vomiting let a teaspoonful 
of it mixed in a little warm water be given and repeated 
every five minutes, until the desired effect is produced. As 
an external application, a counter-irritant, it may be rubbed 
into the skin with lard, or any oil, or may be made into a 
plaster. In making the latter use moderately warm water, 
and mix thoroughly. For young children some flour may be 
added. It may be applied directly to the skin, or a thin 
fabric may intervene, and need not generally remain on longer 
than twenty minutes. It should be removed as soon as the 
part is well reddened. Through it severe inflammation of the 
skin may be produced. 
Nitric acid is a powerful caustic. By means of it warts 
and other growths of the skin can be removed speedily. 
Paregoric (camphorated tincture of opium) contains 
opium, camphor, oil of anise and other agents. In a table- 
spoonful of it there is a grain of opium, or the equivalent of 
twenty-five drops of laudanum. In moderate doses it gently 
stimulates, and at the same time allays irritability of the 
system, and induces sleep. The dose for an infant is about five 
drops, and for a child of ten years about half a teaspoonful. 
The habitual use of it is very injurious. 
Pepper, either black or red, makes a powerful counter- 
irritant. It may be mixed with water, or whisky, and spread 
on flannel. The skin is not likely to be broken by it as with 
mustard. 
Rice-flour is a good drying powder, and allays irritation 
of the skin. 
Sea-bathing is invigorating to persons in health; but 
those in a debilitated state should not resort to it rashly. The REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
163 
shock to the system is marked. It is wrong to remain 
motionless in the water. If reaction does not follow quickly 
on coming out of the water it is an indication that the body 
has been chilled to an excessive degree. No one should 
remain in it more than ten minutes. The temperature of it 
along the coast of New Jersey in summer is from seventy to 
eighty degrees. Children are apt to be afraid of the waves. 
Forcing them to bathe against their will is both cruel and 
dangerous. The salt water may be used without going into 
the sea. No salt is absorbed, but perhaps some adheres to the 
skin and stimulates. The sea air, being pure and invigorating, 
is often beneficial to delicate children. 
Seidlitz powders make an agreeable cathartic. Like 
other cathartics they act best when taken on an empty 
stomach. 
Senna is an active cathartic. The tea made from the 
leaves may be sweetened with sugar, or manna. 
Soda, an agent much used for washing purposes, is an 
excellent remedy for burns and scalds. Let a solution of it 
be applied as soon as possible. 
Soap-liniment or opodeldoc contains camphor, alcohol 
and oil of rosemary, besides soap. It has long been a popular 
remedy for sprains and bruises. The addition of half an 
ounce of laudanum to each half pint of it makes it still more 
soothing. 
Solution of the acetate of ammonia promotes the 
action of the kidneys and skin, and hence, has a cooling effect 
on the system. It is an excellent remedy for fevers and 
catarrhs. The dose for a child of ten years is about a tea- 
spoonful. 
Solution of morphia is very similar in its effects to 
laudanum, morphia being the active principle of opium. A 
dessertspoonful of it is equivalent to twenty-five drops of 
laudanum. 164 
children in sickness. 
Spiced syrup of rhubarb is a mild stimulating laxative. 
Small doses of it are very serviceable for the bowel complaints 
of children, as they are regulative. To relieve costiveness the 
dose for a child a few months old is a teaspoonful. 
Spirits of turpentine makes a stimulating liniment. A 
rag saturated with it, and then covered with a piece of heated 
flannel, is sometimes preferable to mustard as a counter- 
irritant. A large dose of it is an admirable remedy for 
intestinal worms. 
Sweet spirits of nitre increases the action of the skin 
and kidneys. It is more energetic but not so pleasant to the 
taste as the solution of the acetate of ammonia. The dose of 
it for a child of ten years is about half a teaspoonful. Let it 
be given in -water, or milk. 
Syrup of ipecacuanha promotes the action of the skin, 
and is an expectorant. A large dose of it causes vomiting, 
and depresses the system. It is extremely valuable in catarrhs 
and fevers. It may be used alone, or with either the solution 
of the acetate of ammonia or the sweet spirits of nitre. In 
connection with such a mixture a little paregoric is of service, 
if there is much excitement of the system. The dose for a 
child of one year is from five to ten drops. To produce 
vomiting a teaspoonful may be given and repeated every five 
minutes, or so, till thq, desired effect is produced. 
Syrup of squills acts on both the kidneys and the lungs. 
It is preferable to ipecac, in the advanced stage of catarrhs. 
The dose of it for a child of one year is from five to ten drops. 
A large dose will cause vomiting. 
Syrup of the iodide of iron is a valuable remedy for 
scrofulous and allied conditions of the system. It acts as a 
stimulant of the various functions and enriches the blood. 
The dose for a child of ten years is from five to ten drops in a 
little water. In some cases it causes headache. Like the 
wine of iron it blackens the fseces. remedies in sickness. 
165 
Tinctuiie of barks (compound tincture of cinchona) is a 
stimulating tonic. The use of it sharpens the appetite and 
invigorates the system. The dose for a child of ten years is 
about half a teaspoonful. 
Tincture or essence of ginger is a stimulant. It is 
in use in many homes as a sort of cure-all. Beyond its 
stimulating properties it has no special virtue. The dose of 
it for a child of ten years is from five to ten drops. 
Tincture of myrrh mixed with a little water may be used 
to advantage as a mouth-wash, and also as a stimulating gargle. 
Vinegar makes a cooling wash, and the addition of salt 
to it makes it still more so. It may be used to advantage for 
sprains and bruises. 
Whisky and brandy are both excellent stimulants. The 
latter is more pleasant to the taste and is not as apt to contain 
deleterious impurities as the former. They are much used, 
not only by physicians, but popularly as remedies for disease. 
In the presence of temporary weakness and of debility they 
are of great value. Parents should be careful not to give 
them to their children habitually, unless there is some very 
special reason for so doing. 
Wine being a mild and agreeable stimulant is a valuable 
medicine under many circumstances, but it is not well to use 
it, or any other agent, unless there is some real use for it. 
Wine of ipecacuanha acts similarly to the syrup; but 
being more concentrated it is often preferable as an emetic. 
As an expectorant the dose for a child of ten years is about 
five drops. To produce vomiting let a teaspoonful of it be 
given every five minutes, or so, till the desired effect is 
produced. 
Wine of iron is an admirable remedy for debility 
and all conditions of the system in which the blood is 
impoverished. The dose for a child of ten years is about 
a teaspoonful. 166 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Zinc-ointment is an extremely useful remedy for many 
skin diseases. The addition to it of some glycerine and a little 
carbolic acid is sometimes advantageous. 
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
The several weights used by apothecaries and physicians 
are derived from the Troy pound. The relative value of each 
(and also the symbol or mark used to represent it) is shown 
by the following table:— 
Twenty grains (gr.) make a scruple (9 ) 
Three scruples make a drachm (3) 
Eight drachms make an ounce (o ) 
Twelve ounces make a pound (lb.) 
In connection with the symbols, Roman numerals are used 
to indicate the amount (when even) of each denomination 
wished. Thus gr.ij. = two grains; and 3vj. — six drachms. 
The half of an ounce, or any other weight, is indicated by 
placing ss. (semisse) after it. Thus 3 ss.'= half a drachm, and 
3 iss.=one and a half drachms. The written words should be 
preferred by people in general. 
The several measures used by apothecaries and physicians 
are derived from the wine gallon. The relative value of each 
(and also the symbol used to represent it) is shown by the 
following table:— 
Sixty minims (n\,) make a fluid-drachm (f.3) 
Eight fluid-drachms make a fluid-ounce (f.3 ) 
Sixteen fluid-ounces make a pint (O) 
Eight pints make a gallon (C) 
In connection with the symbols, Roman numerals are used 
to indicate the amount (when even) of each denomination, just 
as in the case of weights. Thus f.3ij. = two fluid-drachms; 
and f.Iiss. = one and a half fluid-ounces. REMEDIES IN SICKNESS. 
167 
The supposed capacity of each of a number of domestic 
measures is shown by the following table:— 
A teaspoon contains a fluid-drachm. 
A dessertspoon contains two fluid-drachms. 
A tablespoon contains half a fluid-ounce. 
A wineglass contains two fluid-ounces. 
Let it be borne in mind that the capacity of each of these 
measures, as ordinarily met with, varies greatly. 
A drop is generally believed to represent a minim, but it 
does not, as a rule. The drops of all liquids are not of equal 
size. Thus a fluid-drachm of water contains only forty-five 
drops, while one of alcohol contains a hundred and thirty- 
eight. 
From the remarks just made it is evident that a graduated- 
glass for the administration of medicine should be found in 
every household ; for it enables any one to give the exact dose 
—a matter of great importance. It costs but a trifle. 168 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER VII. 
CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
Preliminary Remarks—Debility—Anaemia—Chlorosis—Ma- 
rasmus—Diabetes—Scrofula—Phthisis or Consumption of 
the Lungs—Croup—Rickets—Caries of the Spine—Coxalgia 
—Dropsy—Hydrocephalus. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
There is an appalling prevalence of constitutional feebleness 
and tendency to disease of various kinds among the young 
everywhere. Through hereditary, or acquired taints a large 
percentage of people are invalids during the greater part of 
their lives. And when the system generally is in an unhealth- 
ful state, existence is apt to be not only unpleasant but brief. 
Nearly a quarter of the deaths in Philadelphia are directly 
attributable to constitutional taints, and of these about one- 
fourth are of persons under five years, and about one-third 
are of minors. Nor are these figures exceptionally bad; they 
are even better than those of some great centres of population. 
Such facts serve to show the crying need there is for earnest 
attention to matters pertaining to health. 
Unfortunately, it is only too true that the constitutional 
vices of parents may be inherited by their children. Tuber- 
culous consumption of the lungs is handed down from 
generation to generation in families, just as surely as traits of 
personal appearance. The stains of physical sins are trans- 
mittible to one’s descendants, and are inclined to grow more 
and more marked until the line dwindles and dies out utterly 
through degeneracy. There may not be an actual inheritance 
of any special disease, but there is often a very marked ten- . '/Z y/k>. CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
169 
dency to it. Although the child of consumptive parents may 
not be born with diseased lungs, yet, on account of peculiar- 
ities of his system, time will likely bring about mortal changes 
in their structure. The diseases which are usually said to be 
acquired by descent are really manifestations of defects in the 
organization. Such defects may be of all grades. Hence, in 
some persons the tendency to a particular disease is very slight, 
while in others it is very pronounced. And it is for the most 
part progressive; it is usually less marked in the parent than 
in the child. Indeed, a long continued perversion of function 
will very probably have an influence on the development of 
the offspring. It is in this way that morbid constitutional 
conditions of a structural kind originate. A mere casual 
functional disturbance may be in the grandchildren a serious 
defect in the organization, a strong tendency to a particular 
disease, or a number of diseases. For the sake of their 
children, then, people have a powerful incentive to keep 
themselves as healthy as possible. . 
Acquired taints of the system generally are quite as common 
as those that are inherited. In rearing children it is easy to 
unwittingly encourage the growth of a proclivity to any of 
the manifold forms of degenerative disease. Breathing im- 
pure air is very productive of morbid changes in the system. 
On this point the late Sir James Clark, a distinguished 
English physician, says: “ If an infant born in perfect health, 
and of the healthiest parents, be kept in close rooms in which 
free ventilation and cleanliness are neglected, a few months 
will often suffice to induce tuberculous cachexia. * * * 
There can be no doubt that the habitual respiration of the air 
of ill-ventilated and gloomy alleys in large towns, is a power- 
ful means of augmenting the hereditary disposition to 
scrofula, and even of inducing such a disposition de novo. 
Children reared in the Workhouses of this country and in 
similar establishments abroad almost all become scrofulous, 170 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
and this more, I believe, from the confined impure air in 
which they live and the want of exercise, than from defective 
nourishment.” On the surroundings and the manner in 
which a child is brought up depends very largely his whole 
condition physically and otherwise. 
Now, from the remarks which precede, it may be gathered 
that I believe that it is possible to, in a great measure, prevent 
diseases to which there is a constitutional tendency, as well as 
those which spring from errors in the mode of life. A child 
need not necessarily die from tuberculous consumption of the 
lungs because his father did. By hygienic living and system- 
atic training, sickliness may be prevented from arising, 
and if present may be eradicated, at least largely, from the 
constitution of every one. 
DEBILITY. 
A run-down condition of the system, in absence of any 
disease, constitutes debility. It is seen in children that do not 
receive sufficient nourishment, or that are brought up in such 
a way that their digestive powers are limited, or that are 
convalescing from serious, protracted diseases. Cases of it are 
very common. Thinness and feebleness are the essential 
features of it. 
To remove this condition plenty of nourishing food and a 
good appetite are required. Many an infant is kept in a 
debilitated state through being given too scanty a supply of 
milk by its feeble mother. A mother should try to adopt such 
a regimen as will serve to enable her to have an abundance of 
milk, and if unsuccessful she should furnish her child some- 
thing which will take the place of it. It is better to bring 
a child up on cow’s milk and other food than on the nourish- 
ment furnished by its mother, if she cannot yield enough, or 
if what she does yield is of poor quality. In any case, cow’s 
milk, preparations of oaten and other meals, and starches, baby- CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
171 
foods, soups, beef-tea, eggs, and the like, should be given to 
children at an early age if needful, rather than that they should 
be allowed to be injured by starvation. When an appetite is 
wanting, exercise in the open air, baths once, or twice a day in 
moderately cold water, systematic rubbing, and kneading and 
moving of the various parts of the body, two, or three times a 
day, will usually produce it soon. Medicine should not be 
resorted to rashly. For children of any age the best for the 
purpose is either wine of iron or tincture of barks three times 
a day. Either may be continued for a week, or longer. 
ANJEMIA. 
Anaemia is commonly spoken of as “ poverty of the blood,” 
and in children it is usually due to living on food which is 
defective in quality, or to breathing impure air, or to confine- 
ment in badly lighted apartments, if not to some wasting 
disease. 
The symptoms of this disease are pallor, languor, weakness, 
nervousness and palpitation of the heart. The veins beneath 
the skin are plainly visible, and the lips are almost without 
color, in marked cases of it. 
To remove this affection, pure air, sunshine, exercise and 
good food are essential, and the wine of iron is very service- 
able. In connection with these measures, all those which are 
promotive of health and strength are of advantage. 
CHLOROSIS. 
Chlorosis is commonly called the green-sickness, and it is 
a species of anaemia. It occurs in girls in their teens. Marked 
cases of it are not extremely numerous. Sometimes it lasts for 
years. Few deaths are attributable to it. 
A waxy, yellowish-green paleness of the face is the most 
noticeable of the symptoms of this disease. There is usually 
little color in the lips, and often there are dark lines beneath 172 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
the eyes. Nervousness, palpitation of the heart, weakness, 
melancholy, ringing in the ears, broken sleep, impaired diges- 
tion, a desire to eat slate pencils, earth and the like, and neu- 
ralgic pains about the abdomen and elsewhere are features of 
all pronounced cases. 
All the remedies recommended for anaemia are equally 
suitable for this disease. The wine of iron is highly beneficial. 
An occasional dose of magnesia is also serviceable. Cheerful 
company is very necessary in some cases, and change of scene 
generally does much good. 
MARASMUS. 
The literal meaning of the word marasmus is emaciation, 
and it is applied by many to any disease of early life of which 
the leading feature is a slow decline or wasting. If the sys- 
tem runs down without any particular lesion or structural 
change in any part, the condition is properly called atrophy ; 
if in connection with progressive emaciation there is evidently 
a scrofulous degeneration in the glands of the mesentery (the 
membrane which binds the folds of the bowels together), the 
glands through which the nutrient matter on its way to 
support the system passes and is elaborated, it is called tabes 
mesexterica ; and if the lungs are affected in connection 
with emaciation and either with or without degeneratiou of 
the glands of the mesentery, it is called cox,sumption. 
About seven hundred deaths (one twenty-seventh of the total 
mortality) are imputed to it every year in Philadelphia, nearly 
all of which are of children under two years of age. 
The cause of marasmus in any case may be obscure; but it 
may usually be attributed to a hereditary taint, or bad air, 
or a bad diet, or bad usage generally. 
The symptoms of this disease vary according to its nature. 
It mostly comes on by slow degrees. Day after day the little 
sufferer becomes thinner and thinner, until there is little more CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
173 
than skin and bones left, and a ghastly aged appearance is 
produced. There is languor from the start, but it becomes 
more marked toward the end. The appetite is sometimes 
voracious and the bowels are irregular. If the mesenteric 
glands are affected there is feverishness, and the abdomen is 
tender and apt to be swollen greatly on account of the 
abundance of gases that are produced; and if the lungs are 
affected there is a cough, with marked feverishness, especially 
at night. 
Whether this disease is due to a hereditary taint or not, 
attention to the diet and mode of life generally is the chief 
part of the treatment which it demands. If taken early it is 
possible to ward it off, in many cases, in this way. Medicines 
are not of much value in any case, save to regulate the 
bowels, relieve colic, or cough, and so on. Syrup of the 
iodide of iron is worthy of most confidence if there is a 
scrofulous taint in the system. When degeneration of the 
mesenteric glands, or of the lungs has once set in, there is no 
ground on which to place a hope for recovery; death will 
occur inevitably at a not very distant day. 
DIABETES. 
The leading features of diabetes are excessive thirst and 
urination; and there are two forms of it; in one, diabetes 
insipidus, the water is free from anything unusual, and in 
the other, diabetes mellitus, it contains sugar (glucose). 
The latter is by far the more serious, but both are apt to prove 
fatal sooner or later. Almost twice as many males as females 
are affected ; and it occurs more among adults than minors. 
About a score of deaths are caused by it yearly in Phila- 
delphia. 
The cause of either form of this disease is seldom apparent; 
but it is probably always dependent on a morbid condition of 
the constitution, particularly of the nervous system. It is 174 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
now believed that the liver is the seat of the sugary form, 
that this organ does not, as in health, completely transform 
the sugar which is absorbed and enters the circulation, into 
such material as will, through other nutritive changes pro- 
gressing within the system, yield heat and force in general. 
The symptoms of both forms of this disease arise gradually. 
Either, however, may start suddenly. Still, as a rule, the 
sugary form comes on by degrees. At first the amount of 
sugar is small, but later it may be so abundant as to make the 
water far heavier than it is in health. The proportion of it 
usually present is from eight to twelve per cent. The specific 
gravity of the water will be found to be much above ten 
hundred and seventeen (seventeen-thousandths more dense 
than rain-water), which is about its normal weight; in many 
cases it runs up even beyond ten hundred and sixty. 
The thirst increases in proportion as the amount of urine does. 
In marked cases gallons of water may be consumed daily. 
The appetite is nearly always only too good; but emaciation 
progresses. The skin grows dry and harsh, and the tempera- 
ture of the body is inclined to be low. Consumption of the 
lungs sets in sooner or later, in many cases. 
The treatment of either form of this disease is not satisfac- 
tory in the great majority of cases. Beyond living in a 
strictly hygienic manner, nothing scarcely can be done. In 
the sugary form it is well to restrict the food as much as 
possible to articles containing little starch, or sugar; but it is 
wrong to do it at the expense of great self-denial on the part 
of the patient. I believe the best plan to pursue in any case 
is to change the scene and mode of life, and in connection with 
a diet as free as possible of starch and sugar, to liberally exer- 
cise the body and amuse the mind. As for medicine it is 
rarely, if ever, of any value, except to tone up the system 
and to meet incidental evils. Too much of it is generally 
used. CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
175 
SCROFULA. 
Scrofula was formerly known very generally as the king’s 
evil. It was so called because it was popularly believed that 
the touch of a monarch was curative of it. In the fourth 
Act of Shakspeare’s drama, “ Macbeth,” the entrance of a 
doctor into a room in the King’s palace, in wThich are Malcolm 
and Macduff, gives origin to the following remarks:— 
Mai.—Comes the king forth, I pray you? 
Doct.—Aye, sir ; there are a crew of wretched souls 
That stay his cure: their malady convinces 
The great assay of art; but at his touch, 
Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand, 
They presently amend. 
Mai.—I thank you, Doctor. [Exit Doctor. 
Macd.—What’s the disease he means? 
Mai.— ’Tis called the Evil : 
A most miraculous work in this good king; 
Which often, since my here-remain in England, 
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven, 
Himself best knows: but strangely-visited people, 
All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye, 
The mere despair of surgery, he cures ; 
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks, 
Put on with holy prayers. 
That tens of thousands of people were cured in this way is 
undoubtedly true. It was hope sustained by an unfaltering 
faith that healed them. This is a fact which all who are 
called upon to treat cases, not only of scrofula, but many other 
conditions and diseases, should carefully consider. 
This affection may be induced by living on poor food and 
in impure air, but it is inherited for the most part. What it 
is, or what it is not, however, is hard to say; for it assumes 
many aspects. Scientific physicians do not make use of the 
word as the name of a particular disease; they apply it to a 
morbid condition of the system which favors the occurrence 
of degenerative action in the glands, lungs, bones and tissues 176 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
generally. Marasmus, spinal-disease, hip-joint disease, tuber- 
culous consumption of the lungs, chronic abscesses, ulcerations, 
eruptions, and discharges of different kinds, are some of the 
manifestations of it; and persons affected with it are both 
very susceptible to most diseases, and very likely to succumb 
to them. 
The indications of a well-marked scrofulous habit are, light 
hair, a pale, clear skin, a rather full face, weak eyes, thick lips, 
bad teeth, a tendency to enlargement of the glands about the 
neck and elsewhere, and a dull expression. 
To eradicate the scrofulous taint it is necessary to have the 
surroundings and mode of life as thoroughly sanitary as 
possible. Let the various measures calculated to sustain 
health and invigorate the system be resorted to and persevered 
in. Iron and other tonic medicines may be of value; but if 
the food, air and habits are not attended to little good need be 
expected from them. No powerful drugs should be used, for 
they will in all probability be more harmful than beneficial. 
As already hinted, cheerfulness and hopefulness should be 
encouraged. 
PHTHISIS OR CONSUMPTION- OP THE LUNGS. 
The term phthisis is .given by some physicians only to that 
form of consumption of the lungs which is due to scrofulous 
or tuberculous degeneration ; but it is applied generally to any 
form of disease of either one or both of these organs which 
involves the loss of any of their structure. I will use it in 
the latter sense. But I may say iu this connection that the 
scrofulous form of it is the most common in early life, at least; 
in only a small minority of cases can it be referred to purely 
inflammatory action. 
Phthisis is the most destructive of all diseases. It is a 
scourge which never abates. The number of its victims is 
shockingly great. About one-eighth of all the deaths which CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
177 
occur yearly in Philadelphia are caused by it; and of these, 
over one forty-fifth are of persons under five years, about one 
twenty-fifth are of persons under fifteen, and one-eighth are 
of persons under twenty. In some cities the mortality from 
it is even more terrible. In the nation at large it is nearly 
one-seventh of the whole. Between ten and fifteen years of 
age the deaths from it are twice as numerous among females 
as males, and between fifteen and twenty, well on to twice as 
numerous. 
There are manifold causes of this frightful disease. As 
already stated, it is often attributable to a hereditary taint. 
Everything which tends to lower the tone and vigor of the 
system is promotive of it. As is observed in one of a 
series of lectures on the disease, delivered recently by Dr. 
William Pepper, a distinguished physician of Philadelphia, 
“ everybody is liable to phthisis; some more so than others. 
Unquestionably those are more liable to it who are born of 
parents of a weak constitution, especially if this has shown 
itself before the birth of the children by a tendency to 
lung trouble, or if they have begotten children with a 
tendency to phthisis. But it is not only an inherited predis- 
position that makes one more liable to phthisis than another. 
Any inherited delicacy of constitution, any thing that makes 
the person more liable to be affected by depressing causes, 
anything, in short, that diminishes the vitality of the indi- 
vidual, or his hold upon life, and tends to keep up an 
unhealthy type of physical action, all these are predisposing 
causes of phthisis. It is thus that such causes as starvation, 
bad food, bad hygienic surroundings, long nursing, or im- 
proper food, impairing the primary assimilation during the 
period of development, act in a most powerful way in devel- 
oping a weakness of constitution which may show itself later 
in a tendency to phthisis; so that a child may come into the 
world with this taint, or it may be developed during child- 178 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
hood by the causes I have mentioned. And there is no time 
in the whole period of life when the causes that operate upon 
us to determine our future for good, or for ill, act so power- 
fully as during the period of childhood. A neglected catarrh, 
an untreated diarrhoea, may act upon the system so as to bring 
about this weakness of constitution. If we grasp this idea it 
will lead us to infinitely greater carefulness in the hygiene 
and treatment of the young. The prophylaxis (preventive 
treatment) of phthisis you will find begins at birth, and the 
most important time for prophylactic treatment is during 
infancy.” 
The onset of this disease may be slow, or fast. A cough is 
generally the first of the symptoms of it to be observed ; and 
it continues to the last. It is caused by the presence of phlegm 
and other matter in the lungs. In some cases hemorrhages 
occur early, but in many there are never any of much account. 
These alarming discharges are caused by injury to blood 
vessels, produced by the morbid action going on in the lung 
substance. They seldom prove fatal. Debility, pain or 
rather a soreness in the chest, emaciation, pallor, and the ex- 
pectoration increase up to the end. As the disease advances 
feverishness occurs, with profuse perspiration, especially at 
night,; and there is more or less diarrhoea and swelling of the 
limbs. The expectoration and sweating are comparatively 
slight in the very young. The appetite is rarely good; nor 
is there much desire for exercise. 
The treatment of this disease is very unsatisfactory. When 
the substance of a part of either one or both lungs undergoes 
tuberculous degeneration, or is destroyed in any way to any 
extent, it is impossible to do more than prolong life a little 
while. From this statement the reader may infer that it is 
exceedingly important to guard against the inception of the 
disease. In the children of consumptive parents it may be 
expected to occur if extraordinary efforts are not made to clear CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
179 
from the system the tendency to it. It is to be feared that 
few parents predisposed to it attempt to do much to render 
the constitutions of their offspring less favorable to the occur- 
rence of the fatal disease. 
When this disease has developed the patient requires very 
careful nursing. Through it life may be prolonged and ren- 
dered less miserable while it lasts. Unless the weather is very 
boisterous it is best to keep the patient a great deal in the open 
air. The room in which he stays should be airy. When 
heated it is well not to keep it very dry; nor should 
it be very warm. It should be thoroughly ventilated. A 
sponge-bath daily does good. The clothing should be largely 
of woolen material, and it should be in every way sufficient to 
prevent the body from being chilled. All kinds of nourishing, 
easily digested food should be supplied in abundance, and the 
appetite may be whetted with the tincture of barks, taken in 
small doses, three times a day. The chest may be rubbed 
once, or twice a day, with oil and a little mustard, or with any 
stimulating lotion ; for it will tend to lessen the cough, by 
checking, to some extent, the formation of phlegm. 
It is vain to hope for a cure from the use of medicine in 
this disease, except, perhaps, at the very start. The less 
reliance there is placed on it the better, because the greater 
will be the attention paid to hygienic means. Under the 
direction of a skillful physician there are agents which may 
serve at times to subdue troublesome symptoms. A teaspoonful 
of mint-water, or of camphor-water, may be used to cut short 
coughing spells. For hemorrhage a teaspoonful of salt and 
stillness are the measures called for. 
I may say that it is only early in this disease that any 
possible change of air can be of great service. Once a 
considerable portion of the tissue of the lungs is destroyed, 
neither climatic influences nor anything else can either restore 
it or entirely stop the progress of the evil. 180 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CROUP. 
Croup is called hives or heaves by some and stuffing 
by others. There are two types of this disease of the wind- 
pipe; the true or membranous, and the false or spasmodic. In 
the former there is a congestive, or an inflammatory condition 
present, attended with more or less of a deposit; and in the 
latter, instead of a tendency to inflammation and the formation 
of a deposit there is simply a morbid excitability of the part. 
Both types are very fatal and occur mostly from the second 
forward to the tenth year of age. They are accountable for 
about four hundred deaths every year in Philadelphia, over 
one-half of which are of persons between two and five years 
old. 
Fair-skinned, flabby, languid children are the most apt to 
be affected with membranous croup; and a weak, irritable, 
nervous system favors the appearance of spasmodic croup. 
Neither can usually be traced to any special cause acting on the 
body from without. 
The symptoms of both forms of this disease develop quickly 
and are very alarming. 
If after a few hours of restlessness a child is hoarse, 
breathes audibly, hurriedly and with difficulty, and has a 
short, barking cough, the disease present may be regarded as 
membranous croup. The croupy noise and the difficulty in 
breathing become very marked as the disease advances. By 
the second day the cough gets loose and violent, and there is 
considerable fever. If the deposit or false membrane in the 
wind-pipe grows very extensive it destroys the voice entirely 
and speedily chokes the patient to death. The symptoms 
generally arise and are most severe in the night-time. Free 
expectoration from an early period in the attack is favorable. 
Spasmodic croup usually comes on extremely fast. After a 
short period of restlessness the breathing speedily becomes so 
difficult as to threaten life. The voice is not much affected, CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
181 
nor is there a severe cough. The symptoms do not often last 
long ; they disappear in a few hours. 
The treatment of both types of this disease should be prompt 
and decidedly active. In the management of either tempo- 
rizing generally leads to a fatal issue. 
When an attack of membranous croup is believed to be 
developing, give the patient immediately a warm bath, then a 
thorough rubbing about the head and neck with oil and 
mustard, then put him into a warm bed, and then* give half a 
teaspoonful of wine of ipecac, every fifteen minutes until 
vomiting occurs. A teaspoonful of powdered alum mixed 
with a little syrup of any kind is regarded by some as a very 
desirable emetic under the circumstances. If the symptoms 
increase let the ipecac, be continued in moderate doses often 
enough to keep the child in a slightly nauseated condition. 
A fair dose of paregoric, or of the solution of morphia may 
also be given every hour. A sufficient amount of magnesia, 
or of castor oil to open the bowels freely will be of service. 
The rubbing may be repeated and a mustard plaster may be 
applied to the upper part of the chest in front. The vapor 
of slaking lime may be inhaled in bad cases, in the hope of 
softening any deposit which may be present. When an 
ensheathing membrane has formed and threatens to smother 
the patient, neither paregoric nor morphia, nor any quieting 
medicine should be given, for anything which tends to allay 
the cough only tends to prevent the removal of the matter, 
the presence of which is the great cause of danger to life. 
Aromatic spirits of ammonia should then be given in moder- 
ate doses, repeated every hour, or oftener; for it favors the 
removal of the deposit by both serving to dissolve it and 
exciting sufficient power to cough it up. Brandy, wine, and 
other stimulants are also useful. Later, beef-tea and other 
nourishing articles of diet should be given freely. In 
apparently hopeless cases opening the wind-pipe is occa- 182 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
sionally practiced; but only physicians should venture to 
perform this hazardous operation. 
The treatment used in the early stages of the membranous 
form of the disease is proper for the spasmodic. Chloral may 
often be used here to good purpose. 
After an attack of either form of croup, efforts should be 
made to invigorate the system of the patient; for in this way 
only can other attacks be prevented. 
RICKETS. 
A badly nourished, yielding condition of the bones is the 
leading feature of rickets. This disease is of a scrofulous 
nature, but it is not generally inherited. It is usually trace- 
able to unwholesome and insufficient food and impure air. 
Hence, it is far more common among the children of the poor 
than those of the rich, and in cities than in the country. Cases 
of it are numerous. Not many deaths, however, are directly 
attributable to it. 
Rickets makes its appearance mostly from the first to the 
third year of life, particularly between the twelfth and eight- 
eenth months. The first symptoms of it, in marked cases, are 
feverishness, restlessness, derangement of the bowels, tender- 
ness of the body in general, and a dislike to moving. Soon 
an enlargement of the bones about the wrist and ankles is 
noticeable. Later, if the weight of the body is thrown on the 
limbs they yield and may be strangely distorted. But the 
chest and other parts of the body, as well as the legs, are apt 
to become deformed. Many hunchbacks are persons who 
have been affected with this disease, and so have most of those 
who are “ chicken-breasted.” 
Rickety children are for the most part defective in both 
body and mind. Some of them, however, are even preco- 
ciously bright. They seldom learn to speak early. 
To be successful, the treatment of this disease must be begun CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
183 
as soon as the first symptoms of it begin to appear. The 
remedies required are such as will improve the physique 
generally. The nourishment should be both abundant and 
wholesome; and pure air and sunshine are needed. All 
measures promotive of health and strength are of value, and 
should be earnestly and persistently kept at play. Iron and 
other tonic medicines may be used. Cod-liver oil is some- 
times very serviceable. Lime-water, or chalk-mixture will 
serve to check any diarrhoea which may occur. 
A rickety child should not be allowed either to walk or to 
sit up early, lest deformities may be produced. It is better 
to prevent him from walking for some time than to apply 
braces, or supports of any kind. These appliances are useful 
when, for any reason, it is very difficult to keep the patient 
constantly off his feet. 
CARIES OP THE SPINE, 
Caries or degenerative inflammatory action in a portion of 
the spine is also called Pott’s disease, because it was first 
carefully described by a distinguished English surgeon of that 
name. It occurs mostly among scrofulous children. Cases 
of it are not rare. 
At the commencement of the affection the symptoms are, an 
aching pain in the back, numbness of the lower extremities, 
an unsteady gait, debility and derangement of the digestive 
system. Later an abscess appears either at the seat of the 
disease, or in the region of the groin, and the spine becomes 
distorted. Sometimes. the pressure of the gathering on the 
spinal cord completely paralyzes the body, from the waist down. 
The treatment of this disease should be begun as early as 
possible. The spine must be kept at rest, and the part in- 
flamed be relieved of pressure by lying still, or by means of 
certain mechanical appliances. All the remedies recommended 
below for coxalgia are of service. 184 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
COXALGIA. 
Coxalgia or hip-disease is seated in the joint at the head 
of the thigh-bone, and is of an inflammatory nature. Between 
the fourth and the fourteenth year is the period of life in 
which it appears, as a rule. A scrofulous constitution is chiefly 
responsible for its occurrence; but it is commonly referred to 
an injury, such as a blow’ or a fall. It is apt to be of long 
duration, and may leave the limb not only greatly shortened, 
but motionless at the hip. Few deaths are caused by it 
directly. 
The symptoms of this disease generally develop very gradu- 
ally. A slight lameness, eversion of the foot to an unnatural 
degree and pain about the knee, are the indications of it first 
noticeable. If pressure be applied over the hip-joint it will 
hurt; consequently the child always lies on the well side. 
Shortening of the limb soon begins. 
Under proper treatment this disease can often be cured, if 
taken in time. A very important part of it is rest. While 
the weight of the body continues to bear on the joint recovery 
cannot be expected. By wearing certain mechanical appli- 
ances the patient can walk without pressing on the head of 
the thigh-bone. The repeated application of mustard, or some 
other irritant over the joint is beneficial. Syrup of the iodide 
of iron, in medium doses, three times daily, is often useful. 
Plenty of nourishing food, fresh air, and all measures advan- 
tageous to health and strength will do good. As in both 
rickets and caries of the spine, it is well to have a physician 
in charge of every case from the start. 
DEOPSY. 
Dropsy or the presence of an abnormal amount of watery 
fluid in the tissues or in any of the cavities of the body may 
be regarded as only a symptom; for on examination it will 
always be discovered that it springs from a special disease, or CONSTITUTIONAL AND ALLIED DISEASES. 
185 
morbid condition. It may arise from any disease of the heart, 
or of the liver, which obstructs the circulation of the blood, 
or from any disease of the kidneys which checks their action, 
or from the impression of cold on the skin, or from anaemia 
and debility, or from inflammation. Rarely is the whole body 
affected; and when it is the cause is mostly either cold and 
wet, or scarlet fever. When it is present in the abdomen only 
the cause may be sought for in the liver, or the kidneys. 
This form of it is not of frequent occurrence among children. 
Dropsy of the limbs, or of any part of the body is indicated 
by swelling; which swelling is of such a character that the 
indentations made by firm pressure with the ends of the fingers 
do not disappear quickly. 
Few deaths among the young are attributable to dropsy. 
When it does prove fatal it is through interference with the 
action of the lungs, or heart, or brain. 
The cure of any dropsical condition of the system cannot 
be effected save through the removal of its cause; but in most 
cases it can be temporarily relieved by stimulating the func- 
tional activity of the skin and kidneys, and by opening the 
bowels freely. 
HYDROCEPHALUS. 
By hydrocephalus is meant water in the head. It is a local 
dropsy, caused by disease of an inflammatory nature in, or 
about the brain. It may come on quickly, or gradually, and 
it generally proves fatal in a few months. About one hun- 
dred and fifty children die from it every year in Philadelphia, 
most of whom are under two, and nearly all under ten years 
of age. Of these deaths nearly two-thirds are of males. The 
scrofulous and delicate are most liable to it. 
The symptoms of this disease develop slowly in most cases. 
Before any increase in the size of the head occurs, there may 
be languor, loss of appetite, squinting and convulsions. 186 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Debility and emaciation soon result; and the mental faculties 
become blunted. The degree of enlargement of the head is 
not infrequently enormous. 
The prospect of success in the treatment of this disease is 
never very good. The action of the skin and the kidneys 
should be promoted; and it is well to keep the bowels open. 
Especially should efforts be made to tone up the system. 
Plenty of good nourishment, as well as all possible hygienic 
measures, is called for. Iron and other tonics may be used. 
At the start, and for some time after, the nape of the neck may 
be frequently irritated well with mustard, or pepper; and 
rubbing the whole head with these agents and oil is of service. 
Bandages should be applied loosely, if at all; for the brain 
cannot bear much pressure. ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
187 
CHAPTER YIII. 
ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
Preliminary Remarks—Mumps—Hooping- Cough—Measles— 
Scarlet Fever—Epidemic Roseola—Diphtheria—Small-pox 
—Chicken-pox—Typhoid Fever. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
In this chapter I will treat of such contagious and infectious 
diseases as affect the whole system, and which generally result 
in recovery, or death, within a month, or so, from the time of 
their onset. Mumps, hooping-cough, measles, scarlet fever, 
epidemic roseola, diphtheria, small-pox, chicken-pox, and 
typhoid fever, are all the members of the class which are apt 
to occur in early life, and consequently all of which I am 
called upon to speak. In this connection it may not be amiss 
to say that the term acute is applicable to any active disease, 
or morbid condition of comparatively short duration. It is 
used in contradistinction to chronic. 
The blood is the seat of all acute general diseases. In it 
floats the agent, the poison which produces the symptoms 
which are peculiar to each. But it is more than probable that 
it is by impressing the nerve-centres that the morbific matter 
of any of them brings about at least the common features of 
the class. 
Acute general diseases are all accompanied with fever, more 
or less marked in character. The body is said to be feverish 
when it is in a state of excitement, the temperature high, the 
heart-beats or pulse frequent, the skin dry, the secretions 
scanty, and the digestive and mental functions disturbed. 
Let it be remembered that fever is not in itself a disease; it 
is only a part, a symptom of a disease. What are commonly 188 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
spoken of as fevers are diseases in which fever is a prominent 
factor. All the diseases of the class under consideration are 
fevers. 
Excessive heat of the body is the leading characteristic of 
the febrile state. That great German student of disease, 
Virchow, says, “ Fever consists essentially in elevation of 
temperature, which must arise in an increased tissue change, 
and have its immediate cause in alterations of the nervous 
system.” The heat of the body, whether in health or disease, 
is a result of nutritive activity or changes of a chemical 
nature, a sort of combustion, progressing within the system, in 
the blood and all the tissues. Let this action wane and the 
temperature will fall; let it increase and the temperature will 
rise. As stated elsewhere, the average temperature of the 
body in health is about ninety-eight and four-tenths degrees, 
with a health range of about three-quarters of a degree- above 
and nearly as much below. In disease it may fall as low as 
ninety-five degrees, and rise as high as one hundred and 
twelve. 
Under all circumstances, as said above, an abnormal degree 
of heat of the body is an indication of an abnormal degree of 
action within it. In all febrile diseases scantiness of perspira- 
tion and of other secretions leads many to suppose that the 
glands of the skin and the kidneys and other organs are 
unnaturally inactive; but they are always just the reverse. 
The moisture that is present either on the skin or within the 
body tends to evaporate unusually fast on account of the heat 
being unusually high. This explanation also throws light on 
the cause of the thirst which exists in these diseases. 
All acute general or blood diseases have a certain course 
to run; once they are started it is impossible to cut them short. 
The length as well as the severity of an attack of any of 
them, however, can be lessened, in a measure, by judicious 
treatment. ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
189 
As there is a loss of appetite at first in all cases of every 
acute general disease, much eating then will only serve to 
increase the existing derangement of the digestive organs. 
Thirst should be allayed by either cold water, or milk, or 
lemonade. Times ago liquids were not allowed, save in very 
small amount; but in harmony with the dictates of an 
enlightened medical philosophy they are now given freely. 
Nature prompts the longing for them, for they tend to sub- 
due fever, to reduce the temperature of the body. It is 
always proper to give a dose of castor oil, or magnesia, to open 
the bowels well; and it cannot be given too soon in any case. 
For the fever, syrup of ipecac., either alone or with the solution 
of the acetate of ammonia, or the sweet spirits of nitre, given 
in small doses, four, or five times in the twenty-four hours, is 
very beneficial. It and other anti-febrile remedies act mainly 
by favoring the passage of liquids through the system, by 
favoring evaporation. 
As excessive heat is the great source of death in the diseases 
in question, it must be combated earnestly when it runs very 
high. The use of water, or any liquid, and the medicines I 
have just spoken of, is not the only way to do this. Else- 
where cool air has been spoken of as serviceable; but a still 
more effective means is the application of either lukewarm or 
cold water to the body. The whole person may be sponged 
repeatedly ; and each time let the skin be kept moist until the 
temperature is brought down near to the normal degree. The 
operation may be hastened by fanning, for it hastens evapora- 
tion. Of course, the common practice of placing a wet cloth 
on the head, or any part, in order to cool it, will have the 
reverse effect unless it is cold and renewed very often. In 
not a few cases a cold-bath is recommended of late by some 
physicians; but it is sometimes dangerous. Sponging the 
body as I have directed is in all respects preferable. 
I am aware that perhaps the majority of people are of the 190 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
opinion that it is dangerous to even wash the face of a patient 
affected with a fever; but they are, undoubtedly, in error. It 
is worth while to quote the following remarks of Dr. West, 
on this and other points: “There is a fear of washing the 
surface, or of changing the linen, lest the rash be driven in, 
or cold should be taken in either of these ways. Even in 
measles, however, in which alone there is the least ground for 
any such fear, if lukewarm water be used, and if only a 
small part of the body be washed at the time, there is no 
danger even from frequent washing; while the passage of a 
damp sponge frequently over the surface is a very great com- 
fort, in many instances, to the patient whose skin is burning 
hot with fever. The same remark applies to changing the 
linen, which indeed needs to be done more frequently in the 
course of fevers than of almost any other disease. The same 
kind of objection, and with no better reason, is often raised to 
allowing cold drinks to the patient, though they are most 
refreshing to persons suffering from burning thirst; and 
lukewarm water, or toast-water, or barley-water afford but a 
poor substitute for the cold water for which the patient longs. 
The quantity of water given at a time should not exceed one, 
or two tablespoonfuls, but that may be given quite cold, and 
may be repeated almost as often as it may be asked for. I 
may just add that no more should be given to a child than it 
may be safely allowed to take at once; it will be content with 
a tiny cup, if quite full, when it would fret exceedingly at 
being compelled to set down a vessel, however large, un- 
emptied. Another prejudice, which shows itself more in 
ill-advised remarks than in acts, concerns the nourishment 
required by patients duririg a fever. For days together a 
child may perhaps take nothing but a little tea, or barley- 
water, or thin arrowroot, and this in quantities so small as v 
would not have sufficed it when in health for a single meal. 
All this time, too, the little one may seem to be growing 191 
ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
worse and worse, and the natural anxiety of friends makes 
them fear lest the child should sink for want of nourishment. 
It should, however, be borne in mind that when fever runs 
high no food can be properly digested; that food not digested 
would do harm and disorder the stomach and bowels, and 
thus, perhaps, destroy all chance of recovery; and that to 
determine when to give nourishment, or to order wine, instead 
of being an easy matter which any nurse can settle, is often 
one of the most difficult points for the most skillful doctor to 
determine.” 
MUMPS. 
Mumps is a very familiar disease. It is a fever the 
chief characterise® of which is inflammation of the glands in 
which the saliva is secreted. Hardly ever is it so severe as to 
prove fatal; it is generally a very mild affection. Sooner 
or later, the great majority of children suffer from it. 
More males, perhaps, than females have it. It is most 
apt to occur from the fifth to the seventh year, and about the 
period of puberty. Contagion is, probably, the sole cause of 
it. A second attack is seldom, or never experienced. 
The symptoms of this disease begin to appear in about 
two weeks after exposure to the cause, and develop very 
rapidly. The most obvious of them is a swollen, painful con- 
dition of the two parotid glands, the organs in which most of 
the saliva is formed, and one of which is situated below and 
behind the lobe of the ear, on either side. Hence the disease 
is called parotitis by many physicians and others. These 
parts are usually affected within a day, or two from the onset 
of the disease. Both do not always' become inflamed. Very 
seldom does an abscess result. There is never alarming diffi- 
culty in breathing. The fever increases for the first three, or 
four days, and then it and all other symptoms begin to sub- 
side, and the patient is well in a week, or ten days from the 192 
CHILDREN' IN SICKNESS. 
start. The inflammation may shift suddenly from the sali- 
vary glands to the breasts, or testicles, but this does not take 
place often. 
It is rarely hard to identify this disease. The parotid 
glands may become inflamed from other causes ; but when 
the inflammation of them is otherwise induced it very seldom 
develops as fast. Mumps may always be suspected if cases 
of it are known to be in the neighborhood. 
Careful nursing is all the treatment required for this disease. 
The patient need not necessarily remain in bed, but it is wise 
to keep within doors for a week, or so. Draughts should be 
avoided. The food should be liquid; and as a rule, the less 
of it is given the better. Lemonade may be taken freely. 
Besides it, a little syrup of ipecac., alone or with the solution 
of the acetate of ammonia, may be given, for the fever. An 
occasional dose of paregoric will be of service if there is great 
restlessness. A dose of magnesia, or some other cathartic, 
is generally given at the start. To allay soreness about the 
neck either a flaxseed-meal poultice or a well-greased- piece of 
flannel may be applied. If the head aches severely let it be 
bathed frequently with water. 
HOOPING-COUGH. 
Hooping-cough is a disorder of the system attended with a 
catarrhal condition of the air-passages, and a characteristic 
cough. It is the cause of much suffering and debility ; but it 
is not often fatal, except among the very young. There are 
about a hundred deaths from it yearly in Philadelphia, nearly 
four-fifths of which are children under two years of age. A 
third more females than males die from it. It is caused by 
contagion. At times it prevails epidemically. A second 
attack of it is of rare occurrence. 
The weight of this disease seems to fall on the lungs: for 
coughing excited by a catarrh of these organs is the worst of ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
193 
its symptoms. Hence it is called pertussis by many physi- 
cians and others. The cough is spasmodic in character; it 
comes at intervals and in spells. At the end of each fit of 
coughing the air being drawn forcibly into the lungs causes 
a peculiar hooping or whooping sound. The gravity of the 
disease in any case is indicated by the severity and frequency 
of the coughing spells. If there are less than thirty of these 
in the twenty-four hours, the attack may be regarded as mild. 
They are apt to be worse and to occur oftener by night than 
by day. 
The symptoms of the disease begin to appear about a week 
after exposure to the cause, and at first they resemble those of 
a severe cold on the chest. In a week, or so, the fever has 
largely subsided; but languor and the cough may last for 
from six weeks to three months. Indeed, the characteristic 
cough does not set in until after the catarrhal symptoms have, 
for the most part, disappeared. The expectoration is some- 
times profuse, thick and difficult to get up. Vomiting is 
frequently produced by the coughing ; and it causes hemor- 
rhage from the nose, eyes and elsewhere occasionally. But 
though often alarming, it never produces fatal strangulation. 
It is for the most part through complications that this 
affection proves fatal. Convulsions, bronchitis and pneu- 
monia are some of those which may arise. 
In the treatment of this disease reliance must be placed 
mainly on careful nursing; for experience has shown that 
medicine can do little for it. Let the strength of the patient 
be husbanded by careful regulation of the diet. Fresh air is 
of great value. The clothing should be warm. At the start 
a dose of magnesia may be given, and lemonade may be used 
freely until the fever begins to vanish, and in less amount 
afterward. A mixture of syrup of ipecac, and the solution of 
the acetate of ammonia is serviceable. Restlessness may be 
relieved by paregoric. Should the coughing spells come fre- 194 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
quently and be very severe, it may be well to give moderate 
doses of chloral for a time. Rubbing the chest with mustard 
and oil is beneficial. Sometimes a mustard-plaster does good. 
The vapor which arises from hot water in which a few drops of 
carbolic acid have been placed may be breathed to advantage 
in some cases. If there be little appetite, with a tendency to 
debility, wine of iron should be used in small doses three 
times daily. Aromatic spirits of ammonia, wine and brandy 
are called for if the system is greatly enfeebled. 
MEASLES. 
Measles is a fever accompanied with catarrhal symptoms and 
a characteristic eruption. It is not generally of a grave 
nature; still, about three per cent, of those affected with it die. 
It is, in proportion to the number attacked, more fatal among 
adults than children. There are seventy-five deaths from it 
yearly, on the average, in Philadelphia; and of these nearly 
ninety per cent, are of persons under five years of age. The 
mortality is greatest among those in their second year; but it 
is not much less among those in their first. Among those 
under three years there are more deaths of males than of 
females ; but among those over three the reverse is the case. 
This disease is caused only by contagion. It is always 
present in some communities; but severe outbreaks of it are 
not uncommon. It may be caught at a considerable distance 
from a person suffering from it; and as is the case with, 
perhaps, all contagious diseases, it may be carried from place 
to place through clothing and the like. 
The symptoms of this disease begin to appear in from ten 
days to two weeks after the date of exposure to the cause. On 
falling ill the patient complains of feeling unwell generally and is 
soon feverish and affected apparently with a cold both in the head 
and on the chest. There is often some nausea and the bowels 
are usually constipated. Later there may be a tendency to ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
195 
diarrhoea. The tongue is furred commonly, but remains 
moist. A frontal headache is experienced. The fever, cough, 
watering of the eyes and slight discharge from the nose have 
mostly not been present longer than four days when an erup- 
tion comes out, first about the head and neck, and on the 
second day, over most of the body. This eruption is peculiar: 
it is dark-red in color, and is in slightly elevated spots. At 
first the spots are small and round, but when fully developed, 
are as large as half the finger-nail, and are irregular in shape. 
Their presence gives the skin a mottled appearance; and on 
examination it will be found that they tend to run into cres- 
centic and circular patches. In some cases the eruption is 
much more marked than in others. It is checked by the 
occurrence of bronchitis, or pneumonia. The itching which 
attends it is seldom very great. The temperature rarely runs 
far above a hundred and three degrees ; and it falls quickly 
after the eruption begins to fade. The mental faculties are 
apt to be dull. Occasionally there is some delirium while 
the eruption is coming out. Convulsions may occur. Within 
a week from the start all the symptoms have begun to 
vanish, and by the ninth, or tenth day there is scarcely a 
trace of the rash to be seen. Small scales continue to be 
shed for a few days. Of these I may say that they do not 
constitute the contagion. It is really before the eruption has 
appeared and while it is appearing that the disease is most 
catching. 
Good nursing is a very essential part of the treatment of this 
disease. , The great dangers to be guarded against are inflam- 
mation of the eyes and of the air passages. The patient 
should be kept in his room, if not in bed, until the eruption 
has entirely disappeared. On account of his eyes being sore 
he should not be exposed to a bright light. It is well not to - 
have the temperature of the room high; it is safer to have it 
moderately low. For exposure to a slight draught is sufficient 196 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
to do great harm to a person who is habitually very warm. 
Of course, draughts should be carefully guarded against. The 
face and all other parts of the body may be sponged frequently 
with lukewarm water; for it will lessen the fever and promote 
comfort. If the eruption does not come out well a warm- 
bath may be given; after which a glass of hot lemonade will 
be of service. A liquid diet is best, and it need not be very 
abundant. At the start it is proper to give a dose of magne- 
sia. A mixture of syrup of ipecac, and either the solution 
of the acetate of ammonia or sweet spirits of nitre may be 
given, in small doses, every four hours. Should there be 
restlessness a little paregoric will do good. If the catarrh of 
the lungs is severe, apply a mustard plaster to the chest in 
front, and also one behind. When the period of convalescence 
arrives it is exceedingly important that the patient be kept 
from exposing himself to draughts. Then it is that fatal 
complications are apt to arise. It is unnecessary to restrict 
the diet much. If there is debility, wine of iron may be 
given for a while. 
SCARLET FEVER. 
Scarlet fever, or as it is often called, scarlatina, is a 
fever attended with a peculiar scarlet eruption and an inflam- 
matory condition of the parts about the throat. Excepting 
consumption of the lungs, pneumonia, and typhoid fever, no 
other disease destroys as many lives. About five hundred 
deaths are due to it, on the average, every year, in Philadel- 
phia. This number is somewhat more than three per cent, of 
the total mortality. There is reason to believe that six per 
cent, of all attacked with it die; but in some outbreaks of it 
the proportion is over twice this much. Of the deaths from 
it, four-fifths are of persons under five, over a fourth are per- 
sons under two, and about a twelfth are of persons under one. 
But few are of persons over ten. Of persons under five, more ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
197 
males than females succumb to it; but of persons over five, 
the reverse is true. Second attacks of it occasionally occur. 
Some communities are never free from this disease; it 
lingers year after year. It prevails far more extensively and 
causes far more deaths in the Northern than in the Southern 
States of the Union. In Philadelphia it seems to be particu- 
larly prevalent every fifth year ; and the order of the seasons 
in respect to their mortality is, spring, winter, summer, 
autumn. 
The cause of this disease is, perhaps, always contagion. 
Not a few authorities, however, are inclined to attribute it 
very largely to emanations from faecal or sewage matter. 
Whether such emanations will in themselves start the disease 
is extremely doubtful; but that they tend to promote the 
spread of it is certain. Breathing any kind of foul air, or 
living in any way in a manner contrary to the laws of health, 
favors the contraction of all diseases. It is in the crowded, 
filthy parts of every city that pestilence in every form 
generally breaks out. The contagion of the disease under 
consideration is very active, and is cast off largely by the 
skin. It is, doubtless, capable of floating easily in the air. 
The symptoms of this disease begin to appear in from two 
days to a week after exposure to the cause. At first they are 
lassitude, loss of appetite, nausea, headache, and pains in the 
back and limbs. These symptoms are speedily followed by 
fever, and soreness of the throat; and these by a diffused 
scarlet eruption, which starts first about the face and neck. On 
looking closely at the skin it will be discovered that the rash 
is made up of minute pimples. It begins to fade from the 
fourth to the sixth day, and is gone entirely by the ninth day, 
or so. When it begins to vanish desquamation or scaling of 
the skin sets in. There is considerable itching experienced 
then. As soon as the eruption develops the temperature rises, 
and in most cases quickly reaches a hundred and five degrees, 198 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
or higher. The pulse is generally very frequent; among 
young children it may be even more than a hundred and 
sixty to the minute. There is usually some delirium. 
The tongue at first is covered, except at the tip and sides, with 
a whitish-brown fur; but it soon assumes a strawberry-like 
aspect, which is due to the enlarged, reddish papillae of it pro- 
jecting through the coating present. The throat is red and 
swollen. The bowels are mostly constipated. 
In what is called the simple form of the disease none of the 
symptoms are very marked; and it seldom proves fatal. 
The anginose form of the disease is that in which the 
throat is severely affected. In it the tonsils may gather, 
break, and keep discharging for a number of days; or they 
may become covered with a whitish-brown deposit, which on 
disappearing leaves their surface in an ulcerated condition. 
There is great danger of the inflammation extending from the 
throat up the small passage which exists (the Eustachian tube) 
into the ear. When this occurs the gathering and ulceration 
which ensue are apt to destroy the drum and other portions of 
the organ, and thus injure the hearing seriously for life. 
Sometimes abscesses come in the neck, and the discharge from 
them, being hard to stop, is exhausting to the patient. 
The malignant form of the disease is that in which all the 
symptoms are alarmingly severe from the start. The system 
may not react from the impression of the contagion ; and if 
it does the eruption either comes out poorly and speedily 
fades, or turns livid in hue. In some instances the mental 
faculties are greatly depressed; and in some there is hemor- 
hage from the stomach and bowels. When the body grows 
cold in parts, or throughout, the patient is in a very precarious 
condition. In some cases the prostration is so marked from 
the first that life is extinguished in a few hours. 
In all three forms of the disease the kidneys are out of 
order; and the derangement in their function is apt to lead ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
199 
to dropsy. In most instances the dropsy appears in about ten 
days after the eruption has begun to fade. Mild cases are not 
more exempt from it than grave ones; the reason, to some 
extent, probably, being that less care is exercised in treating 
the former than the latter. 
The treatment of this disease, in even its simplest form, 
should be conducted carefully and intelligently. It is very 
essential that the patients be not subjected to draughts. I 
have elsewhere spoken of the importance of keeping the air 
of the room in which there is a case of a disease like this, pure 
and cool; but I may here quote a few lines from Dr. ChavasSe 
on the subject. In speaking of the treatment of the disease under 
consideration he says: u What is the first thing to be done ? 
Send the child to bed ; throw open the windows, be it winter, 
or summer, and have a thorough ventilation; for the bed- 
room must be kept cool—I may say cold. Do not be afraid 
of fresh air, for fresh air for the first few days is essential to 
recovery. Fresh air and plenty of it, in scarlet fever is the best 
doctor a child can have. Let these words be written legibly over 
your mind.” During the first few days little food is required; 
and whatever is given should be liquid. Later, besides milk, 
beef-tea and other nourishing articles should be given freely. 
A dose of magnesia is in order at the start. Lemonade is 
useful all along. Small doses of a mixture of syrup of 
ipecac, and either the solution of the acetate of ammonia or 
sweet spirits of nitre may be given every four hours. In 
place of this mixture a solution of chlorate of potash may be 
used. It is also useful as a gargle. If there is uneasiness 
some paregoric will be of service. Should the system be 
greatly depressed aromatic spirits of ammonia, or wine, or 
brandy is called for. Anointing the body with lard, or glycer- 
ine is advantageous, but sponging with tepid water, in which 
a little carbolic acid soap has been dissolved is quite as good. 
Let this be done at least twice a day. If the head aches 200 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
much cold water may be freely applied to it. A poultice of 
flaxseed-meal may be placed on the neck if there is much 
pain. Sometimes ice is of advantage. When the eruption 
begins to disappear plenty of very liquid nourishment should 
be given, so that the kidneys may be kept active. The patient 
is not out of danger, as a rule, for at least a month from the 
beginning of the disease; and contagion is thrown off for 
about that length of time. If there is debility wine of iron 
may be used. 
epidemic roseola. 
Epidemic roseola is a contagious fever attended with an 
eruption somewhat like that of measles. Other names for it 
are rotheln, rubeola notha, and German measles. It 
is only of late that much attention has been given to it. 
Hitherto it has been confounded with measles, just as scarlet 
fever generally was up to about a century ago. It occurs 
mostly in epidemics, and usually among children. Rarely is 
it otherwise than mild in character. Extremely few deaths 
are caused by it. 
The symptoms of this disease begin in from two days to a 
week after exposure to the cause. There is fever for a day, 
or two, when a dusky red, spotted rash appears. This rash 
starts on the face and the extremities, and is at its height by 
the third, or fourth day. As it fades there is some scaling of 
the skin, accompanied with itching. The spots of it are 
irregular in shape. The eyes and the throat are both slightly 
inflamed. In a week the patient is convalescent. 
This disease differs from measles as follows: the initiatory 
fever is less marked, the rash is brighter, the patches of the 
rash are smaller and far less inclined to be crescentic in shape, 
the catarrh in the head and on the chest is comparatively 
slight, and there is soreness of the throat; and from scarlet 
fever as follows: the fever is less—the temperature seldom 
running much above a hundred and two degrees, the rash is ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
201 
less bright and it is in patches, the tonsils are but little 
affected, the attack is shorter in duration, and dropsy is not 
liable to occur after it. The fact that one who suffers from it 
is not thereby made any less susceptible to either of these dis- 
eases is strong proof that it is not a hybrid of them. 
No special treatment is called for in this disease. That 
given for measles is suitable. 
diphtheria. 
Diphtheria is a fever characterized by a marked tendency 
to ansemia and debility, and the formation of a membranous 
deposit in and about the throat and on any broken parts of 
the skin which may be present; and it is followed frequently 
by paralysis of a temporary character. In former times it 
was frequently called putrid sore throat. Dr. Breton- 
neau, of France, gave the first careful description of it in 
1826. It is very grave in nature. In many communities it 
takes rank, perhaps, with scarlet fever in its degree of fatality 
to children ; and it seems, as a whole, to be a growing scourge. 
For the last five years there have been on the average about 
five hundred deaths from it yearly in Philadelphia, of which 
over ninety per cent, have been of persons under ten years of 
age. It is particularly destructive to persons under five. 
More females than males die from it. 
The chief cause of this disease is certainly contagion; and 
it is floatable in the air. Some, however, believe that it is 
nearly always due to an infection, in some way connected with 
the gases and other exhalations which arise from faecal matter 
and filth generally. At any rate, there can be no doubt but 
that crowding is very favorable to its propagation. When 
one case of it occurs in a family, the chances are great that 
there will be more, unless extraordinary precautions are 
taken. A second attack of it is uncommon. It sometimes 
prevails epidemically. 202 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
The symptoms of this disease begin to appear from a few 
hours to several days after exposure to the cause. At first 
they are, feverishness, depression of spirits, slight soreness 
about the throat and enlargement of the glands on either 
side of the neck. Unless in severe cases there is little nausea, 
but the tongue is generally heavily coated. The breath is 
usually foetid. Occasionally there is diarrhoea. On examin- 
ing the throat all the parts about it will be found to be 
swollen and inflamed, and, as early as the second day, covered 
with patches of a yellowish-white material. This deposit 
may become thick and very abundant. It is a marked feature 
of the disease. A similar coating is apt to appear on any 
wound, or sore, on any part of the body. Evidently the 
blood is in a badly disordered state. The extreme debility 
which exists is very indicative of this. There is not generally 
much difficulty in swallowing; nor is there much cough, 
hoarseness, or difficulty in breathing, unless the deposit appears 
in the wind-pipe. The fever rarely becomes high, except in 
cases in which the wind-pipe is involved. In such cases the 
temperature may run up to and beyond a hundred and six 
degrees. The pulse is apt to be very frequent and feeble. 
Delirium is not often present. The occurrence of it is of bad 
import. In every case there is more or less prostration of the 
entire system from the start; and it is, probably, the greatest 
source of danger to life in all. Usually within ten days the 
symptoms have begun to- subside. When death takes place it 
is generally within a week. 
What is called the simple form of this disease is that in 
which all the symptoms are light. The croupous form of it 
is that in which the deposit occurs markedly in the wind-pipe. 
This form is accountable for many deaths. And here I may say 
that many physicians are of the belief that membranous croup 
is closely related to the disease under consideration. It is 
probable, however, that they are in error. The ulcerative ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
203 
form of the disease is that in which ulcers largely take the 
place of the deposit about the throat; and it is mostly very 
serious. The malignant form is that in which all the symp- 
toms are overwhelmingly severe from the beginning. 
Any case of this disease may be followed by paralysis. 
This is commonly observable soon after convalescence has set 
in. It may be confined to parts, or may involve the greater 
portion of the body. The muscles used in swallowing and 
in speaking are the most liable to be affected. Sensibility as 
well as power may be impaired. The voice, hearing, sight 
and, in short, all the faculties may suffer. The impression 
made on the system by the disease is the cause. Paralysis 
thus induced nearly always disappears within two, or three 
months. 
This disease demands very careful, intelligent treatment. 
Nor will all that it is possible to do suffice to prevent death 
from occurring in a large proportion of cases. No matter 
how mild the attack may seem to be, let the patient be put to 
bed and let attention be given to supporting measures from 
the start; for the tendency to anaemia and exhaustion is 
always very pronounced. The air should be pure; and the 
temperature of it should not be high. Unless there is nausea, 
milk, beef-tea, and other liquid nourishing foods should be 
given freely. The body may be sponged several times daily 
with lukewarm water containing some carbolic acid soap. Let 
this be done without jostling the patient much; for sometimes 
a very slight effort is sufficient to produce fatal syncope. As 
for medicine, it is proper to give a dose of magnesia, or castor 
oil at first, and also later, if there is constipation. Large 
doses of the wine of iron should be given three, or four times 
a day. Aromatic spirits of ammonia, wine, and other stimu- 
lants are called for when exhaustion exists. The use cf 
chlorate of potash is beneficial. Large doses of it may be 
given four times daily. A pint of water in which a drachm 204 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
of it has been dissolved may be used as a drink. In addition 
to lemonade, no other febrifuge than this is necessary, as a 
rule. It serves also as a gargle. Besides it, lime-water, and 
also a weak solution of carbolic acid may be used for this 
purpose. Allowing small pieces of ice to dissolve in the 
mouth is grateful to most patients. The occasional applica- 
tion of a counter-irritant to the upper part of the chest and 
throat may do good; but as it is wrong to break the skin 
pepper should be used in preference to mustard. If there is 
much difficulty in breathing it may be advisable to produce 
vomiting through wine of ipecac. All attempts to remove 
matter from the throat forcibly are likely to be harmful. Of 
course, swabbing with any of the gargles spoken of above 
may be practiced. When strangulation is threatened it is 
justifiable to cut into the wind-pipe in front; but this opera- 
tion is in itself very dangerous and very rarely proves 
beneficial. 
Beyond the wine of iron no medicine is required during 
convalescence from the disease. Nor does the paralysis which 
may arise need any special medical treatment. Good food, 
pure air and hygienic living generally will soon restore health 
and strength. 
SMALL-POX. 
Small-pox or variola is a fever attended with a marked 
eruption, which is at first papular, later vesicular, and later 
still pustular. Until the introduction of inoculation and vac- 
cination it was the most destructive of all pestilences to both 
old and young. The negligence of people renders it still 
possible for occasional epidemics of it to occur. There was a 
wide-spread outbreak of it from 1870 to 1872. In Philadel- 
phia it caused between four and five thousand deaths, of 
which a half were of persons under ten years, and about 
thirteen per cent, were of persons under one. Over a quarter ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
205 
of those attacked died. Among children under two years, 
however, about three-quarters of the cases proved fatal. Very 
few infants recovered from it. The deaths of males were a 
third more than those of females. 
This is, perhaps, the most communicable of all diseases; 
and it is always caused by contagion. This peculiar virus 
floats readily in the air. It is cast off in greatest abundance 
in the later stages of the disease. Crowding and unhygienic 
surroundings are promotive of its ravages. 
The symptoms of this horrible disease begin to appear about 
twelve days after exposure to the cause. At first they are, 
languor, headache, vomiting, aching of the limbs, severe pain 
in the back and fever. In children there is usually diarrhoea; 
and among them drowsiness and convulsions are not uncom- 
mon. The more pronounced these early symptoms are the 
more grave is the attack likely to be. About the third day 
small, red papules or pimples come out, first on the face and 
neck, and later all over the body; and these, about the sixth 
day develop into vesicles, which by the ninth day become 
pustules, around which the skin is greatly inflamed. The 
odor which arises from the matter which oozes forth then is 
both very abundant and very bad. By the twelfth day the 
pustules flatten and scabs are formed, which adhere until 
about the fifteenth day. The amount of the eruption is indi- 
cative, as a rule, of the gravity of the attack. It is usually 
worst on the face. The throat and parts adjacent are affected 
by it, and hence are sore. If the wind-pipe suffers much 
there is a troublesome cough, and the voice is very husky. 
When it is near its height the fever, which has been lessening 
since the third, or fourth day, increases for a day, or two, and 
then gradually vanishes. This is called the secondary, and 
the other the primary fever. In the former the temperature 
does not generally run above a hundred and four degrees; 
while in the latter it often rises above a hundred and five. 206 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
The whole period of the disease is about eighteen days. Deatli 
occurs after the pustules have appeared, except in very malig- 
nant cases. 
The discrete form of the disease is that in which the pus- 
tules though very large are so scattered that they are distinct 
from one another on the face; the confluent form is that in 
which the pustules are numerous and inclined to run into one 
another; and the malignant form is that in which all the 
symptoms are extremely severe from the beginning. The first 
form is the least dangerous to life. 
Varioloid or modified small-pox is the mild form 
of the disease which occurs occasionally in persons who have 
been vaccinated. In it the pustules are comparatively small 
and few; and all the other symptoms are slight, as a rule. It 
causes little pitting, and death rarely results from it. 
Daring convalescence from small-pox there may be enlarge- 
ment of the glands, gatherings and inflammations in different 
parts of the body. 
Good nursing is a very essential part of the treatment of this 
disease; and in it the nurse has neither a pleasant nor an easy 
duty. Here there should be no hesitancy about isolating the 
person affected, whether young or old; and everything possible 
should be done to promote cleanliness. The ventilation 
should be strictly attended to and every article about the 
patient should be changed frequently. Milk, beef-tea, and 
bland nutritious food of all kinds should be given freely 
almost from the start, if the stomach is settled enough to 
digest them. I may say in the words of Dr. Bristowe, of 
London, that “ in the mildest forms of small-pox medicinal 
treatment is scarcely called for; in the severest it is useless; 
and, indeed, under any circumstances it has but little influence 
over the course of the disease.” A dose of magnesia may be >> 
given at the start, if the bowels are constipated; and lemonade 
is in order all along. A mixture of ipecac., paregoric, and ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
207 
either the solution of the acetate of ammonia or the sweet 
spirits of nitre may be used in small doses, four times a day. 
To every ounce of it two, or three drops of carbolic acid may 
be added. Iron may be used when the pustules begin to 
form, for it may hasten their maturation and disappearance. 
If there is great prostration aromatic spirits of ammonia, or 
wine, or brandy will be of service. A gargle of chlorate of 
potash is useful. When the pustules are developed sponging 
the body is not enough; it should be washed frequently with 
warm water and carbolic acid soap. The face may be kept 
covered with a thin poultice of flaxseed-meal; for in this way 
pitting may be prevented, in a measure. Or anointing it with 
glycerine containing a little carbolic acid may be practiced. 
Chicken-pox or varicella is a mild fever of a contagious 
nature, attended with a vesicular eruption which comes out in 
successive crops. It bears no relation to small-pox; nor does 
vaccination lessen the susceptibility to it. Contagion is the 
cause of it. Epidemics of it are of frequent occurrence. It 
rarely affects adults. A second attack of it does not take 
place. Scarcely any deaths are caused by it, except among 
infants ; and among these they are very few. 
The symptoms of this disease appear in about a week after 
exposure to the cause, and are all slight. A languid, feverish 
condition of the system is usually present for two days before 
the eruption comes out. The latter consists, at first, of small 
scattered pimples, and later, vesicles, which being transparent 
resemble little blisters. By the third day, or so, these vesicles 
are pear-like in appearance, and on the fourth, or fifth they 
scab. No pitting is left. It is well, however, not to let the 
patient scratch, at least the face. The occurrence of successive 
crops of the eruption prolongs the attack, but recovery may 
always be looked for within ten days. 
CHICKEN-POX. 208 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Besides careful nursing this disease requires no treatment. 
A dose of magnesia, and lemonade, and other remedies suitable 
for fever may be given. 
TYPHOID FEVER. 
Typhoid fever is a fever in which there is, in adults at 
least, an inflammatory change in certain intestinal glands and 
generally more or less of a peculiar rash. Enteric fever 
and slow nervous fever are other names of it. Cases of 
what are called infantile remittent fever and worm 
fever are usually cases of it. It is very common almost 
everywhere, and is accountable for more deaths than any other 
disease, excepting consumption of the lungs and pneumonia. 
Nearly five hundred lives are destroyed by it yearly in Phila- 
delphia. About five per cent, of all affected with it die. It 
is generally mild in very early life, but it occurs far more 
frequently then than many seem to suppose. A fifteenth of 
the deaths from it in Philadelphia are of persons under five 
years of age, a fifth are of persons under fifteen, and a third 
are of persons under twenty. 
This disease may be caused by contagion. One, however, 
does not run much risk of catching it from a person suffering 
from it, save through the dejections. Hence, it is very im- 
portant that the latter should not only be disposed of quickly, 
but in such a way that others may not be infected by them. 
The contamination of the water supply should be carefully 
guarded* against. The passage of such discharges into sewers 
is doubtless accountable for many cases of the disease. That 
the disease may arise otherwise than through contagion is 
likely. Foul air is held by some authorities to be the main 
source of it. Drinking impure water will probably occasion 
it. Anxiety and depressing causes of all kinds favor its 
occurrence. It is in the autumn that it is most prevalent. 
There are far more cases of it some years than others. A ACUTE GENERAL DISEASES. 
209 
person who has had an attack of it is not very liable to have 
another. It is remarkable that there are few cases of it 
wdierever chills and fever and other malarial affections are 
common. 
The symptoms of this disease begin to show themselves in 
about two weeks after exposure to the contagion of it, and 
they develop slowly. For several days there are languor, loss 
of appetite, pains in the limbs, headache and drowsiness. 
Bleeding at the nose occurs in many cases, and a cough is com- 
mon. Fever soon sets in and generally becomes marked. The 
temperature on the evening of the fourth day is mostly up to, 
or a little above a hundred and four degrees. Day after day 
it will be found to be from one to two degrees higher in the 
evening than in the morning. The pulse seldom reaches 
much higher at any time than a hundred and forty. There 
is some muttering, as a rule. Restlessness is more marked at 
night than by day. The tongue is coated but is not dry, 
except in bad cases; and the breath is foetid. The face is 
deeply flushed; and besides fever blisters about the mouth 
and sudamina, rose-colored, lens-shaped spots, which are 
slightly elevated and disappear on pressure, may be present 
on the trunk, toward the end of the second week. These 
spots come out in crops and are rarely numerous. About the 
tenth day the sense of hearing is usually somewhat blunted. 
A tendency to vomiting and diarrhoea exists from the start; 
but these symptoms are far less marked in children than in 
adults. Except in the very young the abdomen is apt to be 
somewhat swollen, with tenderness on pressure in the region 
of the right groin, from about the end of the first week. The 
tenderness in the region of the right groin is due to the fact 
that in the portion of the intestine which lies there ulcers are 
present. These ulcers are a source of great danger to life; 
for if they destroy the intestinal wall, fatal inflammation of 
the delicate membrane which surrounds it (the peritoneum) 210 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
will follow. In children and old people they are not marked. 
This is one of the reasons why the mortality from the disease 
is comparatively small among these classes. From two to 
three weeks is the average duration of the disease in children, 
and about a month in adults; but convalescence is generally 
slow. 
Beyond attention to cleanliness and other hygienic matters 
the treatment generally called for by this disease is simple. 
Very little medicine is required. A dose of castor oil, or of 
magnesia may be given at the start, unless there is considerable 
diarrhoea. In addition to lemonade a mixture of the solution 
of the acetate of ammonia and a little syrup of ipecac, may 
be used in small doses, every four hours. If there is much 
restlessness, or diarrhoea, paregoric will be serviceable. For 
the latter trouble it may be combined with the spiced syrup 
of rhubarb and the aromatic spirits of ammonia. The catarrh 
on the chest seldom needs any special remedies. If there is 
great exhaustion stimulants are serviceable. The body should 
be sponged with tepid water twice, or thrice daily. The food 
should be liquid from the beginning to the end of the attack; 
for any solid article may produce a serious irritation in the 
bowels. Milk, soups, beef-tea and eggs are among the 
things suitable. For the first two weeks it is best, as a rule, 
to limit the amount of nourishment given. During conva- 
lescence it is exceedingly important not to use any food of an 
indigestible nature, for a relapse is easily produced. Iron is 
then very useful. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
211 
CHAPTER IX. 
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks—Thrush—Aphthae—Canker of the 
Mouth—Quinsy—Catarrh of the Stomach and Liver— 
Dyspepsia—Jaundice—Diarrhoea—Constipation—Cholera 
Infantum— C holer a Morbus—Dysentery— Colic—Intestinal 
Worms. 
PRELIMIXAEY REMARKS. 
The various parts of the body which either retain the food 
or assist in transforming it into such a state that the nutrition 
which it contains can be absorbed and pass into the blood- 
vessels, constitute the digestive system 
This collection of organs is extensive and of a complicated 
description. The mouth, the gullet, the stomach, and the 
small and large intestines form a connected passage, which is 
about five times the stature in length. In an adult the gullet 
or oesophagus is about nine inches in length; and its walls 
being very elastic ah object an inch or more in diameter may 
pass through it. The stomach is a pear-shaped pouch of the 
capacity of about a quart, and it sits in the abdomen with the 
smaller end pointing toward the right side of the body. 
Starting from the smaller end of the stomach the small 
intestine runs in horizontal folds down to the right groin, 
where it terminates abruptly in the large intestine. It is 
about twenty feet in length, and considerably over an inch in 
diameter when distended. Beginning at the right groin, the 
laege intestine ascends to the level of the bottom of the „ 
stomach, curves across to the left side and descends to the 
point of exit from the body. It is about five feet in length, 212 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
and over two inches in diameter when distended. The last 
six inches, or so, of it is called the rectum. 
The secretions of the two parotid glands, one of which 
is situated below and in advance of the ear on either side and 
the duct of which opens into the mouth opposite the second 
upper molar tooth, the two submaxillary glands, one of 
which is situated beneath the jaw at the angle on either side, 
and the duct of which opens into the mouth at a little 
eminence under the tongue, the sublingual gland, which 
rests on the floor of the mouth and communicates with the 
latter by about half a dozen little ducts, and numerous small 
glands about the*mouth, commingle to .form the saliva, 
which serves to liquefy the food and also transform the starchy 
part of it into sugar (glucose). A great multitude of little 
glands are in the walls of the stomach, and they secrete an 
acid fluid called the gastric juice, about seven quarts of 
which is thrown out every twenty-four hours, and which, by 
producing a sort of fermentation or chemical change in the 
food, turns it into a soft mass called chyme. The secretion 
of the liver, a gland which weighs from fifty to sixty ounces, 
and is the largest in the body, is called bile, and it passes 
into the gall-bladder, from which it empties, by a little duct, 
into the small intestine about four inches from the end of the 
stomach. From thirty to forty ounces of it is formed daily. 
From being antiseptic it tends to stop the fermentative action 
started in the food by the gastric juice, and being alkaline, 
on account of the presence in it of soda, it renders fatty 
matter absorbable. Moreover, as it is possessed of irritant 
properties it stimulates the functional activities of the intes- 
tines. The secretion of the pancreas or sweetbread, a 
long thin organ which is situated beneath the stomach, empties 
into the small intestine a little beyond where that of the liver 
does. It is very profuse and it promotes fermentation, turns 
starch into sugar, and renders fat absorbable by emulsifying DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
213 
it. In infancy it and the saliva are scanty; and hence, starchy 
food is not well digested then. From the minute glands 
which exist all along the intestines there come secretions 
which act as lubricants, and perhaps otherwise. It has been 
estimated that nearly three gallons of juices is secreted by the 
digestive organs every twenty-four hours, of which about 
ninety-six per cent, consists of water. Of course, nearly the 
whole of it is absorbed again. 
On eating a morsel of food it is comminuted by the teeth 
and mixed with the saliva. Passing into the stomach it com- 
mingles with the gastric juice, the flow of which it excites, 
and much of the watery and albuminous elements of it are 
taken up by the veins and lacteals. Whatever of it leaves 
the stomach passes into the small intestine, and mixing with 
the bile and pancreatic secretion it is absorbed gradually as it 
goes along. By the time the large intestine is reached there 
is little nutrient material remaining. Of the lacteals I 
may say that they are the little vessels like capillaries which 
take up the nourishment from the matter which is in the 
digestive track; and that after passing through the mesen- 
teric glands, which are over a hundred in number, and in 
which their contents are somewhat changed, they unite to form 
the thoracic duct, which empties into the vein from the left 
arm (the subclavian) near its juncture with the internal jugu- 
lar. It requires from two to three hours to digest a full meal. 
Considering how complex the character of the digestive 
organs and functions is, it is not at all surprising that diseases 
of them are common. So little attention is generally given 
to the healthfulness of the diet that it is rather strange they 
are not thrown into a morbid condition far oftener than they 
actually are. But a vast amount of disease of them does 
occur. A very large proportion of the diseases which afflict 
children are connected with them and may be traced, in the 
main, to errors in eating. 214 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
When the functional action of any of the organs of this 
system becomes disordered the digestive process cannot proceed 
properly, and consequently the whole body suffers. 
The symptoms of the diseases of this system will be spoken 
of below, but I may say here that A coated condition of 
the tongue is one that is nearly always present. This 
symptom is not peculiar to these diseases, but it is generally 
marked in them. It is caused by exhalations from the 
stomach and lungs and by perversion of the secretions con- 
nected with the mouth. Doubtless people in general attach 
too much importance to it. 
In treating disorders of this system the diet deserves special 
consideration. One thing about it which should be carefully 
borne in mind is this, that in all temporary functional 
derangements abstinence from all food is a remedy of supreme 
value. 
THEUSH. 
Thrash is often called white-mouth. It is of very com- 
mon occurrence among infants; but it is rarely in itself of a 
very serious nature. Delicate children who breathe impure 
air and live on an unwholesome diet are by far the most 
subject to it. Hence, it is oftenest met with among the poor, 
and especially in those reared carelessly on artificial fare. It 
may accompany different diseases, but in early life it is gener- 
ally an independent affection. From the fact that a microscopic 
fungus (oidium albicans) is found in the deposit which attends 
it, some regard it as parasitic in nature. 
The symptoms of this disease begin with congestion and 
inflammation of the lining of the mouth, fever, nausea, and 
diarrhoea. In a day or two a number of small, elevated, 
irregularly rounded, whitish points, like specks of curdled 
milk, appear on the tongue, cheeks, and parts about the 
throat. These exudations are brownish in color in severe DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
215 
cases, and after falling off may be renewed several times. 
The whole digestive track is more or less involved. Excoria- 
tions about the anus or fundament are very liable to occur, 
unless great attention be paid to cleanliness. The attack may 
last from one to three weeks, or even longer. 
Hygienic measures constitute the most essential part of the 
treatment of this disease. The entire mode of life of the 
patient should be brought into accordance with the laws of 
health; but at any rate, let him have pure air and wholesome 
food. A dose of magnesia alone, or in connection with the 
spiced syrup of rhubarb should be given as soon as the symp- 
toms begin to appear; and chlorate of potash in doses of from 
two to five grains every four hours will be useful. Borax 
mixed with an equal amount of sugar, or in a little honey, 
makes an excellent local remedy. In place of it a little of the 
tincture of myrrh in water may be used, at a late stage of the 
disease. Poorly nourished children should have wine of 
iron for a while. 
APHTHJE. 
Aphthae is the name given to small reddish-bordered, 
whitish ulcers of the lining of the mouth, which mostly come 
and go within a week. These painful little sores are de- 
veloped from an inflammatory vesicular eruption. The 
vesicles are in a cluster, are pearly in appearance, and break 
in a few days. The ulcers are usually very scattered ; often 
there is only one. Sometimes there is disorder of the stomach 
and bowels and also feverishness. Comparatively few cases 
are met with among children. Nursing mothers often suffer. 
Constipation and debility tend greatly to cause the disease. 
In this connection I may remark that an ulcer occasionally 
appears beneath the tongue in nursing children. It is caused 
mechanically. Two sometimes appear, one on either side of 
the fraenum in those affected with hooping-cough, the cause 216 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
probably being pressure of the tongue on the teeth during the 
severe coughing spells which attend the disease. 
The treatment recommended for thrush is also suitable for 
aphthae. The other ulcers spoken of call for nothing more 
than the application of borax and honey, or glycerine, either 
alone or with a little chlorate of potash. 
CANKER OF THE MOUTH. 
Canker of the mouth is a yellowish-white ulcer with an 
inflamed border, situated on the cheek, the gum, or the lip. 
It develops gradually and may remain for weeks, or even 
months, but it is seldom of serious importance. It is usually 
seen in children between their second and sixth year. It is 
somewhat painful and tender. The saliva inclines to flow' 
freely and the breath is offensive. Often there is some fever. 
In treating this disease it is generally necessary to improve 
the condition of the system of the patient, by the use of 
nourishing food and all possible hygienic measures. The 
various remedies recommended for thrush, including the wine 
of iron, are also suitable here. If the ulcer tends to linger a 
little powdered alum may be applied to it twice a day. A 
mixture of powdered chalk and gum-arabic makes a good 
dressing for it. 
Quinsy is seated in one, or both of the tonsils, which are 
glands somewhat like almonds, situated one on either side of 
the tongue, near its root, and which secrete salivary matter; 
and it is an inflammation which may, or may not result in a 
gathering or abscess. Hence physicians very appropriately 
call it tonsillitis, the terminal letters itis being, in the 
names of diseases, expressive of inflammation. It is often 
alarming in character, but it is rarely fatal. Only from five 
to ten deaths are attributable to it yearly in Philadelphia, and 
QUINSY. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
217 
nearly all of these are of children under ten years of age. It 
is said by some that it is more apt to occur after than before 
puberty; but this is questionable. Certainly it is most de- 
structive to life among the very young. Cases of it are not 
uncommon among persons of all ages. 
The cause of this disease is generally obscure; but probably 
it always arises from exposure to cold. 
The symptoms of this disease begin with feverishness, dry- 
ness and soreness about the throat, headache, and aching of 
the limbs. When the inflammation of the tonsil or tonsils is 
at its height, there is much discomfort and pain locally, and 
the throbbing headache is excruciating. The fever then is 
high, the pulse frequent, the tongue covered with a creamy 
fur, the breath foetid, the stomach inclined to turn, the bowels 
constipated, the voice peculiarly muffled and nasal, and the 
breathing hurried and somewhat difficult. In case an abscess 
is forming in one, or in either tonsil, relief cannot come until 
it is ripe, and breaks of itself, or is broken, or lanced. As the 
disease on beginning in one tonsil often involves the other, it 
may be somewhat prolonged ; but recovery may generally be 
expected within eight days. 
Through prompt and suitable treatment this disease may 
frequently be cut short. Let a dose of citrate of magnesia, 
or any other active cathartic, be given in connection with a 
mustard-plaster applied to the throat, a draught of warm 
lemonade, or of toddy, and a hot foot-bath, as soon as the 
symptoms begin to appear. These remedies should always be 
resorted to; and if they do not produce the desired effect 
within twenty-four hours, or so, a flaxseed-meal poultice 
should replace the mustard. In the poultice some laudanum 
may be placed if there is much pain. Or a hop-poultice may 
be used. If the abscess forms slowly it may be well to give 
a dose of the tincture of barks three, or four times a day. 
When it is ripe and is not inclined to break of itself, it may 218 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
be broken with the finger-nail, or by producing vomiting with 
wine of ipecac.; or it may be lanced. For the headache cold 
water is the chief remedy. Chloral may be used to allay 
irritability and produce sleep. Warm milk to which a few 
drops of carbolic acid have been added is a suitable gargle 
until the matter is discharged; and afterward one of a strong 
decoction of tea, in which a little alum is dissolved, is service- 
able. The latter should be used for some time, in order to 
prevent, if possible, the tonsils from remaining enlarged for a 
long period. Throughout the attack, bland, nutritious drinks 
should constitute the food. 
CATARRH OP THE STOMACH AND LIVER. 
Catarrh of the stomach and liver, or gastro-hepatic catarrh, 
in its ordinary form, is commonly called A bilious attack ; 
and if the head is much affected it usually goes by the name 
of A sick-headache. Acute dyspepsia is another and a 
not inappropriate title for it. It is not dangerous to life and 
generally subsides within two or three days. 
In childhood this disease is caused for the most part either 
by eating indigestible food or exposure to cold and wet. 
The symptoms of this disease are nausea, vomiting, pain 
about the stomach, feverishness, and a giddy, disagreeable 
feeling about the head. The tongue is heavily coated with a 
yellowish-white fur. There is no diarrhoea. The matter 
vomited contains bile; hence it is very bitter in taste and of 
a yellowish-green color. 
The treatment of this disease should be to a great extent of 
a negative character; the patient should keep still, abstain 
entirely from food and take very little medicine. The 
stomach, liver and all the parts involved are in an excited, 
inflamed condition, and need rest. If there is any indigestible 
matter in the stomach and vomiting does not occur freely, an 
emetic of mustard is in order. A dose of magnesia may be DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
219 
given, and a mustard-plaster placed over the stomach is of 
service. Lemonade may be used; but it is unwise to give 
much of it, or of any drink. Rarely is it proper to give 
stimulants. If there is great restlessness and pain chloral is 
the best remedy to use. 
dyspepsia. 
Dyspepsia is the name usually given to a variety of morbid 
conditions which are seated mainly in the stomach. Indi- 
gestion is a synonym. I will limit my remarks to forms of 
it which are common in early life. 
The causes of functional disturbances about the stomach 
are manifold. Whatever weakens the system in general 
weakens the digestive organs; and when these organs are in 
a weak state they are easily disordered. On the other hand, 
when the body is in a vigorous condition the action of the 
digestive organs is not readily perverted. Hence, all measures 
which favor health and strength also serve to prevent dyspep- 
sia. The amount and character of the food and the mode of 
eating produce the trouble in the great majority of cases. 
Surfeit or the condition produced by overloading the 
stomach is not infrequently met with among children. Pain 
and weakness attend it. If the organ cannot free itself of its 
contents through its digestive power, it turns, and thus in 
time relieves itself. Evidently an emetic is the proper 
remedy for this form of dyspepsia. 
Acidity or sourness of the stomach is usually pro- 
duced by the use of food which is digested with difficulty. A 
little of the aromatic spirits of ammonia or of any stimulant 
generally affords relief for the time being. Buttermilk, or lemon- 
ade, or any acid drink is sometimes the best remedy. By way 
of prevention of the trouble the tone of the system should be 
improved by the use of a tonic, such as tincture of barks, and 
articles not easy of digestion should be abstained from. 220 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
The form of dyspepsia called heartburn or cardialgia 
is a markedly acid condition of the stomach. It is due to the 
organ being in an irritable state. The presence of indi- 
gestible food, or of worms, often causes it. Aromatic spirits 
of ammonia, either alone or with paregoric, gives temporary 
relief. The return of the affection is to be prevented chiefly 
by invigorating the system and abstaining from such articles 
of diet as are not digested easily. Of course, if its occurrence 
be due to the presence of a worm, or worms, their removal is 
indicated; and it is generally in itself sufficient to at once 
effect a permanent cure. 
Water-brash or pyrosis are names given to the dis- 
charge of clear, limpid liquor which occasionally comes from 
the stomach. This liquid is generally not acid. It originates 
in the glands which secrete the gastric juice; and it usually 
appears when the organ is empty. A poor diet is promotive 
of the occurrence of this discharge, and females are more 
subject to it than males. Before it begins a burning heat and 
a sense of constriction are experienced and a quantity of gas 
or wind comes up. The occurrence of the flow brings relief. 
A mixture of the aromatic spirits of ammonia and paregoric 
is a good remedy for it. 
Gastralgia or gastrodynia is pain of a nervous 
nature or neuralgia in the stomach. Debility tends greatly 
to produce it. It is often present in connection with the 
forms of dyspepsia spoken of above. At times it is very 
severe. Girls about the age of puberty are particularly apt 
to be affected with it. Firm pressure sometimes affords tem- 
porary relief from it. Occasionally the use of food stops it. 
A mixture of aromatic spirits of ammonia and paregoric is 
often beneficial. If the pain is great a mustard-plaster should 
be applied over the stomach. Chloral is the best remedy in 
very bad cases. Regulation of the diet and iron and other 
tonics are the preventives called for by it. , 221 
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
Jaundice is a morbid yellowness of the skin, eyes and other 
parts of the body, due to the presence in the system of an ex- 
cess of biliary matter. Another name for it is icterus. It is 
scarcely in itself a disease; it is little more than a symptom. 
Cases of it are numerous. Extensive outbreaks of it occur oc- 
casionally. Many young infants suffer from it, and in them 
it is called icterus neonatorum. Few deaths are caused 
by it. Only about a dozen minors succumb to it yearly in 
Philadelphia, and all are persons in their first year, infants. 
As already stated, this discoloration is due to the presence 
in the system of an excess of biliary matter. The cause of 
this condition of things is mainly the absorption of an unnat- 
urally large amount of bile. This takes place when the flow 
of the secretion is obstructed in its passage to the intestines, 
through extraordinary profusion of it, or catarrh of the 
ducts, or biliary concretions or gall stones, or perversion of 
the action of the intestinal absorbents. Inaction of the liver, 
and consequently the accumulation of the elements of the bile 
in the blood, may lead to the condition ; and certain obscure 
changes in the blood itself may give rise to it. An attack of the 
affection may be brought on by mental excitement, or by ex- 
posure to cold. These, doubtless, are the exciting causes of 
most cases of it among the young. 
The symptoms attendant on this condition may come on very 
suddenly ; but this is not generally the case. For some time, 
usually, languor, loss of appetite, nausea and various indica- 
tions of disorder about the liver and digestive track exist, 
before yellowness is anywhere observable. The latter may 
vary greatly in depth, and it may be replaced by a greenish, 
or a blackish hue. While the discoloration is present there is a 
bitter taste in the mouth, the faeces are of a leaden color, or 
lighter, and the urine is tinted like the skin. Rarely do objects 
appear yellowish. The spirits are generally depressed, and 
JAUNDICE. 222 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
there is an indisposition to exercise. The trouble does not 
often last longer than a week, or two. 
As met with among the young, this affection seldom calls 
for any special treatment. A laxative may be given; and the 
use of lemonade throughout the attack is beneficial. If the 
yellowness seems to linger, a warm bath daily, or oftener, may 
hasten its disappearance. 
DIARRHOEA. 
Diarrhoea or loose discharges of frequent occurrence from 
the bowels is rather a symptom than a disease; but as it is 
often necessary to use remedies for it specially, it is proper to 
make a few remarks on it. Cases of it are very common, es- 
pecially in the warmer half of the year. It is credited with 
the destruction of many lives. About a hundred and fifty 
deaths are imputed to it yearly in Philadelphia, and of them 
nearly a half are of persons under five years. Between the 
fifth and thirtieth year of age scarcely any die from it. 
This affection is not ordinarily attended with much pain; 
and unless the discharge is very liquid and continues to occur at 
short periods for over twenty-four hours, it need not be a 
source of much alarm. The continuance of a profuse dis- 
charge, and severe pain for several days, may threaten life 
through exhaustion. It rarely, however, continues longer than 
a day, or so, unless it is caused by some serious morbid condi- 
tion of the system, or by the use of unwholesome food. De- 
bility favors the occurrence and prolongation of attacks of it. 
It is only when it is prolonged and threatens to become 
dangerous that any case of this affection calls for special treat- 
ment. If the cause which produces it be not removed, serious 
consequences may follow if it is not allowed to continue to 
some extent. For it may be the means by which the body v 
is freed from poisonous matter. This is the case when it is pro- 
duced by a bad diet, or by typhoid fever. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
223 
For the first two, or three months of life, it is natural for 
about four evacuations of the bowels to occur daily; but this 
number is excessive in older children. Among the very young 
any diarrhoea which may exist will very generally be found 
to be intimately connected with the diet; and hence the regu- 
lation of the latter is curative of the trouble. Too much food 
is the cause of it in not a few cases, at least in infants. And 
here I may say that in weaning children abruptly the quality 
and amount of the milk and other food given must be carefully 
and intelligently attended to, or it will produce diarrhoea. 
Under such circumstances the affection is called weaning- 
brAsh. 
A mixture of lime-water and milk is an efficient remedy 
for many cases of diarrhoea occurring in early life. In con- 
nection with it let the diet be restricted, and consist of nutri- 
tious liquids. 
When this affection arises from a temporary weakness of 
the bowels, aromatic spirits of ammonia, or brandy, or any 
other stimulant will check it. In addition to a stimulant, some 
spiced syrup of rhubarb is often very serviceable. 
In marked cases of this disease a mixture of chalk-mixture 
and paregoric given in small doses at short intervals, in con- 
nection with a stimulant, will generally afford relief soon. 
Sometimes a mustard-plaster or some other counter-irritant 
may be applied to the abdomen with advantage. 
CONSTIPATION. 
Constipation is a condition of the bowels in which their 
contents tend to accumulate and become excessively dry. 
Rarely do serious consequences follow from it; but it may 
cause great discomfort; and it is inconsistent with health. It 
is not very common in early life. 
This condition is almost always due to faults in the mode of 
living. A child, or any one that is allowed to exercise freely 224 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
and eat liberally of vegetable food, will seldom, if ever, suffer 
from it; and if there is a tendency to it, these are all the rem- 
edies which are required, as a rule. Through the use of fruit, 
vegetables, grits and milk, and liquid food generally, and the 
disuse of strong tea, fresh bread, and much meat of any kind, 
there should seldom be any difficulty experienced in prevent- 
ing it. 
A very young child should have three, or four passages by 
the bowels daily, and at any age it is well to have at least one. 
The habit of attending to this important matter, from day to 
day, at a fixed hour, is regulative in its influence, and should 
be cultivated. 
The frequent use of laxative medicine of any kind is inju- 
rious, especially in early life; for it saps the natural powers of 
the system. As Dr. Bull remarks, “ one of the greatest errors 
of the nursery is the frequent and indiscriminate exhibition, 
by the mother, or nurse, of purgative medicine.” Nor is the 
habitual use of injections much less objectionable. If it is 
really necessary to use medicine at any time, castor oil, or mag- 
nesia, or senna-tea will answer. For infants a little olive oil 
may be used. For a very weak person an injection is prefer- 
able to medicine. The debilitated find tonics, such as wine of 
iron, or tincture of barks, of value; but these and all others 
should rely exclusively, or almost so, on the regulation of the 
diet and mode of life in general. 
CHOLERA INFANTUM. 
Cholera infantum is also called summer complaint. These 
names are loosely applied to various affections in which the 
bowels are much relaxed, occurring in children under two, or 
three years of age, in the heat of summer; they are given to 
diarrhoea, inflammation of the stomach and bowels, and dysen- 
tery as well as the disease proper, which is a prostrated con- 
dition of the system attended with marked disturbance of the DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
225 
digestive organs and other symptoms. But the true disease 
may spring from any of those named. However, it, or what 
passes for it, is the cause of an appalling number of deaths in 
most of our large cities and of some throughout the country, 
every year. It destroys, on the average, between nine and ten 
hundred lives every year, in Philadelphia. 
This disease is induced very largely by heat. When the 
temperature of the air rises above ninety degrees at any time 
in the twenty-four hours, cases of it rapidly multiply. The 
deaths from it in Philadelphia occur mostly in July and 
August. The children of the poor, who live in tainted air, 
are by far the most likely to fall victims to it; still, it is very 
destructive to those who are deficient in vital force, no matter 
what the character of their surroundings may be. Weaning 
and dentition, in disturbing the system, favor it; consequently, 
it is more apt to occur in the second than the first summer of 
life. 
The symptoms of this disease begin with heat about the 
head, languor, rejection of the food, vomiting, diarrhoea, and 
swelling of the abdomen. Sometimes there are convulsions. 
The discharges are thin and of a greenish color. Exhaustion 
and death may speedily take place; but in many cases the 
early symptoms abate, and life is extinguished gradually, 
through debility. Emaciation progresses very rapidly, and 
often becomes extremely marked. 
The treatment of this disease is not apt to be successful un- 
less it be begun early. Once the symptoms have set in well, 
it is hard to combat them. The first thing to do is to put the 
child in the coolest and airiest part of the house, and subdue 
the light. Then remove the clothing and apply tepid, or cool 
water until the temperature of the body is down almost to the 
normal degree. Afterward, give a mixture of spiced syrup of 
rhubarb and aromatic spirits of ammonia, in small doses often 
repeated. A little paregoric may be added. Place a mild 226 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
mustard-plaster over the stomach, and also one along the spine. 
Whenever the body tends to be excessively warm let it be 
well sponged, especially about the head. Milk containing 
lime-water is the only nourishment allowable until the sto- 
mach is well settled. As soon as it can be borne, beef-tea 
should be given. Brandy may be beneficial. In convales- 
cence wine of iron is serviceable. The immediate removal of 
the patient to where the air is pure is highly advantageous. 
The chance of recovery is far better in the country than in the 
city. 
The measures which should be taken to prevent cholera in- 
fantum may be inferred from what has been already said of 
the disease. The subject, however, is so highly important 
that I may say a few words specially about it. 
As the summer approaches, attention should be given to the 
general health. See especially that the child has a sufficient 
supply of proper food, and that the air he breathes is pure. 
When the temperature reaches as high as eighty-five degrees 
at any time of the day, the leading consideration then is, to 
keep the body cool. A moderately cold bath should be given 
morning and evening, and on very warm days also at noon. 
The clothing should be light and loose. Let the child be 
kept in a shaded, airy place. In the morning and evening let 
him be taken out freely into the open air. Give him a liberal 
allowance of cold but not ice-cold water to drink. 
CHOLERA MOBBUS. 
Cholera morbus receives also the names of sporadic 
CHOLERA, SUMMER CHOLERA and ENGLISH CHOLERA. It IS 
very different from Asiatic cholera in nature. Cases of it are 
numerous; but comparatively few of them are in minors. It 
does not destroy many lives. Between forty and fifty deaths 
are imputed to it yearly in Philadelphia, nearly all of which 
are of persons over thirty years of age. DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
227 
The cause of this disease is related to heat; for cases of it 
are met with almost exclusively in very warm weather. 
Attacks of it can usually be traced to eating indigestible food, 
or drinking too freely of cold water, or a sudden chilling of 
the body, especially when in a feeble condition from exertion 
of any kind. 
The chief symptoms of this disease are, nausea, vomiting, 
diarrhoea and colic. At the start there is usually considerable 
excitement of the system, but it may be said that there is 
never any fever. Marked thirst is common. The discharges 
generally contain much bile. If the attack is severe, coldness 
soon sets in, with painful cramps in the limbs as well as in the 
stomach and bowels. Recovery takes place as a rule within 
three days. When death occurs it is through exhaustion. 
Prompt treatment is called for by this disease. A large 
mustard-plaster should be at once placed over the stomach,- 
and kept there until it irritates well. A teaspoonful, or'so, 
of a mixture of two parts of paregoric and one of aromatic 
spirits of ammonia should be given in a little water every 
fifteen minutes at first. Drink should be restricted. Pieces 
of ice may. be dissolved in the mouth. Brandy, or whisky 
in small amount, often repeated, is useful if there is great 
prostration. Should there be much pain chloral is very ser- 
viceable. Sleep proves restorative. Food should be abstained 
from until the digestive organs become settled; for indulging 
in it early will only prolong the illness. 
DYSENTERY. 
Dysentery or inflammation of the large intestine, particu- 
larly the rectum, is also called bloody flux. It is of a grave 
nature. About seventy-five deaths occur from it yearly in 
Philadelphia, of which over a third are of persons under five 
years. It is most fatal in infancy. Between the fifth and 
thirtieth year of age few die from it. 228 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
This disease is usually caused by errors of diet, or by 
exposure to cold and wet, when in a weak condition. The 
inhabitants of damp localities suffer most from it. The 
majority of cases of it occur in July and August. As ordin- 
arily met with it is not contagious; but the reverse, probably, 
is true of it at times. At any rate, it occasionally prevails 
epidemically. The contagion, doubtless, is given off almost 
exclusively • by the dejections; hence, they should always be 
disposed of speedily and in such a way that neither the air 
nor the water supply is likely to be contaminated by them. 
The symptoms of this disease are, pain in the lower half of 
the abdomen, an alniost constant desire to remove matter from 
the bowels, the passage of mucus and blood, constipation, 
nausea and feverishness. The straining is extremely painful. 
In some cases the bowel becomes ulcerated, and there is a 
■tendency to exhaustion. Recovery generally occurs within 
ten days. 
Chronic cases of this disease are not infrequently met with 
in some localities. In them the symptoms are similar to those 
of acute cases, but are less marked. Children are seldom 
affected thus. 
The treatment of this disease may be begun by giving a 
sufficient dose of castor oil, or magnesia, or any other cathartic, 
to open the bowels freely. Then give wine of ipecac, in large 
doses every two hours, or oftener; and apply either a flax- 
seed-meal poultice or a mustard-plaster over the lower portion 
of the abdomen. Lemonade makes a suitable drink. If 
there is much restlessness a dose of the solution of morphia 
may be given at short intervals. The injection into the rectum 
of one, or two ounces of an infusion of flaxseed-meal, or gruel 
containing an ordinary dose of laudanum may be resorted to 
several times daily, to advantage. If there is but little ten- 
dency to exhaustion no stimulants should be given. The 
patient should stay in bed and keep still; for assuming the DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
229 
erect posture, or moving irritates the parts that are diseased. 
Milk, beef-tea and other liquid nourishing articles of diet may 
be given from as early a period as the stomach will bear 
them. 
COLIC. 
Colic or pain in the abdomen is not in itself a disease; it 
is only a symptom. Being of very common occurrence a few 
words may fitly be said of it specially. 
The presence of wind or gases which are apt to form when 
the digestive organs are deranged, is the ordinary cause of 
colic in early life; but it not infrequently springs from cramp 
or spasm, and inflammation. Wind causes pain by distending 
the vessel in which it is confined to an excessive degree; and 
cramp, or inflammation excites it here in the same manner as 
elsewhere. When produced by inflammation it is not of very 
temporary duration, and it cannot be shifted about through 
friction and pressure, as it can usually when due to wind. 
When it is caused by cramp it is very severe and comes at 
intervals. 
To cure wind-colic or flatulence it is necessary to 
cure the morbid condition on which it depends • but it may 
be temporarily relieved by expelling the collection of gases. 
This can be done by kneading the abdomen gently. Stimu- 
lating agents such as mint-water, and essence of ginger, are 
often given for the purpose, and prove useful by toning up 
the parts ; for debility not only favors the production of the 
wind, but also the distention of the parts which confine it. 
Aromatic spirits of ammonia serve the purpose, both through 
correcting acidity and stimulating the parts. A band placed 
around the body is useful when there is a tendency to this 
form of colic. Through the support it affords to the bowels 
it tends both to prevent the wind from forming and col- 
lecting. 230 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
For colic dependent on cramp, paregoric, laudanum, 
or the solution of morphia may be used in connection with 
brandy, or some other stimulant; but in severe cases chloral 
is preferable to any of these. A mustard-plaster, or any hot 
application is of service. A dose of magnesia is generally 
indicated. 
For colic due to inflammation, either a poultice of 
flaxseed-meal or a mustard-plaster, or any warm application 
may be used in connection with the solution of morphia, or 
some other agent which will allay excitability and pain. But 
the precise nature of the inflammation should be at once 
determined, if possible, so that any special means of value for 
it may be resorted to early. 
INTESTINAL WORMS. 
The presence of worms of various kinds in the bowels is 
credited popularly with causing much disease of a wasting 
nature in early life. If a child has a precarious appetite and 
grows thin and irritable it is usually suspected at once that 
these parasites are at work. How, it is, doubtless, true that 
they may reduce the system; but it is more than probable that 
they appear, in many cases, in consequence of the system being 
in a reduced state. This fact should be borne in mind in 
caring for children troubled with them. 
Intestinal worms are of two kinds, the tape, and the round. 
I will speak of each separately. 
Tape-worms are of two species; but they resemble each 
other in the main. One (taenia mediocanellata) develops 
from larvse or germs found mostly in beef and mutton, and 
the other (tcenia solium) from larvae found mostly in pork. 
The former may be over three times as large as the latter. It 
is sometimes over thirty feet in length and as thick as the 
little finger. Both are formed of flat segments, each of which 
measures from a quarter to half an inch in length, and 231 
DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. 
drops off either alone or with one, or more others ; and each 
of these segments when mature produces ova or eggs, which, 
when eaten by certain animals, grow into the larvae (cysticerci) 
of diseased meat. 
The small intestine is the part of the digestive track in 
which tape-worms take up their abode. 
Rarely is there more than one tape-worm present iu the 
body at any time. 
All tape-worms come, perhaps, from the larvae which are 
found in measly pork, and other meats which are consumed. 
A high heat is required to destroy these germs; and hence it 
is unwise to eat very rare meat. 
The symptoms attendant on the presence of a tape-worm 
are, emaciation, lassitude, depression of spirits, nervousness, 
attacks of faintishness, disorder of the stomach, a tendency to 
diarrhoea, flatulence, uneasiness and pain in the abdomen, and 
itching of the nose and anus. Occasionally the nervous sys- 
tem is so greatly deranged that convulsions occur. But the 
only conclusive proof that there is a tape-worm present is the 
discovery of segments of it in the fseces. 
There are numerous remedies for the removal of tape-worms. 
A purgative dose of the spirits of turpentine is as good, 
perhaps, as any other. Let from a teaspoonful to two table- 
spoonfuls of this agent be given in a little milk when the 
stomach is empty; and if necessary let the same amount of 
it be given again the next day. Care should be taken to see 
that the head comes away; for it is the most important part, 
being that from which the segments grow. In place of tur- 
pentine, pumpkin seeds may be given freely oh an empty 
stomach. 
Of round-worms there are only two kinds of which I 
need speak, namely, the lumbricoid or white, and the thread or 
seat. 
Lumbricoid worms are each from five to fifteen inches in 232 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
length, and taper to a point at either end. A number of them 
may be present at the same time ; and they usually inhabit the 
small intestine. 
It is believed that the eggs from which these worms grow 
enter the body through water, or vegetables. 
These worms are far more frequently met with than tape- 
worms. 
The symptoms produced by these worms, when a number 
of them are present, are not essentially different from those 
attendant on the presence of a tape-worm. On discovering 
one of the worms in the faeces it may generally be taken for 
granted that there are more behind. 
Of the remedies which are used for the expulsion of these 
worms, turpentine is as good as any. Let it be given as 
directed for tape-worm. 
Thread-worms are each about an eighth of an inch in 
length. Great numbers of them may be present. They 
inhabit the rectum. Unlike the lumbricoid worms they 
multiply in the body. 
The ova of the first couple, at least, of these worms enter 
the body in the same way, perhaps, as do those of lumbricoid 
worms. 
Itching of the anus and restlessness are the chief symptoms 
attendant on the presence of these worms. Many of them 
come away from day to day in the faeces, and may be readily 
discovered. 
The best remedy for these worms is an injection of turpen- 
tine and milk repeated daily while required. Lime-water 
may be used in place of turpentine, and in the same way. DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
233 
CHAPTER X. 
DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
Preliminary Remarks — Coryza — Laryngitis—Bronchitis— 
Pneumonia—Pleurisy. 
preliminary remarks. 
In breathing, the air enters the nose, and passing through 
the windpipe, finds its way, by means of the bronchial tubes, 
into all parts of the lungs, which are organs in every respect 
similar to the lights of the lower animals, with which most 
people are familiar. The windpipe or trachea begins in 
the throat; and the first part or head of it is the larynx. 
Apart from the larynx, it is, in the adult, about four inches 
in length. It lies in front of the gullet. Within the chest it 
divides into two branches, the bronchi, one of which goes to 
either lung. Each bronchus divides and subdivides until the 
minute tubules terminate in the air-cells, which are blad- 
ders too small to be seen without the aid of a magnifying- 
glass. It has been estimated that there are in the two lungs 
about six million cells. The windpipe and the bronchial tubes 
are lined with a delicate membrane, and the air-cells by a still 
more delicate one. 
The presence of air in the lungs is one of the essentials of 
life; and if the supply is not full and pure, health speedily 
suffers. It serves to remove effete matter from the system. 
The manner in which it acts has been spoken of elsewhere. 
About thirty cubic inches of air are taken in by an 
adult, at each inspiration or breath; and as one breathes from 
fourteen to eighteen times per minute, the whole amount used 
per day is about three hundred and fifty cubic feet. The 234 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
capacity of the two lungs is about three hundred and forty 
cubic inches. Only about two-thirds of their contents, when 
fully inflated, can be voluntarily expelled. The amount 
which can be voluntarily expelled after inspiring to the 
fullest extent possible is called the vital capacity. 
All diseases of the air-passages interfere more or less 
seriously with the functional action of the lungs ; and this is 
the chief source of their fatality. Most of them cause diffi- 
culty in breathing (dyspnoea). 
In the practical study of diseases of the air-passages great 
assistance is derivable from auscultation and percussion, 
and the laryngoscope and other instruments. By ausculta- 
tion is meant the observation of the character of the sounds 
which occur in any part; and by percussion or sounding, the 
production of sounds through tapping on a part with the ends 
of the fingers, or a substitute for them, and the observation of 
their pitch and other qualities. The laryngoscope is a small 
reflecting apparatus by means of which the larynx can be in- 
spected. 
Of the symptoms attendant on diseases of the air-passages 
I may say a few words about sneezing, hawking, and cough- 
ing. Sneezing is produced by irritation of the lining 
membrane of the nasal passages. Irritation arising from 
the presence of phlegm, or any other substance in the larynx 
or throat causes hawking. Coughing arises from irritation 
of the lining membrane of the bronchial tubes, or of the 
air-cells, produced generally by the presence of phlegm, 
or some other sort of matter in them. If it serves to 
remove an obstruction to the breath it is the reverse of 
harmful, as a rule; and this it usually does. It is only 
when it is purely nervous in origin that it is safe to stop 
it otherwise than through attention to its cause. Giving 
remedies to dull the sensibility for the purpose of stopping a 
cough which prevents the accumulation of phlegm in the 235 
DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
lungs is obviously a serious mistake. The materials which 
are removed by hawking, or coughing are called expectora- 
tion or SPUTA. 
All the diseases of the air-passages which I will treat of are 
eminently preventible; no one must necessarily suffer from 
any of them. Their occurrence is attributable mainly to want 
of due attention to matters of hygiene. Proper regulation of 
the clothing aids greatly in preventing them ; but it is of far 
less avail than living in such a way that the system is pre- 
pared to bear changes in the temperature of the air and 
disturbing impressions of all kinds. 
It will be observed that all the diseases of the air-passages 
treated of below, namely coryza, laryngitis, bronchitis, pneu- 
monia and pleurisy, are of an inflammatory nature. Hence, 
I may very appropriately make a few remarks here on 
inflammation. It is well observed by Celsus, in that im- 
portant remnant of Roman medicine, his work, “ He Medicina,” 
that the four sure symptoms of this phenomenon are “redness 
and swelling,with heat and pain ”(“ notoevero inflammationissunt 
quatuor, rubor et tumor, cum calore et dolore ”). Toward any 
tissue, or organ in which it is occurring, the blood flows in 
excess, and some of the thin portion or serum of it, and also 
a little of the solid portion passes out of .the vessels and con- 
sequently redness and swelling result. High heat is caused 
by structural changes of a chemical nature. Exalted sensi- 
bility and the pressure on the nerves due to the swelling 
account for the pain; but pain may not be present, as is the 
case in pneumonia. When only serum of the blood has 
exuded it may be readily absorbed ; but when solid constitu- 
ents of it pass out of the vessels pus or matter will likely 
form. When the blood flows to a part in excess but does not 
find its way through the vessels congestion is said to exist. 
In treating cases of the diseases of the air-passages con- 
sidered below it is important to attend to the condition of the 236 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
air of the sick-room. Of course, it should be kept as pure as 
possible. The temperature should be up to, or not far from 
seventy degrees; for if it be low it may irritate and increase the 
inflammation. Draughts should be carefully guarded against, 
as they chill the surface of the body, and thus force the blood 
toward the internal organs. 
CORYZA. 
Coryza is essentially a mild inflammatory condition of 
the membrane of the passages of the nose and of the throat, 
and upper part of the windpipe. Other names for it are 
CATARRH and A COLD. When the affection is confined chiefly 
to the nasal passages, it is commonly spoken of as “ catarrh in 
the head,” or “ a cold in the head;” and when it is confined 
chiefly to the upper part of the windpipe and throat, it is 
spoken of as “ catarrh in the throat,” or “ a cold in the throat.” 
What is called “ catarrh on the chest,” or “ a cold on the 
chest,” is generally either bronchitis or pneumonia. 
Coryza is usually caused by a sudden chilling of the body 
when heated. Exposure to cold, or draughts while perspiring 
freely, or wet is very productive of it. 
The symptoms of this common affection are, doubtless, 
familiar to every one. In a severe attack they are chiefly 
languor, headache, feverishness, watering of the eyes, sneezing 
and a discharge from the nose, which is at first profuse, thin 
and burning ; and if the windpipe is involved the voice is af- 
fected and there is a cough with some soreness about the chest. 
Recovery usually occurs within a week. 
Through prompt treatment this affection may generally 
be cut short. As soon as it begins to appear, let a glass of 
hot lemonade, or of toddy be given in connection with a hot 
foot-bath; and then let the patient go immediately to bed 
and get into a state of perspiration as soon as possible. 
Wrapping the head in flannel, after rubbing the forehead, 237 
DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
nose and neck thoroughly with oil is very beneficial. A lax- 
ative is serviceable. If it is thought proper to resort to any 
other medicine, syrup of ipecac, and paregoric, either with or 
without the solution of the acetate of ammonia, may be given 
in small doses every three, or four hours. Bland drinks do 
good. Until convalescence sets in but little food is required, 
as a rule. In conclusion I may say that however slight this 
affection may be, it is never wise to neglect it, for it may de- 
velop into bronchitis, or some other serious disease. 
LARYNGITIS. 
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It is a form 
of that indefinite illness, “ sore throat.” When it is mild, 
and the whole throat is more or less involved, it is commonly 
called “ catarrh in the throat,” or u a cold in the throat.” It 
is present to some extent in measles and various other diseases. 
Occasionally it is severe. About fifty deaths are imputed to 
it yearly in Philadelphia, of which over two-thirds are of per- 
sons under ten years of age. 
This disease is caused very often by exposure to cold, or 
draughts when heated. Breathing hot air, or acrid vapors, 
or irritating particles of matter may produce it; and so may 
excessive coughing and the like. The feeble are most subject 
to it, and particularly those who keep the throat habitually 
over-warm. 
The main symptoms of this disease in a fairly marked 
instance are, pain in breathing and in swallowing, hoarseness, 
a cough, feverishness, and headache. There is but little 
expectoration, especially at the start. The voice suffers in 
consequence of the cords or folds of tissue, by the vibration 
of which it is produced, being thickened or swollen. In 
severe cases there is dyspnoea; and it is mostly by it that 
death is caused. Recovery usually occurs within a week. 
The treatment suitable for this disease is in general very 238 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
similar to that recommended for coryza. A warm, stimulating 
drink, a hot foot-bath, and wrapping the neck with flannel 
after rubbing it thoroughly with oil, are all the remedies 
necessary to cut it short in many cases. A laxative may be 
given; and syrup of ipecac, and paregoric, either with or 
without the acetate of ammonia, may be used in small doses 
every three, or four hours. If there is marked dyspnoea a 
large dose of ipecac, at short intervals is called for, with the 
application of mustard, or some other irritant to the neck in 
front. Bland drinks are useful. The food should all be 
liquid, and it is usually well to restrict it. The voice should 
be used as little as possible; for using it tends to make the 
hoarseness and other symptoms worse. If strangulation be 
threatened it may be advisable to open the windpipe. This 
operation, if performed skillfully, may often be the means of 
saving life. 
BRONCHITIS. 
Bronchitis or inflammation of the lining membrane of a 
portion or the whole of the bronchial tubes is a very common 
and often a fatal disease, especially in early life. About three 
hundred and seventy-five deaths are imputable to it yearly in 
Philadelphia, of which nearly a half are of persons under 
one. year of age, and over two-thirds of persons under five 
years. 
This disease is usually caused either by exposure to cold 
when heated, or by inhaling irritating dust. It is most apt 
to occur in the debilitated. Dressing over-warmly at times 
is a fruitful source of it. The unequal distribution of the 
clothing over the person induces it frequently among children. 
There is a marked tendency to it in measles, hooping-cough, 
typhoid fever and other diseases. As might be expected most 
cases of it are met with in the earlier months of the year, 
the temperature then being subject to sudden and great 
changes. DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
239 
The symptoms of this disease vary greatly in their degree 
of severity in different cases; both because the inflammation 
is not always equally marked, and because a different and 
an unequal portion of the bronchial tubes may be affected. 
At the beginning of an attack the system is depressed, but 
feverishness sets in, accompanied with a tight, sore feeling in 
the upper and front part of the chest, and a dry cough. The 
temperature seldom rises above a hundred and two degrees; 
and if there is pronounced dyspnoea it may be lower than 
natural. The breathing is hurried and the pulse frequent 
and weak. The tongue is coated, and there is constipation. 
In two days, or so, from the start the cough becomes deeper 
and looser and there is more expectoration. It generally 
comes in spells and is often violent, on account of the diffi- 
culty experienced in removing the accumulations from the 
lungs. In bad cases the expectoration is at a late stage puru- 
lent in character. If only the larger tubes are involved the 
attack is usually what is commonly called “ a cold on the 
chestand recovery from it may be expected to occur within 
three or four days. When the weight of the disease is in the 
fine tubes there is great danger to life, and recovery seldom 
results within two weeks. The latter form of the disease is 
called capillary bronchitis. It is very common in children. 
Congestion of the substance of the lungs not infrequently 
attends it; and it may run into pneumonia. In it there is a 
tendency to exhaustion ; and from the breathing being much 
interfered with, and consequently the aeration of the blood 
defective, the lips and other portions of the skin are, in severe 
cases, of a bluish tint. Sometimes the disturbance of the 
circulation leads to convulsions. 
This disease may often be cut short through prompt treat- 
ment. As soon as the symptoms begin a warm bath, or a hot 
foot-bath may be given. Then let the chest be thoroughly 
rubbed with oil, and afterward be well covered with flannel. 240 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Besides the rubbing, a mustard-plaster may be used. In con- 
nection with these local measures give a draught of hot 
lemonade, and also a brisk laxative. A large dose of either 
the syrup or the wine of ipecac, is serviceable. A little pare- 
goric also will do good. If the disease continues the chest 
should be rubbed and irritated well, once or twice a day. A 
moderate dose of a mixture of ipecac, and paregoric may be 
given every four hours, or so. In place of ipecac, syrup of 
squills may be used at a late stage of the disease. Lemonade, 
or flaxseed tea, makes a desirable drink. In children it is 
mostly wise to use a little aromatic spirits of ammonia, or 
some other stimulant, from the start almost, particularly if the 
capillary form of the disease is present; and in any case if 
there is exhaustion, or inability to relieve the lungs of matter 
such an agent is called for. At the start, at least, it is proper 
to keep the air of the sick room moist. The food should be 
liquid and nourishing; and it is generally right to give it 
freely, except at first. In convalescence the tincture of barks, 
or wine of iron may be useful. 
PNEUMONIA. 
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the substance of apart, or 
the whole of either one, or both lungs. It is also called lung 
fever. The upper portion of either lung is seldom affected; 
and the lower portion of the right one is most apt to suffer. 
Even when limited in extent, it is a disease of a serious 
nature. About nine hundred deaths are caused by it yearly 
in Philadelphia, of which a sixth are of persons under one 
year of age, and over a third of persons under five years. 
This number is equal to about a twentieth of the total mor- 
tality. It has been estimated that one-half of the cases which 
occur in children under ten years prove fatal. 
This disease is ordinarily caused by exposure to cold when 
heated. The abrupt and marked changes of temperature DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
241 
which occur in the earlier months of the year are very pro- 
ductive of it. Sometimes it springs from jbreathing irritants, 
and occasionally from injuries, such as gunshot wounds. 
Lying long in one position, and thus favoring stagnation of 
the blood in the part may induce it in the feeble. Debilitated 
persons are most subject to it; and especially those who pass 
a great deal of their time within doors. Scrofulous children 
frequently suffer from it; and in them the mortality is heavy. 
There is a tendency to it in bronchitis, measles, typhoid fever 
and other diseases. 
The usual initiatory symptoms of this disease are, de- 
pression of the system and a chill, followed soon by fever, 
soreness in the chest, oppression in breathing, and a short 
dry cough. Vomiting is common. Delirium appears early 
in some cases. In place of it, in young children, there are 
convulsions. By the third day, or so, expectoration begins to 
be profuse; and on examination it will generally be found to 
be thick and mixed with blood, of a rusty appearance. Such 
matter is characteristic of the disease. On the third, or fourth 
day the temperature of the body is usually very high ; it is 
not unfrequently up to, or above a hundred and five degrees 
in the evening. The pulse is frequent, and at first full and 
strong, but later, small and feeble. The number of respira- 
tions per minute may be considerably over fifty. In favorable 
cases the heat and all the symptoms begin to subside in a 
week, or so. When the heat does not diminish about that 
period, and the difficulty in breathing and the prostration in- 
crease, the patient may be regarded as in a dangerous condition. 
Death seldom occurs within a week, and it may not happen 
within a month. 
This disease has three stages. In the first the substance of 
the lung is congested but the air-cells are still to some extent 
free from matter; in the second it is inflamed, and as exuding 
matter fills the air-cells it becomes solidified ; and in the third 242 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
it either becomes entirely disorganized and purulent, or the 
inflammation subsides, the matter present in it and in the air- 
cells disappearing by absorption and expectoration. On the 
subsidence of the inflammation depends, for the most part, 
the patient’s chance of recovery. 
This disease may be mistaken for others, particularly bron- 
chitis. In bronchitis, when fairly developed, the temperature 
is not very high, the sound elicited by lapping on the chest- 
walls is very similar to what it is in health, on listening care- 
fully the air is heard to enter fully into the lungs, the breath- 
ing is attended with wheezing, the cough is long and noisy, 
the expectoration is mucous, the skin and mouth are moist and 
there is fretfulness; while in this disease the temperature is 
high, the sound elicited by tapping on the chest-walls is dull, 
on listening the air is found not to enter fully into the' lungs, 
the breathing is attended with little noise, the cough is short 
and feeble, the expectoration is rusty in appearance, and there 
is dejection of spirits. 
By resorting early to suitable treatment this disease may 
sometimes be cut short. This should always be attempted; 
for even if the attack is not completely checked it is apt to be 
made less severe than it otherwise would be by the remedies 
used. The measures advised for bronchitis are also appropriate 
here. And the whole plan of treatment recommended for 
that disease is suitable for this one. Careful nursing is very 
important. As Dr. Bristowe says, “ itiany, indeed, now 
regard all medicinal treatment as of little or no importance; 
and it is quite certain that a large number of even severe 
cases recover perfectly if left to Nature and the nurse.” The 
same writer further remarks that in the majority of cases “ it 
is probably quite sufficient to keep the patient in bed in a 
comfortable, well-ventilated room, of medium temperature, 
to relieve thoracic pains with mustard-plasters and the like; 
to assuage febrile thirst by the exhibition of soda-water, DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES. 
243 
orangeade, or lemonade ; to support strength by the frequent 
administration of milk, or gruel, or some equivalent nutritious 
fluid; and to relieve from time to time by simple measures, 
diarrhoea, or constipation, and other remedial derangements 
of the various organs; and then as convalescence comes on, to 
give vegetable tonics and gradually to improve the diet in 
respect of both quantity and quality.” 
PLEURISY. 
On the inner surface of the chest-walls and reflected over 
the lung, on either side, there exists a delicate membrane. 
This membrane forms two distinct pouches which join each 
other laterally in the middle line of the body. It is called 
the pleura; and inflammation of a portion, or the whole of it 
constitutes pleurisy. This disease is not of infrequent occur- 
rence ; but it seldom proves fatal. About a score of deaths 
are imputed to it annually in Philadelphia, of which only two, 
or three are of minors. 
This disease may be caused by exposure to cold, or draughts 
when heated, or blows on the chest, or a fracture of the ribs, 
or extension of tuberculous degeneration, and other diseases 
of the lungs. In scarlet fever and some other blood affections 
there is a tendency to it. 
The symptoms of this disease are very slight, if only a 
small portion of the pleura is affected, which is often the case. 
When most, or the whole of the membrane on one side is 
involved, they begin with a chill, which is soon followed by 
a sharp pain in the lower part of the chest, toward the front, 
or, as it is usually called, “ a stitch in the side,” which is in- 
creased by breathing deeply, fever and a short, dry cough. 
In most cases these and all other symptoms abate about the 
third day, or so ; but sometimes a quantity of serum collects 
in the pleural cavity ; and it may become purulent and remain 
present for a long period. If there is much of an effusion 244 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
the lung is pressed upon, and consequently breathing may be 
impeded to a serious degree. Through adhesions, marked 
deformity may, in time, be produced, and occasionally the 
lung is rendered almost useless for life. 
The treatment of this disease should be prompt, so that 
effusions may be prevented from occurring. It may be begun 
by giving a warm-bath, or a hot foot-bath. Then let a 
mustard-plaster be applied to the side, and a brisk cathartic 
be administered. A mixture of syrup of ipecac, and paregoric 
may be given in moderate doses every two, or three hours. 
Lemonade makes a suitable drink. A band, or strips of 
adhesive plaster applied in such a way as to keep the affected 
side comparatively still will do good. Should the effusion 
occur, the repeated use of counter-irritants is beneficial; and 
tonics and nutritious food hasten its disappearance. Syrup 
of squills and other agents which stimulate the action of the 
kidneys and skin may sometimes be used to advantage; and 
the same is true of laxatives. Should the breathing be 
seriously interfered with by the collection of matter, tapping 
may be resorted to ; but this operation should not be under- 
taken by any one save a skillful physician. DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSEL SYSTEM. 
245 
CHAPTER XI. 
DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSEL SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks—Palpitation of the Heart—Fainting 
or /Syncope. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Until the year 1619 but little was known of the mechanism 
and uses of the blood-vessel system. Then it was that the 
circulation of the blood was demonstrated to the world. This 
important work was done by an English physician, Dr. Wil- 
liam Harvey, who was born in 1578 and died 1657. For 
his pains he had to bear for years the displeasure of both his 
professional brethren and the public. And yet it is clear that 
the fact was at least vaguely understood long before. Thus 
Plato says, “ The heart is the knot or centre of the blood- 
vessels, the spring or fountain of the blood, which is carried 
impetuously around. The blood is the pabulum or food of 
the flesh. And for the purposes of nourishment the body is 
laid out into canals like those which are drawn through 
gardens, that the blood may be conveyed as from a fountain 
to every part of the person’s body.” 
As is now well known to every one possessed of an ordinary 
degree of intelligence, the constant circulation of the blood 
throughout the body is one of the essential conditions of life. 
For this purpose there exists a complex system of pipes in 
connection with the heart, which acts to some extent like a 
forcing-pump. The pipes by which the blood is carried away 
from the heart are called arteries ; and those by which it is 
carried to the heart are called veins. In the tissues the tubes 
form an extremely fine network, and are so minute that it is 246 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
impossible to distinguish them without the assistance of a 
microscope. These little avenues are called capillaries ; 
and it is through the walls of them alone that any part of the 
blood can pass. It has been estimated that a continuous line 
formed of those in the lungs would measure over five thousand 
miles. 
All the arteries originate from one (the aorta) and divide 
and subdivide until they ultimately terminate in the capil- 
laries; the capillaries unite to form veins; and the veins unite 
as they pass along, so that there are only two (the superior 
cava and the inferior cava) when the heart is reached. 
The heart is about the size of the fist; and it consists 
mainly of muscular fibres, spirally arranged. A membrane 
(the pericardium) ensheaths it; and it is suspended between 
the lungs by means of the vessels which join, and which 
spring from its base. It consists of two distinct parts, each 
of which contains two cavities or chambers, and at the point 
of exit of each chamber there are little projecting membranes 
called valves, which when stretched, make a complete par- 
tition. 
In its course the blood passes from the two veins, the 
superior and the inferior cava, into the upper chamber on the 
right side of the heart (the right auricle), from which it is 
forced into the one beneath (the right ventricle); and from 
there in turn through a large vessel (the pulmonary artery) 
into the lungs, where it is purified by the air. From the 
lungs it passes by four vessels (the pulmonary veins) into the 
upper chamber on the left side of the heart (the left auricle), 
from which it is forced into the one beneath (the left ventricle); 
and from there in turn into the main artery (the aorta), to be 
distributed all over the body. While the two upper chambers 
(the auricles) are dilating, and consequently being filled with 
blood, the two beneath (the ventricles) are contracting, and 
consequently being emptied. DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSEL SYSTEM. 
247 
At each contraction of the two lower chambers or ventricles 
the apex of the heart is tilted forward and produces what is 
called a beat; and besides, an impulse or vibration is caused 
in all the arteries by the fresh current of blood. This impulse 
constitutes the pulse. 
About three ounces of blood passes into the aorta of an 
adult at each beat of the heart; and hence all that is in the 
body goes through it in a little less than a minute. 
The heart does not beat an equal number of times pftr min- 
ute at all periods of life; and it. is generally more frequent in 
females than males. In the first year it beats from a hundred 
and fifteen to a hundred and twenty times per minute; in the 
second, from a hundred to a hundred and fifteen times; in the 
third, from ninety to a hundred times; in the seventh, from 
eighty-five to ninety times; in the fourteenth, from seventy- 
five to eighty-five times; in middle life, from sixty-five to 
seventy-five times; and in advanced life, from fifty-five to 
sixty-five times. It beats more frequently when the person 
is in the erect than when in the recumbent posture; and it is 
liable to be greatly disturbed by disease. 
A careful examination of the character of the pulse throws 
much light on the state of the system at any time. It is usu- 
ally felt at the wrist. In studying it the chief points to be 
noted are, its frequency, fullness and force, and whether or 
not it is variable or irregular. Great frequency of it gener- 
ally indicates the presence of fever, or inflammation, or debil- 
ity, or nervous excitement; and marked slowness is usually 
caused by nervous prostration. When it is very full and at 
the same time yields easily under the pressure of the finger, 
the system is feeble ; and when it is full and hard there is apt 
to be active inflammation progressing in some part of the body. 
If it be very forcible, it points to active fever, or to inflam- 
mation, or enlargement of the heart; and marked feebleness 
of it springs from debility, or exhaustion. When it tends to 248 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
vary greatly in frequency, fullness and force, the nervous sys- 
tem is in an irritable, easily disturbed condition. Irregularity 
or temporary halting of it usually indicates weakness about 
the heart in connection with nervous debility and sometimes 
mental disturbance. 
Diseases of the blood-vessel system of a serious nature are 
of comparatively rare occurrence in early life. Of the over 
eight hundred deaths imputed to them annually in Phila- 
delphia only about a hundred are of persons under fifteen 
years of age. Palpitation of the heart and fainting are the 
only affections of which I will speak. 
PALPITATION OF THE HEART. 
Palpitation or excessive beating of the heart is not pro- 
perly speaking a disease; it is only a symptom. Many suffer 
from it at times. On its cause depends both its significance 
and curability. 
When not caused by fever, or inflammation, or some other 
temporary disturbance of the system, this affection is generally 
due in early life to nervous debility. Among the young it is 
rarely produced by impairment of the valves of the heart; 
but when it is, the import of it is serious. The use of strong 
tea and coffee, and tobacco and alcoholic liquors is account- 
able for it in many instances, All habits that are prejudicial 
to health favor the development of it. 
To cure this affection in any case it is first necessary to 
remove the cause on which it depends. If it be due to bad 
habits their discontinuance will prove curative. A hygienic 
mode of life should always be followed as closely as possible. 
Exercise, good food, and all measures which invigorate the 
system are mostly in order. Tincture of barks, or wine of 
iron may be serviceable. For the production of temporary 
relief bromide of potassium, given in moderately large doses, 
several times daily, for a while, is often a good remedy. DISEASES OF THE BLOOD-VESSEL SYSTEM. 
249 
FAINTING OR SYNCOPE. 
Fainting or syncope is also called swooning ; and it is rather a 
symptom than a disease. It may be defined as either partial 
or total loss of consciousness and motion for a few minutes at 
a time. In nature, it is a manifestation of marked enfeeble- 
ment of the functional activity of the heart; but the condition 
of this organ is generally only a consequence of nervous de- 
rangement. It rarely proves fatal. 
This affection is caused mostly by fear, joy, loss of blood, 
pain, or exertion when weak. A nervous temperament, de- 
bility, antenna and structural disease of the heart are favorable 
to its occurrence. Females suffer from it far more than males. 
As the energy of the heart is not blighted, or overpowered 
to the same degree in every case, the symptoms of this affec- 
tion are not always equally pronounced. If consciousness is 
not completely lost there is faintishness merely; in which 
state the patient is pale, feels giddy, and his sight and other 
senses are confused and benumbed. When unconsciousness 
occurs the patient sinks to the ground and remains motionless; 
and as the heart and lungs cease almost to act, there is scarcely 
any evidence of life perceptible. In returning to conscious- 
ness, faintishness passes off gradually. The duration of the 
attack varies from a few seconds to several minutes. 
The treatment called for by this affection is simple; but it 
should be prompt; for in a prolonged attack there is some 
danger of clots forming in the blood—a fatal contingency. 
The recumbent posture is the most favorable to recovery from 
it in all its degrees. If tight, the dress should be loosened, in 
order to favor the action of the heart and lungs. Plenty of 
fresh air is very beneficial. A little cold water should be 
dashed on the face and chest repeatedly; for it serves to arouse 
energy. Breathing the vapor of ammonia also excites func- 
tional action; and a mustard-plaster applied to the spine, or 
the pit of the stomach, has a similar effect. 250 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER XII. 
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. • 
Preliminary Remarks — Convulsions—Epilepsy — Chorea — 
Paralysis—Inflammation of the Brain—Headache. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The nervous system may be described as consisting of the 
brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves; but these parts are 
intimately related to one another. 
The brain of an adult of either sex is equal to about a 
thirty-fifth of the entire body in weight. In infancy the pro- 
portion is about a twentieth. It is of a pulpy consistency in 
early life ; and afterward it is as firm as newly-pressed cheese. 
In structure it is very complex. It rests within the skull; 
and from it run the spinal cord and also a dozen pairs of large 
nerves which are distributed to the organs of the special 
senses—seeing, hearing, smelling, and tasting—and to the heart, 
lungs, and digestive apparatus. 
The spinal cord is about an ounce and a half in weight, 
in the adult. It traverses the backbone; and in passing 
down it gives off at intervals of half an inch, or so, a nerve 
to either side, or thirty-two pairs in all. These nerves are 
distributed to the muscles and skin. 
A nerve consists of from one to an immense multitude of 
threads or filaments ; and hence it may vary greatly in thick- 
ness. The large trunks divide and subdivide as they pass 
along. The filaments are of two kinds, one of which carries 
in and the other carries out impulses. Those which carry 
impulses toward the brain are subservient to sensation, and 
those which carry impulses from the nerve-centres are sub- 
servient to motion. DISEASES of the nervous system. 
251 
Besides the nerves which spring from the brain and spinal 
cord there is a network of others of minute proportions, the 
sympathetic system. In function this system is entirely 
independent of the will; and it exercises a controlling 
influence over the blood-vessels and other parts connected with 
nutrition. 
Within the brain and spinal cord originates the force, 
which on being conveyed through the nerves, regulates the 
movements of all parts of the body. In nature, this force is 
doubtless somewhat similar to electricity ; but, at any rate, it 
is of an extremely subtile character. Over it the mind 
exercises a guiding power. 
On the condition of the nervous system depends the well- 
being of the structure and function of every other part of the 
body. If it be very highly developed in proportion to the 
other parts, the person is very sensitive to impressions of all 
kinds, and is said to be of a nervous temperament. Such a 
person is very liable to suffer from nervous diseases; and, in 
fact, the disproportionate development may be j ustly regarded 
as being in itself a disease. 
Diseases of the nervous system are extremely common; 
and about a seventh more males than females succumb to 
them. From twenty-five hundred to three thousand lives are 
destroyed by them every year in Philadelphia. This is about 
a seventh of the total mortality. Of the deaths imputable to 
them, a third are of persons in their first year, and a half are 
of persons under five years of age. But a morbid condition 
of the nervous system is also accountable for a considerable 
percentage of the deaths from many other diseases. 
In treating nervous diseases efforts should be made to get 
the structure and function of the apparatus in which they are 
seated into a healthy state. In all cases the mode of life 
should be carefully regulated. A good diet, pure air and 
hygienic measures in general are the remedies on which 252 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
reliance should almost always be chiefly placed. But medi- 
cine may be temporarily, at least, of great value. 
CONVULSIONS. 
Convulsions are often called spasms. If only a small por- 
tion of the body is affected, and pain is experienced, they 
usually receive the name of cramps. ' They are symptoms of 
nervous derangement of some kind, and are of very frequent 
occurrence. To them may be imputed the destruction of 
many lives. Between eight and nine hundred deaths are 
attributed to them yearly in Philadelphia, of which five- 
sevenths are of persons in their first year, and seven-eighths 
are of persons under five years of age. 
The exciting causes of convulsions are manifold; but their 
occurrence is always due to a morbid condition of the brain, 
or of the spinal cord, or a disorder of the blood, or mental 
disturbance, or local irritation In early life they are mostly 
due to the irritation of the gums attendant on dentition, or 
indigestion, or constipation, or intestinal worms, or to fright, 
or the presence of scarlet fever, or some other serious disease. 
Those of a nervous temperament are particularly liable to be 
affected with them; for in such persons it is easy to produce 
the degree of functional excitement in the nerve centres re- 
quired to produce them A scrofulous condition of the 
system is favorable to their occurrence. 
In children, at least, there are generally some symptoms 
premonitory of an attack of convulsions. The person about 
to suffer is apt to be very restless and fretful. When present, 
the features are distorted, the body is rigid at first and moves 
twitchingly later, the head is thrown back, and sometimes the 
limbs are forciby flexed and extended. But often there is 
only a part of the body involved. In all severe cases con- 
sciousness is totally absent, and consequently no pain is ex- 
perienced. After the fit begins, the pulse grows small and DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
253 
frequent, and the skin becomes moist and somewhat cold. An 
attack is generally less than five minutes in duration, and sel- 
dom causes death. On recovery the patient may act as if 
nothing had happened, but he usually feels weary and sleepy. 
In treating convulsions it should be borne in mind that they 
will tend to return while, at least, their exciting cause remains ; 
hence it should be carefully looked for at once, and be re- 
moved if possible. Thus, if there is much irritation about the 
gums, due to dentition, the lancet should be used immediately; 
if the stomach is loaded with indigestible food, vomiting 
should be produced; if there is constipation a laxative should 
be given ; if there is a high fever it should be reduced through 
the application of water; and so on. To allay excitability 
cold should be applied freely to the head. Sometimes a 
mustard-plaster may be applied along the spine to advantage. 
If the attacks are inclined to return very frequently chloral, 
or laudanum, or some other narcotic is serviceable. Unless as 
a temporary remedy, the bromide of potassium is, perhaps, 
the best medicine to use. While an attack is occurring the 
patient’s movements should not be restrained much, either by 
his clothing or the hands of his attendant. A little water may 
be dashed over the face and chest; and ammonia may be used 
as an inhalant. A warm-bath is a very efficient means of 
cutting it short. 
EPILEPSY. 
Epilepsy or falling sickness are names given to convul- 
sions which are attended with loss of consciousness, and which 
occur from time to time. This affection varies greatly in 
severity; and it manifests itself mostly between the tenth and 
twentieth year of age. It is not uncommon; but it does not 
often prove fatal. There are about thirty-six deaths imputed 
to it yearly in Philadelphia, of which a third are of minors. 
The cause of this affection is generally obscure. For the 254 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
most part it is attributable to a vice in the system, either in- 
herited or acquired. Blows on the head may be accountable 
for it. Fright, intestinal worms, or anything which disturbs, 
or reduces the nervous system may, perhaps, lead to it. In 
other days it was referred by many to supernatural influ- 
ences. Hence it was commonly called the sacred disease by 
the ancient Greeks and others. And indeed, there is 
very striking about it. But in his account of it, Hippocrates 
wisely observes, “ It appears to me to be nowise divine, nor 
more sacred than other diseases, but has a natural cause from 
■which it originates like other affections. Men regard its nature 
and cause as divine, from ignorance and wonder.” 
The symptoms of a pronounced attack of this affection do 
not differ essentially from those of severe casual convulsions. 
Before the occurrence of it there may be headache, giddiness, 
terror, and an aura or creeping sensation which begins in a 
hand, or foot, and advances toward the trunk ; but in a large 
percentage of cases it comes on unexpectedly. Grinding of the 
teeth and foaming at the mouth are common symptoms. The 
tongue is apt to be bitten. Sometimes there is vomiting and 
the breathing is often very laborious. The duration of an 
attack varies from a few seconds to ten minutes, or so, but it is 
on the average, about five minutes. When momentary the 
patient may not fall nor be convulsed. The interval between 
the attacks may vary from a few minutes to many months. 
In some there is great mental excitement after being affected, 
but usually there is a drowsy feeling. Sooner or later the in- 
tellect suffers, particularly in females. Occasionally insanity 
results. 
The treatment of this affection is not often satisfactory. 
Complete recovery from it when it is inherited, or has been 
suffered from for a long time, is of rare occurrence; but it 
seldom destroys life soon. If the patient is very young and 
the attacks are not frequent there is always some room for DISEASES OF THE NEKVOUS SYSTEM. 
255 
hope. During an attack the clothing of the patient should 
be loosened, the presence of a plentiful supply of fresh air 
should be insured, and a little cold water may be dashed on 
the face and chest. If prolonged, a mustard-plaster may be 
applied to the spine. Ammonia may be used as an inhalant. 
An object may be placed between the teeth to save the tongue 
from being bitten. Restraint beyond what is necessary to 
prevent self-injury is harmful, and hence, should not be 
practiced. When the approach of an attack is recognized it 
may sometimes be averted by breathing hurriedly for a few 
minutes, or inhaling ammonia, or applying a band tightly 
around the limb in which an aura is felt, or producing in any 
way a profound impression on the system. Chloral may be 
resorted to as a temporary preventive. Through the use of 
bromide of potassium for a while, in large doses, three times 
a day, the attacks may often be lessened in frequency. Nearly 
all the so-called remedies for the disease are more injurious 
than beneficial. Permanent relief must be sought for almost 
exclusively in measures which improve the general condition 
of the system. Habits of an injurious nature must be dis- 
continued, and the whole method of living should be as 
hygienic as possible. All sources of mental irritation should 
be carefully avoided. A moderate amount of study is, as a 
rule,advantageous.. Marked modifications in the constitution, 
brought about by time, or a difference in the regimen or 
surroundings, may prove curative. Hippocrates was well 
aware of the good attendant on them; for in his “Aphorisms” 
he says, “Epilepsy in young persons is most frequently 
removed by changes of age, of country and of mode of life.” 
As an epileptic is liable to suffer at any time, of course, he 
should not expose himself where, if attacked, he might be 
badly, or fatally injured, or undertake any labor, or duty, in 
the performance of which the occurrence of an attack might 
be followed by serious consequences to himself, or others. 256 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHOREA. 
Chorea or more or less incessant, irregular movements of 
any, or all parts of the body which in health are subject to 
the will is commonly called St. Vitus’s dance. It is of 
frequent occurrence, but very rarely proves fatal. Between 
the fifth and fifteenth year is the period of life in which it is 
particularly apt to appear. 
Feeble, nervous persons are most subject to this affection; 
and females suffer from it more frequently than males; but 
its exciting cause is seldom obvious. Fright, mental excite*- 
ment, over-fatigue, or blows on the head may induce it. An 
attack of rheumatism is often followed by it. Sometimes it is 
contracted through voluntary, or involuntary imitation of the 
movements of one affected with it. This is, doubtless, the 
way in which the epidemics of it which occur occasionally in 
schools are produced. 
The symptoms of this affection generally develop gradually. 
For a while the patient is fidgety, moves awkwardly, makes 
grimaces, and involuntarily drops tilings occasionally. Marked 
irregular movements usually begin in the face, a hand, or a 
leg. One side of the body mostly suffers more than the other; 
and except when it arises after an attack of rheumatism it 
rarely begins in both simultaneously. The twitching may be 
so slight as to be scarcely noticeable, or so great that the 
patient is unable to walk with safety. It is less pronounced 
when sitting than when standing; and a strong effort of the 
will can control it temporarily. While sleeping it is absent. 
An attempt to perform any voluntary movement aggravates 
it; and so does the consciousness of being watched, or mental 
disturbance. It renders both speaking and swallowing diffi- 
cult in many cases. The general health is usually impaired. 
Besides languor and loss of appetite, debility, anaemia, indi- 
gestion, constipation and palpitation of the heart are often 
present. The mental faculties are generally weakened, or DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
257 
disturbed, and may sustain injuries of a permanent cnaracter. 
It may lead to epilepsy, or paralysis, or insanity. Recovery 
may take place in a week, or two; but in some cases it is 
delayed for two, or three years, or longer. 
In treating this affection, invigoration of the system is the 
means on which reliance should be chiefly placed. Plenty 
of exercise in the open air, and an abundance of nourishing 
food are the main remedies for it. Let the whole mode of 
life be so regulated as to be promotive of health and strength 
of both body and mind. Wine of iron and other tonics may 
be useful, especially if the patient is disinclined to eat freely; 
but medicine, as a whole, is seldom of much value. Bromide 
of potassium may be given in moderate dos 2s, three times 
daily, in severe cases. 
PARALYSIS. 
Paralysis or palsy are names given to either partial or 
complete loss of motion, or sensation, or of both, in any part of 
the body. It is a symptom of injuries, or of diseases of the 
nerves, or the great nerve-centres—the brain and the spinal 
cord. Cases of it are not nearly so common in early life as 
later. Of the three hundred deaths imputed to it yearly in 
Philadelphia only about a score are of .minors. 
I will make a few remarks on the cause, special symptoms, 
treatment, and other features of each of several forms of this 
condition which are often met with. 
Hemiplegia is paralysis of one side of the body. It 
springs mostly from an injury, or disease of the brain; and 
the lesion is on the opposite side. In after life it is commonly 
due to the effusion of blood consequent on the breakage of a 
blood vessel (apoplexy). Among the young it may come 
from blows, or the like, or may occur in connection with epi- 
lepsy, chorea, or some other disease. When due to a serious 
lesion of the brain the prospect of recovery is not good. Be- 258 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
yond attention to the general health but little can be done for 
it. 
Paraplegia is paralysis of the two lower extremities. 
It springs from an injury, or disease of the spinal cord ; but 
the brain may be implicated in its production. It is usually 
not dangerous to life. The prospect of recovery from it de- 
pends on the nature of its cause ; and such measures as will 
remove the latter prove curative of it. 
Facial paralysis or paralysis of one side of the face is 
generally due to an injury, or a diseased condition of the nerve 
which supplies that region. An inflammation of the sheath 
of the nerve at the point where it issues from the cranium, 
namely, beneath the root of the ear, is the usual exciting cause 
of it. It nearly always passes away within a few weeks at 
most. The repeated application of mustard, or a blister 
behind the ear is usually curative of it. 
Infantile paralysis is the name given to what is gen- 
erally a sort of paraplegia, which is occasionally met with. 
It appears oftenest in the second year of age. Disease of an 
inflammatory nature in the spinal cord appears to be the ex- 
citing cause of it. While it is coming there is more or less 
fever, and sometimes convulsions occur. Sensation is not 
much affected, as a rule. The muscles involved waste rapid- 
ly, or become loaded with fat. Recovery may occur in a few 
days; but this is rarely the case. The parts affected are not 
inclined to grow, and deformities are prone to arise. 
By way of treatment of this disease everything possible 
should be done from the start to improve the tone and vigor 
of the system. Nourishing food, pure air, exercise, and all 
that can be brought to bear to improve the health and strength 
are the means of cure in which confidence should be chiefly 
placed. At first a cathartic should be given ; and it may be 
repeated in a day, or two. The spine should be irritated oc- 
casionally with mustard. The use of iron may do good. DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
259 
Motion of the affected parts must be made by the attendant. 
Kneading or massage is beneficial, and it should be practiced 
two, or three times a day. Heat may be of service, and 
so may electricity. On the appearance of club-foot, or any 
other deformity, preventive measures should be instituted 
immediately. 
INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. 
Inflammation may affect a part, or the whole of the brain 
and its membranes; but the limits of it cannot often be de- 
termined. In its first stage, or when it is mild, it may be 
called congestion of the brain. If the spinal cord is 
involved the condition generally receives the name of cere- 
bro-spinal meningitis—a name which is also, given to an 
acute blood disease (spotted fever) which prevails occasionally 
as an epidemic. These inflammatory conditions are account- 
able for the destruction of many lives. From seven to eight 
hundred deaths are imputed to them yearly in Philadelphia, 
of which a third are of persons in their first year, and nearly 
three-fourths are of persons under five years of age. More 
males than females die from them. 
Inflammation of the brain, or of the brain and spinal cord 
may be caused by injury, exposure to the sun, the extension 
of disease from the ear, a fever, or in various other ways. 
The occurrence of it, however, in early life is mainly due to 
the presence of a scrofulous taint in the system. 
The symptoms of inflammation of the brain commonly set 
in gradually. Before congestion fairly begins the patient is 
dull, irritable, restless at night, and disinclined to eat. In a 
few days the symptoms are, severe headache, nausea, feverish- 
ness, a full, rapid pulse, marked sensitiveness to light and 
sound, a flushed, anxious expression, drowsiness, complaining 
and screaming spells, and delirium at night. As the disease 
advances the pulse becomes weak and the system enfeebled. 260 
CHILDREN IN felCKNESS. 
Squinting, convulsions, paralysis, hydrocephalus, or stupor, 
may appear soon. If the spinal cord is much affected there 
is a tendency to throw the head and chest back. When the 
occurrence of this disease is mainly due to a constitutional 
taint it nearly always jnoves fatal; otherwise there is a fair 
prospect of recovery. Death takes place usually in from one 
to three weeks. 
In order to be of much avail in most cases the treatment of 
this disease must be begun early. Let the bowels be opened 
well with citrate of magnesia, or some other cathartic, and be 
kept loose. A mustard-plaster may be applied repeatedly to 
the nape of the neck, and to the spine if the latter is affected. 
The application of tepid, or cold water freely and frequently, 
or continuously, is beneficial. Morphia may be used to quiet 
the system. If the disease is very active and the patient 
robust the diet should be restricted and of non-stimulating 
articles ; but in scrofulous children it is usually proper from 
the start to give milk, gruel, beef-tea, and other nutritious 
foods as liberally as they can be borne by the stomach. 
HEADACHE. 
Headache is a prominent symptom of numerous morbid 
conditions of the system. Either a part or the whole of the 
head may be more or less affected. In its character and 
degree of severity it varies greatly. 
Congestion, or anaemia of the brain, a disordered condition 
of the blood, and nervous derangement, are each accountable 
for a particular form of this affection. On the exciting causes, 
the special symptoms, the treatment and other features of each 
of these four species of it I will make a few remarks. 
Headache due to congestion of the brain may be 
produced in many ways. It may be due simply to excessive 
fullness of habit; but it generally arises from fever, inflam- 
mation in some part of the body, exposure to the sun, stoop- DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 
261 
ing, diseases of the heart, mental excitement, anxiety, or 
over study. It is diffused over the whole head, and is 
attended with heat and throbbing. The application of cold 
gives temporary relief. A permanent cure can be effected 
only through the discontinuance of the cause. 
Headache due to anaemia of the brain is not very 
common. An impoverished condition of the blood excites it. 
It is felt principally in the back of the hfcad, and may be very 
severe. Wine of iron, in connection with plenty of good food 
and a hygienic mode of life will cure it. 
Headache due to a disordered condition of the 
blood is of frequent occurrence. It is felt most in the front 
portion of the head, and is of a dull, oppressive character. It 
arises generally from constipation and other affections of the 
digestive organs, or from breathing impure air. Acute blood 
diseases tend to produce it, as well as congestive headache. A 
laxative is the remedy which is oftenest indicated. 
Headache due to nervous derangement is not very 
common among the young. It is seated in the nerves ; and 
it is of a darting, inconstant character. It generally affects 
only a part of the head. The application of irritants where it 
occurs may do good. If very severe, morphia, or chloral may 
be used in large doses for a time. Permanent relief from it 
can usually be gained only through improvement of the tone 
and vigor of the system. > 262 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER XIII. 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
Preliminary Remarks—Inflammatory Eruptions—Papular 
Eruptions— Vesicular Eruptions—Pustular Eruptions— 
Tubercular Eruptions—Squamous Eruptions—Parasitic 
Eruptions—Poison-Eruptions—Discolorations of the Skin— 
Growths of the Skin. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The skin is very liable to become disordered. The diseases 
of it are numerous and most of them are inclined to be more 
or less- chronic; but fortunately few of them are at all dan- 
gerous to life. There is not one of them, however, which is 
not annoying to the patient; and consequently all of them 
deserve attention. A knowledge of their nature, and the 
means by which they can be relieved, or removed, is very 
useful to those in charge of the young; for domestic treat- 
ment is all that the majority of them usually receive. I 
will, therefore, endeavor to make my account of them as 
clear and practical as possible. This is a difficult task ; but 
I trust my remarks will serve to give my readers a better 
understanding of the subject than many of them, at least, 
have hitherto had. 
The skin is spread over, of course, the whole surface of 
the body. The average thickness of it is about a quarter of 
a line. In structure it is complex. Two layers are readily 
discovered in it, the inner of which is called the dermis, or 
the true skin, and the outer, the epidermis, or the scarf-skin. 
The dermis varies in thickness in different parts, from a 
sixth of a line to one and a half lines, and is divisible into 
two layers, the inner of which consists of fibrous, elastic DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
263 
material, and rests on cellular and fatty tissues—the packing 
elements of the body, and the outer, of conical projections 
called papillce, each of which is about a hundredth of an inch 
in height and a two hundred and fiftieth of an inch in diame- 
ter at the base. These little elevations are easily seen in 
parallel ridges on the palm of the hand. One, or more loops 
of the capillaries, and one, or more nerve fibres are present in 
each. 
The epidermis varies in thickness, in different parts, from 
a sixtieth to a tenth of a line; but it is sometimes greatly 
thickened, especially on the palms of the hands and the soles 
of the feet. It is made up of cells and is without nerves as 
well as blood-vessels, and hence it is void of sensibility. It 
is divisible into two layers, the inner of which is called the 
rete mucosum, and the outer the cuticle. In the rete mucosum 
is located the matter upon which the color of the negro and 
the various shades of complexion of all other races depend. 
The cuticle is constantly shedding, in the form of dandruff. 
In the inner layer of the dermis are situated the follicles 
of the hair and the sebaceous glands. In immediate contact with 
its inner surface are the perspiratory glands. 
The sebaceous glands consist each of a little pouch, and 
are situated about the hair follicles. From two to eight of 
them are clustered around the root of each hair and have a 
common outlet. The matter secreted by them is oily; and 
besides lubricating the hair, it renders the skin repellant of 
moisture. An excessive flow of it constitutes the disease 
called seborrhoea; marked scantiness of it, zeroderma; and an 
accumulation of it, either comedo or milium—the former when 
the outlet is open, the latter when it is closed. 
The perspiratory glands consist each of a coiled tube 
of about a fifteenth of an inch in length, and a four-hundredth 
of an inch in diameter. The whole length of all in the body 
has been estimated to be two and a half miles. Each rises 264 
CHILDREN IX SICKNESS. 
spirally to the surface of the skin, in every square inch of 
which there are, on the average, about a thousand. They are 
constantly in action. Their secretion usually passes off with- 
out being perceived; but some of it may accumulate on the 
skin, and that which does is called sensible perspiration or 
sweat. When the body is warmer than usual, and under 
other circumstances, they act very freely. Morbid activity 
of them constitutes the disease called hyperidrosis. This con- 
dition is often observable in the hands and feet of debilitated 
persons. When the perspiration is foetid the affection called 
bromidrosis is said to be present. Little clear vesicles which 
are often observable on the hands and face in warm weather, 
are accumulations of perspiration and are called sudamina. 
From what precedes it is evident that the skin is not, as is 
popularly believed, a mere covering for the body. It is really 
a great excretory organ. Through the action of the glands 
which it contains it carries off carbonic acid and other deleteri- 
ous matter, and regulates the temperature of the body. If 
its functional activity be seriously interfered with death will 
result. Coating it with foil has been known to prove fatal. 
To preserve the skin in a healthy state it is necessary to 
keep it clean. For this purpose let both soap and water be 
used. The idea that the use of soap will induce diseases of it 
is erroneous. To be sure, it is possible to use it in excess, to 
render the part dry and harsh with it, particularly if it be 
very strong. Let it be pure, and, as a rule, mild. The so- 
called medicated varieties dealt in by quacks should be avoided; 
both because being prepared by impostors, they are very cer- 
tain to be mere trash, and because the special substances which 
they contain will very likely in themselves do harm. Espe- 
cially should they be avoided if disease is present; for any 
agent which may be put into them will far oftener prove 
injurious than useful 
It is a great mistake to suppose that all diseases of the skin DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
265 
arc of a local character. The majority of them, doubtless, are 
always manifestations of disorder in the system. From this 
it follows that local measures will not generally suffice to 
remove them, that often, to effect a cure, it is necessary to pay 
attention to the state of the system generally. While evils in 
the system continue to act, local treatment can force them to 
disappear, at best but temporarily; until their causes are 
removed they will tend to break out again. 
Diseases of the skin are nearly all non-contagious. Of those 
to be described only the parasitic ones, erysipelas, and one or 
two others can be regarded as contagious, and these are only 
in a measure so. 
There is no substantial ground for the common belief that 
in treating diseases of the skin it is wrong to hastily remove 
them, that in any case harm may result from a curing the 
disease too soon.” Equally unfounded is the belief that in 
endeavoring to remove them they may be “ driven in,” and in 
some way prove ruinous. 
In treating diseases of the skin, cleanliness is deserving of 
particular attention. All measures promotive of health and 
strength are beneficial. In short, a hygienic mode of life is 
the chief remedy for these as well as all other diseases which 
are inclined to be chronic. 
INFLAMMATORY ERUPTIONS. 
All reddish patches or rashes which disappear entirely, or 
almost so, on being pressed slightly with the finger, come 
under the head of inflammatory eruptions. Measles, scarlet ' 
fever, epidemic roseola and typhoid fever are each attended 
with one, all of which have been described. I will here 
speak of erysipelas, roseola, urticaria and erythema. 
Erysipelas is also called St. Anthony’s fire hy some. 
Any inflamed condition of the skin is apt to pass for it. 
Erythema is confounded with it frequently. 266 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
The true form of this disease is-seated mostly about the 
head and face and is accompanied with a high fever and a 
tendency to prostration of the system. The part affected 
with it is swollen, red, and of a glossy appearance and is 
painful. Sometimes blisters form. It is contagious and is 
very liable to take effect in broken points of the skin. The 
cause of it is often obscure. The young and healthy seldom 
suffer from it. It is of a serious nature. Recovery from it 
occurs in a week, or so. 
A wound, or sore of any kind may be affected with this 
disease; and under such circumstances it is called surgical 
erysipelas. The occurrence of it interferes with the heal- 
ing process and may cause the tissues to slough, and poison 
the blood. It is often of serious import. From the conta- 
gion given off by it all wounds should be guarded with 
extreme care. 
About seventy-five deaths are imputed to erysipelas yearly 
in Philadelphia, of which about a third are of persons in their 
first year. 
The treatment proper for either true or surgical erysipelas 
consists mainly of the use of a large dose of iron every three, 
or four hours in connection with a liberal allowance of milk, 
beef-tea and other nourishing articles of diet. If there is a 
tendency to exhaustion, stimulants are called for. Laxatives 
may be used occasionally from the start. If there is much 
pain and restlessness chloral may be given. The part affected 
may be anointed frequently with cold-cream, or glycerine, to 
which a little carbolic acid has been added; or zinc-ointment 
containing a little of the latter may be used. 
Roseola or rose-rash is an eruption which appears in 
patches of different shapes and sizes on any, or all parts of the 
body, and is generally accompanied with more or less fever- 
ishness. A contagious form of it constitutes what is elsewhere 
described as epidemic roseola. It is common among young DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
267 
children ; and one may have repeated attacks of it. Derange- 
ment of the digestive organs, or dentition, or any constitutional 
irritation may cause it. The duration of it is generally only 
a few days, and it rarely, if ever proves fatal. Occasionally 
it may be mistaken for either mild scarlet fever or measles. 
It is not attended with sore-throat, or catarrhal symptoms. 
The treatment of this affection should be aimed principally 
at the cause on which it depends. Of itself it does not call 
for much. A dose of magnesia may be given. The diet 
may be restricted. Of course, the patient should be protected 
from cold. 
Urticaria receives often the names of nettle-rash and 
hives. Varicella and croup are also called hives by many. 
It is of common occurrence. Scarcely ever is it dangerous to 
life. Sometimes it is chronic, but it is generally of temporary 
duration. 
This affection is caused usually by some derangement of the 
digestive organs; and it may often be traced to the use of a 
particular article of diet, such as shell-fish, or strawberries. 
Bites of fleas and other insects may cause it in a limited form. 
Certain conditions of the nervous system have, doubtless, much 
to do sometimes with its appearance, especially when chronic. 
The symptoms of this affection vary greatly in severity. 
The eruption is very similar in all respects to that produced 
by the stinging of nettles, and it may be limited to a part, or 
involve the whole of the body. The area affected is covered 
more or less closely with elevated patches or wheals, which 
are either round or oblong in shape, and either white or red, 
or both white and red in color, and are attended with burn- 
ing, stinging, and itching. Headache, fever and nausea are 
present in severe cases. All the symptoms generally vanish 
in a few hours, but may return repeatedly at short intervals. 
When chronic, the eruption is usually unaccompanied with 
fever, or any marked constitutional disturbance. 268 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Attention to the regimen is the most essential part of the 
treatment of this affection. Foods which are known to excite 
it should, of course, not be used. If it tends to become 
chronic the diet should be made as simple as possible; and 
wine of iron, or some other tonic may be given. In an acute 
attack a dose of magnesia is indicated. Rice-flour, or any 
innocent powder may be freely dusted over the eruption. 
Erythema consists of red patches of variable size and 
shape on any part of the body, which are not very painful, are 
unattended with fever and are often of temporary duration. 
Sometimes papules, or vesicles form on these patches, and in 
a form of the affection (erythema nodosum) which occurs 
mostly on the shins and forearms of adolescent females, they 
may be somewhat elevated. This affection is never dangerous 
to life. The ordinary form of it is caused by derangement of 
the digestive organs, or the sudden stoppage of the action of 
the glands of the skin by cold, or irritants. A laxative and 
the use of lead-water or cold-cream, or a powder locally are 
all the remedies required, as a rule. 
There is a variety of this affection about which I may say 
a few words specially, namely, chafing (erythema intertrigo). 
This condition is produced by friction of opposing parts of the 
skin, especially when moist and unclean. Young children 
are very liable to suffer from it. When it takes place it should 
be attended to as soon as possible; for if it be neglected long 
it will very probably become eczematous and prove difficult 
of cure. In connection with cleanliness, cold-cream, or zinc- 
'ointment, or a dry powder will generally cause it to disappear 
soon. If the creases and folds of the skin are kept clean 
and dry it will seldom or never occur. Powders are much 
used by way of prevention of it; among which are rice-flour, 
corn-starch, prepared chalk, and powdered lycopodium. 
Any of these may be used, but it is wise to rely chiefly on 
cleanliness. 269 
DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
A papule or pimple is a small, conical, reddish elevation of 
the cuticle, inflamed at its base. It seldom contains any 
fluid and usually terminates in scurf. There are two papular 
or pimply eruptions, namely, lichen and strophulus. 
Lichen is generally regarded as consisting of three species; 
but these are probably only varieties of the same disease. The 
simple form appears mostly on the face and neck; and it often 
exists a good while. The form of it which is called prickly 
heat (lichen tropicus) is very common among children, 
especially in warm weather. It may be scattered over the 
entire body, and be attended with much itching. Sometimes 
it remains present for weeks. In its worst form (lichen 
agrius) the pimples run together and are attended with a dis- 
charge which gives rise to a scab. It may be classed as a 
variety of eczema. 
This affection occurs mostly in the debilitated. Exposure 
to heat and the use of improper foods often excite it.. 
In treating this affection rice-flour, or corn-starch, or cold- 
cream, or zinc-ointment may be used locally. If it be due to 
heat, measures should, if possible, be taken to keep the body 
cool; and if the diet is to blame it should be carefully regu- 
lated. A dose of magnesia is generally of service. If the 
system is in a run-down state, tonics, such as the wine of iron 
and tincture of cinchona, are required in connection with 
nutritious foods and a mode of life in all respects hygienic. 
Strophulus or red-gown or red-gum may be regarded 
as a variety of either lichen or eczema. It occurs in infancy, 
particularly when the teeth begin to cause pain. It may arise 
from some imperfection of the nourishment, or from living in 
very warm rooms; but irritation of the gums is, perhaps, the 
leading exciting cause of it. This eruption consists of very 
small hard pimples, of a pale red color, dispersed over almost 
the entire body. It is attended with considerable itching. 
PAPULAR ERUPTION'S. 270 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
While it is present the breathing may be somewhat affected. 
The duration of it is rarely over three days. 
No medicine save, perhaps, a dose of magnesia is required 
for this affection. A warm-bath serves well to allay the 
itching as well as the irritability of the system which accom- 
panies it. If the gums are swollen and tense it is proper to 
have them lanced. The diet and the state of the air should 
receive attention. Cold-cream, or any of the other agents 
recommended for local use in treating lichen may be used 
here. 
VESICULAR ERUPTIONS. 
A vesicle is a small blister, or in other words, an elevation 
of the cuticle containing a thin liquid. The immediate cause 
of it is, inflammation of the derma. 
There are three affections of a vesicular nature to be spoken 
of, namely, sudamina, herpes, and eczema. 
Sudamina are, as I have already stated, accumulations of 
perspiration which form when the outlets of perspiratory 
glands are occluded. They are minute in size, and are almost 
transparent. During an attack of a fever, or of pneumonia, 
or any disease in which the state and circulation of the blood 
are affected, large numbers of them are usually present on the 
hands, face and other parts of the body; and they are of com- 
mon occurrence in very warm weather. Their duration is 
very temporary, and altogether they are of little consequence. 
No special treatment is required. 
Herpes is the name given to a few, or,many clustered 
vesicles seated on a more or less inflamed ground. It is sim- 
ply an erythema attended with small blisters. Fever-blis- 
ters or “cold-sores” and zona or shingles are varieties 
of it. The latter is the only one which is generally of much 
importance; but it is not common. It occurs on a portion of 
one side of the body, especially the trunk, and is attended 
with not only heat and itching but pain of a neuralgic cliarac- DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
271 
ter. It arises in consequence of a nerve becoming inflamed; 
and hence appears on the part to which a particular nerve is 
distributed. The popular notion that if it meets around the 
body it will prove fatal is baseless. This scarcely ever hap- 
pens ; for it cannot, unless a nerve of either side is affected. 
It may last for several weeks. Other varieties of the disease 
are mostly of short duration. All may arise from local irrita- 
tion as well as any disturbance of the system, especially when 
debilitated. A cold, or fever is the usual exciting cause of 
most of them. 
The use of cold-cream, or zinc-ointment, or a powder locally, 
is all the special treatment called for by the ordinary forms of 
this disease. Of course, any condition of the system to which 
they may be due should receive attention. For shingles, it 
may be well to irritate the spine with mustard; and if there 
is much pain, morphia, or chloral will be serviceable. 
Eczema is a disease which scarcely admits of a concise 
definition. It may be acute, or chronic. When it is acute the 
part is more or less inflamed and exudes moisture, which 
forms in crusts; and when chronic the part is not only some- 
what inflamed but thickened, and gives off dry scales. 
Marked itching attends it, especially when chronic. Other 
names applied to the acute form of it are moist tetter, salt- 
rheum, and running SCALL; and the chronic form is often 
called dry tetter, or dry scall—terms which are also 
given to psoriasis. When it affects the hands it receives 
various designations, among which are, grocer’s itch, 
baker’s itch and washerwoman’s itch. Crusta-lactea 
or milk-crust and tooth-rash are names given to it as 
seen on the face, or head of an infant. It cannot always be 
regarded as a vesicular disease; for it may start as a simple 
erythema, or a papular, or pustular eruption. When it is 
erythematous, or pustular in origin it is attended with little 
or no weeping at any time. It is the commonest of all skin 272 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
diseases, excepting acne; almost a half of all the cases met 
with in Philadelphia are of it. Persons of all ages are liable 
to be affected with it. There is no reason to believe that it is 
ever contagious. The duration of it varies from a week, or 
two, to years. 
Of milk-crust I may say a few words specially. Many 
infants suffer from it. It begins generally as a number of 
scattered red points, which soon run together. There is then 
an exudation. The incrustation which forms is yellowish, and 
is apt to crack. There is seldom any apparent disturbance of 
the system. Recovery faom it may not occur for a long time. 
Dentition has, perhaps, nothing to do with it. 
Rarely is a person in perfect health affected with eczema; 
it is, probably, always attributable to a constitutional condition, 
often closely related to either nervous or general debility. A 
scrofulous taint favors its occurrence; and so does indigestion, 
or constipation. An improper diet leads to it frequently. 
Rating excessively sometimes produces it. Not a few cases of 
it can be referred to the use of beer and spirituous liquors. 
Often it springs from uncleanliness. Local irritation due to 
heat, cold, strong soap, or anything else may cause it 
In treating any case of this disease, its cause, or causes 
should be sought for and be removed, if possible. It is 
generally proper to use a laxative occasionally in connection 
with iron, or some other tonic several times daily. Keeping the 
part dry and moderately warm is important. The frequent 
use of soap and water is harmful while there is a profuse 
exudation. Cold-cream alone, or with a little zinc-ointment 
may be used at first. A mixture of seven parts of lead-water 
to one of glycerine may often be applied to advantage then; 
and so may a mixture of half a teaspoonful of carbolic acid 
to a pint, or so of water. When chronic the part should be 
washed once, or twice a day with brown soap and afterward 
be covered with zinc-ointment. DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
273 
Pemphigus or water-blebs may be referred to in this 
connection. It consists of blisters of large size scattered over 
a part, or almost the whole of the body. It may be acute, 
or chronic and occasionally proves fatal. Newly born infants 
afflicted with it usually die soon. Cases of it are not common. 
Persons affected with a constitutional vice are those in whom 
it occurs mostly. The treatment suitable for it is very similar 
to that recommended for eczema. The blisters should not be 
broken, but each may be punctured near its base. 
PUSTULAR ERUPTION'S. 
A pustule is a small elevation of the cuticle containing 
purulent matter or pus. It is the result of inflammatory 
action in the derma and may begin either as a pimple or a 
vesicle. 
Exclusive of boils, carbuncles, and the eruption of small- 
pox, pustular eruptions are usually regarded as of two species, 
namely, ecthyma and impetigo, but there is no radical differ-' 
ence between them. I will say a few words about either and 
also boils and carbuncles. The eruption of small-pox is fully 
described elsewhere. 
Ecthyma consists of a few or many large, round, separate 
pustules on a part, or scattered over almost the whole of the 
body. Each pustule ends in a dark, thick scab, and being 
without a core leaves no scar. Sometimes there is a slight 
ulceration. There is a little constitutional disturbance. The 
eruption may continue to appear for a long time. It may 
occur on account of a vice in the system, or as the result of 
severe irritation of the skin. When due to the former it is 
often difficult to remove it completely and permanently. As 
remedies for it, poultices and bland ointments may be used 
locally; and if there is a constitutional cause for it, tonics, 
such as iron and tincture of cinchona are serviceable. A 
laxative may be used occasionally to advantage. 274 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Impetigo consists of crops of small, round pustules on the 
scalp, or any part, or scattered over almost the whole of the 
body. It may be caused in the same way as ecthyma and the 
treatment appropriate for it is similar. There is a variety 
of it (impetigo figurata) in which the pustules are inclined to 
run together and throw off matter which forms in crusts. 
This variety occurs mostly on the face, and in young children. 
It may be classed as a form of eczema. The name of crusta- 
lactea is usually given to it. 
Boils or furuncles consist each of a large, deep-seated 
pustule in which there is a core. This core is a piece of dead 
tissue, and it must come away before a cure can result. 
When large there may be a scar left. One, or many boils 
may be present at once, and may continue to come and go for 
a long time. Young, robust persons are most subject to them. 
They may be attributed in general to the system being in a 
disordered state. A widely popular idea is that they carry 
off impurities from the blood. It is a mistake, however, to 
suppose that any of the matter in them appears otherwise than 
as a consequence of inflammation. Their presence is harm- 
ful ; for they are debilitating. 
Attention to the general health is usually required in 
treating boils. Iron, or tincture of cinchona, or some other 
tonic is often serviceable. The bowels should be kept some- 
what loose. To each boil as it appears a poultice of flaxseed- 
ineal may be applied day after day until the matter tends to 
find its way out at the crown or points. Then it should be 
punctured and slightly pressed and be poulticed for a day, or 
two. Afterward a rag anointed with lard, or cold cream, or 
zinc-ointment may be placed over it for a time. 
What are called “ blind boils ” are such as mature very 
slowly. They are met with in persons of a sluggish habit, or 
who are debilitated. The treatment proper for them is essen- 
tially the same as that recommended for boils in general. DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
275 
A carbuncle or anthrax is similar in nature to a boil, 
but its superficial extent is generally much greater, and it 
points at several places. The core may be large. The nape 
of the neck and the hips are the parts most likely to be 
affected. Considerable disturbance of the system usually 
attends it. In debilitated persons death occasionally results. 
Cases of it are not very common, especially in early life. 
The treatment suitable for carbuncles is essentially the same 
as that recommended for boils. A very marked one should 
be early incised cruciformly, so as to prevent extensive 
sloughing of the tissues. 
TUBERCULAR ERUPTIONS. 
A small, hard, inflamed elevation of the skin, caused 
generally by the presence of sebaceous matter, is what is 
usually called a tubercle. Such is the definition of acne ; but 
there are several affections classed as tubercular in which the 
tubercles are neither small, hard, inflamed, nor caused by 
retained sebaceous matter. All the diseases of this class, 
however, are rare, especially in early life, except acne, and 
consequently this is the only one of which I will treat. But 
before speaking of acne I will say a few words about each of 
three affections which are more or less related to it, namely, 
seborrhoea, comedo and milium. 
Seborriicea or an excessive flow of sebaceous matter is 
common in early life, particularly among infants. For the 
first three, or four months after birth the head is usually 
affected with it slightly. The discharge may be thin, and 
simply render the skin oily, or it may be thick and turn into 
small yellowish, or whitish, greasy scales. In the latter form 
it constitutes one of the varieties of the affection called dand- 
ruff, and might be regarded as a mild eczema. It is usually 
indicative of debility. The use of soap and water and a lotion 
made of alum, or some other astringent, once, or twice daily, 276 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
in connection with a hygienic mode of life generally proves 
curative of it soon. 
Comedo is the name usually given to one of the collections 
of sebaceous matter which form in the sebaceous glands and 
their outlets; but it may be applied to a number of such col- 
lections, when regarded as a special affection. The plural of it 
is comedos or comedones. Other names for comedos are 
“ black-heads ” and flesh-worms ; the former of which is 
given to them on account of the outer end of each being discolored 
from exposure to dust and the like, and the latter, because of 
their resemblance to little worms when pressed out. Some of 
them are present on nearly every one’s face, and to some 
extent elsewhere, during the period from puberty to maturity. 
Before this period they are scarcely met with at all, but after 
it they are still common. They often excite inflammation 
and thus result in acne. When there are many of them in 
the face they are very disfiguring. 
A sluggish condition of the system, or insufficient attention 
to cleanliness will give rise to comedos. The use of rich foods 
favors their occurrence. 
Comedos can generally be dislodged by gently pressing each 
between the nails of two fingers. Before undertaking to 
remove a crop of them the face should be given a prolonged 
washing with tepid water in which a little mild soap is dis- 
solved, so as to soften them. To prevent them from appear- 
ing attention should be given to the general health; and 
besides keeping the skin clean, it should be rubbed briskly 
once, or twice daily with a moderately coarse towel. 
Milium is the name given to a little whitish collection of 
sebaceous matter in an occluded outlet of the sebaceous glands; 
and it may be applied to a number of them when viewed as a 
special affection. On the cheek near the eye is where these 
accumulations are usually seen; but they are not common. 
They are met with in persons of all ages. It is difficult to DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
277 
dislodge them by pressure, unless they are first punctured 
with a needle. 
Acne is an inflammatory affection of the sebaceous glands, 
excited generally by the accumulation in them of their secre- 
tory products. It is usually called “ pimples.” No other 
disease of the skin is so common. From puberty to maturity 
is the period of life in which it occurs most. Those under 
puberty very seldom suffer from it; and among the mature it 
is comparatively rare, but it is in them that the worst variety 
of it (the rosaceous) is met with. It is still more disfiguring 
than comedos. The happiness of people during adolescence is 
greatly interfered with by it. Only those who have been 
affected with it can realize how potent a cause it is of anxiety 
and depression of spirits. Multitudes of either sex are 
rendered miserable through it. • 
This eruption is usually divided into four varieties, the 
simple (acne simplex), the pustulous (acne pustulosa), the rosa- 
ceous (acne rosacea), and the indurated (acne indurata), but 
there is no radical difference between them. In the first 
variety the tubercles are small, moderately red, and are seated 
on the face principally; in the second they suppurate freely and 
are painful, especially if they are on the scalp ; in the third 
they are hard, red, few in number, painful, mature slowly, 
appear on the face and occur in gross, or intemperate adults 
only ; and in the fourth they resemble those of the second, or 
third except that they rest on a thickened, inflamed ground. 
Each tubercle of the first variety lasts three, or four days, 
each of those of the second about a week, and each of those 
of the third, or fourth two weeks, or longer. Those of the 
third, or fourth variety may leave scars. The sebaceous 
matter which excites the indurated variety is closely confined 
and deeply seated. 
The various forms of this affection spring, as has been 
already stated, from irritation of the sebaceous glands pro- 278 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
duced generally by comedos; and of the causes of these I 
have spoken above. Occasionally, however, they arise from 
changes in the character of the sebaceous matter induced by 
the use of certain articles of -diet, among which may be men- 
tioned pastry, cheese, fresh bread, nuts, grapes, preserves and 
richly fried oysters and other animal foods, and by constipa- 
tion, or any disturbance of the system. 
The application of cold-cream alone, or with which a little 
zinc-ointment is mixed in connection with the use of a laxa- 
tive occasionally, and a tonic, such as wine of iron, or tincture 
of cinchona, twice, or thrice daily, for a time, constitutes 
chiefly the treatment appropriate for this affection. Cosmoline 
may be applied ; and in the indurated form a sedative wash, 
such as lead-water, or a poultice may be resorted to sometimes 
with advantage. If each tubercle be punctured with a needle, 
as soon as mature, and pressed slightly, so as to remove its 
contents, it will disappear more quickly; or by removing 
early the matter by which it is excited its development may 
be cut short. The ways and means by which the appearance 
of the eruption can be prevented are indicated in what has 
been said of its causes. 
SQUAMOUS ERUPTIONS. 
As stated above, the cuticle is shedding constantly from 
birth to death; but in health the scales are neither large nor 
abundant enough to attract much attention, and do not usually 
cause any itching. Perversion of this process is the leading 
feature of several diseases of a chronic character, of which 
pityriasis, psoriasis, and icthyosis call each for a few remarks. 
Pityriasis or dandruff is an affection of which the chief 
symptoms are, the shedding of small, white scales, a little red- 
ness and considerable itching. It is of an erythematous 
nature. The head is the usual seat of it; but it may affect the 
whole body.* Cases of it are not very common. The dry DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
279 
form of seborrhoea is similar to it in most respects; and so are 
mild cases of psoriasis. The liberal use of soap and water and 
attention to the general health are the essential elements of 
the treatment suitable for it. Cosmoline, or any simple oint- 
ment may be used. Occasionally it is difficult of cure. 
Psoriasis or lepra or dry tetter consists of dark, 
reddish, scaling, slightly elevated, circular, or irregular- 
shaped patches of from a line to an inch, or so, in diameter, on 
any portion of the body. The patches may be numerous and 
sometimes are inclined to run together. But little itching 
attends them. About the elbows and the knees are the favorite 
seats of the disease. Unlike eczema it generally occurs on the 
outer aspect of joints. It ranks next after acne and eczema in 
commonness. A fifteenth of the cases of diseases of the skin 
met with are of it. To both it and eczema light-complexioned 
persons are most subject. Persons under six are, perhaps, 
never affected with it, and cases of it are rare among those 
under fifteen, or over forty years of age. The causes of it are 
obscure. It is not contagious. In spite of the use of all pos- 
sible remedies it may remain present for years. Frequent 
washing with tepid water and soft <soap, in connection with 
cosmoline, or zinc-ointment, and measures promotive of health 
generally constitute the treatment proper for it. 
Icthyosis or fish-skin disease is a disease in which a 
part, or almost the whole of the body is covered with thick, 
dry scales. Generally but little soreness, or itching attends it. 
Rarely is a large area affected with it; and it is only when 
this is so that the patient experiences much discomfort. 
Cases of it in which the skin is merely excessively dry and 
inclined to crack are usually named zeroderma. It mostly 
appears in children in their second year, and may remain per- 
manently. At first it is in all respects mild. Cold weather 
usually makes it worse temporarily. The treatment recom- 
mended for psoriasis may be used for it. 280 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
PARASITIC ERUPTIONS. 
Parasitic eruptions are such as are caused by the presence 
of certain minute organisms. Various species of both veget- 
able and animal organisms are, doubtless, often present in 
consequence of eruptions, but a few are certainly instrumental 
in causing several forms of them. 
All these eruptions are in a sense contagious; the organisms 
which produce them may be transferred from person to person. 
Every one, however, is not equally liable to be affected with 
them. Most of them prevail chiefly among badly-nourished, 
unclean children. 
These eruptions being all of local origin can be removed 
through the use of local remedies, by means of agents which 
will kill the organisms by which they are produced, in con- 
nection with cleanliness ; but measures to improve the general 
health favor their disappearance. 
Scabies, favus and several forms of tinea or ring-worm, are 
the affections of this class of which I will speak. All except 
the first named are produced by vegetable parasites. 
Scabies or “ tiie itch ” is caused by an insect (acarus 
scabiei) which is large enough to be seen by the naked eye. 
This creature lives on the skin, but the female burrows into 
it to deposit her eggs. It is to the presence of the developing 
insects that the eruption is due. The hands are the parts 
oftenest affected. Rarely does the face suffer. The eruption 
is usually vesicular, but it may be papular, or pustular, or 
squamous. Scratching has much to do in rendering it pustu- 
lar. Little reddish elevations, with whitish, watery tops, may 
generally be taken for the disease. In the top of each may 
be observed a small white speck; which speck is the insect by 
which it has been excited. There is always considerable 
itching. 
The treatment of this affection is comparatively simple, and 
generally proves effective in a short time. After washing the DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
281 
part on which the eruption is seated with soap and tepid water, 
let it be rubbed with an ointment formed of lard and sulphur, 
or cosmoline, or a mixture consisting of from five to ten parts 
of glycerine to one of carbolic acid. This should be done 
daily for a week, or so. Personal cleanliness is a matter of 
great importance. The whole body should be washed fre- 
quently ; and let soap be used freely each time. 
Favus or tinea favosa is caused by a small fungus 
(achorion Schonleinii) and it generally appears on the scalp. 
Other names for it are crusted- or honey-comb-ring-worm, 
scalled-iiead and porrigo, the last of which is given also 
to the pustulous variety of milk-crust. The term scalled-head 
is given besides to ring-worm, eczema, and, perhaps, other 
diseases, when occurring on the scalp. This disease is not 
common. The incrustations which form in it are yellowish in 
color and cup-shaped, and from each project one, or two hairs. 
Very often they run together so closely as to form a large scab. 
Sometimes there is an offensive discharge. The organisms 
which cause the eruption are present in abundance in the 
crusts. 
The treatment of this affection is difficult, but if persevered 
in always proves effective. The hair of the part on which it 
is seated may be clipped off close, but it is better to uproot it 
with a pair of pincers. Taking it out will not prevent it from 
reappearing; on the contrary it will likely cause it to come 
out stronger than before. Then, in connection with a liberal 
use of soap and water, let any of the remedies recommended 
for scabies be applied daily for awhile. Occasionally it is 
necessary to remove the hair several times. 
Tinea circinatus, or ring-worm, is caused by a fungus 
[tinea tricophyton). Cases of it are common. It occurs in 
circular patches, which are at first small. Each patch is 
covered with a scaly crust, except at the border, on which are 
papules, or vesicles, and which is red and elevated; and it 282 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
often becomes ring-like in appearance. The head and face 
are the parts which are most liable to be affected. Tinea 
tonsurans and SCALLED-HEAD are names frequently given 
to it when seated on the head. On account of its presence, the 
hairs split and break, and consequently have an unhealthy, 
nibbled-off appearance. 
This affection should be treated similarly to scabies. When 
it is seated on the head the hair should be either clipped off 
close, or removed by the roots. 
Tinea versicolor is caused by a fungus (microsporon 
furfur). It is often confounded with discolorations caused by 
disturbance of the digestive and other organs met with in 
adults and called chloasma, moth-patches, or liver-spots. 
Rarely does it occur among children. It appears generally in 
patches on the front of the chest, and is brownish in color 
and scaly, but not elevated. Each patch may enlarge indefi- 
nitely. But little itching attends it. It may be treated in 
the same way as scabies. 
Tinea decalvans is due, probably, to a fungus (micro- 
sporon Audouinii). This name is applied to one, or several 
bald spots of variable size. There is no eruption. The hair 
generally reappears, but it may not do so for a long time. 
This affection is not common. The occasional application of 
irritants and a lotion of glycerine and carbolic acid constitutes 
the treatment proper for it. 
In this connection I may say that PEDICULI or lice, of 
which there are three species, may be accountable for different 
forms of sores and eruptions. The presence of these parasites 
is always due, for the most part, to want of attention to per- 
sonal cleanliness. When the head becomes infested with them a 
lotion of glycerine and carbolic acid may be applied to it 
several times, for the purpose mainly of destroying the vitality 
of the ova or nits which may remain after using a fine-toothed 
comb. DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
283 
POISON-ERUPTIONS. 
There are several affections of the skin caused by certain 
plants and insects, which are frequently met with, and which 
often require attention. Of a few of these I will speak. 
Two species of sumac, the poison-ivy or poison-oak (rhus toxi- 
codendron) and the poison-sumac or dog-wood (rhus venenata), 
may each cause an inflammation of the skin attended with a 
vesicular eruption. Both are very common in many parts of 
the country. The poison-ivy is a climber, and looks some- 
what like the Virginia-creeper; but on inspection it will be 
found that the former has for each leaf three leaflets, while the 
latter has five. The poison-sumac grows in swamps and 
attains a height of six to fifteen feet. Slight contact, or even 
close approach to either of these is sufficient to affect some 
persons ; while others can handle both with impunity. The 
hands and face are the parts which commonly suffer. Some- 
times the swelling and inflammation are very marked, and 
accompanied with much heat and itching. Mild cases get 
well within a week, but severe ones may last much longer. 
It is usually advisable to begin the treatment of the affection 
excited by either poison-ivy or poison-sumac with a dose of 
magnesia, or some other cathartic. Lead-water, either alone 
or with laudanum, is the proper local application while there 
is active inflammation present. It should be applied early 
and freely. To avoid any irritation which might result from 
its contact with open vesicles, it may be put on with a little 
brush. A wash made of a teaspoonful, or two, of carbonate 
of soda dissolved in a pint of water is very serviceable, when 
used early. Zinc-ointment to which some cold-cream, or gly- 
cerine and carbolic acid, have been added, is a suitable remedy, 
even from the beginning of most attacks. 
A sting of a bee, or wasp, and a bite of a mosquito, flea, 
or bed-bug are each capable of exciting an inflammatory con- 
dition of the skin attended with swelling and pain, or itching. 284 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
If the sting of the bee, or wasp, is left in the tissues it should, 
of course, be at once removed, if possible. 
Ammonia is an excellent remedy for the stings and bites of 
insects; and so is either the spirits of Cologne or the sweet 
spirits of nitre. Instead of one of these stimulants, either lead- 
water or salt and water may be applied. 
DISCOLORATIONS OF THE SKIN, 
The color of the skin of any one is liable to vary greatly 
from that which is natural. The face being the part most 
exposed is most subject to changes of hue. 
The disfiguration caused by discolorations is generally the 
chief reason why they call for attention. Ephelis, lentigo 
and vitiligo are those of which I will speak. 
Ephelis or sun-burn is familiar to every one. The skin 
may be much inflamed. Two, or three days after exposure, in 
severe cases, the cuticle falls off in large scales. Cold-cream, 
or cosmoline, or glycerine, or any simple ointment is all the 
remedy usually required for this affection. If the inflamma- 
tion is marked lead-water may be used at first. 
Lentigo or freckles is an affection from which few are 
entirely free. Persons of light complexion, especially those 
with reddish hair, are most subject to it; and it is apt to be 
worse in summer than winter. The pigment is seated in the 
inner layer of the epidermis. The treatment of this affection 
is not often very satisfactory. Many remedies are used for it 
but very few of them do much good. Lemon-juice, cucumber- 
juice, horse-radish-juice, and vinegar are all more or less 
serviceable. It is possible to eat out the spots with a strong 
solution of nitric acid; but it is not advisable to do, as severe 
inflammation of the skin may be excited. Blisters are not of 
much value, for they remove only the cuticle. 
Vitiligo or veal-skin or piebald-skin is an affection 
In which the skin becomes unnaturally white in spots. Cases DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
285 
of it are rare. If the wniteness is universal it constitutes 
what is called albinism—a condition which is usually present 
from birth. In treating this affection measures to improve 
the health generally are needful. A stimulating wash, such 
as oil of turpentine may be used occasionally; but no remedy 
is of much avail. For albinism nothing special can be done. 
It generally lessens in degree as the person grows older. 
GROWTHS OF THE SKIN. 
Excessive development of one, or more of the different 
tissues of the skin is the chief feature of several conditions 
which merit special attention. I will treat of verruca, clavus 
and nsevus. 
Verruca or wart is a growth in which all the layers of 
the skin are involved. It is of common occurrence among 
the young. Some are particularly liable to suffer from it. A 
large number may be present, especially on the hands. Noth- 
ing scarcely is knowm as to its cause. It is not contagious. 
There are plenty of efficient remedies for this ugly excres- 
cence. By paring it close to the quick and applying a paste 
made of wood-ashes, it will usually disappear in a few days. 
From containing potash the wood-ashes are mildly caustic. 
In place of them a drop, or two of nitric acid may be applied. 
Clavus or corn may appear on any part of the body but 
it is rarely seen anywhere but on the foot. It arises from 
intermittent pressure produced by a bad-fitting shoe. In 
nature, it is simply a thickened condition of the cuticle. There 
are two varieties of it, the hard and the soft. 
A corn is usually easy of treatment, if the cause whigh has 
produced it be removed. Let as much as possible of the 
thickened tissue be pared off. This may be all that it is 
necessary to do ; but it may be well to apply a paste of wood- 
ashes. If much inflamed it should be poulticed before it is 
pared. This plan of treatment is suitable for both varieties. 286 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Or MOTHER-MARK Or BIRTH-MARK Or MOLE, is 
always present to some extent from birth. The patch may be 
elevated but it is very often not. It is seldom large. In 
color, it varies greatly; it may be red, or brown, or black, or 
almost like the rest of the skin. When red it is particularly 
apt to be vascular, that is, made up largely of blood-vessels, 
especially if it be elevated. A vascular one enlarges and 
becomes brighter in color under excitement; and warm 
weather, or anything which accelerates the circulation has a 
similar effect. Not infrequently there is some hair on it from 
adolescence forward. Between it and a mole, mouse, straw- 
berry, or some other familiar object a resemblance may often 
be traced. Sometimes it is not unlike a stain, and when 
reddish it is frequently spoken of as a claret-stain, or a 
port-wine-mark. The face is the part, perhaps, on which 
it is most likely to be. A large number may be present, but 
this is seldom the case. Of the cause, or causes of it hardly 
anything is known. That impressions made on the mind of 
the mother may sometimes induce it is possible. This, 
however, is questioned by some. 
A popular prejudice exists against the removal of mother- 
marks, but there is no special ground for it. Certainly it can 
be done without much difficulty in most cases. But occasion- 
ally a scar may be left. Ordinary washes, or salves are of no 
avail. If they are non-vascular, and even when slightly so 
the application of any caustic agent, but preferably nitric acid 
will have the desired effect. When markedly vascular the 
best way to do is to break the skin around each at the base 
and then apply a ligature made of silk. If a needle be 
passed through it and allowed to remain it will hold the 
ligature in position when applied. As a remedy to allay 
irritation of them there is nothing better than tincture of 
iodine applied once, or twice daily with a little brush. MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
287 
CHAPTER XIV. 
MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
Bright’s Disease — Incontinence of Urine—Choking—On 
Swallowing Certain Objects — Asphyxia — Drowning — 
Falling of the Bowel—Rupture—Club-foot—Tongue-tied 
—Felon—Enlargement of Glands—Bleeding from the Nose 
—Frost-bite. 
BRIGHT’S DISEASE. 
Bright’s disease is so-called because it was first carefully 
described by an English physician of that name. It is seated 
in the kidneys, both of which generally are affected at the 
same time. These organs are situated, one in either loin, and 
are each about four inches in length, two in width and one in 
thickness, in the adult. They secrete the urine; which liquid 
flows immediately from them into the bladder. When the 
disease in question is present albuminous matter passes away 
from the blood with their secretion—a fact which is rendered 
apparent by boiling a little of the latter and consequently 
coagulating the albumen which is in it. There are two forms 
of it, the acute and.the chronic, both of which are of serious 
import. A large percentage of the cases die, sooner or later. 
Nearly two hundred deaths are caused by it yearly in Phila- 
delphia, of which a sixth are of minors. Very few under five 
years of age succumb to it; for the reason, probably, that they 
are not apt to suffer from grave attacks of the acute form of 
it. More males than females are destroyed by it. 
This disease is usually caused by exposure to cold. It is very 
liable to occur after scarlet fever. On account of differences in 
their mode of life males are more subject to it than females. 
The symptoms of the acute form of this disease, which is 288 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
essentially an inflammatory condition of the kidneys, are, 
backache, headache, pains in the limbs, sickness at the stomach, 
some difficulty in breathing, fever and more or less dropsy of 
the entire body, which often comes on very rapidly. The 
urine is scanty and not infrequently contains blood as well as 
albumen. Convalescence begins in from one to three weeks, 
or the chronic form of the disease results. Relapses are com- 
mon. Death may be produced by the presence in the blood 
of materials which the kidneys fail to remove, or by dropsy. 
When produced by the former, convulsions mostly precede it. 
The chronic form of this disease often develops insidiously 
and it may not prove fatal for many years. The chief indica- 
tions of it are, debility and pallor in addition to albumen in 
the urine. When it is very marked there is dropsy. 
Besides keeping the patient in a warm room in which there 
are no draughts the remedies for the acute form of this disease 
are, citrate of magnesia, or some other active cathartic, lemon- 
ade, flaxseed-tea, and a mustard-plaster for the loins. The 
cathartic and the mustard-plaster may be repeated. A mixture 
of the solution of the acetate of ammonia, paregoric, and 
syrup of squills may be given several times daily. No 
stimulants are allowable at first. Hot hip-baths are service- 
able. The diet should be liquid and bland. 
Beyond protecting the body against «cold and wet and 
supporting the strength through the use of plenty of nourish- 
ing food but little can be done for the chronic form of this 
disease. Iron is the only medicine which is likely to do good. 
INCONTINENCE OF URINE. 
Passing the urine during sleep or involuntarily is a not 
uncommon affection among children. It generally begins 
during dentition, and may continue to some extent until the 
period of puberty, or later. Nervous excitability, or an acid 
condition of the secretion may account for it at times, especially MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
289 
at first; and it may take place occasionally in consequence of 
using an excessive amount of liquids, or from sleeping over- 
soundly; but it is oftener due to habit than anything else. 
Among properly trained children it is of rare occurrence. 
In treating this affection there is nothing to be gained by 
punishing the patient; nor is it justifiable to do so; for his 
will has nothing to do with it. But he should be made to 
understand that it is shameful, and that he should do all in 
his power to prevent it. Let the cause of it be sought for 
and removed, if possible. If it springs from nervous excit- 
ability which can be traced to the presence of intestinal worms, 
or the use of tea, or some other stimulating article of diet, 
particularly at a late hour, the remedy in either case is 
obvious ; if it springs from the urine being acid and irritating 
let the diet be simplified ; if it springs from the excessive use 
of liquids let the allowance of these be restricted; and if it 
springs from sleeping over-soundly less exercise may prove 
beneficial. Lying on the back should be avoided, as it is 
promotive of the affection. A cold-bath at bed-time 'is always 
very advantageous. The urine should be passed before going 
to bed and at a fixed hour nightly. It is hardly advisable to 
form the habit of urinating in the middle of the night. As 
for medicine it is of very little use. In very excitable children 
bromide of potassium may be of value. 
CHOKING. 
The lodgment of a piece of food, a button, or anything 
else in the throat, or the gullet is an accident of frequent 
occurrence among children, and through interfering with the 
breathing it occasionally proves fatal. When it takes place 
the coughing excited generally suffices to speedily afford 
relief; but if it does not, efforts should be at once made to 
bring the object away with the finger. Let the head be in- 
clined forward. If the offending body has passed some 290 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
distance into the gullet attempts to swallow, assisted by a few 
mouthfuls of water will nearly always carry it into the 
stomach soon; but if they do not it is wise to obtain the 
service of a physician. 
When any object enters the windpipe, “goes the wrong 
way/’ serious symptoms of strangulation are immediately 
produced. If it is a liquid, it is speedily brought up by 
coughing. Except it be small, if it cannot be removed 
quickly, life is in danger. Should relief not be obtained 
within a few minutes let a physician be sent for without 
delay. 
ON SWALLOWING CERTAIN OBJECTS. 
Swallowing a button, or a piece of money, whether of nickel, 
copper, or silver, need not be the cause of alarm; for even if 
of considerable size it will very probably find its way out of 
the system in a day, or two, without producing colic, or any 
serious consequences. A dose of castor oil, or of any mild 
laxative may be given; but this is not actually necessary. 
Nor need the patient gorge himself with food, as some advise, 
for the purpose of forcing the object ahead. 
Swallowing a pin, or a needle may be destructive of life, 
sooner or later, through becoming lodged and exciting in- 
flammatory action in some part of the digestive track; but it 
undoubtedly may pass out of the system without doing any 
harm. Beyond giving a laxative and keeping the patient 
still for a few days, nothing can be done, when this accident 
occurs. 
ASPHYXIA. 
The complete, or almost complete suspension of breathing, 
the action of the heart and all the other functions for a longer 
or shorter period is called asphyxia. This condition may be 
brought about by choking, pressure on the windpipe, inhaling 
carbonic acid, or any other gas which will not support life, or 
immersion in water. No difference how it may be caused, MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
291 
the great indication is to restore respiration, to see that the 
breath is fully drawn once in every three seconds, or so. When 
due to choking, or pressure on the windpipe, all that is re- 
quired to be done generally, is to remove the cause; but when 
produced by breathing a gas which will not support life, or 
immersion in water, artificial respiration must be practiced and 
persevered in till recovery results, or there is no longer any 
room to hope for a successful result. This operation consists 
in placing the patient in nearly the recumbent position, on his 
back, and then raising both his arms at the same time, from 
alongside his body to above his head, and back every three 
seconds, or so. While this is being done the tongue should be 
held well forward in the mouth; for it is inclined to recede 
toward the throat and consequently obstruct the ingress of the 
air. A little cold water may be dashed somewhat forcibly 
against the chest occasionally, in the hope of restoring the 
action of the lungs and heart through the resulting shock; 
but it should be wiped off immediately, for it will do harm by 
abstracting heat. The body should be covered with blankets, 
or any warm articles of clothing, under which should be 
placed bottles filled with warm water, and mustard-plasters 
may be applied to the feet and legs. Rubbing the hands and 
other parts does good. Ammonia maybe used as an inhalant; 
and as soon as swallowing is possible a little aromatic spirits 
of ammonia, or brandy, or any stimulant may be given at 
short intervals until breathing is well restored, when it, as 
well as the use of the bottles of warm water and mus- 
tard plasters should be discontinued. As vitality returns, 
care must be exercised to prevent congestion of the lungs and 
brain from arising in consequence of the reaction or excitement 
of the system which follows. The measures which should be 
resorted to for this purpose are, the application of cold water 
to the head and the use of a cathartic, especially the citrate of 
magnesia, given in small amount frequently, as it serves to 292 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
allay the thirst from which the patient is apt to suffer. In 
addition to these measures it may be wise to give a dose of the 
solution of morphia, or some other sedative every three, or four 
hours, or oftener, for a day, or so. The diet should be simple 
and non-stimulating, milk being the principal item of it, 
while the system remains in an excited condition. 
DEOWNIN G. 
Drowning is a common accident. In it, death is produced 
by the exclusion of air from the lungs, by asphyxia. As soon 
as the breathing is stopped, the blood being no longer purified 
speedily becomes unfit to support life. A fatal result ensues 
in from one to ten minutes. 
In any case of drowning, if the body has not been sub- 
merged longer than from five to ten minutes, it is often pos- 
sible to restore life. Instances are on record, of animation being 
restored, in which the period of submersion was over twenty 
minutes. The first thing to do is, to remove any water which 
may be in the throat and, perhaps, in the lungs. This is done 
by inclining the head downward for a minute, or so. Then 
remove the wet clothing as quickly as possible and resort to 
precisely the same treatment as has been recommended for 
asphyxia in general. Rolling the patient on a barrel is a bar- 
barous custom, which is still in favor; the main object of 
which is to rid the lungs of water; but as there is seldom any 
water in these organs it is mostly useless as well as cruel. 
FALLING OF THE BOWEL. 
Through straining caused by either constipation or diar- 
rhoea, a portion of the rectum is liable to be forced out, to 
prolapse. This is a matter of somewhat common occurrence 
among delicate children. There is little or no danger attached 
to it; but the part should be restored at once to its natural 
position ; both because this is easier done then than later, and MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
293 
because neglecting to do it early favors the return of the 
trouble. Its replacement is effected by the application of 
gentle pressure while the patient is lying on his back, with 
his hips a little raised ; and it is usually accomplished with- 
out much difficulty. 
To prevent this displacement from occurring let the bowels 
be kept regular, and all unnecessary straining be abstained 
from. The tendency to it usually stops as soon as the patient 
gets into a healthy condition. 
RUPTURE. 
Rupture is also called hernia. It is a swelling of variable 
size about the navel, or groin, caused by the presence of a 
loop of intestine which has passed through one of the open- 
ings which naturally exist, but which are small when in their 
normal condition. It generally disappears as soon as the 
patient lies down in the supine position. Cases of it are 
frequently met with among infants, and it is very common 
among adults. It may arise from straining, or lifting heavy 
weights; but in the very young it is due mainly to the open- 
ings referred to above being very patulous. 
When this affection is first noticed a physician should be 
consulted about it. By taking it early it can generally be 
cured without much trouble; whereas if neglected long it will 
prove rebellious to treatment, and likely be to some extent 
(iisabling for life. A support or truss is the chief remedy 
required; the object of which is to keep the intestine entirely 
within the abdominal cavity. When the rupture is seated 
near the navel a very simple contrivance answers every 
purpose 
In rupture, if the loop of intestine becomes firmly lodged, 
inflammation and ulceration of the part are apt to occur, in 
connection with vomiting and prostration, within a day, or 
two, unless it be pressed back into the abdomen soon. 294 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Club-foot, or talipes are names given to a variety of 
deformities of the foot which may, or may not be present at 
birth. I will not give any description of them. I may say, 
however, that they arise from derangement in the action 
of the muscles. It is the duty of parents to obtain competent 
surgical advice as soon as possible; for if taken early a cure can 
generally be readily effected. Often it is unnecessary to do more 
than keep a suitable support, a sort of shoe, applied for some 
time; and any surgical operation which may be called for 
under any circumstances is of a comparatively simple character. 
CLUB-FOOT. 
TONGUE-TIED. 
A tongue-tied child is one in whom the organ is bound 
to the floor of the mouth in such a way that it is impossible 
to suck, or speak well, or put it out freely. The retaining 
band is simply an abnormally extensive frsenum. This con- 
dition is rarely very marked. Cases of it are far less common 
than people in general suppose. Any one who can put the 
organ out to the ordinary extent is not affected. When it is 
present relief is afforded by partially incising the retaining band 
with a pair of scissors. This is easily done, but as there is 
danger of cutting a little artery, and thus producing consider- 
able hemorrhage, it is unwise for any but physicians to do it. 
FELON. 
A felon or whitlow is essentially a deep-seated boil, situ- 
ated mostly in one of the fingers, and caused generally by a 
bruise. It is common, and is of various grades of severity. 
The deeper it is seated the worse it is. When mild it is often 
spoken of as “ A flesh-felon,” and when severe, “ a bone- 
felon.” It always begins with inflammation, and if not 
checked terminates in a discharge of pus or matter, in connec- 
tion with a core. The pain is marked in all cases, but in MISCELLANEOUS DISEASES AND CONDITIONS. 
295 
some it is excruciating. The reason why it is so great in some 
is because the matter which gathers is closely confined beneath 
the tendons and other dense tissues. The course of the disease 
is apt to be slow; and it generally leaves a very perceptible scar. 
Not infrequently the use of a joint is lost; and occasionally 
the bony tissue becomes so badly diseased that it is necessary 
to remove a portion of the finger. 
The treatment of this painful affection should be prompt 
and decided. When a severe deep-seated inflammation arises 
in a finger, or in the palm of the hand, a blister should be 
applied over it as soon as possible. If this does not produce 
a cure in a day, or two, and the pain is very great, a deep 
incision should be made, so as to allow the pus to pass out as 
it forms. This is apparently a heroic measure, but it is fre- 
quently the only one by which suffering can be curtailed and 
the use of the finger, or the finger itself, can be preserved. 
Whether the incision is made or not a poultice of flaxseed- 
meal should be kept applied until the discharge ceases. 
ENLARGEMENT OP GLANDS. 
Little glands, very similar to those found in the mesentery, 
exist in various portions of the body, as part of a system of 
minute absorptive vessels, the lymphatics. Several of them 
are situated about the neck, under either arm, and in either 
groin. They are very liable to become enlarged and some- 
what inflamed at times, especially in persons in whom there is 
a scrofulous taint. If there is a sore, or wound on the hand, 
one, or more of those under the arm are apt to be affected, and 
if on the foot, one, or more of those in the groin may suffer. 
Seldom, however, is the inflammation active and pus formed. 
No special treatment is needful for a slight enlargement of 
lymphatic glands. But measures to improve the general 
health are indicated. The best medicine to use is the syrup 
of the iodide of iron. If there is considerable enlargement of 296 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
one, or more, the tincture of iodide should be applied locally, 
once, or twice a day. This agent has a scattering effect. 
Friction acts very similarly and may be used for the purpose. 
If suppuration be threatened poultices should be used. When 
such an abscess forms about the neck it should be lanced early, 
so as to prevent, if possible, an ugly scar from being left. 
BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. 
Bleeding from the nose or epistaxis is of common occur- 
rence in early life, especially from the tenth to the fifteenth 
year. Some are far more subject to it than others. If it does 
not take place often and is not very profuse it generally does 
the person good rather than harm. Keeping still usually 
suffices to stop it in a few minutes, particularly if the head be 
kept elevated. Bathing the forehead with cold water is 
advantageous. A piece of ice, or of cold iron may be applied 
to the nape of the neck. In very bad cases it may be neces- 
sary to plug the nostrils with cotton; and this material may 
be saturated with strong alum-water. 
FROST-BITE. 
Frost-bite or chilblain is an inflammatory condition of 
the skin and some of the tissues beneath it, which is apt to 
arise in the foot, or any other part of the body which has been 
exposed to a very low temperature or frosted. When present 
in a mild form it may be classed as an erythema {erythema 
pernio) and treated as such. In bad cases gangrene occurs. 
To prevent this affection, a part which is frosted should not 
be exposed suddenly to a high heat. Let it be well rubbed 
and let the application of warmth be very gradual. 
Lead-water, or alum-water is all the remedy required by 
ordinary cases of this affection. When chronic, a stimulating 
application, such as oil of turpentine is of service. If the 
skin is broken a flaxseed-meal poultice should be applied. FAULTS OF DEVELOPMENT. 
297 
CHAPTER XV. 
FAULTS OF DEVELOPMENT. 
Preliminary Remarks—Cyanosis —Hare-lip—Cleft-palate— 
Spina-bijida. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The human organism being exceedingly complex in struc- 
ture, and being subject to conditions while developing, it 
is wonderful that it is not often markedly imperfect in many 
respects. Instances, however, in which it is to some extent 
unnatural are by no means rare. Most of the glaring defects 
in it which are met with have resulted from perversion, or 
partial arrest of development of parts. What are called 
monsters are simply creatures that, on account of certain con- 
ditions, have developed in such a way as to be pronouncedly 
unlike the normal type. Formerly they were regarded by 
many in a very strange light; they were taken to be special 
creations produced as judgments. 
All faults of development or mal-formations may be 
classed as variations in the size, situation, or structure of parts, 
or a redundancy, or deficiency in the number of certain of 
them. Examples of abnormal largeness, or smallness of parts 
are often seen. Cases in which parts are wrongly situated are 
not rare. A marked illustration is where the heart is in the 
right instead of the left side of the chest—a condition which 
is extremely seldom present. The structure of different parts 
is frequently far from being natural. A redundancy, or defi- 
ciency in the number of the fingers, or toes is not uncommon. 
There may be only one finger and the thumb. An excess in 
the number of fingers arises mostly from the presence of an 
additional thumb. The supernumerary is generally wanting 
in size and void of use. 298 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Cyanosis, hare-lip, cleft-palate and spina-bifida are the 
faults of development of which I will speak specially. 
Cyanosis, or as it is commonly called the blue disease, 
is a condition, the leading feature of which is blueness of the 
skin. Often it is not marked and disappears in a few days. 
There are about a hundred deaths from it yearly in Phila- 
delphia, nearly all of which are of persons less than a month 
in age. In most cases it consists essentially of a defect in the 
heart, in consequence of which more or less venous or impure 
blood joins the arterial or pure. Before birth there is a val- 
vular opening in the partition which separates the right from 
the left half of this organ, through which the blood passes. 
If this opening does not disappear entirely as soon as the 
child begins to breathe, the result is the disease in question. 
Should the opening which remains be small, but little of the 
venous blood will go through it, and consequently the skin 
will not be markedly blue. Before birth, I may say, the 
blood is not purified in the lungs ; it takes place through those 
of the mother. 
As already stated this affection may be very slight and 
may disappear in a few days. The less marked the blueness 
is the better is the chance of recovery. All that can be done 
specially by way of treatment is, to keep the child on its right 
side and where it can have plenty of fresh air. 
CYANOSIS. 
HAKE-LIP. 
A cleft or divided condition of the upper lip such as is 
present naturally in the hare receives the name of hare-lip. 
Rarely is the lower lip affected. It is not only unsightly but 
interferes with eating and speech. Cases of it are common. 
Occasionally there are two clefts. 
This mal-formation can usually be removed practically by FAULTS OF DEVELOPMENT. 
299 
a simple surgical operation. If it be attended to early very 
little scar may be left. Freshening the edges of the opening 
and holding them together with strips of adhesive plaster, or 
stitches, or both these, until they adhere of themselves, are the 
elements of the operation required. It is simple, but a surgeon 
should always be employed to perform it. 
CLEFT-PALATE. 
A cleft or divided condition of a part, or tne whole of the 
palate or roof of the mouth is a not uncommon condition. 
Often it is accompanied with hare-lip. Both eating and 
speech are often seriously interfered with by it. When taken 
early it can generally be removed practically by an operation 
similar to that practiced for hare-lip. 
SPINA-BIFIDA. 
A cleft or divided condition of a part of the spine or bony 
sheath in which the spinal cord rests is called spina-bifida. 
Usually the skin is not broken. At the seat of the mal- 
formation there is more or less swelling. This condition is 
somewhat common. There are about ten deaths from it 
yearly in Philadelphia, of which nearly all are of infants. 
When not very marked it may gradually disappear. If there 
is an opening, or one forms, the patient generally sinks soon 
from exhaustion. Beyond attention to the general health, 
scarcely anything can be done for it. However, a surgeon 
should always be consulted at once. 300 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
CHAPTER XVI. 
RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
Preliminary Remarks—Shock—Contusions—Incised Wounds 
— Punctured Wounds — Lacerated Wounds — Poisoned 
Wounds —Burns—Scalds— Sprains —Dislocations —Frac- 
tures—Poisoning. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Injuries caused by violence of some kind are common; but 
fortunately they are generally not of a serious nature. Most 
of those which occur neither require nor receive any but 
domestic treatment; and hence it is proper for parents to be 
informed as to their requirements. Xor should they be totally 
ignorant of what to do, at least temporarily, for those of much 
gravity; because these as well as those of little consequence 
usually happen unexpectedly and cannot receive the attention 
of a surgeon at once. Prompt action of a simple character is 
often of extreme importance. Thus the preservation of life 
may depend on the immediate application of pressure on a 
certain side of a wound attended with profuse hemorrhage, or 
the administration of a spoonful of mustard in poisoning from 
any of a variety of agents. 
SHOCK. 
Nervous prostration arising from a fall, blow, or any pro- 
found impression on the body, or mind, is called shock. If 
produced by jarring of the brain it is called concussion of 
the It is almost similar in nature to fainting. The 
symptoms of it are, more or less loss of power, paleness, cold- 
ness, and in severe cases entire unconsciousness. Except when RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
301 
slight the pulse is slow and nausea and vomiting are present. 
Recovery may occur in a few minutes, or hours, or it may 
not take place for a number of days. Occasionally the 
mental faculties remain somewhat impaired for a long time, 
or even permanently. It seldom proves fatal. About half a 
dozen of deaths are imputed to it annually in Philadelphia. 
Simple cases of this affection call for the same treatment as 
fainting. Place the patient in the horizontal position, and 
loosen the clothing, especially about the neck and chest. Give 
a teaspoonful of whisky, or brandy, or half this amount or 
less of the aromatic spirits of ammonia in a little water, every 
half hour, or so. The vapor of ammonia may be breathed to 
advantage. A little water may be dashed on the face and 
chest at short intervals. In cases in which there is little action 
of the heart and lungs, and consequently coldness, the applica- 
tion of mustard-plasters and bottles filled with hot water in 
addition to the use of warm clothing is indicated. A warm- 
bath is often serviceable. As in asphyxia, there is danger of 
congestion of the brain and lungs occurring when reaction sets 
in; and it should be carefully guarded against. The excessive 
use of stimulants given for the purpose of hastening recovery 
is frequently accountable for it. In prolonged cases such 
remedies should be given very sparingly. Noises are harmful. 
The diet should be simple. 
CONTUSIONS. 
Contusions or bruises are injuries produced by blows, falls, 
or collisions and are attended with swelling, discoloration and 
more or less heat and pain. When the skin is broken and 
the tissues beneath it are seriously affected the injury is often 
called A compound contusion. Swelling without discolora- 
tion is due to the presence of serum of the blood in the tissues; 
and swelling with discoloration is due to the presence of both 
serum and some of the thick or'colored part of the blood. 302 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
When there is discoloration it is an indication that a capillary, 
vein, or artery is lacerated; for otherwise it is impossible for 
the red part of the blood to pass into the tissues. About the 
head and wherever the skin is loose a very slight injury may 
cause much swelling; and these are also the parts most likely 
to be markedly discolored. Through gravitation of the 
effused blood the swelling and discoloration may appear 
beneath the point of injury. This is seen in “a black eye” 
A simple contusion may be prevented in a measure from 
causing swelling and discoloration by the early application of 
a piece of ice, or plenty of cold water. Lead-water, or a mix- 
ture of equal parts of lead-water and laudanum, or tincture 
of arnica may often be applied to advantage. Each of these 
remedies serves to allay both pain and swelling. If the dis- 
coloration lingers its disappearance may be hastened by 
washing the part with warm water and afterward rubbing it 
well several times daily. The use of spirits of cologne, or 
any other stimulating agent, or vinegar in rubbing it may be 
serviceable. 
A compound contusion may be treated in the same way as 
a simple one at first. If any dirt is present, let it be removed, 
and then draw the skin as nearly as possible into its proper 
place. Should matter be inclined to form a poultice of flax- 
seed-meal is indicated; and a fresh one should be applied 
daily until the disorganized tissues have disappeared entirely. 
INCISED WOUNDS. 
A leading feature of incised wounds or cuts is hemorrhage 
or bleeding. If an artery is cut, blood flows spoutingly; 
and if a vein, or capillary is cut it oozes out. By pressing 
close to the side of the wound which is the nearer to the heart, 
the bleeding will stop, if it be from an artery; and by press- 
ing close to the side of the wound which is the further from 
the heart, it will stop, if it be from a vein. An injury to a RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
303 
large artery is much more dangerous to life than one to a large 
vein; because the bleeding from the former is by far the 
harder to control. In small cuts, generally, only a few capil- 
laries are divided and consequently they are not attended with 
a great deal of bleeding. Here as when a vein, or artery is 
severed Nature tends to stop the flow, through the formation of 
a clot. 
A simple cut requires only the application of a compress to 
hold the edges of it together. Ointments are not required and 
many of those frequently used retard the healing process. In 
addition to the compress, cold water may be applied for a time, 
if the bleeding inclines to continue long. If the wound is 
large, or inclined to gap, strips of adhesive plaster may be 
resorted to, or it may be stitched with a stout thread, made of 
silk; but neither the strips nor the stitches should be so close 
together as to confine within any matter which may form. 
The stitches may be allowed to remain in for about a week, or 
until the wound is nearly well. If the wound is seated in the 
scalp it is sometimes possible to hold the edges of it in position 
by means of little strands of the hair. When a very large 
artery is cut it is necessary to tie it, in order to stop the bleed- 
ing. Until a surgeon is at hand to do this the loss of blood 
should be prevented by pressure. 
In this connection I may say that a wound heals by what 
is called the first intention when it gets well quickly and 
without the formation of matter, on bringing the edges of it 
close together. Very extensive cuts may heal completely, in 
this way, within a few hours. 
PUNCTURED WOUNDS. 
Wounds made by pointed instruments are apt to be deep; 
but this is not a matter of much consequence, except they are 
seated where a large blood-vessel, or any important organ is 
liable to be injured. The escape of a very small amount of 304 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
blood internally may result fatally through the inflammation 
of parts excited by it. If the stomach, or intestines be cut to 
any extent, a fatal inflammation will almost certainly ensue. 
A wound of the lungs is always of serious import; but if it be 
not extensive, or attended with much bleeding there is a fair 
chance of recovery from it. 
Punctured wounds which do not involve internal organs 
are essentially of* an incised character; and hence the remarks 
made on the treatment of incised wounds are applicable to 
them. When an internal organ is involved the patient should 
be kept perfectly still. This is the chief part of the special 
measures indicated. Stimulants should be given sparingly, if 
at all; for by exciting the action of the heart they favor bleed- 
ing. Of course, a surgeon should be summoned immediately. 
When the skin and other tissues are lacerated or torn, there 
is not much bleeding generally. The free use of cold water 
at first, and compresses and bandages are the chief remedies 
for injuries of this kind. If the edges of the wound can be 
brought together, or almost so, it may be well to resort to 
stitches. Healing by the first intention cannot be expected. 
LACERATED WOUNDS. 
POISONED WOUNDS. 
Incised, punctured, or lacerated wounds may be at the same 
time poisoned. Bites are among the worst of poisoned wounds. 
Those of the rattlesnake and other venomous serpents, and of 
rabid dogs generally prove fatal; and those of animals in 
general, including man, are not usually inclined to heal 
kindly, and are not infrequently attended with erysipelas. A 
wound of this kind should be cleansed immediately and 
thoroughly with hot water. It may be sucked with the 
mouth. Until it is cleansed firm pressure should be made all 
around it, so as to delay the absorption of the poisonous matter RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
305 
present. If it is caused by a rabid dog, or a venomous snake, 
it is wise to cauterize it to some extent with a red-hot iron, or 
nitric acid, immediately after washing it as well as possible; 
and until after it is both washed and cauterized, pressure 
should be maintained all around it. Of course, there is no 
ground for the idea that the survival of the animal by which 
one has been bitten has anything to do with the healing of 
the wound, or its danger to life. 
BURNS. 
A burn is an injury produced by flame, or any form of dry 
heat. A slight degree of heat causes congestion of the skin ; 
a moderate degree vesicates; a high degree blisters; a very 
high degree chars the skin; an extremely high degree chars 
not only the skin but to some extent the soft tissues beneath 
it; and when it reaches a certain degree it destroys even bone. 
Of course, the longer the heat is applied the deeper is the 
burn likely to be. Marked pain attends this form of injury, 
and if an extensive area is affected, the system is always 
severely shocked. Even when very mild, if it be large, death 
may result, particularly if the patient be a child. Recovery 
can scarcely be expected if a half of the surface of the body 
is vesicated, or if a quarter of it is charred, however slightly, 
or if a square foot of it is destroyed to the bone. Between 
sixty and seventy persons die annually from burns and scalds, 
in Philadelphia, a half of whom are under ten years of age. 
About a third more females than males are carried off* thus. 
Burns call for prompt treatment, on account of the pain which 
attends them. When slight the early application of very 
warm water affords relief soon. If cold water be used it is 
necessary to continue applying it for a considerable length of 
time. If either vesication or charring has occurred, a mixture 
of lime-water and flaxseed-oil may be used. This is known 
as Carron-oil. A solution of soda, or what is very similar, a 306 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
lather of strong soap may be used. If the air is prevented 
from touching the part, the patient suffers comparatively little. 
This can be done by means of lard, flour, or cotton saturated 
with Carron-oil, or a solution of soda, or soap. A poultice of 
any sort answers the same purpose. In addition to local reme- 
dies, aromatic spirits of ammonia, or whisky, or any other 
stimulant may be given in moderate amount at short intervals. 
If there is much pain relief can be procured through the use 
of either chloral or the solution of morphia. 
SCALDS. 
A scald is an injury produced by a hot liquid of any kind. 
Oil, pitch, cr any other viscid substance causes a deeper one 
than water, because it does not run off the part as fast. When 
it is produced by water there is no charring but the tissues 
may be terribly inflamed. The remarks made on the grades, 
symptoms and fatality of burns apply also to this class of 
wounds; and the same remedies are appropriate for both. 
It is well to know that from both scalds and burns when 
severe, scars and deformities are very apt to be left, in spite 
of all that can be done to prevent them. These consequences 
are directly due to the contraction of the tissues which lie 
immediately beneath the skin. By way of prevention of this 
contraction or shortening, the finger, or whatever part is 
injured should be kept almost constantly extended, until a 
cure is effected. 
SPRAINS. 
A sprain or strain is an inflammatory condition of a joint, 
or any other part of the body produced by excessive stretch- 
ing of the tissues. The ligaments which retain adjoining 
bones in position are affected more frequently than the muscles. 
At times the force is so great that the tissues are more or less 
torn. The wrists and the ankles are the joints most likely to 
suffer. Pain, swelling, and redness of the part are the main RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
307 
features of this wound. If it be very severe there may be 
considerable shock experienced. Recovery is generally slow. 
Rest is the most important item of the treatment of this 
class of injuries. Cold water is an excellent remedy at the 
start. If it be applied early and freely, and the part affected 
be kept elevated, swelling and pain may be curtailed greatly. 
Soap-liniment, either alone or with an ounce, or so of lauda- 
num added to every four of it, is a good remedy. A mixture 
of equal parts of lead-water and laudanum is very serviceable, 
in severe cases, for a day, or two at first. When the inflam- 
mation begins to subside the part may be bandaged somewhat 
tightly, and rubbed once, or twice a day with a stimulating 
liniment, such as oil of turpentine, or a mixture of equal parts 
of oil of turpentine, ammonia and olive oil. In treating 
sprains it should be borne in mind that if a joint is allowed to 
remain entirely motionless it will soon become stiff from the 
adhesions which form. Hence it should be moved a little 
every day, except during a few days at the start. 
DISLOCATIONS. 
When the end of a bone is out of its natural position, or in 
other words out of joint, the condition is called a dislocation 
or luxation. It may be incomplete, or complete and simple, 
or compound. It is incomplete when the bone is only par- 
tially out of its socket, and complete when it is entirely out; 
and it is simple when the muscles and skin are uninjured and 
compound when they are injured. The displacement may be 
in almost any direction, at most of the joints 
The cause of this class of injuries is generally a fall, or 
blow. The habit of dragging, or lifting children by their 
arms is not infrequently accountable for it, at the shoulder- 
joint, the one at which it occurs oftenest. 
The symptoms of an ordinary dislocation are, inability to 
move the displaced bone freely, swelling and more or less pain 308 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
and numbness. At the joint, an unnatural prominence on one 
side and a hollowness in the position of the vacant socket are 
usually observable. If the ligaments and other tissues are 
much injured the inflammation is apt to be marked. 
The bringing of the displaced bone into its natural position 
by traction, lateral pressure, or otherwise, is the most important 
part of the treatment of a simple dislocation. When it is 
incomplete, this can generally be easily done, but when it is 
complete it is frequently difficult to do it, especially if it is not 
attended to before marked swelling has developed, or for a 
long time after its occurrence. The service of a surgeon is 
required mostly; and it is well to procure it as early as 
possible; but it is unnecessary to be in breathless haste about it. 
Before the displacement is reduced cold water may be 
applied freely, in order to keep down swelling and pain; and 
after it is done the plan of treatment advised for sprains is 
indicated. While recovery is taking place, care should be 
exercised to prevent stiffening of the joint. 
Compound dislocations are grave injuries ; but they are not 
common. When the opening is large and the soft tissues are 
severely wounded, amputation is generally necessary. 
FEACTUEES. 
A fracture is a broken condition of a bone. It may be 
simple, compound, comminuted, complicated, or impacted. It 
is simple when the soft tissues are but slightly injured and 
the skin unbroken; compound when there is an opening 
through the skin; comminuted when the bone is broken in 
more than one place; complicated when a large artery, or any 
other important part is severely wounded; and impacted when 
one end of the bone at the point of fracture is forced into the 
other. In the great majority of instances it is simple and 
uncomplicated. 
A fracture may be caused by a fall, blow, or any other RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
309 
form of mechanical force. If the bones are in a diseased 
state it may result from the action of the muscles. 
The symptoms of a simple fracture are, swelling, pain and 
generally unusual mobility of the part and deformity. If the 
bone affected is moved at the seat of injury, crepitation or the 
sound produced by the contact with each other of the broken 
fragments, may very often be heard. When it is near the 
wrist, or any other joint it may be very difficult to distinguish 
it from a sprain. There is always more or less shock. A 
compound fracture may prove fatal; but a simple one is 
usually not dangerous to life, unless it is seated in the skull. 
In treating a fracture the main consideration is, the reten- 
tion of the bone in its natural shape and position. This 
object is attained through the use of suitable splints and 
bandages. Bony union is complete in from two to eight 
weeks. The younger and healthier the patient is, the sooner 
does it occur. Of course, a small bone becomes healed faster 
than a large one. The bond of union is at first very soft; it 
is gelatinous. Little pain is experienced generally while it is 
forming. Later, there may be a disagreeable aching for 
several weeks. 
Compound fractures are always serious in nature; and if 
they are at the same time comminuted, amputation is often 
indicated. 
No one except a surgeon should undertake to treat a frac- 
ture. Until one arrives the part should be kept perfectly 
still; and cold water may be applied to it. If an extremity 
is the seat of the injury, keeping it stretched well, by dragging 
on it freely, will prevent the cutting pain which the edges of 
the broken bone cause when they press on the surrounding 
tissues. This fact should be carefully borne in mind. 
There need not usually be any haste about the setting of a 
broken bone; for the fragments may be pressed into their 
natural position many days after the occurrence of the injury. 310 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
Of fractures it is proper to say that however well they may 
be treated, more or less deformity is not infrequently left. 
This is particularly apt to be the case when they are seated 
near joints. A slight shortening is a common result of 
one in a lower extremity, especially if near the head of the 
thigh-bone. 
POISONING. 
Any soluble substance which on being introduced into the 
system is capable of destroying life is a poison. Hence an 
insoluble substance which may produce death through me- 
chanical action is not one. Poisons of an irritant character, 
however, act to some extent mechanically. All unwholesome 
articles of diet are more or less poisonous. 
Cases of poisoning are not uncommon; and a considerable 
number of them terminate fatally. There are from fifteen to 
twenty deaths imputed to it yearly in Philadelphia, of which 
about a fourth are of minors. 
Great care should be exercised not to have poisonous agents 
where children may reach them. Bottles of medicine and 
packages containing substances known to be noxious should 
always be placed under lock and key. 
Some poisons prove fatal through their local action, their 
action on the gullet and stomach. Strong acids are of this 
class. Soluble agents which are not corrosive do not prove 
fatal, unless they are absorbed; and their effects are produced 
on different parts of the system. Therefore, in poisoning from 
any of these it is the amount absorbed and not the amonnt 
present in the stomach which gives rise to the symptoms. 
When a person gets poisoned there is usually need for 
immediate action; for if the treatment is not promptly insti- 
tuted it is not apt to be of much avail. Consequently it is 
very desirable that every one should know what to do under 
the circumstances; but a physician should always be sum- 
moned as speedily as possible. RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
311 
To remove the substance from the stomach is the first and 
most important step to take in nearly every case of poisoning. 
When anything which there is any ground for believing to 
be noxious is swallowed, let vomiting be produced without 
delay. Salt and water, mustard and water, or the syrup, or 
wine of ipecac., may be used as an emetic. Tickling the 
throat inside with the finger, or a feather will generally cause 
the stomach to turn. The use of a stomach-pump may as well 
not be thought of for a moment; because it is extremely 
unlikely that one can be found and put in action soon enough 
to be of service. 
In some cases of poisoning, antidotes may be made use of 
to advantage. By antidotes are meant agents which are 
capable of counteracting the noxious effects of poisons. Some 
of them act mechanically, some chemically and some physio- 
logically. The mechanical ones act by protecting the stomach, 
or by preventing absorption, in a measure. The white of 
eggs, oils and fluids generally are such ; and they are of great 
service in poisoning from acids and other corrosive substances. 
Chemical ones act by neutralizing or changing the nature of 
poisonous substances. Lime and other alkaline agents are 
such, and they are very useful, especially in cases of poisoning 
from acids. Physiological ones act by producing effects on 
the system the opposite of those produced by certain poisons. 
Coffee and other stimulants may be classed as such, when given 
in cases of poisoning from laudanum, or any narcotic. 
I will now say a few words about certain poisons and their 
effects and the treatment of poisoning from them. 
Acids, such as oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid) and aqua-fortis 
(nitric acid) destroy life through their corrosive properties. 
When swallowed they char the parts with which they come 
into contact and profoundly shock the system. After the 
charring inflammation sets in; but if the stomach is seriously 
injured death is apt to occur speedily. 312 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
A solution of any alkaline agent such as lime, or soda, 
serves as a chemical antidote for any of these poisons. Soap 
answers very well. But in a case of poisoning from any 
strong acid let plenty of water, oil, or any innocent liquid 
which is at hand be given instantly. Vomiting generally 
occurs of itself. It is mostly unwise to resort to measures to 
excite it, on account of the condition of the stomach. The 
after treatment consists of the use of such remedies as will 
allay inflammation. The solution of morphia, or some other 
sedative is indicated. Milk, or any bland drink may be 
given. A mustard-plaster applied over the stomach is often 
serviceable. 
Alcohol is a moderately active poison. The effects of it 
on the system are described elsewhere. Whisky, gin, brandy, 
or any liquor which contains much of it is capable of destroy- 
ing life. 
If a poisonous amount of any alcoholic liquor is known to 
have been taken vomiting should be produced at once. If the 
patient has become insensible let him inhale the vapor of 
ammonia; and a little cold water may be dashed over him 
occasionally. A mustard-plaster may be applied to the spine. 
If he can swallow, strong coffee should be given freely, as it 
will tend to arouse him. 
Ammonia, when taken in large amount, produces inflam- 
mation of the stomach. The chemical antidote for it is 
vinegar, but water should always be given as soon as possible, 
so as to render it less corrosive. 
Arsenic is an extremely poisonous substance. Arsenious 
acid or ratsbane is the preparation of it which is most apt to 
be used. It is a white powder. The effects produced by it 
begin to appear in from ten to twenty minutes. At first there 
is distress at the stomach and thirst. Soon, vomiting and 
purging appear with severe cramps in the bowels and other 
parts of the body. Later, prostration becomes marked. RESULTS OF VIOLENCE. 
313 
In any case of poisoning from this agent, an emetic should 
be given immediately, unless vomiting is occurring to a suffi- 
cient extent. Milk, the white of eggs, and oil either alone 
or with lime-water are each of service. There is a chemical 
antidote for it (hydrated oxide of iron), but it is seldom possi- 
ble to obtain it in time to do much good. The after treatment 
required is similar to that recommended in poisoning from 
acids. 
Corrosive sublimate is the bichloride of mercury, and 
it is a powerful corrosive poison. It is the active ingredient 
in most of the solutions used to destroy bed-bugs. 
. The white of eggs, or a mixture of flour and water serves 
as a mechanical antidote to this poison. Vomiting is one of 
the effects of it; but if it does not occur freely it may be well 
to give an emetic. The after treatment is similar to that 
recommended for poisoning from acids. 
Laudanum destroys life by producing insensibility and 
exhaustion. Aromatic spirits of ammonia, an alcoholic liquor, 
or any stimulant, acts to some extent as a physiological anti- 
dote to it. Strong coffee may be used. Vomiting should 
always be produced at once, if possible. Efforts must be made 
to prevent the patient from sleeping as long as it is believed 
that danger exists. A little cold water may be dashed on the 
face and other parts of the body occasionally; and mustard- 
plasters may be applied to the spine and elsewhere. 
All preparations of opium, or its active principle, morphia, 
destroy life in the same way as laudanum, and poisoning from 
them calls for similar treatment. 
Meats of all kinds, when diseased, or in a decaying state, 
are somewhat poisonous. Moulded sausages have caused 
many deaths. Disturbance of the stomach and prostration are 
the leading effects produced by them. 
In poisoning from meat of any kind, the use of aromatic 
spirits of ammonia, whisky, or some other stimulant is indi- 314 
CHILDREN IN SICKNESS. 
cated. If it is believed that there is any of the agent in the 
stomach let an emetic be given, and immediately afterward, a 
dose of any active cathartic. 
Mushrooms, or rather some varieties of them, are somewhat 
poisonous. Those that are colorless are generally regarded as 
wholesome. All that are colored should be viewed with sus- 
picion. The effects produced by poisonous varieties are like 
those produced by decayed meats and the remedies indicated 
are similar. 
Soothing syrups contain opium, as a rule, and the symp- 
toms produced by them when taken in large amount are like 
those produced by laudanum, and the remedies indicated are 
similar. Many infants are destroyed suddenly as well as 
gradually by these villainous compounds. 
Stramonium or Jamestown-weed or thorn-apple is 
found in waste places in most parts of the United States. It 
is an active narcotic poison; but before insensibility is pro- 
duced there is great mental excitement. Children should be 
cautioned against smoking the leaves, or eating the seeds of it. 
The remedies suitable for poisoning from it are essentially the 
same as those recommended for that produced by laudanum. 
Tobacco is a powerful acrid narcotic. Any one not 
accustomed to the use of it may be seriously affected by smok- 
ing, or chewing it. If used in large amount, in any way, it 
will destroy life. The symptoms produced by it are, giddi- 
ness, vomiting and general prostration. There is no chemical 
antidote for it. To counteract its effects stimulants may 
be given and mustard-plasters may be applied to the spine 
and elsewhere. PART II. 
THE CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 
SECTION I. 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER I. 
THE PHYSICAL CONDITION AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Height at Different Ages—The 
Weight at Different Ages—On the Rate of Increase in 
Height and Weight and the Ratio of the Latter to the Former 
at Different Ages—Relations of Sex, Race and other Cir- 
cumstances to the Height and Weight, the Rate of Increase 
of these and the Ratio of the Latter to the Former, at Dif- 
ferent Ages. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
In the first part of this book the physical culture of chil- 
dren is treated of in a general way. But this is not enough ; 
there are many features of the art, of a directly personal 
character, which merit special consideration. Of some of 
these, together with miscellaneous matters pertaining to the 
special senses, it is my purpose to speak in this and succeeding 
chapters. 
315 316 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
The possibility of improving the physical condition of 
children has been dwelt on sufficiently elsewhere. 
That efforts should be made to render every one as perfect 
as possible physically is so evident as to call for no argument. 
The whole animal mechanism should be freed from faults, if 
their removal be within human power. 
It is necessary to have a criterion or standard by which to 
judge of the physical condition of a child, at any particular 
age; but it is impossible to find a very satisfactory one. 
Doubtless, all children should be in every respect like the 
very best among them, of the same age, sex and race. This, 
however, cannot be expected to be the case ; but, to be sure, 
it is proper to at least wish to have all as faultless as possible. 
The right standard, perhaps, by which to form an idea of 
the condition of a child is found in that of the average of a 
large number of others. Those who are not up to it are 
usually in urgent need of intelligent care. 
In studying the physical condition of children the height 
and weight and the rate of increase of these at different periods 
from birth forward merit particular attention. To these and 
related points I will, at any rate, devote the rest of this chapter. 
THE HEIGHT AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
The height of children of the Anglo-Saxon race, at birth, 
averages about eighteen inches. At the end of the first year 
it is about twenty-six inches; at the end of the second, thirty; 
at the end of the third, thirty-three and a half; at the end of 
the fourth, thirty-six and a half; and at the end of the fifth, 
thirty-nine. At each of these periods, males average about 
an inch more than females. 
In the year 1875 the Board of Health of the State of 
Massachusetts, under the lead of Dr. Bowditch, undertook to 
determine the rate of growth of children of different ages, 
and to do this measured nearly twenty-five thousand of those THE PHYSICAL CONDITION AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
317 
in the schools of Boston. The Report of this laborious in- 
vestigation furnishes us with accurate statistics of the height 
of children at each year of age, between five and eighteen, 
with the place of birth of the parents of the same. The 
following table, which I have compiled from it, gives the 
average height (without shoes) in inches of children of either 
sex according to age, regardless of the place of birth of their 
parents, and also of those of American, those of Irish and 
those of German parentage:— 
Age at 
last 
birth- 
day. 
Without regard to 
place of birth of 
parents. 
American parent- 
age. 
Irish parentage. 
German parentage. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
5 
41.57 
41.29 
41.74 
41.47 
41.59 
41.18 
41.08 
41.40 
6 
43.75 
43.35 
44.10 
43.66 
43.74 
43.29 
43.50 
43.09 
7 
45.74 
45.52 
46.21 
45.94 
45.61 
45.45 
45.25 
44.91 
8 
47.76 
47.58 
48.16 
48.07 
47.72 
47.39 
47.13 
47.15 
9 
49.69 
49.37 
50-09 
49.61 
49.53 
49.27 
48.85 
49.20 
10 
51.68 
51.34 
52.21 
51.78 
51.57 
51.20 
51.21 
50.76 
11 
53.33 
53.42 
54.01 
53.79 
53.10 
53.13 
52.92 
52.62 
12 
55.11 
55.88 
55.78 
57.16 
54.82 
55.41 
54.55 
54.73 
13 
57.21 
58.16 
58.17 
58.75 
56.70 
57.64 
56.70 
57.82 
14 
59.88 
59.94 
61.08. 
60.32 
58.88 
59.67 
59.14 
58.55 
15 
62*30 
61.10 
62.96 
61.39 
61.15 
60.47 
62.06 
alll5-17= 
16 
65.00 
61.59 
65.58 
61.72 
64.09 
61.05 
alll0-18= 
17 
66.16 
61.92 
66.29 
61.99 
alU7,18= 
aim,18= 
59.81 
18 
66.66 
61.95 
66.76 
62.01 
66.20 
62.00 
64.75 
THE WEIGHT AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
The weight of Anglo-Saxon children, at birth, averages 
about seven and a half pounds. At the end of the first six 
months it is about fifteen pounds; at the end of the first year, 
twenty; at the end of the second, twenty-six ; at the end of 
the third, thirty-one; at the end of the fourth thirty-five; 
and at the end of the fifth, thirty-nine. At each of these 
periods males are about a pound heavier than females. 
(Note.—Unfortunately there are no reliable statistics of the 
average heights and weights of children at different ages 
under five years.) 318 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
From the Report of the Massachusetts investigation, spoken 
of above, I have compiled the following table, which gives 
the average weight (in ordinary dress), in pounds, of children 
of either sex, according to age, regardless of the place of birth 
of their parents, and also of those of American, those of Irish, 
and those of German parentage:— 
Age at 
last 
birth- 
day. 
Without regarct to 
place of birth of 
parents. 
American parent- 
age. 
Irish parentage. 
German parentage. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
Males. 
Females. 
5 
41.09 
39.66 
41.20 
39.82 
41.33 
39.63 
40.57 
39.73 
6 
45.17 
43.28 
45.14 
43.81 
45.25 
43.21 
44.09 
42.68 
7 
49.07 
47.46 
49.47 
48.02 
48.90 
47.64 
49.12 
46.26 
8 
53.92 
52.04 
54.43 
52.93 
64.12 
51.80 
62.94 
50.60 
9 
69.23 
57.07 
59.97 
57.52 
68.92 
56.76 
58.25 
67.37 
10 
65.30 
62.35 
66.62 
64.09 
64.99 
61.59 
63.93 
59.83 
11 
70.18 
68.84 
72.39 
70.26 
69.60 
67.83 
69.09 
67.56 
12 
76.92 
78.31 
79.82 
81.35 
75.70 
76.15 
75.70 
76.06 
13 
84.84 
88.65 
88.26 
91.18 
82.84 
85.76 
83.85 
85.82 
14 
94.91 
98.43 
99.28 
100.32 
91.19 
96.36 
92.87 
88.91 
15 
107.10 
106.08 
110.84 
108.42 
101.21 
100.46 
107.63 
alll5-17= 
16 
121.10 
112.03 
123.67 
112.97 
112.88 
108.56 
alllG-18= 
17 
127.49 
115.53 
128.72 
115.84 
alll7,18= 
alll7,18= 
101.16 
18 
132.55 
115.16 
132 71 
115.80 
127.40 
115.82 
123.67 
In this table as in the one given above the reader will observe 
that the ages given are those of the children at their last 
birth-day; and hence each is half a year less than it should 
be. Thus five and a half years is the age of the boys whose 
average height is 41.57 inches, and whose weight is 41.09 
pounds. 
As will be observed there is no allowance made for the 
clothing in the average weights of children given in the table 
of the latter. It was determined by Dr. Bowditch that the 
clothing of boys on the average is equal to eight, and of girls 
six and eight-tenths per cent, of their gross weight at each 
period specified. Thus the weight of it in males of five 
(really five and a half) years is 3.28, and in females of the 
same age 2.69 pounds. THE PHYSICAL CONDITION AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
319 
ON THE RATE OP INCREASE IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHT 
AND THE RATIO OP THE LATTER TO THE 
FORMER AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
From the two tables given above it is easy for the reader to 
determine the average rate of increase of height and of weight 
per year and the ratio of the weight to the height. Thus 
from five to six (really five and a half to six and a half) years 
of age, boys increase 2.18 inches in height, and 4.08 pounds 
in weight and at five (really five and a half) years the ratio 
of the weight to the height is .988 of a pound per inch. All 
these are points which should be carefully studied by those 
in charge of the young. A marked divergence from the 
average increase in height or weight indicates that the system 
is not in a desirable state ; and a marked divergence from the 
average ratio of the weight to the height is of similar import. 
This last matter is particularly deserving of attention. The 
significance of it is dwelt on in an address delivered a few 
months ago before the Harveian Society of London by Dr. 
Percy Boulton, the substance of which I cannot refrain from 
giving here. The Doctor said that during the period of 
growth the scales and measures used systematically render 
arrested growth at once evident, and this is a certain fore- 
runner of disease. The age standard is most fallacious, and 
the only trustworthy measure of healthy development is 
weight for height. The reason for this is, that perfectly 
healthy children grow at different rates per annum, which 
accounts for different adult heights among perfectly healthy 
people. Two inches a year is the lowest rate between three 
and five feet which is consistent with typical development; so 
that any child growing less than two inches a year should be 
looked upon as suffering from some drawback to healthy de- 
velopment, which if discovered, is probably removable. The 
most common causes are unsuitable, or insufficient food, over- 
work, mental, or bodily, want of rest, etc. Few children 320 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
grow more than three inches a year, and such require careful 
watching, as it is a rate of growth scarcely consistent with 
safety. Those growing over three inches a year require more 
food and rest. They are easily fatigued and should not there- 
fore be allowed to take violent exertion of any kind. Two, 
two and a half, and three inches a year may be taken as the 
normal rates of growth of healthy children with suitable 
surroundings. The first prognosticates short, the second 
medium and the third tall adult stature. Growth should be 
regular, and not by fits and starts; and hence the child that 
grows two inches a year is about five feet at fifteen years, 
whereas the child that grows three inches a year is five feet 
at ten, or eleven. Variation in the rate of growth explains 
perfectly differences in height and at the same time shows the 
fallacy of the age standard. Weight for height in all cases 
should be the same. Compared with a standard of weight 
for height drawn from an examination of healthy children, 
it is found that those who always weigh seven pounds below 
it have no capital to draw on, and consequently succumb 
easily to disease. It should be our aim to keep children up 
to the standard. 
RELATIONS OP SEX, RACE AND OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES 
TO THE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT, THE RATE OP IN- 
CREASE OP THESE AND THE RATIO OP THE LATTER 
TO THE FORMER, AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
On examining the figures of the height and weight of the 
children of Boston it is seen that their growth takes place in 
such a way that up to the age of eleven, or twelve boys are 
both taller and heavier than girls. At this period girls begin 
to grow very rapidly and for the two, or three years succeed- 
ing surpass boys in both height and weight. Boys then 
become larger than girls. The latter, indeed, have now, 
that is, when at, or about their fifteenth birth-day, nearly 
reached their full size. THE PHYSICAL CONDITION AT DIFFERENT AGES. 
321 
As to the relation of weight to height in children of either 
sex it appears that at heights of less than fifty-eight inches boys 
are heavier than girls in proportion to their stature; but at 
heights beyond fifty-eight inches’ the reverse is true. 
In regard to the proportions of children of native and of 
foreign-born parents it is evident that those of the former are 
taller and heavier than those of the latter. This would seem 
to depend partly on the social condition and the way in which 
they have been brought up and partly on differences of race, 
or stock. 
Besides the race, the social condition and the way of bring- 
ing up, the climate, the season of the year, the diseases 
suffered from and various other circumstances influence 
more or less the growth of children; but I need not dwell on 
these matters. I may say, however, that the warmer the 
climate is the more quickly does growth proceed, that summer 
is more promotive of it than winter, and that all debilitating 
diseases retard it. 322 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER II. 
THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
Preliminary Remarks—Exercise, and the Muscular System— 
On Harmony in the State of the Muscles—On Bodily 
Straightness—On Systematic Exercising—Walking as a 
Form of Exercise—Sports as Forms of Exercise—Work 
as a Form of Exercise—Calisthenic Exercises—Gymnastic 
Exercises—On Competitive Exercising—Exercise and the 
Time of Day. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
A muscle is a band of tissue possessed of contractility or 
the power of becoming shorter for a time when stimulated. 
The lean part of meat or flesh is made up mostly of muscles. 
Some muscles, however, are not like the lean part of meat; 
they do not consist of reddish, rough fibres, but of pale, 
smooth ones. These are not responsive to the wrill and are 
consequently designated as involuntary, while the others are 
responsive to the will and are consequently designated as volun- 
tary. But the muscular tissue of the heart and certain other 
parts which are not directly under the control of the will, is 
very similar to that of voluntary muscles in general. 
Each voluntary muscle is attached, as a rule, at either end 
to a bone. Near the point of attachment it is apt to be thinner 
than elsewhere; and this part is called a tendon or sinew. 
There are over five hundred muscles in the body. Some of 
them are very small. 
The muscles in acting produce motion; and they act me- 
chanically, just like the cords of a pulley. Thus it is through 
the contraction or shortening of the muscle which runs from 323 
THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
the shoulder down to the larger bone of the forearm, and 
which is called the biceps, that the arm is flexed at the elbow. 
Desiring to produce this movement, force is directed from the 
brain by the will and passing along the nerves toward the 
muscle in question stimulates it so that it contracts. 
Besides rendering the muscles subtile and responsive to the 
will, exercise keeps them not only large but both strong and 
durable. If allowed to remain still they soon become small 
and feeble and do not respond readily to the will. Hence it 
is possible to change their condition, in a measure, as may be 
desired. And in exercising them let it be distinctly under- 
stood that all the other tissues are affected; by moving the 
parts of the body which are subject to the will all the others 
act more energetically. Efforts to invigorate the muscles 
result in the invigoration of the whole system. 
EXERCISE, AND THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
ON HARMONY IN THE STATE OP THE MUSCLES. 
The muscles of the body should be in a harmonious state, 
as regards size and strength. Those of the arms should not 
be out of proportion in force with those of the lower extremi- 
ties. When those of one side are more powerful than those 
of the other a curvature, or some other sort of deformity will 
at least tend to develop. 
The percentage of persons who are in a harmonious condi- 
tion muscularly is small; or as Armstrong puts it— 
“Few bodies are of that happy mould 
But some one part is weaker than the rest; 
The legs, perhaps, or arms refuse their load, 
Or the chest labors.” 
ON BODILY STRAIGHTNESS. 
That the body should be kept straight and be subjected 
regularly to a certain amount of exercise are the two cardinal 324 
PHYSICAL CULTUUE. 
facts pertaining to physical culture which every one should 
especially bear in mind. A bent posture should be avoided 
because it interferes with the breathing. The lungs cannot be 
filled completely at each inspiration, if the chest is not thrown 
well forward; and when this is the case the blood fails to be 
properly purified. Another reason why the bent posture 
should be avoided is because it interferes with the circulation 
of the blood. When a body is bent, or in a constrained posi- 
tion, some blood-vessels are pressed upon, and consequently 
the current of blood within them is more or less obstructed. 
Evidently, then, the straight posture is the most favorable to 
health. 
But a straight condition of the body is not only the most 
consistent with health but with perfection of form. Stooping 
shoulders have always been accounted ugly. Of course, I do 
not mean to convey the idea that the figure, when erect, should 
be absolutely straight. In my work, “The Culture of 
Beauty,” it is said: “ If the figure is what it should be, the 
line of the spine is straight, or, in other words, there is no 
lateral curvature. A deformity of this kind is very ugly, 
uglier if possible, than a bend forward. Alexander the Great 
was not as beautiful as Richard the Third. In an adult a 
straight spine, antero-posteriorly, with the head balanced on 
it at right angles, is extremely unattractive. As remarked by 
Eau and Knox, in their work on artistic anatomy, ‘ in the 
infant the spine is straight, and when a person grows up with 
this form it presents the oddest sight in the world/ Viewed 
in profile, the back ought to have four gentle curves, but the 
nape of the neck, the spine at the waist and the heels should 
be in a perpendicular line.” 
Crookedness of the figure may be inherited to a great 
degree but it is acquired largely in most cases. A habit of 
curving the body forward when sitting is easily formed and 
if it is long continued it will certainly produce lasting THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
325 
deformity. Many children while at school become thus dis- 
figured. 
Lateral curvature is not infrequently due to the posture 
assumed in sleeping. When the head and shoulders are 
placed on a high pillow, the spine is necessarily forced out of 
line. 
From what has been said the reader can infer how crooked- 
ness can be prevented. When the condition is present there 
are various means which may be resorted to for its removal. 
As I have remarked in the work quoted from above, “ the 
daily use of dumb-bells, or carrying some rather heavy object 
on the head fifteen, or twenty minutes, morning and evening 
will tend greatly toward producing the desired result. In 
parts of Spain, Italy, Egypt, India and other Oriental coun- 
tries where young girls especially are in the habit of carrying 
water-urns on their heads, their beautiful figures and graceful 
movements are the admiration of all intelligent travelers. 
Shoulder-braces, like braces for the limbs are useful; and 
where there is serious spinal disease threatening, timely sup- 
port of some kind may avert it, or at least prevent great 
deformity.” It need scarcely be added that exercises in 
general are of value. 
ON SYSTEMATIC EXERCISING. 
As has been already stated it is a truth which should never 
be forgotten, that a certain amount of exercise should be had 
day after day from infancy forward. Disregarding it is un- 
doubtedly the cause of a vast amount of the debility, suffering 
and allied evils with which people are afflicted. The Spectator 
very correctly observes of exercise that it is “ the best kind of 
physic for mending a bad constitution and preserving a good 
one.” 
Now, it is important that exercise should be taken more or 
less systematically throughout life. Indulging in it by fits 326 
PHYSICAL CULTUKE. 
and starts is not likely to be advantageous. One must continue 
taking it month after month as long as life lasts, in order to 
retain strength, elasticity and durability. Because one sub- 
jected himself to a course of systematic physical training 
years ago is no reason why he should expect to be vigorous 
now without moving scarcely at all. It is, of course, very 
well, indeed it is highly desirable to exercise much in child- 
hood and youth, but it is only a very little less desirable at 
every other period of life. 
In regard to the kind of exercise which one should take, it 
may be said that it does not matter in the least, so long as it 
calls gently into action the muscles of the body. Some forms 
of it, to be sure, are preferable to others under certain circum- 
stances, but'it is because they bring about the movement of 
particular parts better and not because they are possessed of 
any special virtues. Hence, all other things being equal, the 
simpler an exercise is the more highly should it be esteemed. 
It is extremely desirable that the proper amount of exercise 
should be received without having to go about getting it pur- 
posely. If possible, it should be received in the pursuit of 
pleasure, or business; for if it is not received incidentally 
there is great reason to fear that it will not be received long, 
or regularly. I repeat, that, if possible, the proper amount 
of exercise should be received every day incidentally in the 
pursuit of pleasure, or business. This would appear to be a 
common-sense maxim; but nevertheless it does not seem to 
come home to many minds. 
Turning exercise-getting into a labor is seldom otherwise 
than foolish. How irrational it is to have boys and girls con- 
veyed to school in a carriage and then sent into a close room 
to get exercise of some sort! And equally irrational is it to 
force children to indulge in certain set exercises while they are 
longing to be at some active sport. 
The young can generally be induced to take enough THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
327 
exercise through play; but if it is thought proper, attention 
to a particular duty, the performance of which necessitates 
the taking of a certain amount of exercise should be exacted. 
Thus if it is believed to be wise that a boy should walk four 
miles every day let him attend a school which is two miles 
distant. 
Coming now to the subject of the ways in which the differ- 
ent parts of the body may be exercised I will first speak of 
walking. 
WALKING- AS A FORM OF EXERCISE. 
I have elsewhere spoken of walking and have there re- 
marked that it is the best of all exercises, because it calls into 
play in a gentle way almost all the muscles of the body. This 
statement will bear the strictest criticism. It is possible, 
however, to walk in such a manner that the muscles from the 
waist upward are not brought into action, to any extent. But 
this need not be the case, and will not be, if one walks 
properly. In walking easily and gracefully the arms are 
allowed to swing a little. 
Now, it has been estimated that in order to keep the body 
in a healthy state, to maintain the vigor at par it is necessary 
to walk about eight miles, or to take an equivalent amount of 
exercise daily. This is what is required by an adult male. 
Less suffices for an adult female. Except for small boys and 
girls it is not a great deal too much for the immature. These 
remarks should certainly be somewhat startling to many; for 
there are multitudes who expect to be healthy, without taking 
the equivalent in exercise of a two-mile walk. Nor am I ex- 
ceptional in the amount of exercise which I advise. On this 
important subject Dr. George Wilson says, “Extended ex- 
perience and numerous experiments both agree in laying it 
down as a rule that the amount of exercise required by a man 
of average height and weight is equivalent to a daily walk of 
eight, or nine miles along a level road. This rule, of course, 328 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
only applies to a man in the prime of life. For young lads, or 
women, who by the way are rated as physically equal to lads 
of sixteen, the amount of exercise required would be somewhat 
less. But while growing lads, when under favorable circum- 
stances, as a rule, take more than their allotted amount of 
exercise, it is notorious that the majority of men, if we exclude 
those employed at active out-of-door labor, take nothing like 
that amount, and women take still less; and this neglect of 
exercise is a most fruitful source of ill-health among both 
sexes, but especially among the latter. Of course, the ordinary 
avocations of life may reduce the eight or nine miles’ walk 
very considerably, or in respect to some out-door employments 
it may be dispensed with altogether; but to those whose em- 
ployment is sedentary, or inactive this amount of exercise in 
some shape is indispensably necessary. It may be varied in 
many ways and the more the better; but for the most part 
it should always be taken in the open air.” 
I need hardly say that a person who has not been in the 
habit of exercising regularly and freely and consequently is 
below par in vigor should not take an eight-mile walk; for 
it will cause fatigue, and exercise carried to the point of 
fatigue is harmful. No one can by an effort of the will 
bring at once the strength and tone of typical health to his 
muscles. 
SPORTS AS FORJytS OP EXERCISE. 
The various sports are treated of elsewhere; so it is unneces- 
sary to say anything of them individually in this place. As 
sources of exercise they are all, of course, somewhat alike; but 
some of them are better adapted than others for special cases. 
Thus for a person who desires particularly to strengthen the 
muscles, from the waist upward, rowing, or ball-playing 
should be regarded with special favor. The majority of sports, 
indeed, afford exercise chiefly to the muscles which lie below 
the waist. THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
329 
WORK AS A FORM OP EXERCISE. 
Nobody needs to be told, probably, that work yields exercise 
to the muscles. But some kinds of it require very little 
activity, and are therefore of scarcely any value as exercises. 
Thus writing, or sewing does not bring into action any part 
of the body save the right arm. Digging, hoeing and other 
forms of labor required in a garden afford plenty of exercise 
to all the muscles and may be done by boys and girls greatly 
to their advantage. Indeed, farm-work in general is an 
admirable means of physical culture. There is no better way 
to invigorate a delicate city-boy, and make him sensible too, 
than to send him into the country and let him take part in all 
that is going on there. 
CALISTHENTC EXEBCISES. 
What are called calisthenic exercises are now practiced to a 
considerable extent in schools. They are simply a series of 
gentle motions of the different parts of the body, made mostly 
without the use of any instruments, except, perhaps, a light 
object to hold in the hand. Thus by flexing, extending and 
otherwise moving the arm the different muscles of it are 
called into play and the movements may be repeated any 
number of times. It is unnecessary to follow any particular 
plan in the acts; but it is to some extent advisable to do so. 
Special care should be taken to throw the chest well forward 
and breathe deeply. 
Now, it may be said of this method of exercising that it 
is of great value, if persevered in earnestly and for a consider- 
able length of time every day. Practicing it in a perfunctory 
manner for a few minutes every morning is not of much 
account, save that it favors the acquirement of an erect and 
graceful carriage. It may not be amiss to observe that it 
would be wrong to think it of little use because it does not 
call for much exertion. Like other methods of exercising it 330 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
is of value not alone because it serves to enlarge and strengthen 
the muscles and increase their subtileness and staying power; 
for it promotes and regulates the various functional activities 
of the body. The breathing may be greatly improved by it. 
GYMNASTIC EXERCISES. 
Gymnastic exercises or more or less systematized energetic 
movements made generally through the use of instruments of 
various kinds are powerful means of physical culture. A 
horizontal pole, two parallel bars, a vertical pole, a wooden 
horse, an inclined ladder, and a trapeze are among the instru- 
ments used and the movements made through them may be 
varied indefinitely. Dumb-bells, or Indian clubs varying in 
weight from one to many pounds are also used extensively. 
The latter are of value mainly to strengthen the muscles 
which lie above the waist. 
Of gymnastic exercises it may be said that if practiced 
regularly and care be taken not to strain any part of the body, 
they are of great service to the young of either sex. Under 
a competent teacher a course extending over several months 
in a well-furnished gymnasium is of much advantage to any 
boy, or girl. 
It would be well if there were a gymnasium in connection 
with every school in the land, in which the pupils should 
spend a certain time every day in such a way as would best 
subserve the physical welfare of each. And the exercises 
should be presented largely in the light of sports, so that they 
should not be distasteful, for as Armstrong says— 
“ The toil you hate 
Fatigues you soon, and scarce imbues your limbs.” 
The peculiar gymnasia called “ turner-schools ” in which 
children are subjected to a system of physical education are 
well appreciated by those of our population that are of German 
extraction. They are generally conducted with both sense THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM. 
331 
and enthusiasm and are of great use, especially in the large 
cities. To Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, or “ Father Jahn,” as he 
is popularly called, a German who was born in 1778 and died 
in 1852, belongs the credit of instituting and popularizing 
them in his native country. 
ON COMPETITIVE EXERCISING. 
Of late years the young and particularly those at college 
have been resorting extensively to competitive exercising or 
trials of physical power. Boat-racing is, perhaps, the favorite 
medium of this practice. That it is to the advantage of 
students to spend much time in preparing for set muscular 
contests may be denied ; but at any rate for them to indulge 
in straining efforts is certainly wrong. This is the abuse of 
physical culture and it is to be severely condemned. 
EXEBCISE AKTD THE TIME OE DAY. 
As to the period of the day in which to take exercise I 
would say that except for an hour, or so after eating there is 
not much room for choice. The reason why it is not advisable 
to exert one’s self greatly after a meal is because it will inter- 
fere with the process of digestion. 332 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER III. 
THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 
Nearly all parts of the body are possessed of sensibility or 
feeling. The tongue, lips, tips of the fingers and, indeed, the 
entire skin are particularly sensitive to impressions. In the 
extremity of the third finger and the tip of the tongue this 
peculiar power is most acute. The hand, however, from being 
movable at will is the part chiefly used in touching, and con- 
sequently it may, iu a manner, be regarded as the organ of 
TOUCH. 
All other things being equal, the more surface of the body 
impressed the more intense is the impression. Thus warm 
water seems warmer on dipping the hand than only a finger 
into it. 
As with the other senses the law of contrast holds in respect 
to this one. After exposing the hand, or the whole body to a 
high temperature, a degree of temperature a little lower, and 
which under other circumstances would seem warm, produces 
the sensation of cold; while after exposure to a low tempera- 
ture any increase of temperature produces a sensation of 
warmth. Again a degree of pain which under ordinary cir- 
cumstances would be hard to bear seems slight, after having 
experienced severe suffering. More will be said on this and 
the preceding point elsewhere. 
The distinctness and intensity of a sensation in the nerves 
of touch depend greatly on the attention given to it. Pain 
becomes more intolerable the more intently it is thought of; 
and pleasure is increased by noting it well. The sensations 
produced in each of the senses, and in fact, everywhere are 
similarly heightened by casting the mind on them. This is THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 
333 
greatly furthered by keeping as well as possible only one sense 
at play. The late Dr. Ilosack of New York was fully aware 
of this; for he writes, “ A good rule in feeling the pulse is to 
concentrate one’s sensations in the fingers. This is done by 
closing the eyes and thereby excluding impressions received 
by the other senses. Noise, or even music at our meals we 
well know impairs, if it does not destroy the sense of taste. 
So does a variety of objects upon the eye diminish and divert 
the sense of feeling.” 
By the sense of touch, the size, form and other external 
features of bodies may be recognized. Through it also the 
pressure, or resistance is perceived, in a measure. It would 
seem, however, that the position and degree of contraction of 
the irtuscles have much to do in determining the force, or 
weight of objects. Indeed, there appears to be what has. been 
called the muscular sense. But it is probable that the 
idea of weight, or pressure in moving bodies, or in resisting 
forces may at least in part spring from a consciousness of the 
amount of nervous energy transmitted from the brain, rather 
than from a sensation in the muscles themselves. To any one 
who attempts to raise a weight which is less, or more than 
expected this will be evident. 334 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER IV. 
THE SENSE OF TASTE. 
The sense of taste is seated in the tongue and adjacent parts, 
all of which are also possessed of common sensibility. It is 
in the upper surface of the tongue that it is most acute. There 
are special nerves on which it depends; and these are so dis- 
tributed that in eating the food comes into contact with them, 
and thus arouses sensation in them. It is probably not always 
necessary, however, for the substance to come into actual con- 
tact with the nerves in order that its taste may be recognized. 
For the nerves of taste, like those of other special senses, may 
doubtless have their peculiar properties excited by various 
other kinds of irritation, such as mechanical impressions and 
electricity. 
Unless a substance is in solution, or soluble in the fluids of 
the mouth, its taste cannot be recognized; it will excite sensa- 
tions of touch merely. To taste well it is necessary that the 
surface of the tongue and other parts in which the sense is 
seated, be moist. 
Between this sense and that of smell there is a close rela- 
tion. Wines and many other articles cannot be properly 
appreciated unless the latter is in a healthy condition. 
An important object of this sense is, to make eating pleasur- 
able, and hence increase the desire to supply food to the body. 
This use of it is liable to be greatly abused. Pandering to it 
is very common. In fact, the indulgence of it is the chief 
aim of what may be called advanced cookery. 
Another object of this sense is to guard against the use of 
unwholesome food. Disagreeable articles are, as a rule, harm- 
ful. But the sensations produced by these and all others are THE SENSE OF TASTE. 
335 
modified greatly by hunger and habit. A good appetite is very 
improving to the taste of everything eatable. Habit not only 
blunts the sense but perverts it. Thus it is possible by habit- 
ually using that nauseous weed, tobacco, to generate a positive 
liking for it. 
Variety is very favorable to the acuteness of this sense. By 
tasting different things the ability to distinguish the taste of 
each is increased. On this point Dr. Rush writes, “The 
richest viands, even venison, turtle and salmon, so delicious to 
the taste of an epicure, become not only insipid but nauseous, 
if eaten daily for two, or three weeks. Aliments of but little 
stimulus seldom pall the appetite. Hence the pleasure with 
which we eat beef, mutton and bread all the days of our lives. 
They are to the tongue what green is to the eyes.” But the 
ability to clearly perceive the taste of anything may be greatly 
lessened by tasting certain other things immediately before; 
and this is due to the fact that sensations of taste may last 
for some time after the substances which excited them have 
ceased to act. This matter has an important bearing on the 
pleasure derivable from eating different articles of diet in suc- 
cession. Thus, the use of a sweet article before wine spoils 
the flavor of the latter, while the use of cheese has a reverse 
effect. The harmony of tastes is therefore a subject deserving 
of study. 336 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER Y. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF SMELL 
The Organ of Smell—The Sense of Smell—Nasal Discharges 
—On Objects in the Nose and their Removal. 
THE OBGAN OF SMELL. 
The nose is the organ of smell. It consists essentially of 
two distinct cavities or nostrils which are similar to each other 
in all respects. Either nostril communicates with the throat, 
and several small chambers open into it. A little passage for 
the tears (the lachrymal duct) exists between it and the eye on 
either side. That it is possible to reach the brain through the 
organ is an error. In it are distributed two large nerves (the 
olfactories) on which the power to recognize odors depends. 
THE SENSE OF SMELL. 
To produce the sensation of smell the particles of matter 
must come into contact, or almost so with the olfactory nerves. 
This sense is the source of much pleasure. The sweet odors 
of the myriads of flowers which bedeck the earth yield through 
it sensations at once agreeable and harmless. But it serves 
not alone to minister to our delights; it has a useful purpose: 
through it warning is given of the presence of noxious matter. 
And it is the part of wisdom to heed the information given 
by it. Most, if not all disagreeable smells are injurious; and 
the sources from which they emanate should be shunned. 
Bad-smelling articles of diet are unwholesome as a rule, and 
air which excites unpleasant sensations in the nose is very 
certain to induce deleterious effects on the system when it is 
taken into the lungs. THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF SMELL. 
337 
The presence of any odor, if continued long, blunts this sense. 
Those who live constantly in a foul atmosphere become un- 
aware of it in time. This is a fact of great significance. 
Discharges of different kinds are very liable to come from 
the nose. They are secreted in its lining. Naturally there 
should ordinarily be very little of any kind. When a large 
amount of mucous matter comes from it, the membrane of it 
is evidently in an.unhealthy condition. A child that is prop- 
erly nourished and cared for should not be troubled with any 
nasal discharge, except, of course, when affected with coryza. 
When foul-smelling matter comes from the nose there is 
diseased action progressing within it; the person is suffering 
from OZA3NA. The parts may become badly ulcerated. 
Generally only one nostril is affected. It is not uncommon 
among scrofulous children. A cure is not easily effected in 
many cases. Washing the organ thoroughly once, or twice a 
day with tepid water containing a little mild soap is the 
principal local remedy. This is done by means of a tube 
attached to the vessel which contains the liquid and which 
should be placed somewhat higher than the head. Measures 
to improve the general health are in order. The syrup of the 
iodide of iron is often of service. 
NASAL DISCHARGES. 
ON OBJECTS.IN THE NOSE AND THEIR REMOVAL. 
Putting a button, pea, bean, or sorpe other object into 
the nose is not an uncommon thing for a child to do. 
Seldom, or never, is there occasion for alarm. The object can- 
not pass into any place where it will endanger life; and it can 
usually be removed without a great deal of difficulty. It may 
generally be expelled by a forcible expiration, while pressure 
is made on the free nostril and the mouth is kept shut. If it 
cannot be removed in this way, a probe must be used. 338 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER VI. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF HEARING. 
The Organ of Hearing—How Hearing Takes Place—On 
the Care of the Ear—On Objects in the Ear and their 
Removal—Inflammation of the Ear—A Chronic Discharge 
from the Eai—Deafness. 
THE OEGAN OF HEARING. 
Sound is made to impinge on the nerve of hearing (the 
auditory) by means of the ear. This mechanism is very com- 
plex. It may be described as consisting of three parts, the 
auricle, the tympanum and the labyrinth. 
The auricle or external ear is formed of cartilage and 
skin, and serves to direct the waves of sound into the audi- 
tory canal or meatus, which is about an inch and a 
quarter in length in the adult. It cannot, as a rule, be moved 
through the influence of the will, as it can in many species of 
animals. 
The tympanum or drum of the ear is an irregular-shaped 
cavity which lies between the auditory canal and the labyrinth. 
It has one outlet, a small duct to the upper and outer part of 
the throat, named after the first discoverer of it, an Italian 
physician, the Eustachian tube. The partition between it 
and the auditory canal is called the membrane of the 
tympanum. By drawing the auricle a little upward and 
backward this membrane can be seen. It is oval in shape, 
and so thin as to be translucent. Within the tympanum there 
are three ossicles or little bones of irregular shape, the mal- 
leus or hammer, the incus or anvil, and the stapes or stirrup. 
These bones are bound together by ligaments; and three THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF HEARING. 
339 
muscles enable them to move slightly in certain directions. A 
process or projection of the malleus is attached to the mem- 
brane of the tympanum, and the end of the stapes is joined to 
the membranous covering of a small oval opening into the 
vestibule of the labyrinth (the foramen ovale). The tympanum 
is essentially a drum. 
The labyrinth or inner ear is the seat of hearing. It 
consists of three parts, the vestibule, the semicircular canals 
and the cochlea. The vestibule is the middle and main 
cavity. It is somewhat rounded in form, and measures about 
a fifth of an incji in diameter in all directions. Within it 
there is a membranous sheath on which filaments of the' audi- 
tory nerve are spread. In the partition which separates it from 
the tympanum are two membrane-covered openings, one oval 
(the foramen ovale) and the other one rounded (the foramen 
rotunda). It usually contains two small crystals of carbonate 
of lime (otoliths). The semicircular canals are three in 
number, and the diameter of each is about a twentieth of an 
inch. They spring like arches from the vestibule, and one 
end of each at its juncture is more dilated than the other. 
The enlarged end is called the ampulla. Each canal contains 
a membranous sheath, on which filaments of the auditory 
nerve are spread. The cochlea is so called on account of 
its resemblance to the shell of a snail. The spiral of it has 
two and a half turns. On the partition which separates the 
passages of it are spread filaments of the auditory nerve. In 
each part of the labyrinth there is a fluid (the endolymph); 
and around the membranous sheath contained within the vesti- 
bule and the semicircular canals there is also one (the peri- 
lymph). 
HOW HEARING TAKES PLACE. 
On passing into the external ear waves of sound produced 
by speaking, or in any other way strike the membrane of the 
tympanum, which in consequence vibrates. The vibrations 340 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
of this membrane are conveyed by the chain of bones and the 
air within the tympanum to the two vibrating membranes 
which are in the external wall of the labyrinth; and the 
vibrations of these two membranes are communicated by the 
endolymph to the nerves of hearing, which are scattered 
through the vestibule, semicircular canals and cochlea. 
OH THE CARE OP THE EAR. 
The ears sliould be kept clean through the use of water and 
a little soap. From neglect of this the matter (cerumen) 
secreted in them may accumulate in such amount as to inter- 
fere gVeatly with hearing, until it is removed. The presence 
of dirt may irritate and inflame the parts. A syringe, or 
douche similar to that recommended for cleansing the nasal 
passages may sometimes be used to advantage. 
Picking the ears with pins, or the like is a practice which 
should not be encouraged. It is generally a habit merely. 
Indulgence in it irritates the parts and causes cerumen to be 
secreted in greater abundance. Then, again, the pin, or what- 
ever object is used may seriously injure the tympanum. 
OW OBJECTS IN THE EAR AND THEIR REMOVAL. 
Insects, grains of wheat and many other objects are liable 
to pass into the ear. None of them, however, can do much 
harm. On passing into it some insects cause a disagreeable 
buzzing for a little while. It is impossible for them to pass 
into the brain, as every one knows who has read what 
precedes. 
Through the injection of a little tepid water with which 
some soap has been mixed it is generally easy to remove wax, 
or anything else which may be in the ear. To speedily 
destroy insects, a teaspoonful of oil of any kind may be 
poured into the passage. In removing large objects it is 
sometimes necessary to use a probe. THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF HEARING. 
341 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EAR. 
Inflammation of the ear or otitis is not an uncommon 
affection. Serious attacks of it are generally caused by the 
extension of disease from the throat, as in some cases of scarlet 
fever. The pain is apt to be very great; and not only is the 
membrane of the tympanum likely to be destroyed, but the 
structure of the internal ear may be seriously injured. The 
discharge which occurs may continue for a long time. 
The treatment called for by this affection consists of the 
application of cold freely, or a blister behind the ear. In 
place of the latter a mustard-plaster may be used. To allay 
pain equal parts of laudanum and oil should be poured into 
the passage repeatedly. An active cathartic may be of service. 
Should the trouble continue for a day, or two after using these 
remedies it is probable that matter is forming; and it is then 
proper to apply a poultice. 
A CHRONIC DISCHARGE FROM THE EAR. 
A chronic discharge from the ear or otorrhcea is common 
among children of feeble, scrofulous constitution. It usually 
springs from the tympanic membrane being in an ulcerated 
condition. The matter which comes away is cream-like in 
color and consistence and has a very offensive odor. There 
is seldom much pain. The hearing is more or less affected. 
The diseased action may extend into the internal parts of the 
ear and also to the membrane of the brain. 
The treatment of this affection is often unsatisfactory. The 
remedies most required in nearly every case are, plenty of 
fresh air, exercise and good food. The syrup of the iodide 
of iron in small doses three times daily is often serviceable. 
Cleanliness is important. After each washing of the part it 
may be well smeared with a mixture of glycerine and a little 
carbolic acid. 342 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
DEAFNESS. 
Deafness is due either to a defect in the auditory nerve or 
in the mechanism of the ear, or in both these. It may exist 
in any degree. Some are probably born in this condition. 
Such children as are badly affected from infancy cannot learn 
to speak and shall therefore be dumb as well as deaf. This 
statement, however, is not beyond criticism, for of late it has 
been shown that it is possible to teach the dumb to speak, to 
some extent. 
When deafness is complete and due to the nerve of hearing 
being in an imperfect condition, nothing can be done for it by 
way of cure. If it is only partial and caused by the nerve 
being defective, measures to. improve the state of the system 
generally will do good. When it is attributable to an accu- 
mulation of cerumen in the auditory canal the use of soap and 
water is, of course, completely aud quickly remedial of it. If 
it be dependent on a discharging condition of the parts, reme- 
dies suitable for the latter are indicated. Sometimes an arti- 
ficial tympanic membrane may be inserted advantageously. 
Deaf children can be educated; and hence it is the duty 
of their parents to see that they are not allowed to grow up in 
ignorance. Public institutions for the instruction of the deaf 
and dumb exist in most of the States of the Union. THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
343 
CHAPTER VII. 
THE ORGAN AND SENSE OF SIGHT. 
The Organ of Sight—How Seeing Takes Place—The Care of 
the Eye—On Objects in the Eye and their Removal— 
Inflammation of the Eye—Near-Sightedness—Far-Sighted- 
ness—Color- blindness—Squint—Blindness—Styes. 
THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
The eye is the organ of sight. By means of it the images 
of external objects are brought to bear on the nerve of sight 
(the optic). It consists essentially of a globe or ball which is 
retained in position and controlled by six small muscles which 
run from it to the sides of the bony socket in which it rests. 
The eyeball is nearly round, and it is very intricate in 
structure. Within four layers (the conjunctiva, the sclerotica, 
the choroid and the retina) there are two chambers, one of 
which is filled with a clear watery liquor called the aqueous 
humor, and the other, the rear one, which forms four-fifths 
of the whole eyeball is filled with a clear, jelly-like substance 
called the vitreous humor. 
The conjunctiva is the membrane which lines the eye- 
lids and is reflected over the eyeball. It is thin, translucent 
and very smooth. 
The sclerotica is a hard, fibrous layer. The muscles of 
the organ are inserted into it. Being of a white color it is 
visible through the conjunctiva. 
The choroid is the layer in which the blood vessels exist 
principally. It contains much dark pigment. 
The retina or innermost layer consists mainly of a fine 
network of nerves. On it the images of objects are cast. 344 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
In the centre of the partition which exists between the two 
chambers of the eyeball there is the crystalline lens, a 
transparent body which measures about a quarter of an inch 
from before backward and a third of an inch across ; and in 
front of it suspended in the aqueous humor is a muscular 
curtain named the iris. In the latter there is a circular 
opening which varies from time to time in size, and is called 
the pupil, or more commonly the apple of the eye ; 
and on the pigment in it depends “ the color of the eye.” 
In place of the four layers there is on the front side of the 
eyeball the circular, convex, translucent membrane, which 
is called the cornea. 
The eyelids are important appendages of the eye. In 
them are the hairs which form the lashes and also a number 
of small secretory organs, the meibomian glands. 
The tears are secreted by the lachrymal gland which 
is about equal to an almond in size and is seated above and 
to the outer side of the eyeball. This secretion may find its 
way into the nose through the lachrymal duct which starts 
by two small openings at the inner angle of the eye. When 
this passage is obstructed through inflammation, or from any 
other cause, the tears flow over the cheek. 
HOW SEEING TAKES PLACE. 
When light falls on the eye its rays pass through the cornea, 
the aqueous humor, the crystalline lens, and the vitreous 
humor. In going through each of these parts the direction 
of the rays is more or less changed or refracted and come to a 
focus on reaching the retina, on which the image of every 
object is inverted or rests upside down. The iris, in contract- 
ing and expanding, has a regulative influence over the amount 
of light which passes to the chamber beyond; for none can 
enter it otherwise than through the pupil. By a change in 
the degree of convexity of the crystalline lens produced by THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
345 
the action of a muscle (the ciliary) which encircles it, the eye 
accommodates itself to distance. Were it not for this power of 
accommodation, an object could not be seen at all, save when at 
a certain distance. 
Through the impressions made on the optic nerve and con- 
veyed by it to the brain a knowledge of the appearance of 
things is gained. Precisely how this result is reached it is, 
perhaps, impossible to discover; but, at any rate, a well- 
defined image of any object seen must first be made on the 
retina. 
THE CARE OF THE EYE. 
The chief points to bear in mind in caring for the eyes are, 
to keep them clean and to use them as little as possible in 
glaring, dim, varying, or unsteady light. Failing to cleanse them 
thoroughly immediately after birth is a fertile cause of blind- 
ness. Then, as ever afterward, they should be washed with pure 
water simply. Those of many infants are injured by excessive 
exposure to strong light. Among children in general their im- 
moderate use is, next to want of cleanliness, the great source of 
weakness of them and different perversions of vision. Read- 
ing, or the like, in dim, or glaring light should be avoided; 
but it is not so injurious as when done in varying, or flickering 
light. The illumination should be from behind. If it be 
from the side an equal degree of light does not likely fall on 
either eye. Using them while sitting in a bent posture, or 
while recumbent, tends greatly to induce congestion of them 
and is very productive of near-sightedness. The presence of 
dust is apt to irritate aud inflame them. 
The effects of ill-usage on the eyes are very different in 
different persons. In the healthy and strong, they are slight 
in comparison with what they are in the scrofulous. Hence, 
if the eyes are naturally inclined to be weak, or diseased, it 
is particularly desirable that they should be cared for well. 
When the eyes are weak or diseased in consequence of using 346 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
them badly, it is irrational to try to get them into a healthy 
state otherwise than through using them properly. Glasses 
are, doubtless, resorted to in many cases in which hygienic care 
is indicated. Magnifying ones are always harmful if worn 
Avhen the organs are merely weak. For this condition only 
colored ones are allowable. Blue is the color most used; but 
green is quite as desirable. That the latter is very agreeable 
to the sense has always been a familiar fact. Thus, Ecclesias- 
ticus says, “ The eye desireth favor and beauty but more than 
these green-sown fields.” 
ON OBJECTS IN THE EYE AND THEIR REMOVAL. 
When an object of any kind gets into the eye it should be 
removed as soon as possible, lest inflammation be produced 
by it. This may be done by the use of water, or by 
passing a loop of wire over the ball beneath the lids. Often 
it is best to bring the offending body into view by exposing 
the conjunctiva of the lid under which it is lodged, so that it 
may be readily wiped away; and to do this draw the lid over 
a lead pencil, or anything similar. Of course, there is no 
possible danger connected with this procedure. Particles of 
lime which cannot be easily withdrawn may be rendered 
innocent by using a wash of diluted vinegar, or lemon-juice. 
Rubbing the eye should be avoided in all cases; for it tends 
to induce inflammation. 
The feeling caused by the presence of objects in the eye 
may continue for some time after their removal. This is 
due to the irritation produced. The remedy is a drop of 
castor-oil, or glycerine. 
Inflammation of the eye or ophthalmia when seated exclu- 
sively in the conjunctiva—and this is usually the case—is not 
often a very grave affection, but when the iris, or indeed, any 
INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE. THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
347 
part of the ball is involved it will likely injure the vision 
seriously. 
Inflammation of the conj unctiva is generally induced by irri- 
tating matter getting into the eye, or cold. A bad form of it 
appears occasionally in infants, and especially those of bad 
constitution, soon after birth, and it often results in blindness. 
The chief indications of this affection are, redness, swelling 
and soreness of the part, including the lids. The tears flow 
profusely, light excites pain, and there is a sensation experi- 
enced similar to that present when particles of matter are in 
the eye. The discharge is seldom purulent; it is mostly a 
mucous fluid. 
Besides removing the cause of it, if mechanical, the prin- 
cipal remedies for conjunctivitis are the exclusion of light and 
the application of cold water. A mustard-plaster, or blister 
applied behind the ear often does good. Opening the bowels 
freely is serviceable. Milk may be used as a wash; but after 
the inflammation begins to subside a strong decoction of tea- 
leaves, or a weak solution of alum, answers better. 
If the eyes are habitually congested, or inflamed the cause 
is often constitutional. Scrofulous children are very apt to 
suffer. Measures to improve the general health are indicated. 
The syrup of the iodide of iron may be used. The local 
remedies recommended for the acute form may be of service. 
The use of warm water relieves soreness for a time. Cold- 
cream, or cosmoline may be applied. Cleanliness is exceed- 
ingly important. Wearing ear-rings is a popular means of 
cure, but it is of little value. 
NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS. 
Near-sightedness or myopia is a familiar defect of vision. 
The proportion of people somewhat affected with it is very 
great; about twenty per cent, of school children are victims 
of it. It is, probably, becoming more and more common. It 348 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
is an error to hold that the eyes of persons affected with it are 
either good or strong. 
This affection is immediately caused by the eyeball being 
abnormally long from before backward. When in this con- 
dition the refractive or dioptric media of the eye can bring the 
images of only near objects to a focus on the retina. It may 
be inherited, but it is mostly induced. The usual exciting 
cause of it is using the eyes immoderately, particularly while 
sitting in a bent posture and in defective light. Persons of 
weak constitution are by far the most liable to be affected. 
That faults in the seating, lighting and ventilation of schools 
and also in the educational methods and the character of edu- 
cation in vogue are largely accountable for the great prevalence 
of this affection cannot be questioned. This matter has of late 
been attracting much attention. It was first studied carefully 
about a dozen years ago by Dr. Cohn of Breslau. Laborious 
investigations bearing on its prevalence and origin in school- 
children have been made in many of the large cities of the 
United States. From them it appears that it originates nearly 
always during school-life, and that it is most common and most 
marked in those who have been longest at school. Five per 
cent, of pupils of seven years of age, over ten of those of 
eleven, nearly twenty of those of thirteen, and over twenty- 
five of those of eighteen are affected. About four boys to 
every five girls suffer. It is commonest in the schools which 
are poorly lighted, and in which the seating is defective. Bad 
ventilation is very promotive of its occurrence. It is much 
less common among children in the country than in cities. 
The prevention of this affection is all important, for when 
well-developed it is incurable. The eyes should be cared for 
properly. Defects in the hygienic condition of schools should 
not be tolerated. Attention should be given to the laws of 
health in teaching, and physical culture should not be neglected. 
The use of suitable glasses is not in itself harmful. THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
349 
FAR-SIGHTEDNESS. 
Far-sightedness or hypermetropia is much less common 
than near-sightedness. About twelve per cent, of school-children 
are more or less affected with it. It is present from birth. 
Some authorities hold that it is normal in very early life. 
The immediate cause of it is an abnormally short condition of 
the eyeball from before backward. Those affected with it 
cannot look at near objects long without weakening their eyes. 
About ninety per cent, of the cases of convergent squint are 
attributable to it. It is grown out of in many cases. Convex 
glasses are indicated in it; and it is wise for those who suffer 
from it and who havb to use their eyes much, to wear them. 
COLOR-BLINDNESS. 
Color-blindness or achromatopia has been much studied 
of late years. It is a condition in which the person is unable 
to distinguish certain colors, especially red and green. In 
children it is not of much consequence, but in adults it may 
be the reverse. Serious railroad disasters, or the like may be 
brought about by it. Cases of it are not as common as many 
suppose. It has been estimated that four per cent, of males 
and a fifth per cent, of females are affected with it. Doubt- 
less it is sometimes due to ignorance. Dalton, a distinguished 
English chemist, attracted attention to it in 1794. Of the 
colors of the spectrum he could see only the yellow and blue 
and the red slightly. For it there is no remedy, save educa- 
tion, and it is frequently of no avail. 
SQUINT. 
Squint or strabismus is a condition with which every one 
is familiar. When the eyes look toward the nose it is said to 
be convergent and when in the opposite direction, divergent. 
It is only of late that its nature has been well understood. 
Formerly the muscles which are on either side of the eyeball 350 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
and which hold it in position and control its movements 
received most of the blame; to the absence of equality in 
their power and action the affection was usually attributed. 
The shape of the eyeball, however, is generally at fault to 
begin with; in nearly all cases near-sightedness, or far-sighted- 
ness is primarily present. In persons whose eyes are myopic, 
or hypermetropic and who are defective in constitution and of a 
nervous temperament the antagonistic action of the muscles on 
either side of the eyeball is readily disturbed. In such persons 
the affection may, doubtless, be excited by imitation. 
Now, it follows from what precedes that the early use of 
glasses suitable for myopia, or hypermetropia will tend both 
to prevent the development of this affection and to remove it 
when present. Measures to improve the tone of the system 
are nearly always indicated. Wearing a spectacle-like contri- 
vance by which the eye is habitually turned in the other 
direction may be of service. But incising the muscle which 
holds the eyeball out of line is the chief means of cure. 
There is no danger connected with this operation; and in 
most cases it is very effective. Of course, it should be per- 
formed only by a competent surgeon. 
BLINDNESS. 
Sight is one of the most precious of human faculties. 
Those who are deprived of it are indeed unfortunate. Nor is 
their number small; there is one to every six hundred of the 
population. 
Blindness in the young is generally due to a defect in the 
structure of the eye produced by a serious inflammatory dis- 
ease, or an injury. Rarely is it present at birth; probably 
ninety-nine per cent, of the blind were born with good eyes. 
Whether or not anything can be done for it in any case by 
way of cure depends on circumstances. A surgeon should 
always be consulted early. THE ORGAN OF SIGHT. 
351 
The blind may not only be made expert in many pursuits 
but may be educated without much difficulty. Hence, every 
one of them should be taught to read at least. Most of the 
States of the Union have each a public institution for this 
purpose. 
STYES. 
Styes or little gatherings at the edges of the eyelids are of 
common occurrence in many. They originate in the hair folli- 
cles and appear mostly in debilitated persons. When one of 
them forms its disappearance may be hastened by keeping a 
flaxseed-meal poultice applied to it until it is ripe, and then 
pricking it with a needle, so as to let the matter out. The 
popular practice of rubbing them with a ring, or the finger- 
nail, while appearing, may scatter them if resorted to early. 
Toning up the system is the chief means by which they can be 
prevented. Cleanliness is important. 352 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER VIII. 
THE VOICE AND SPEECH. 
On the Nature of Voice and Speech—Hovj and When Speech 
is Acquired—The Compass and other Features of the Voice 
— On Musical Training—Stammering. 
ON THE NATURE OF VOICE AND SPEECH. 
The power to produce sounds or voice is possessed to some 
degree, by nearly all the higher animals. The ability to con- 
trol the voice, however, is well developed in man only; he 
alone can fully express his ideas by speech. 
The organ or mechanism by which voice is produced is 
seated in man, as in all animals, in the air-passages. 
Notwithstanding its wonderful capabilities, the human voice 
is produced by the vibrations of two little folds of elastic tissue, 
one of which exists on either side of the larynx or head of the 
wind-pipe, which may be felt in the neck beneath the chin 
and which, when projecting more or less as it does in most 
men is commonly called Adam’s apple. There are really two 
parallel folds of membrane on either side of the larynx, but 
only the lower one is actively concerned in the production of 
voice. Through expiration or the expulsion of air from 
the lungs, the folds are moved to and fro just as a stretched 
cord is by the wind. But, by means of certain small muscles 
of the larynx over which the will has control, the degree of 
tenseness of the folds may be varied greatly. This enables 
one to modulate the pitch of the voice. The vibration of the 
vocal membranes or cords, however, can produce only sounds. 
In order to have speech, these sounds must be changed in 
various ways by the lips, the tongue, the teeth, the palate and 
other parts. The whole English language is made up of THE VOICE AND SPEECH. 
353 
about forty vocal elements, and these constitute what is called 
the phonetic alphabet. 
HOW AND WHEN SPEECH IS ACQUIRED. 
A child learns to speak through imitation ; and it acquires 
the art gradually. As Mr. Darwin remarks in his essay, “ A 
Biographical Sketch <tf an Infant,” “ the wants of an infant 
are at first made intelligible by instinctive cries, which after a 
time are modified, in part unconsciously and in part, as I 
believe, voluntarily, as a means of communication, by the 
unconscious expression of the features, by gestures and in a 
marked manner by different intonations—lastly by words of a 
general nature invented by himself, then of a more precise 
nature imitated from those which he hears; and these latter 
are acquired at a wonderfully quick rate.” “ When our 
infant,” says he, “ was only four months old I thought that he 
tried to imitate sounds, but I may have deceived myself, for 
I was not thoroughly convinced that he did so until he was 
ten months old.” 
It may be said that in general about the seventh month 
some attempts are made to produce articulate sounds. The 
syllables ba ba, ma ma and pa pa are among the first to be 
mastered. By adding word after word the ability to express 
all the ideas which arise in the mind is acquired. But the age 
at which children are able to talk is very variable. Indeed, 
as the eminent observer just quoted from says, “the period of 
development of the several faculties will be found to differ 
considerably in different infants.” Doubtless, in learning 
language the rate of progress depends greatly on the instruc- 
tors Children who receive but little intelligent attention may 
not be able to pronounce a single word at the age of twelve 
months, or even much later. The majority, however, can 
make use of a considerable number of words by the time they 
reach the end of their first year. 354 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
THE COMPASS AND OTHER FEATURES OF THE VOICE. 
The compass or entire scale of the voice varies in different 
persons. It includes about from one to three octaves. It is 
greatest in musical adepts. Although that of either sex is 
nearly equal it begins and ends at different points in the 
musical scale. The lowest note of the female voice is usually 
about an octave higher than the lowest one of the male voice; 
and the highest note of the former is about an octave higher 
than that of the latter. The female voice is, therefore, higher 
in pitch than that of the male, and it is also softer in tone. 
The difference in the pitch of the voice of the two sexes is due 
to the fact that their vocal cords are unlike in length; their 
relative length being as three to two. The difference in the 
tone or timbre of the voices of the two sexes arises from a 
difference in the capacity, and to some extent also in the form 
of the larynx. 
Of male voices there are two kinds, the bass and the tenor; 
and of female voices two, the contralto and the soprano. The 
difference between the kinds of either sex lies in the tone. 
The bass voice is usually capable of reaching lower than the 
tenor, and its strength lies mainly in the lower notes; while 
the tenor is capable of reaching higher than the bass, and its 
strength lies mainly in the higher notes. The contralto voice 
is usually capable of reaching lower than the soprano, and its 
strength lies mainly in the lower notes; while the soprano is 
capable of reaching higher than the contralto, and its strength 
lies mainly in the higher notes. What are called barytone 
and mezzo-soprano voices are those of a mixed tone, the 
former being intermediate between the bass and tenor and the 
latter intermediate between the contralto and soprano. 
Most persons, especially males, are capable of modulating 
the voice in singing so as to produce a double series of notes 
of unlike character. Those produced in the natural voice are 
called chest notes and those in the modified voice falsetto THE VOICE AND SPEECH. 
355 
notes. The latter are somewhat flute-like. The chest notes 
are much the fuller. The higher notes of the male voice can 
be produced with the falsetto only; the middle notes Avith 
either the natural or falsetto; and the deeper notes with the 
natural only. 
Now, until the period of puberty is reached, the voices of 
males are like those of females, except in loudness. They 
may be classed as soprano and alto or counter-tenor. At the 
period named, that is from twelve to fourteen years of age 
they undergo change, they are in a “ cracked state ” for a 
time. In this state they are generally hoarse and crowing 
and are unfit for singing purposes, until the new notes are 
brought under command by practice. 
Training in vocal music is of benefit to all children. To 
be sure, it is not possible to make every one a great musician; 
but it is possible by cultivation to improve every one’s voice 
to some extent. Goethe is sometimes quoted as saying that 
“ we should guard against a talent which }ve cannot hope to 
practice in perfectionbut this doctrine applies only, if at 
all, in respect to the use of a talent as a business in life. Very 
few have any talents that are capable of being cultivated to 
the point of perfection. Not one voice in every ten thousand 
can be made to rival the best in musical power. However, it 
is true that those who are in the habit of singing generally 
articulate most distinctly. This is a sufficient return for the 
time, expense and efforts required to gain the ability to sing a 
little; for indistinctness in speech is a deficiency which merits 
serious attention. But singing is also beneficial to both body 
and mind through its stimulating effects; and besides it is a 
means by which the pleasure of others may be greatly pro- 
moted. Altogether, then, it is one of the very best of accom- 
plishments. 
OH MUSICAL TRAINING. 356 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
STAMMERING. 
Stammering is a serious defect in speech. Want of power 
to control the vocal apparatus is the sum and substance of it. 
This power can be acquired by culture. Let persevering 
efforts be made to articulate clearly and distinctly. This is 
the sole source of relief. Nor is it often insufficient. Thus 
it was that Demosthenes, one of the very greatest of orators, 
got relieved of it. In the biography of him by Plutarch we 
are informed that “the hesitation and stammering of his 
tongue he corrected by practicing to speak with pebbles in his 
mouth; and he strengthened his voice by running, or walking 
up hill and pronouncing some passage in an oration, or a 
poem during the difficulty of breathing which that exercise 
caused.” As the trouble is generally in a measure due to 
nervousness such means as will improve the general physical 
condition are in order. THE HAIR. 
357 
CHAPTER IX. 
THE HAIR. 
The Structure and Allied Features of Hair—Properties and 
Allied Features of Hair—On the Invigoration of the Hair 
—Remarks on the Care of the Hair 
THE STRUCTURE AND ALLIED FEATURES OF HAIR. 
The hairs, like the nails, are appendages to the skin, and in 
structure are modifications of it. They are present through- 
out the entire surface of the body, except, perhaps, the palms 
of the hands and the soles of the feet. As many as seven 
hundred have been found growing on a square inch of the scalp. 
In males they are everywhere better developed than in females, 
unless, perhaps on the head. 
A hair may be described as consisting of two parts, a shaft 
and a root. 
The shaft or external portion of a hair is cylindrical, 
flexible, elastic, and of various hues from white to red, or 
black. It is composed of an external layer or coating of 
minute scales (the cuticle) which are directed upward and out- 
ward, and an internal portion (the cortex) which is fibrous 
and in which the coloring matter exists. Within the cortical 
portion there runs sometimes a central axis (the medulla) of 
granular material by which oily matter is imbibed easily. 
The root of a hair is very similar to the shaft in struc- 
ture ; but it is thicker, softer and less distinctly divided into 
layers. It rests in a little follicle, a flask-shaped fibrous sack, 
in and slightly beneath the inner layer of the dermis ; and at 
its end it embraces a small papilla from which it is de- 
veloped. The follicle is really an infoldment of the dermis 358 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
and being elastic, tightly clasps the enlarging root and thus 
moulds, as it were, the forming hair. 
Both the shaft and the root of a hair contain neither blood- 
vessels nor nerves; and being void of the latter they are 
consequently not possessed of sensibility. Neither of them 
grows, or lives. Their freshness is maintained by imbibition. 
The hairs generally rise obliquely from the skin, and are 
arranged systematically in parallel lines, or whorls. When 
the arrangement is irregular and they are inclined in all 
directions it is hard to keep them dressed. This is common 
in those of the eyebrows. By continued forcing it is possible, 
perhaps, to give them any inclination desired. 
I have said that the hairs are cylindrical in form ; and so 
they are, as a rule ; but they are sometimes much compressed; 
and when this is the case they are prone to curl. 
All addition to the length of hairs is made at the root; 
none occurs at the terminal end of the shaft. To persons who 
use dye this is a very obvious fact. 
PROPERTIES AND ALLIED FEATURES OF HAIR. 
Very few substances are worse conductors of heat than 
hair. If it were a good conductor it would not serve so well 
as it does the important purpose of maintaining the head 
constantly at the same degree of temperature. As bearing on 
this point I may say that of two persons equally exposed to 
the rays of the sun, one with plenty of hair and the other 
with very little, the former suffers less than the latter from 
the heat; but if the heat originates in the system the reverse 
of this is true. Hence one on whose head there is little 
should be protected with particular care on being exposed to 
strong sunshine; and one subject to congestive headache 
derives advantage from keeping it scanty. 
Hair is very absorbent of moisture; and it is thickened 
and elongated to a considerable extent by it. THE HAIR. 
359 
The life of a hair may be short, or long. It may increase 
in length for an indefinite period ; but any great disturbance 
of the skin, such as that consequent on an attack of typhoid 
fever, sometimes causes it to fall off. When this occurs a new 
crop generally appears soon and it is apt to be better in all 
respects than the old one. 
The coarser and more abundant the hair is the stronger is 
the person. We are told that Samson’s locks were very pro- 
fuse, and of the headstrong Absalom that “ he weighed the 
hair of his head at two hundred shekels,” which would be 
six and a quarter pounds. Some question this view, except 
when it is held in reference to the hair of the head and face. 
Goethe, for example, says, “A superfluity of hair on the chest 
and lower limbs rather indicates weakness than strength.” 
However, all are of the opinion that a heavy head of hair is 
a sign of a vigorous, sound constitution and of the presence 
of a plentiful supply of good blood. On the other hand, 
when it is poorly developed, or inclined to fall off, there is a 
lack of healthy activity and nourishment at its roots. A 
knowledge of these facts enables one to intelligently undertake 
the task of promoting its growth. 
OH THE IHVIG-ORATION OF THE HAIR. 
The first thing to do in setting about the invigoration of the 
hair is, to see whether or not the system is in a healthy state 
and has present in it a sufficient amount of pure, rich blood. 
Any defect in the general condition should receive attention. 
The principles of hygiene should be complied with, and, 
perhaps, a tonic such as the wine of iron may be indicated. 
As to local measures for increasing the strength and growth 
of the hair, a mixture of equal parts of castor oil and the 
spirits of cologne may be applied. This mixture is parti- 
cularly indicated when the hair and scalp are dry. It should 
be well rubbed into the latter; and then a stiff brush may be 360 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
used until a glowing sensation is produced in the part. This 
may be done once, or twice a day. Oiling and brushing the 
hair alone will not bring about the desired effect. 
Cutting off the ends of the hair is promotive of its growth. 
The shorter it is cut the better. Shortening it seems to stimu- 
late the functional activity of the papillae which produce it. 
BEMAEKS ON THE CARE OF THE HAIR. 
The hair should be kept clean. That of many, however, 
is ruined by washing it frequently with strong soap. This 
agent destroys the oil upon which its freshness and lustre and 
to some extent its color depend. Even the mildest should be 
used sparingly. Water to which a little ammonia has been 
added cleanses it well and also favors its growth. 
The use of pomades, or other greasy preparations is not 
advisable, as a rule; for they are apt to become rancid and 
consequently prove injurious. The hair of nearly all healthy 
persons is oily enough naturally. In some a mixture of castor 
oil and the spirits of cologne may be used occasionally to 
advantage. Glycerine to which a little ammonia has been 
added makes a very clean dressing. 
The use of crimping pins, curling irons and the like is 
injurious to the hair. Nor is plaiting and papering entirely 
harmless. All tend to increase its density and change its 
shape individually. Through the use of a bandoline curling 
and crimping may be done in a very harmless way. A good 
one is made by dissolving half a drachm of gum-tragacanth in 
two ounces of spirits of cologne and a like amount of water. 
Powder is injurious to the hair, especially if it be alkaline. 
If one be used rice-flour should be preferred. This agent is 
the basis of some of the so-called violet powders. 
Keeping the head warmly covered by day, or at night is 
injurious to the hair. This is a common cause of premature 
baldness. THE TEETH. 
361 
CHAPTER X. 
THE TEETH. 
The Structure of the Teeth—The Temporary and the Permanent 
Teeth—Dentition—On Degeneration of the Teeth—The 
Care of the Teeth—Toothache—Dental Caries and Related 
Matters. 
A tooth consists of two parts, the crown and the root or 
fang ; the former of which lies without and the latter within 
the gum. 
On splitting a tooth in the line of its length it is seen to be 
made up of a pulpy mass in the centre, in which the nerves 
and blood-vessels are imbedded ; a thick layer of ivory-like 
material (dentine); a crown-capping of enamel, the hardest of 
organic products; and a fang-investment of bone-like substance 
(cementum). If a large portion of the enamel is removed, 
the tooth does not wear well and is apt to undergo decay. 
THE STRUCTURE OP THE TEETH. 
THE TEMPORARY AND THE PERMANENT TEETH. 
The teeth begin to appear in the seventh month, or earlier. 
They usually come in pairs; and those of the lower jaw 
generally precede the corresponding ones of the upper. Those 
immediately in front come first. By the end of the second 
year the temporary or milk set has appeared. It consists 
of two incisors, one canine and two molars on either side of 
each jaw. The canines of the upper jaw are commonly called 
the eye-teeth and those of the lower the stomach-teeth. 
The early appearance of the temporary teeth is not a sign 
of a vigorous constitution; it is rather the reverse. They 
should gradually fall out without undergoing decay, from the 362 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
seventh to the fourteenth year, to give place to the permanent 
set. More or less decay of them is very common. 
The permanent set of teeth consists of thirty-two, in- 
cluding the four wisdom ones, which do not appear until 
about the twenty-first year of age. There are sixteen in either 
side of each jaw as follows : two incisors, one canine, two pre- 
molars and three molars. The root of each of the first two 
upper molars has three branches, that of each of the first two 
lower molars two, and that of each of all the others one. 
There is, however, a disposition on the part of the root of 
each of the premolars to divide into two parts, and that of 
each of the upper wisdom ones to divide into three and of the 
lower ones into two. Rudiments of those of this, as well as 
those of the temporary set are present in the jaws at birth. 
It is stated by Pliny that “ women have fewer teeth than 
men.” The great naturalist Cuvier in commenting on this 
statement acknowledges that it is sometimes true and gives a 
satisfactory explanation. He says, “ The wisdom teeth are 
more frequently absent in women than in men.” Instances 
of aged persons of either sex but particularly of females who 
have never had all four, or any wisdom teeth are common. 
DENTITION. 
The time during which the temporary set of teeth is 
appearing is generally regarded as a critical period of infancy. 
The process is, of course, perfectly natural; hut nevertheless 
there is a heavy mortality traceable, in a measure, to it. 
In a healthy child dentition is not a source of any danger 
to life. Besides a desire to thrust the fingers in the mouth, a 
liberal flow of saliva, occasional flushings of the cheeks, 
thirst, restlessness and fretfulness usually attend it. In many 
cases the bowels are inclined to be loose. All, or some of 
these symptoms occasionally precede by several weeks the 
appearance of a pair of teeth and indicate that “ breeding of THE TEETH. 
363 
the teeth” as it is called popularly is going on ; but they dis- 
appear in a few days. 
As pressure on the gums through which the teeth are 
coming dulls the sensibility of the part it is agreeable to the 
child. Consequently it is advisable for the nurse to rub them 
frequently with the finger. Biting a ring of ivory, or india- 
rubber is also comforting. 
During dentition the child should be given plenty of exer- 
cise in the open air; and his head should be kept bare, or 
nearly so. After the morning and the evening bath his entire 
surface should be well rubbed. If much thirst is present it 
is wise to let him nurse frequently, but not long enough each 
time to load his stomach. Milk should be the sole item of 
diet. It is well to keep the bowels moderately loose. No 
narcotizing medicine should be used, as a rule. 
If the cutting of the teeth is attended with much fever and 
irritability the gums should be lanced at once. There can be 
no valid objection presented against this operation. It causes 
little pain and generally affords relief speedily. If there is 
any tendency to convulsions it is criminal to delay the per- 
formance of it one minute. No special skill is required to 
enable one to do it; and a sharp penknife may be used in place 
of a gum-lancet. Take hold of the inflamed gum between 
the thumb and index finger of the left hand and make the 
incision in the centre of it. Press the instrument in until the 
edge of it is heard to grate on the tooth. If it is a double 
or molar tooth which is coming an incision across the gum 
as well as one in the line of it should be made. 
ON DEGENERATION OE THE TEETH. 
It is very remarkable that the teeth are soundest and most 
regular in savages, as a rule, that they progressively degen- 
erate and are at their worst in people in the foremost grade 
of civilization. In an essay on those of the race which 364 
PHYSICAL CULTUEE. 
preceded the Indians in North America, the Mound-Builders, 
based on a study of a collection of them and published some 
time ago in The Dental Cosmos, I have said, “ Not one tooth 
that I examined was either broken or affected by disease.” 
An examination of those in the numerous skulls of various 
primitive and ancient peoples in the Philadelphia Academy 
of Natural Sciences shows that they are almost free from 
caries. The cause of their degeneration in modern civilized 
races is not definitely known, but it is generally attributed to 
the character of the food. Doubtless, if the food were 
simpler than it is and called for more mastication, it would be 
less common. When complicate and sugary it injures them 
indirectly by deranging the digestive organs and directly by 
favoring the accumulation of matter about them. Extremes 
in its temperature are very harmful to them ; for they and 
the gums are very sensitive to heat and cold. Bringing 
articles varying almost from the boiling to the freezing point 
into contact with them a number of times daily cannot but 
induce disease and greatly promote it when present. What- 
ever the cause, or causes of their degeneration may be it is 
certain that in those of good constitution they are most apt to 
be sound and regular. 
THE CARE OP THE TEETH. 
Keeping the teeth clean is favorable to their preservation 
as well as their beauty; and hence it should be attended to 
from early life forward. For this purpose a brush and water 
should be used freely every morning and evening. Castile 
soap is of service in connection with the water. A little 
ammonia, carbonate of soda, tincture of myrrh, or tincture 
of camphor may be added to the water. After each washing 
they may be polished with the end of a dry towel. 
To remove and prevent the fetor caused by decaying teeth 
carbolic acid soap, or the permanganate of potash may be THE TEETH. 
365 
used. Of the latter enough to slightly tint the water is 
sufficient. 
If the teeth are inclined to be loose, or the gums be spongy 
the mouth should be rinsed occasionally with a solution of 
alum. The tincture of myrrh is beneficial. 
Tooth-powders of various kinds are much used. Those 
which are essentially scouring agents are harmful; for through 
them it is possible to destroy the enamel of the teeth. The 
occasional use, however, of say powdered charcoal, or prepared 
chalk to remove accumulations of tartar is unobjectionable. 
But for this purpose a little vinegar is quite as good. 
A tooth-pick is deserving of little favor. The use of 
this instrument injures the gums and by stripping them from 
the teeth creates places for particles of food to lodge. Hence 
it tends to give rise to the very trouble it is used to correct. 
If at any time it is absolutely required to remove an adhering 
piece of food it should be manipulated with care. 
TOOTHACHE. 
Toothache is a common illness and it is one in which the 
sufferer usually receives but little sympathy. Some children 
are greatly tormented by it. Although not dangerous to life 
it may seriously impair the health. Being seated near the brain 
it badly disturbs the functions of the whole nervous system. 
Nobody either young or old can bear it patiently. 
The remedies are not the same for all forms of toothache. 
If the pain is continuous, the cause being an irritated, or 
inflamed condition of the parts around the root of the tooth, 
or of the tooth itself, the application of anything warm, such 
as hot water, or the tincture of myrrh will afford at least 
temporary relief, as will a piece of ice, or anything else that 
is cold; and if it is intermittent and consequently purely 
neuralgic in character, the cause being exposure of the nerve 
of the tooth, relief may be obtained speedily by applying a 366 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
drop of creosote. Should there be a cavity a little cotton 
saturated with the latter may be placed in it. This is a good 
preventive under the circumstances, and when resorted to 
for the purpose it may be renewed every three days, or so. 
A pepper-, or mustard-plaster applied over the jaw is often 
very serviceable. Should the inflammation and pain be 
extremely marked and obstinate advantage will be derived 
from the free use of chloral, or the solution of morphia for a 
time. If there be a collection of matter at the root of the 
tooth the early removal of the latter is generally indicated, 
not only for the sake of getting rid of pain but to prevent 
serious trouble from arising in the jaw-bone. 
DENTAL CARIES AND RELATED MATTERS. 
As hinted above, the teeth of many are very liable to 
undergo decay. This is common in the temporary as well as 
the permanent ones. When if occurs there will likely be 
more or less pain sooner or later. The latter or toothache is 
greatly favored by the presence of particles of food. After 
the crown has entirely disappeared comparatively little of it 
is experienced and it is not purely neuralgic in character. 
When decay of a tooth sets in its progress can be stopped 
by the insertion of a filling; and hence this should be done 
as early as possible. Gold is largely used for the purpose, 
but it is not as good as gutta-percha, oxychloride of zinc, an 
amalgam, or any of several other agents under some circum- 
stances. For a temporary tooth in which there is a large 
cavity gutta-percha mostly answers best. Of course, a dentist 
should be consulted. 
When a tooth becomes very largely decayed and causes 
pain it should be removed, whether it be temporary or perma- 
nent. There is little or no ground for the idea that the 
premature removal of a temporary tooth will prove injurious 
to the permanent one. THE HANDS AND FEET. 
367 
CHAPTER XI. 
THE HANDS AND FEET. 
Structural Features of the Hands—Manual Dexterity—Mis- 
cellaneous Items about the Hands—Items about the Feet. 
STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE HANDS. 
The hand is a wonderful instrument. In his famous book 
on the subject, Sir Charles Bell takes occasion to observe that 
“ there is inconsistency and something of the child’s propensi- 
ties still in man. A piece of mechanism, as a watch, a 
barometer, or a dial will fix his attention ; a man will make 
journeys to see an engine stamp a coin, or turn a block, yet 
the organs through which he has a thousand sources of enjoy- 
ment and which are in themselves the most exquisite in design 
and the most curious both in contrivance and mechanism, do 
not enter his thoughts ; and if he admires a living action that 
admiration will probably be more excited by what is uncom- 
mon and monstrous than by what is natural and perfectly 
adjusted to its office.” 
It is unnecessary to describe the muscles and other parts 
which form the hand and on which its functions depend. 
The length of the hand is equal to about one-ninth of the 
stature. The relative length of the fingers is somewhat 
unlike in different persons. This is particularly true of the 
first or index and the third or ring one. In the majority the 
former is the shorter. The latter is oftener the shorter in 
females than in males. In the Venus de Medici, the Apollo 
Bclvidere and nearly all other antique figures the former is 
the longer. This condition is regarded as the more beautiful. 
In some they are of equal length and in a few their relative 368 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
length is not alike in both hands. From an artistic standpoint 
this subject is very interesting. 
The finger-nails are appendages of the skin. Each 
of them rests in a specially modified portion of the dermis 
(the matrix) and takes the place of* the epidermis. They 
should be smooth, or but very faintly striated from end to 
end, shining, somewhat arched in form and of a delicate pink 
hue. The posterior fourth (the lunula or little moon) of each 
should be a little paler and the free border brighter than the 
rest; but it should be translucent throughout. White spots 
are often present in them and they come and go mysteriously. 
In the scrofulous the nails are apt to be curved both from 
side to side and from end to end. 
MANUAL DEXTERITY. 
Manual dexterity is mainly the result of education, and it 
can be carried to a surprising degree of perfection. Exercise 
is the great means. It is by practice that one learns to write, 
or shape an intricate piece of mechanism. 
The right hand is usually more susceptible of improvement 
than the left; but in a few the reverse is the case. Not 
many have as full a command of the one as the other. 
Hippocrates remarks that “ a woman does not become ambi- 
dextrous ;” but this is an error. 
Some still hold that all difference in the dexterity of 
the two hands is acquired; but it is probable that heredity 
has much to do with it. It may depend somewhat at least 
on want of similarity in the blood-vessels on either side. 
Many believe that the artery which runs to the right arm is 
so situated that it receives, as a rule, more blood than the one 
which runs to the left. However, it is certain that through 
training any natural difference in the power of command of 
the hands which may exist can be very completely overcome. 
Those in charge of the young should bear this fact in mind. THE HANDS AND FEET. 
369 
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS ABOUT THE HANDS. 
Chapping of the skin of the hands is common among child- 
ren in cold weather. The application of cold-cream, glycerine, 
or lard is indicated. 
A clammy condition of the palms of the hands is due to 
debility. Measures to improve the general health are reme- 
dial of it. Bathing the parts with water to which a little 
ammonia has been added is beneficial. 
A brush, soap and water are all the agents necessary to keep 
the finger-nails in order, except, of course, a sharp knife, with 
which to trim them occasionally. Powders and files may be 
useful sometimes, but generally speaking they are entirely 
uncalled for, and the free use of them is likely to be injurious. 
Most persons are liable to have loose shreds of skin about 
the roots of the nails or ragnails at times; but some are far 
more subject than others to them. Their removal with a pair 
of scissors is indicated. > If allowed to remain present long 
they may give rise to sores and gatherings. 
Biting the nails is a practice to which some children are 
addicted. There is no particular harm in it, but it is a habit 
which is inconsistent with propriety. Good advice may suffice 
to prevent it, but if not, recourse may be had to the applica- 
tion of a bitter substance to the parts. 
When a nail is removed by violence, or intentionally a new 
one will grow in its place, unless a strong caustic agent is 
applied. All that it is necessary to do under the circum- 
stances is to bathe the part well with cold water in order to 
control the bleeding, and then keep a greased rag bound on it 
for a few days. 
ITEMS ABOUT THE FEET. 
The structure of the foot, including the nails, is very 
similar in most respects to that of the hand. Nothing special 
need be said about it. 370 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
It is scarcely necessary to say that it is proper to keep the 
feet clean. They should be washed frequently, and soap may 
be used freely with the water. If they are inclined to per- 
spire much this must be done in order to prevent them from 
giving off an unpleasant odor. Excoriations and fissures are 
liable to occur about the toes, if cleanliness is not observed. 
For them rice-flour, or any other powder, or zinc-ointment 
may be used. 
In early infancy, or in other words while long dresses are 
worn no special covering is required for the feet; but the use 
of knitted worsted socks is allowable. Later, shoes are called 
for with cotton, merino, woolen, or silk hosiery. The latter 
should consist of cotton in summer only. 
In going bare-footed at times children are very apt to catch 
cold; but if they are in the habit of doing so it is not at all 
harmful to them. The same is true of getting the feet wet. 
A shoe should protect the foot against bruises and other 
forms of injury and keep it at a proper degree of tempera- 
ture. To answer these ends the weight and make of it will 
depend on the mode of life, the season of the year, the 
character of the hosiery and other circumstances. 
The shoes of boys are often too tight, and those of girls 
are seldom otherwise. This is a serious mistake. While the 
foot is developing it should not be cramped in any way, or to 
any degree. If this precept be not observed suffering and 
deformity may be expected. 
It is particularly desirable that shoes should be roomy at 
the toes. In walking the weight of the body is thrown first 
on the heel and then inclined forward gradually on the toes, 
which in consequence spread. From this it is evident that a 
shoe should be somewhat broader toward its toe than the foot 
is while at rest. 
High-heeled shoes are very objectionable. They are ex- 
tremely favorable to suffering and deformity about the toes, THE HANDS AND FEET. 
371 
and their influence on the general health is bad. Many cases 
of nervous affections are aggravated and not a few are actually 
caused by them. Nature does not warrant walking on the 
toes; man is not a digitigrade animal. 
Water-proof over-shoes are highly useful. Generally 
speaking it is not advisable that they should cover the entire 
upper part of the foot; for from being impervious to moisture 
they favor the accumulation of perspiration. Their removal 
is apt to be followed by a cold, if there is much perspiration 
present and it is allowed to evaporate. 
The subject of corns is treated of fully elsewhere. 
It may not be amiss to say a few words about ingrowing 
of the nails or onyxis, although this condition is not common 
in early life. Seldom is any other than the nail of the great 
toe affected. Thickening of the soft parts has often quite as 
much to do in producing the pain and inflammation as curving 
inward of the side of the nail. The cause for the most part is 
wearing shoes which are very narrow at the toes. Rounding 
the end of the nail in cutting it is favorable to its occurrence. 
When the affection begins to appear it is wise to at once 
take measures to prevent its development. Shoes which are 
narrow at the toes should be abandoned. The nail should be 
kept square at the end; and if it is thick it is well to file, or 
scrape it thin from the root forward near the centre, so as to 
check its* tendency to turn inward at the sides. Between it 
and the flesh a piece of cotton may be inserted. Cold-cream, 
or any other simple ointment may be applied. In severe 
cases it is necessary to remove the nail. 
Inflammation with, or without the formation of matter 
about the roots of the nails of both the fingers and toes or 
onychia is common, especially in persons of scrofulous consti- 
tution. It is usually excited by injuries. The application of 
cold-cream, or any other mild ointment, or a poultice is indi- 
cated. Occasionally the nail comes off. 372 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER XII. 
PERSONAL BEAUTY. 
Preliminary Remarks—On the Nature of Beauty—The Basis 
of Beauty—Special Remarks on the Culture of Beauty. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
It is very desirable that people should be iu form, com- 
plexion and other respects as beautiful as possible; for beauty 
and perfection are synonymous terms; everything that is per- 
fect is beautiful and everthing that is imperfect is ugly. Let 
no one, then, as Miss Martineau says in her “Household 
Education,” “ utter the cant that is talked to young ladies at 
school that the charms of the mind are everything and those 
of the form and face nothing.” All parents are really and 
properly more or less anxious that their children should.be 
well-developed and attractive. Not as much attention, how- 
ever, is given to the cultivation of personal comeliness as might 
and ought to be. 
ON THE NATURE OF BEAUTY. 
The meaning of personal beauty is not well-understood by 
people generally. By many it is associated with the appear- 
ance of the face; but it is not limited to any part of the body. 
It is hard to express in terms the tout ensemble of delicacy, 
grace of outlines and harmony of proportions and colors which 
constitute it. The laws of it are not variable. There can be 
no doubt that just as there are odors, tastes and sounds, which 
in the nature of things are pleasing to all, so there are certain 
forms and colors and combinations of these which are in them- 
selves pleasing. 373 
PERSONAL BEAUTY. 
In one of his essays Dr. Kush says, “ There is a certain 
figure which is calculated to give pleasure to the eye. Hogarth 
places it in the curved line which he calls the line of 
beauty. This line occurs oftener in the human figure than 
in that of any other animal, for which reason man is con- 
sidered the most beautiful creature on the face of the earth.” 
In all forms throughout the vegetable and animal kingdoms, 
or in other words in all living things the production of the 
curved line seems to be the great aim of Nature. Everything 
that is rounded and smooth is pleasing to the eye. 
There is a certain relation of the size of parts to each other 
and to the whole which is an essential portion of beauty and it 
constitutes what is known as proportion. I cannot dwell on 
this subject; so I will simply state that in any particular object 
the standard of proportions is the proportions of the type, or 
rather the beau ideal of its kind, or species. For example, the 
best proportions—those which are the most beautiful—of man 
are those of the best type of his race. “ It is from a reiterated 
experience,” says Sir Joshua Reynolds in his admirable “Dis- 
courses,” “ and a close comparison of the objects in Nature 
that an artist becomes possessed of the idea of that central 
form, if I may so express it, from which every deviation is 
deformity.” Absolute beauty of form is an ideal and in all 
things there is only more or less of an approach toward it. 
Properly, then, all things should be regarded as only relatively 
beautiful. 
It is generally thought that the most artistic proportions of 
the human form, male and female, are found respectively in 
the Greek statues, Apollo Belvidere and Venus de Medici. 
Although matters of outline and proportion, I may say a 
few words specially about grace and symmetry. 
The idea of action is always associated with grace ; it is 
a quality of motion and attitude. With correct outlines and 
proportions all natural attitudes and motions are graceful. 374 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
Ease and freedom from constraint are essential elements of 
gracefulness. 
To make the body lithe and graceful in movement calis- 
thenic and gymnastic and also less systematic exercises, 
particularly dancing—motion’s poetry—should be practiced. 
Free, sweeping, unconscious movements are always graceful. 
Mere strength has little to do with grace and any system of 
physical culture which does not include free movements of all 
the joints and muscles contributes but little to it. To move 
gracefully requires persistent effort for a time. As one com- 
mits to memory a piece of poetry by repeatedly reading it, so 
one acquires grace in motion by repeating the movements 
until they can be carried on without thinking. 
Symmetry is the word used to express similarity of the 
parts of either side of the body. Thus the eyes, the cheeks, 
the sides of the head, the arms and so on should be alike, or 
there is want of symmetry and consequently want of beauty. 
Very few are perfectly symmetrical. 
Another main element of beauty is color. Some features 
of this subject are treated of elsewhere. In the complexion 
the tints of white and red are often surprisingly beautiful. 
Expression is clearly related to beauty, particularly of the 
face. A face of statuesque beauty, still and colorless, is admir- 
able to be sure, and if it be richly embellished with Nature’s 
skillful pencil it is much more so; but if it lacks expression it 
is like a flower void of fragrance, wanting in a great source of 
magnetism. When the power of mind, or the charm of heart, 
or both these beam in features of perfect form and tints then 
is it indeed overpowering. Bacon had reason in saying that 
“the best part of beauty is that which a picture cannot 
express.” It is true, expression does not always improve the 
appearance of the face; but it is only when the mind and 
heart are defective, or the person is racked with pain, or 
oppressed with care, or disease. The cultivated mind and PERSONAL BEAUTY. 
375 
loving heart and pleasurable feelings will always have a 
gracious expression. In a face resplendent of heart and mind 
the mere form may be overlooked, so powerful is animation, 
so engrossing the expression of the vital spark within. 
THE BASIS OP BEAUTY. 
What is the basis of personal beauty? It is health. 
Degeneracy and sickliness are the great causes of ugliness. 
Who ever saw a beautiful unhealthy child ? Who ever saw 
a lovely sickly maiden ? To be pleasing to the eye as well as 
every other way one must wipe away unhealthfulness. In 
fostering health lies the secret and art of promoting and pre- 
serving beauty. Those who would be beautiful must get on 
intimate terms with Hygeia and follow her precepts. Thus 
it was that the people of Sparta attained their physical perfec- 
tion. Their prominence in this respect was due to their own 
efforts to be healthy and strong, to their strict regimen and 
systematic exercises, to their physical culture. 
SPECIAL REMARKS OK THE CULTURE OP BEAUTY. 
By the culture of beauty is properly meant the improve- 
ment of the condition of the whole organism, physical and 
mental. Hence, much of the matter found in this work bears 
on it directly, or indirectly. I have treated of it systematically 
in another book; and to it the reader who desires special 
information on the subject is referred. There are several 
features of it about which a few words may be said here. 
Compressing the waist is still in fashion, to some extent, as 
a means of improving the female figure. As stated elsewhere 
it is very harmful to the young. Nor is it less contrary to the 
laws of beauty than those of health. It is the prevalence of 
a false taste which leads to it. The waist of the Venus de 
Medici is thirty inches in circumference, or in other words 
half the stature. 376 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
Wearing excessively tight shoes is a common practice; and 
as has been pointed out elsewhere it is a very injurious one. 
The popular notion that a very small foot is in consequence 
beautiful is an error. This, as also every other part of the 
body may be disproportionately small as well as large. The 
length of it in all famous antique statues, according to 
Winckelmann, a celebrated historian of the fine arts, is equal 
to one-sixth the stature; and Albrecht Diirer, a great modern 
artist who paid much attention to the subject of proportion, 
held this to be the proper length. 
The character of the complexion is a subject of anxious 
concern to many. Both boys and girls are very sensitive to 
defects in it. It is the intention of Nature that every one’s 
should be good. With the general health in a proper state 
it can scarcely be faulty. All, or nearly all the flaws in it 
which are liable to be present are treated of in the chapter on 
diseases of the skin. 
The use of cosmetics or powders and paints to improve 
the complexion should not be thought of at any age but especi- 
ally in very early life. Plenty of pure water with a little soap is 
the only local beautifier in which, under ordinary circumstances, 
people should place their trust. For persons of very delicate 
skin either rain-, or distilled water is recommended, as both 
are free from alkaline minerals. After washing the face, 
sponging it with water of orange, or elder flowers, or lavender- 
water, or bay-rum has a brightening effect on the complexion. 
To soften and otherwise improve the skin of the face and 
also of the hands it may be rubbed occasionally with glycerine, 
or covered for a number of hours with a piece of chamois 
which has been saturated with this agent. 
A plentiful growth of hair is justly held in high esteem. 
When this curious natural covering is poorly developed its 
improvement is usually a matter of much solicitude. Of the 
manner in which it should be cared for and the means by PERSONAL BEAUTY. 
377 
which it may be invigorated I have spoken at length else- 
where. Of course, no quack nostrum should be applied to it 
for any purpose. 
The hair of girls is not infrequently injured in dressing it. 
Elsewhere I have pointed out the harm which may attend 
crimping and the like. Banging and other forms of mutila- 
tion of it are unjustifiable. Besides making one for the time 
being somewhat idiotic looking, letting it rest on the forehead 
favors the production of a growth of it on the latter. 
The removal of hairs, the presence of which is objectionable, 
because of their location, or for some other reason is a subject 
in which many are interested. Agents used for the purpose 
are called depilatories. Those in the market consist mainly 
of arsenic, caustic potash, quick-lime, or litharge and act by 
destroying the roots of the hair. Strong ammonia is quite as 
good as any of them and a pair of tweezers answers better 
than it. But removing hairs through destroying their roots 
does not prevent their reappearance. This is due to the fact 
that the papillae which produce them are uninjured; and 
hence their return can be prevented only by disorganizing the 
former. To do this a fine needle from which a little piece of 
the point has been broken should be put into each of the 
follicles from which the hair has been plucked and then be 
rotated and moved otherwise for a time. Some inflammation 
should follow. 
A well-developed, sound, regular set of teeth is an enviable 
possession. Such a one is uncommon even among the imma- 
ture. The early decay and the irregularity of these useful as 
well as ornamental structures are doubtless largely preventable. 
The care of the teeth and related matters are treated of else- 
where, but nothing has been said about their irregularity. 
This subject is one of great importance. Generally speaking 
the permanent teeth alone are liable to be irregularly arranged 
in the jaws. Letting the temporary ones remain present after 378 
PHYSICAL CULTURE. 
these have made their appearance is sometimes the cause of it; 
but it springs mostly from crowding; and this is usually due 
to either the teeth being particularly well-, or the jaws being 
very ill-developed. The removal of a tooth is often the only 
way to prevent it when it is arising as a result of crowding. 
If the jaws are defective measures to improve the general 
health are serviceable. 
When one, or more teeth are out of line what should be 
done ? Let a sensible dentist be consulted as to the propriety 
of interfering with them and follow his advice. Undoubtedly 
in many cases it is possible to press them into their proper 
position without injuring them in any respect. It takes con- 
siderable interference to destroy their vitality. Even after 
being extracted they will grow, if soon replaced in their 
sockets; and what is more remarkable still those of another 
person may be substituted, as Ambrose Par6, a great French 
surgeon, demonstrated over three hundred years ago. 
A few remarks in reference to ear-rings may not be out of 
place. Wearing them is a custom of ancient origin. It was 
in favor with the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The ears 
of the Venus de Medici are pierced and were probably orna- 
mented at one time with rings. In many Oriental countries 
it is not unusual for males as well as females to adorn them- 
selves in this way. 
Piercing the ears for rings is a simple and innocent opera- 
tion. It may be done at any age but it is not wise to have it 
done in childhood, for ear-rings disfigure a child by giving her 
something of the air of a dwarfed adult. The procedure is 
very easy. Having decided 011 the proper point rub the lobe, 
or apply ice to it until it becomes numb, and then pass a 
medium-sized needle armed with a silk thread through it, 
letting the latter remain. A little irritation and, perhaps, 
some inflammation may result, but no serious consequences 
need be apprehended. 379 
GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
SECTION II. 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER I. 
GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
Preliminary Remarks—Relations of Mind and Body to Each 
Other—On the Nature of Mind—The Nature of the Mind, 
and Mental Culture—The Ends of Mental Culture—The 
Basal Principle of Mental Culture— When Mental Culture 
Should Begin—Mental Precocity—Home-Culture of the 
Mind—Public Schools and their Work—Mental Culture 
in Private and in Public—On the Age at which to Enter 
School—The Kindergarten Method of Education—The 
Choice of Knowledge—Sex, and Mental Culture. 
PRELIMIN'AEY REMARKS. 
It is the possession of a highly developed mind which not 
only gives man the right to claim but enables him to assert 
his superiority to everything else in Nature. On his liberal 
endowment with this subtile power largely depends his ability 
to triumph over all other creatures in the struggle for domin- 
ion. Did he not possess it in a higher degree than any of the 
inhabitants of the forest his ascendancy should soon cease. 
Again if it were not for it social organization and civilization 
would be impossible. And among men those that are most 
gifted with it are very certain to be leaders. Indeed on the 
degree in which it, or rather the nobler part of it is developed 
depends man’s power over circumstances ; or as Emerson, a 380 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
celebrated American philosopher, puts it, “ Intellect annuls 
fate: so far as a man thinks he is free.” Certainly the 
culture of the mental faculties is deserving of all the attention 
which can possibly be given to it. 
RELATIONS OF MIND AND BODY TO EACH OTHER. 
The seat of mind is the nervous system. The brain is 
usually regarded as the part in which it originates ; but it is 
certain if this part had no external connections there could be 
no mental activity within it; without the special senses there 
could be no mind. 
It is hardly necessary to advance arguments to prove that 
the existence of the mind is dependent on the physical organi- 
zation. The degree of development of the nervous system 
among animals corresponds with their mental endowments. 
Hunger, exercise, disease and everything which acts on the 
body also affects the mind. It is possible to depress the system 
to such an extent by cold and otherwise that no evidence of 
the presence of mind is left. On the other hand by the use 
of stimulants, or the like the various mental faculties can be 
rendered more active and powerful. Impurities in the blood 
affect the mind ; and hence it is closely allied in a manner to 
the emunctories. A blow on the head, if severe, will stop 
mental action wholly for a time. 
Mental action greatly influences the body. This becomes 
at once apparent when the feelings are markedly impressed. 
Through fear the whole system may be utterly paralyzed. 
After severe mental strain the evidence of it is obvious in the 
shape of an abnormal abundance of phosphatic salts in the 
urine. 
ON THE NATURE OF MIND. 
Through excitation of certain parts of the brain by means 
of an impression made on one of the special senses con- 
sciousness, the fundamental element of mind, is produced. GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
381 
Precisely how this astonishing phenomenon takes place does 
not admit of demonstration. 
It must not be supposed that by consciousness is always 
meant one and the same thing. A different form of it is 
produced by each unlike impression made on each of the 
senses; and a different degree of it attends the various degrees 
of intensity of each. 
The mind is a unity. What are spoken of as faculties or 
powers are neither ultimate nor distinct elements. Such divi- 
sions are recognized mainly for the purpose of facilitating 
description. 
All the faculties of the mind may be classed under one or 
other of three heads, namely, feeling, intellect, will. 
Each of these will be fully treated of later; so it is unneces- 
sary to say anything about them here. 
THE NATURE OF THE MIND, AND MENTAL CULTURE. 
A knowledge of the nature of the mind, but more especi- 
ally of its development and growth, is necessary to enable one 
not only to formulate a correct plan of mental culture or 
education but to apply it. If one does not know anything 
about the mechanism of mental action it is impossible to control 
it intelligently. Until the structure of a complicate machine 
is well understood any attempt which is made to regulate it is 
apt to derange it. 
In other days people spoke in all sincerity of the body as 
“our vile body;” and the dependence of mind on it was 
totally denied. While such ideas prevailed there could be 
nothing like a scientific plan of mental culture in force. The 
bodily condition must receive attention, or the efforts made to 
improve the mind will in a great measure, be spent in vain. 
A sickly person cannot make much headway in learning. Dr. 
B. W. Richardson well remarks, “ Learning is cheap now and 
whoever can read and write can become a scholar, if he caii 382 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
become a healthy being. The dearest thing in the market is 
health, without which learning, be it ever so cheap, is bought 
for a sacrifice and is burnt on its own altar.” If the body is 
weak there cannot be much mental force. A perfect physical 
organization is the basis of mental greatness. 
THE ENDS OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
The main end of mental culture is to render strong and 
subtile all the faculties of the mind. These do not unfold of 
themselves; and they must be systematically stimulated and 
trained, or they will not become either harmoniously developed 
or skillful in action. 
That the acquisition of knowledge or instruction is the main 
end of mental culture is a very prevalent and yet a very 
erroneous notion. In Shakspeare occurs this dialogue between 
Ferdinand, King of Navarre, and one of his attendants 
named Biron:— 
Biron.—What is the end of study ? Let me know. 
King.—Why, that to know which else we should not know. 
Biron.—Things hid and barr’d you mean from common sense ? 
King.—Ay, that is study’s god-like recompense. 
Study in childhood at least should be for another and a far 
more important purpose. The mere accumulation of ideas is, 
as a whole, of secondary importance. A well-cultured mind is 
one that is strong and skillful in action, one that has acquired 
the power to feel acutely, to observe closely and correctly, to 
think clearly, forcibly and logically, to judge rightly and to 
carry unflinchingly into practice all good intentions. 
The plan of mental culture in force in most of our schools 
serves rather to repress than to bring into play the various 
mental faculties. The majority of teachers seem to be unaware 
that it is impossible to make children wise by cramming them 
with learning. One may know a great deal and yet be a fool. 
Cowper rightly says:— GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
383 
“ Knowledge, a rude unprofitable mass, 
The mere materials with which wisdom builds, 
Till smoothed and squared and fitted to its place 
Does but encumber when it seems to enrich.” 
A child whose mind is not trained but merely crammed 
will be little improved by his education. Such a one will 
grow up with faculties little, if any more useful than if they 
had been entirely neglected. His eyes and other senses and 
his mental powers generally will be feeble in action. In fact, 
he has not been educated at all, he himself has not been 
cultivated. Moreover what has been crammed into him will 
be forgotten almost immediately. Nine-tenths of all that he 
has hastily appropriated will have vanished completely within 
a year after he has quit school. 
In his interesting “Autobiography,” John Stuart Mill 
speaks as follows on the subject in question : “ Most boys or 
youths who have had much knowledge drilled into them have 
their mental capacities not strengthened but overlaid by it. 
They are crammed with mere facts, and with the opinions 
or phrases of other people and these are accepted as a substi- 
tute for the power to form opinions of their own. Mine was 
not an education of cram. My father [his tutor] never per- 
mitted anything which I learned to degenerate into a mere 
exercise of the memory. He strove to make the understand- 
ing not only go along with every step of the teaching but if 
possible precede it. Anything which could be found out by 
thinking I never was told until I had exhausted my efforts to 
find it out for myself.” 
THE BASAL PRINCIPLE OP MENTAL CULTURE 
Exercise is the basal principle of mental culture. It is 
through it that the faculties of the mind gather strength and 
become skillful in action. The only way to learn to observe 
well is to observe; the only way to learn to reason well is to 384 
MENTAL CULTUKE. 
reason ; and so on. On this subject Locke says, in his work, 
“ The Conduct of the Understanding,” “ It is practice alone that 
brings the powers of the mind as well as those of the body to 
their perfection. Many a good poetic vein is buried under a 
trade and never produces anything for want of improvement.” 
Use affects the mental just as it does any of the physical 
powers; and the same is true of disuse. But in culturing 
the mind let it be remembered that it is not great and ex- 
haustive exercise which is followed by the best result. It is 
not wrestling occasionally with marked difficulties which tends 
most to improve reason, or any faculty; it is by contending 
frequently with difficulties which can be overcome without 
pronounced strain. Keeping a pupil racking his brain over 
very hard problems is not the proper way to prepare him to 
solve them. 
WHEN MENTAL CULTURE SHOULD BEGIN. 
The idea that mental culture should not be begun early 
still lingers in many minds. Why it should ever have ex- 
isted it is impossible to tell. Spencer remarks, “ It was the 
opinion of Pestalozzi, an opinion which has ever since been 
gaining ground, that education of some kind should begin 
from the cradle. Whoever has watched with any discern- 
ment the wide-eyed gaze of the infant at surrounding objects 
knows very well that education does begin thus early whether 
we intend it or not.” Children begin to learn as soon as they 
become conscious to any degree, or in other words as soon as 
they are born; they enter the great school of experience at 
the very moment they enter the world. When the first sensa- 
tion is experienced the process of education has begun. 
Now, every one who is possessed of an ounce of common 
sense should know that by the time learning has begun it is 
time to begin to teach, that is to direct the exercise of the 
mental faculties. Thus as Rousseau, whose ideas in regard GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
385 
to mental culture were in many respects admirable, remarks, 
“as soon as a child begins to distinguish objects a proper 
choice should be made in those which are presented to him.” 
I repeat, the training of the mind cannot be begun too early. 
At any rate most children learn more before they are five 
years of age than during the remainder of life. 
However, I am ready to grant that it is unwise to subject 
children early to school-training as it is usually practiced. 
Confining them for four, or five hours day after day to un- 
healthful rooms and forcing them to yield their attention to 
books is doubtless extremely injurious to them. Indeed, I 
am unable to imagine anything more calculated to stunt both 
body and mind. But if school-training were done naturally 
or in accordance with the principles of healthy development 
and growth of the entire organism, physical and mental, and 
the special requirements of each pupil were considered the 
reverse of this statement would, of course, be true. 
There is one feature of the subject in question which may 
fitly be dwelt on here and it is, that the length of time which 
children on the average can study with advantage varies with 
the age. This matter has not yet received the attention which 
it deserves. Mr. Chadwick, of England, considered it some 
time ago and came to the conclusion that children of from five 
to seven years of age could not profitably labor mentally over 
three hours per day; children of from seven to ten, not over 
three and a half; children of from ten to twelve, not over 
four; and children of from twelve to sixteen, not over four 
and a half. Moreover, the length of time which children 
ought to study daily should be different for either sex after 
the tenth, or eleventh year, because there is then a difference 
in the rate of growth of the two. On this point more will be 
said later. Our school authorities seem to be almost totally 
oblivious to these facts. 
But the length of time which may be passed profitably in 386 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
study daily by a child of any age depends considerably on 
circumstances. The way in which the teaching is done has 
an important bearing on it. Thus the plan pursued in a 
sensibly conducted kindergarten exhausts but little compared 
with that pursued in an ordinary primary school. Again, if 
there is some variety in the themes taught the mind will not 
become wearied nearly so soon as if there is none. And again, 
if the mind be applied uninterruptedly for four hours it will 
be more enfeebled than it would be were an hour spent in play 
after the first two of study. 
MENTAL PRECOCITY. 
The mental faculties of some children unfold so fast that it 
is well to repress them. Such children are, perhaps, always 
defective physically. In all it is the muscular and not the 
nervous system which calls for stimulation. 
Many parents are disposed to encourage precociousness; 
yet they could not do anything more unwise. As a rule, the 
children who are extremely bright do not turn out to be 
superior men and women. Roger Ascham rightly remarks, 
“ Those which be com monlie the wisest, the best learned and 
best men also when they be olde, were never commonlie the 
quickest of witte when they were yonge.” And again, 
“ Quicke wittes commonlie be apte to take, unapte to keepc.” 
The brightest youth by far that the writer came into contact 
with in the course of his school-days has not only not redeemed 
the promise of his spring, but, sad to say, has degenerated to 
the verge of imbecility. 
HOME-CULTURE OP THE MIND. 
One of the many truths to be found in the “ Republic” of 
Plato is this : “ The most important part of education is right 
training in the nursery.” The training which children receive 
at home has more to do in developing and shaping their GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
387 
mental traits than all which is usually received iu the schools. 
It is at home chiefly that the character is formed. The home- 
training bears from the first on the conduct; it deals with the 
every day sentiments and acts. The ideas and ways learned 
by children in their daily intercourse with their parents are 
apt to be so thoroughly grounded in their nature as to cling 
for life. 
By satisfying the natural questionings of children an infi- 
nite amount of practical information can be imparted to them. 
Their curiosity to know the names and the nature of things 
should always be gratified; and no pains should be spared to 
excite their thirst for knowledge. Evidently it is greatly to 
their advantage to have intelligent, sensible parents. 
In teaching children the following conclusions arrived at 
by Spencer should be borne in mind: “ Education should 
proceed from the simple to the complex ; from the concrete to 
the abstract; from the empirical to the rational; and self- 
development should be encouraged to the utmost.” 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THEIR WORK. 
Schools deserve to be favorably regarded by .every one; and 
everything which wisdom can suggest should be done to make 
them fulfill perfectly their great purpose. For the educational 
are, perhaps, the most important interests of a nation. The 
founder of the State of Pennsylvania well said in his Decla- 
ration, “ That which makes a good constitution must keep it, 
viz: men of wisdom and virtue, qualities that because they 
descend not with worldly inheritance must be carefully propa- 
gated by virtuous education of youth, for which spare no 
cost; for by such parsimony all that is saved is lost.” 
Most of the States of the Union have in operation a system 
of free public schools. But nevertheless a very large number 
of children are allowed to grow up without any schooling. 
Xor do many receive more than the merest rudiments of edu- 388 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
cation. In a recent review of the work of the public schools 
of Philadelphia it is said: “ In the year 1878 there were but 
one thirty-third of the public scholars enjoying high-school 
instruction, if we include the senior classes of the grammar 
schools—without them but one seventy-fifth; that but one- 
fifth are in the other grammar grades and the remainder, 
nearly four-fifths are in the lowest grades, where are taught 
reading, writing, arithmetic and American geography aud 
nothing else but the very practical subjects involving no text- 
books, of drawing, singing, physical exercises and good 
behavior. The records of at least the last eight years show 
very slight variation in these proportions.” 
The whole period of education of children in the public 
schools throughout the country averages only about three 
years. From this it would seem that the young of our day 
are in general not being excessively enlightened. 
MENTAL CULTURE IN PRIVATE AND IN PUBLIC. 
Although the air of school-rooms is generally unhealthful 
and the plan of teaching does not conform well to the indi- 
vidual peculiarities and requirements of each pupil, yet I 
believe it is much better for a child to be educated with 
others than alone. Through their association with one another 
children learn much of the ways of the world and gain both 
fortitude and self-reliance. Says Goldsmith, “ A boy will 
learn more true wisdom in a public school in a year than by a 
private education in five. It is not from masters but from 
their equals youth learn a knowledge of the world; the little 
tricks they play each other, the punishment that frequently 
attends the commission, is a just picture of the great world; 
and all the ways of men are practiced in a public school in 
miniature. It is true a child is early made acquainted with 
some vices in a school, but it is better to know these when a 
boy than be first taught them when a man; for their novelty GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
389 
then may have irresistible charms.” On this subject The 
Spectator says, “ A private education seems the most natural 
method for the forming of a virtuous man; a public educa- 
tion for making a man of business. The first would furnish a 
good subject for Plato’s Republic, the latter for a member of a 
community over-run with avarice and corruption.” 
ON THE AGE AT WHICH TO ENTER SCHOOL. 
As the reader may infer from some remarks made above, the 
age at which children should be sent to school is variable. 
Those that are feeble should not be sent as early as those that 
are strong. Then, the method of teaching must be taken into 
consideration. From the sixth to the seventh year is certainly 
soon enough for children to begin to attend any of our ordin- 
ary schools, that is, those in which learning to read is the 
chief aim for the first two years, or so. Experience goes to 
show .that in them the average pupil who begins to attend at 
seven years of age will be further advanced at nine than one 
who begins at five. From this it would certainly appear that 
early attendance in them is harmful to the mental powers. 
Rousseau was not very far wrong in keeping his ideal pupil, 
Emile, free from the infliction of artificial learning until he 
was twelve years of age. 
THE KINDERGARTEN METHOD OF EDUCATION. 
The peculiar infant schools called kindergartens, which are 
increasing in popularity, are deserving of attention. The method 
of teaching pursued in them is in the line of realization of an 
excellent precept of Plato, namely, “ Let early education be a 
sort of amusement.” 
In kindergartens the pupils spend most of the time in 
“occupations” {i.e., weaving, folding, embroidering, cutting, 
etc.) and upon “ gifts” {i.e., mathematical lessons in number 
and form conducted with the use of blocks of various shapes 390 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
and sizes). In some much attention is paid to the study of 
surrounding objects, both natural and otherwise, and to the 
performance of acts of a useful nature. Through them not 
only valuable instruction and manual dexterity may be 
gained, but what is of still greater importance, good tastes 
and habits. 
The kindergarten or “ garden of children” was originated 
by a German educator named Froebel, who was born in 1782 
and died in 1852. The first one was instituted at Blanken- 
burg in 1837. Froebel gathered many of his views from 
Pestalozzi, a celebrated Swiss teacher who was born in 1746 
and died in 1827. He held with Pestalozzi that the function 
of education is to develop the faculties of the mind through 
exercise; but he also held that the exercise should be volun- 
tary on the part of the pupil. Action proceeding from inner 
impulses or self-activity he regarded as the one thing needful. 
His plan of teaching was derived largely from a close .study 
of the natural unfoldment of the mental nature ; and he very 
properly directed special attention to the improvement of the 
very young. His work, “ The Education of Man,” which 
was published in 1826, deals mainly with the education of 
children under seven years of age. From observing the 
games in which children take pleasure he drew up a graduated 
scheme of exercises; and he intended that the pupil in en- 
gaging in these should be made to feel that he is at play. 
But it is not necessary to follow any stereotyped plan. As 
Froebel himself says of the kindergarten, it is “to give the 
children employment in agreement with their whole nature, 
to strengthen their bodies, to exercise their senses, to engage 
their awakening mind and through their senses to bring them 
acquainted with nature and their fellow creatures; but it is 
especially to guide aright the heart and the affections, and to 
lead them to the original ground of all life, to unity with 
themselves.” GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE. 
391 
THE CHOICE OF KNOWLEDGE. 
Of course, it is proper for every child to learn to read and 
write. Both these arts are of inestimable value to every one. 
But learning to read and write is not acquiring knowledge; 
it is only acquiring the ability to learn the written, or printed 
ideas of others and to convey one’s own by signs or symbols, 
by words on paper, or the like. And here I may remark 
that, doubtless, too much time is spent in the schools on mere 
word-knowledge or language. Names are nothing more than 
the labels of things and their properties and relations and of 
actions, or in other words of ideas. To know several tongues, 
then, is to know several ways of naming and expressing ideas. 
It is not uncommon for pupils to know the names without 
knowing the ideas for which they stand. 
But apart from the acquirement of the means, the instru- 
ments of learning, the choice of knowledge is a matter of the 
highest importance. What is most useful is evidently the 
best; for as Mr. Spencer says, “ to prepare us for complete 
living is the function which education has to discharge.” Yet 
in our schools it is customary not to teach, or rather to attempt 
to teach much that has any bearing on every-day life. In 
respect to this Mrs. Browning makes Aurora Leigh, the chief 
character of her work of that name, speak sarcastically as 
follows:— 
“ I learnt the royal genealogies 
Of Oviedo, the internal laws 
Of the Burmese Empire, * * * by how many feet 
Mount Chimborazo outsoars TenerifFe, 
What navigable river joins itself 
To Lara and what census of the year Five 
Was taken at Klagenfurt—because she liked 
A general insight into useful facts.” 
Few, or none have either the time or the talent necessary to 
learn everything; so that which is of the most practical value 
should be learned first. It is better to be able to name the 392 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
flowers which grow in the garden than the peaks of mountains 
in Mexico. It is better to know the relations of life to the 
atmosphere than the rules by which to calculate the changes 
of the moon. 
It may not be amiss to remark here that it is infinitely 
more desirable to know a little and know it well than to know 
much and know it poorly. A thorough familiarity with one 
subject is better than a mere acquaintance with a dozen. 
Unless what one has learned can be reproduced and utilized 
it is practically of no account. Only what one learns well by 
little and little is appropriated. But the self-confidence which 
springs from a consciousness of having a thorough knowledge 
of a subject is of quite as much importance as the knowledge 
itself. Besides, when one department of knowledge is mastered 
it conveys a liking for others. And indeed all knowledge is 
connected, or as the celebrated French educator, Jacotot liked 
to express it,u all is in all ” {“tout est dam tout'’). One cannot 
know one science well without having an insight into all. 
SEX, AND MENTAL CULTURE. 
1 believe it is wise and proper for children of either sex 
under ten years of age to be educated together. The rudi- 
ments of learning taught then are generally speaking of equal 
value to both. Moreover, the influence of the one on the 
other is beneficial; it inspires not only better conduct but 
better sentiments. So far as capacity is concerned they are 
pretty fairly matched. 
After the tenth year of age is passed it is wrong to subject 
children of either sex to similar training. At this period they 
begin to differ; they begin to be both physically and mentally 
markedly unlike. Their rate of growth then varies greatly, as 
has been pointed out elsewhere. This alone is a sufficient reason 
why they should be educated apart. On this point Dr. Bowditch 
says, “ How far should the difference in their rate of growth 393 
GENERAL FEATURES OF MENTAL CULTURE.’ 
be allowed to modify the system of mental training to which 
the children of the two sexes are subjected? The physical 
conditions upon which the manifestations of mental activity 
depend are too little understood, and the whole question is too 
complicated to be discussed in this connection, but it seems to 
be almost self-evident that at those periods when the forces of 
the organism are engaged in producing rapid growth and 
development of the physique the requirements in the way of 
mental effort should be reduced. The fact that these periods 
occur at different ages in the two sexes may therefore be 
regarded as an argument against the co-education of boys and 
girls, except during the earlier years of life, in which the rates 
of growth are practically the same; i.e., up to ten, or eleven 
years of age. How much importance is to be attached to this 
argument is a question which demands for its solution an 
extended series of observations on the annual growth in 
height and weight of a large number of individuals taken in 
connection with a record of their mental progress.” 
Aside, however, from all other considerations it is unwise, 
it is foolish to induce adolescent children of either sex to study 
the same subjects. A boy should be taught such things as 
will likely be of most benefit to him when he reaches man- 
hood and a girl should be taught such things as will likely be 
of most benefit to her when she reaches womanhood. 394 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER II. 
THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
Preliminary Remarks—Love—Reverence—Hope—Fear— 
Cheerfulness—Anger—Fortitude —Resignation —Animal 
Propensities. 
PBELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Feelings arise from impressions made on the various organs 
of sense and diffused in the brain. They are, therefore, closely 
connected with the physical side of the organism. 
Feelings which originate objectively, that is, from impres- 
sions made directly by external objects are sometimes spoken 
of as emotions, and those which originate subjectively, that 
is, from impressions originating within the system, as passions. 
What are commonly called appetites are related to both 
these, but especially the latter. 
On the force of the impression made on the organ of sense 
depends the degree of feeling excited. If the impression 
be repeated the degree of feeling excited grows less, the con- 
sciousness produced becomes less vivid. By continued action 
the nerve-fibres and corpuscles are exhausted and their power 
can be restored only through rest and nourishment. Change, 
then, has an important bearing on the excitation of feeling ; 
indeed it is the groundwork of it and of intellect too. We 
are scarcely aware of the pressure of the atmosphere; for the 
reason that the changes which occur in it are so slight as not 
to be easily appreciated by the senses. If the temperature 
were always the same no idea of grades of it would occur to 
the mind. Hence, the effect of monotony in the course of 
events is depressing. There is a natural tendency to seek for 
variety. Cowper writes — THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
395 
“ The earth was made so various that the mind 
Of desultory man, studious of change 
And pleased with novelty might be indulged. 
Prospects however lovely may be seen 
Till half their beauties fade; the weary sight 
Too well acquainted with their smiles slides off 
Fastidious, seeking less familiar scenes.” 
Feelings are either pleasurable or painful. Pleasure springs 
from a rise, an exaltation of nervous action or vital power 
and pain from a fall, a depression of it. 
Healthy exercise and also rest after toil cause pleasurable 
feelings. But excessive stimulation of the vital functions may 
cause pain by oppressing the sense. A like effect may follow 
when there is a conflict in the stimulation. The fatigue of 
some organs is more painful than that of others. 
Some unpleasurable feelings may be beneficial indirectly. 
Thus the effect of a cold-bath is bracing to the system; but it 
is so only after a longer or shorter period of depression has 
passed away. 
The feelings are reflected by the expression of the features, 
the voice and the movements or gestures of the entire body. 
The mind is mirrored to some extent in the exterior. To the 
artist every feeling has its peculiar outward sign, or signs. 
The feelings in early infancy are comparatively limited in 
scope and are but slightly developed. Until the senses begin 
to act the child is not alive to any extent to any but the sensa- 
tions aroused by want of food, or physical injury, and to these 
not acutely. 
The teacher should thoroughly appreciate the import of 
pleasurable and of unpleasurable feelings. This was done by 
the Edgeworths, who in their long-popular work on popular 
education say, u The general principle that we should asso- 
ciate pleasure with whatever we wish that our pupils should 
pursue and pain with whatever we wish that they should 
avoid forms the basis of our plan of education.” 396 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
LOVE. 
Love may be defined to be a passionate ’ attachment to any 
thing. As a feeling it is of an agreeable nature. It is an 
impelling force, a power which may be sufficiently strong to 
over-master the intellect. When infused with it people may, 
both individually and collectively, manifest an almost super- 
human capacity for good, or evil. Of the numerous directions 
in which it may develop I cannot attempt to speak. I will, 
however, make some remarks on a few of them. 
Love of self is severely condemned by some. I hold, 
however, that a reasonable amount of it is very desirable. 
Those who are deficient in it are generally of secondary im- 
portance in the world. But I do not mean to convey the 
idea that very much of it is a trait of character which should 
be esteemed. An excess of it usually carries with it a grow- 
ing propensity to have little consideration for others; or in 
other words, an overweening self-love tends to degenerate into 
rank selfishness. It is a fault which should not be nursed. 
An only child runs a great risk of having self-love exces- 
sively developed. Apart from the behavior of parents, when 
there are several of a family each member of it is kept in 
mind by the rest that others too have feelings, preferences and 
rights and in this way a habit of considering those feelings 
preferences and rights is formed. Without this habit one 
will find when cast among others that his lot is anything but 
pleasant. 
Love of beauty is a worthy feeling. Plenty of field is 
there for its indulgence. The world is beautiful and full of 
beautiful things. 
The capacity to appreciate the beautiful may be developed 
and refined to a high degree. Buskin says, “ The sensation 
of beauty is dependent on a pure, right and open state of the 
heart both for its truth and its intensity.” On the principle 
that it is a perfect mind only that can be alive to perfection THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
397 
the same author remarks that “ beauty has been appointed by 
the Deity to be one of the elements by which the human soul 
is continually sustained.” 
There are certainly plenty of reasons why the feeling for 
the beautiful or aesthetic sensibility should be cultivated. In 
this way it is possible to greatly augment joy and happiness. 
Nature’s myriad works and all the productions of art should 
minister to human delight and enable one to banquet con- 
stantly on pleasures. Springs of enchantment may be found 
overflowing on every hand. Every bud and blossom, every 
lawn and landscape, every picture and statue—whatever comes 
within the range of the senses invites attention and proffers 
charms which may give zest and sweetness to life. Thus all 
things may pay tribute to every one’s welfare and be in a 
manner claimed as his own. 
Love OF TRUTH should be assiduously instilled into the 
young; for it is one of the fundamental elements of a noble 
character. It is to be feared that this virtue is often more told 
of than taught. Under no circumstances should anything 
but truth be spoken. All exaggeration should be checked; 
for it is a step in the wrong direction. Once a habit of 
diverging from accuracy in speaking of things is developed it 
is hard to limit one’s self to simple facts. As said by the 
celebrated Dr. Samuel Johnson, “ it is more from carelessness 
about truth than from intentional lying that there is so much 
falsehood in the world.” 
By placing confidence in a child’s veracity and honor self- 
respect is fostered. Hence suspicion of untruth fulness has a 
bad effect. Until there is good reason to believe that a false- 
hood has been told all accusation should be withheld. But it 
is unwise to let a single instance of either prevarication or 
untruthfulness pass unnoticed. If the fault is known the 
evidence of it should be advanced ; and a full confession of 
guilt should be exacted. 398 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
Love of right or justice should be earnestly and perse- 
veringly inspired in the young. This virtue cannot receive 
more homage than it deserves. It is ill-appreciated by too 
many; and by not a few it is set at naught. There is not 
that unflinching adherence to it prevailing which there ought 
to be. Cheating and fraudulent acts of all kinds are systemati- 
cally practiced by multitudes of people. There is reason to 
doubt that the average man can cast his eye heavenward, put 
his hand on his breast and say from his heart as Milton once 
did to his wife, “My wish is to live and die an honest man.” 
Public opinion is too lenient to the unprincipled. So much 
so is this the case that one is tempted to exclaim in the words 
which Shakspeare puts into the mouth of the rogue Autolyctus, 
“ I see this is the time that the unjust man doth thrive!” 
Children should be treated justly, so that the example may 
give emphasis to the precepts inculcated. It is worse than 
useless to moralize on the excellence of right if one’s actions 
are not in accordance with it. Yet this is common. 
Treating particular members of the family differently from 
the others is a form of injustice which is far from being rare. 
The elder children should not be allowed to practice the 
injustice of domineering over the younger. This practice is 
sure to beget discord and not infrequently leads to worse 
evils. 
Love of doing good or benevolence is a splendid 
virtue. Goldsmith speaks of doing good as a luxury and 
indeed it is very largely such. The satisfaction which arises 
from the performance of deeds of kindness is among the most 
pleasurable of feelings. 
If in doing good one has not to practice any self-denial it is 
not as commendable as when the opposite is the case. Little acts 
of courtesy which call for some self-sacrifice manifest best the 
condition of the heart. 
Personal attention to the sick and liberality to the poor are THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
399 
forms of goodness which the young should be taught to appre- 
ciate. A desire to minister to the infirmities and pressing 
wants of others is a highly adorning trait in the character. 
Galen pronounced a magnificent encomium on Hippocrates in 
saying, “ There was but one sentiment in his soul and that was 
the love of doing good, and in the course of his long life but 
a single act and that was the relieving of the sick.” 
Love of country or patriotism has always been regarded 
as a virtue. Undoubtedly it is a desirable sentiment; but it is 
liable to be excessively developed. When it is present in such 
a degree as to blind one to all that is admirable in other places 
it is objectionable. The motto, “ My country right, or wrong” 
is a product of insane patriotism. 
While on a visit to this country many years ago Miss 
Martineau observed that “ children were brought up to talk 
politics before they could be qualified to have an opinion and 
taught at school to despise other nations and glorify their 
own.” Possibly this statement still holds good, to some 
extent. However, through increasing intercourse, which is 
greatly promoted by the use of steam as a motor and of 
electricity as a messenger of intelligence, people all the world 
over are growing more sympathetic toward one another ; they 
are fast substituting friendly for unfriendly feelings and 
learning to be sincere when they speak of the universal 
brotherhood of mankind. 
Love of dress is often developed to an inordinate degree. 
Pandering to it brings many a family to ruin. In some girls 
it is so marked that they can hardly turn their thoughts to 
anything else. And it is better on the whole that This taste 
should be in excess than the reverse; for untidiness in any 
one, but especially a girl, is a disgrace. Still Ecclesiasticus is 
right in saying, “ Glory not in apparel at any time.” 
Love of money is seldom very strong in early life. To 
be sure it is ardently enough desired but it is not for itself 400 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
but for what it will purchase. I think it is wrong to teach 
children not to appreciate it. Thrift is a virtue, whereas the 
extravagant use of money slopes the way to innumerable vices. 
Goldsmith expresses very good sentiments on the subject; he 
says, “ As boys should be educated with temperance, so the first 
greatest lesson that should be taught them is to admire frugal- 
ity. It is by the exercise of this virtue alone they can ever 
expect to be useful members of society. It is true lectures 
continually repeated on this subject make some boys when 
they grow up, run into an extreme and become misers; but 
it were well had we more misers than we have amongst us.” 
REVERENCE. 
Reverence may be defined to be a respectful regard for 
anything that is good, or sacred. It is closely related to 
veneration. Like all other feelings it may be either too well 
or not well enough developed. Those having it in excess are 
generally deficient in the qualities which establish self-respect 
and self-confidence. 
Reverence for their parents should be grounded in the 
hearts of all children. Unfortunately there are boys and 
girls too who possess but little of this feeling. Not a few are 
in the habit of speaking of their father as “ the old man,” or 
“ the governor,” and of their mother as “ the old lady,” or 
“the old madam;” and they do not hesitate to disobey, bully 
and otherwise abuse both. How forgetful people can be of 
benefits received! It is sad to think that after nurturing and 
caring tenderly for a child during his helpless years one 
may be treated contemptuously and harshly. Such treatment 
can under no circumstances be justifiable. But that parents 
not infrequently have themselves to blame for it is not at all 
doubtful. Bad training is sure to bear sorrowful fruit. 
Reverence for the aged is a virtue which should not be 
overlooked in training the young. No one whose mind has THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
401 
been properly cultured can look on a human being who is 
approaching the limit of the period of existence without ex- 
periencing any unusual feeling. Only exceptionally bad boys, 
or girls, I fondly believe, would wantonly treat such a person 
with disrespect; and these are not entirely undeserving of the 
fate which we are told befell those who acted thus toward 
Elisha. 
Everything that is good should be regarded with reverential 
feelings. There are, unfortunately, some among the immature 
who are so lost in themselves that they can see no good in 
others and who are so obtuse mentally that nothing can 
inspire in them a sense of awe. These cynical specimens of 
defective humanity are deserving of considerable pity; for 
assuredly they have been ill-trained. 
It may not be amiss to speak in this place of blasphemy 
or the use of profane language. This form of irreverence is 
practiced, as every one knows, to a great extent. Multitudes 
seem to take pleasure in taking “ the name of the Lord ” in 
vain in spite of the commandment against it with which 
nearly all are familiar. This is especially true of many 
adolescent boys; and these often do it because they think that 
it will make them seem manly. But there is nothing manly 
about profanity. Nor is language saturated with it called for 
under any circumstances. 
Profanity and indeed all other species of vileness of speech 
should not be tolerated in children. This is a matter about 
which too many parents are apt to give themselves little 
trouble. 
HOPE. 
Hope or the power to look forward to the enjoyment of 
better things is an excellent trait of character. Armstrong 
speaks of it as “ the balm and life-blood of the soul ” and as 
“ our greatest good and what we least can spare.” The path- 
way of life of but few is just as one would wish it to be; to 402 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
many it is hilly, rough and hard to pass along ; and hence it 
is wise to foster this buoyant faculty, and make it so that it 
will be indeed as Byron writes— 
“ The rainbow to the storms of life, 
The evening beam that smiles the clouds away 
And tints to-morrow with prophetic ray.” 
Hopefulness is a source of strength ; it is one of the main- 
springs of human action. A mind that resists discouragement 
and yields not under troubles is a valuable possession. It is 
said that on starting on his campaign in Asia, Alexander the 
Great bestowed all his property on his friends and being asked 
what he reserved for himself replied, “ Hope.” A timorous, 
easily dejected person is not likely to rise in the world, or to 
become distinguished for great works. That is a fine verse of 
Tennyson’s which reads— 
“ The mighty hopes that make us men.” 
Despondency is an evil which should not be encouraged. 
It can do no good. The troubles one has to contend with 
cannot be dissipated by it; or as is said by one of Shak- 
speare’s characters a none can cure their harms by wailing 
them.” 
A brooding spirit in early life indicates that something is 
wrong; for it is unnatural. It is not infrequently marked 
at, or soon after the age of puberty. At that period especially 
is it a signal of unhappiness which should not be neglected. 
On noticing that their children are thus affected, parents should 
inquire into the cause of it, and then remove it if in their 
power. As a rule, it will be found that it springs from the 
entertainment of distorted ideas about some matter or other, 
and that sensible advice will lead to the discontinuance 
of it. Boys and girls may, doubtless, have some unimaginary 
grievances to bear, but there is generally no very sound reason 
why they should spend any time in morbid musing, or why THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
403 
they should not be always ready to exclaim in the words of 
Mrs. Norton— 
“ Though at times my spirit fails me, 
And the bitter tear-drops fall, 
Though my lot is hard and lonely, 
Yet I hope—I hope through all.” 
FEAB. 
Fear or a dread of the coming of evils, when in excess is a 
rich source of unhappiness. Armstrong characterizes it as 
“ the last of all our evils.” It is one of the frailties of human 
nature which tend to increase if they are not actively opposed. 
An enlightened reason, or what is much akin, self-confidence, 
is the chief antidote to it. 
Extreme timidity is a sorrowful infirmity; it is a serious 
defect in the character. A person who is constantly in dread 
of danger cannot derive much pleasure from living. Some 
children are so easily terrified that they are often in a state of 
misery. Miss Martineau was one of this class. Says she, “ I 
was as timid a child as ever was born; yet nobody knew, or 
could know the extent of this timidity; for though abund- 
antly open about everything else, I was as secret as the grave 
about this. I had a dream at four years old which terrified 
me to such an excess that I cannot now recall it without a 
beating of the heart. I could not look up at the sky on a 
clear night; for I felt as if it were only just above the tree- 
tops and must crush me. I could not cross the yard except 
at a run, from a sort of feeling with no real belief that a bear 
was after me. The horrors of my nights were inexpressible.” 
Children should not be subjected to sudden alarms, or have 
their imaginations disordered by terrifying stories. They 
should not be told of ghosts, murders, horrible diseases, or 
anything else the contemplation of which would depress their 
spirits; for it will cause their minds to waver and produce 404 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
timidity. Neither should they be frightened into doing any- 
thing nor mystified for any reason. 
It is not either natural or right for children to live in dread 
of their parents. If such a feeling exists, measures should be 
taken to banish it without delay. A child that is constantly 
in apprehension of impending suffering of some sort will in- 
evitably deteriorate in character. Between him and his parents 
there should be the utmost confidence. 
Many children are afraid of their teachers. This should 
never be the case. Usually there is little or no cause for it. 
At any rate while it exists the mind is not in a favorable 
condition for the acquisition of knowledge, or improvement in 
any way. 
CHEERFULNESS. 
Cheerfulness is an excellent trait of mind. In Proverbs it 
is said “ A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” It is a 
stimulant; through the influence of it the blood circulates 
better and all the functions of the body are rendered more 
active. Sancho Panza was not far wrong in saying, “ He who 
sings frightens away his ills.” 
A melancholy frame of mind is a heavy infliction, especially 
in early life. Ecclesiasticus says “ Sadness hath killed many 
and there is no profit in it.” And again, “ Pensiveness will 
bring old age before the time.” 
Some, I am sorry to say, exert themselves to depress their 
children mentally; they are striving constantly to keep them 
still. In his work, “ Studies of Nature,” St. Pierre remarks 
in reference to this, “1 Be good children ’ is the perpetual in- 
junction ; and this goodness consists in never moving a limb. 
A woman of spirit who was fond of children took notice one 
day, at the house of a shop-keeper in St. Denis street, of a little 
boy and girl who had a very serious air. 1 Your children are 
very grave' said she. fAh! madam,’ replied the sagacious 
shop-dame, ‘ it is not for want of whipping if they are not so.’ ” THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
405 
Mirthfulness in the young should not be repressed. It is 
no harm to laugh. Those who do it most are apt to be the 
healthiest as well as the happiest; for it tends to make the 
breathing deep and free and to promote the functional activity 
of the heart and all other parts of the organism. Then, let 
the young indulge in it. The merry sounds of it will be 
beneficial to those around. One cannot listen to them long 
without catching something of the spirit which prompts them. 
Especially should little children be encouraged to be 
mirthful. Their hearts should be constantly overflowing 
with joy. Nothing should be said, or done that would make 
them feel sad. These ideas are finely set forth by Procter 
(Barry Cornwall) in his song for a child, for his own daughter 
Adelaide, who became distinguished as a poet, and called 
“ Golden-tressed Adelaide,” which I cannot help quoting here 
in full. 
“ Sing, I pray, a little song, 
Mother dear 1 
Neither sad nor very long ; 
It is for a little maid, 
Golden-tressed Adelaide ! 
Therefore let it suit a merry, merry ear, 
Mother dear! 
“ Let it be a merry strain, 
Mother dear! 
Shunning e’en the thought of pain ; 
For our gentle child will weep 
If the theme be dark and deep; 
And we will not draw a single, single tear, 
Mother dear! 
“ Childhood should be all divine, 
Mother dear! 
And like an endless summer shine ; 
Gay as Edward’s shouts and cries, 
Bright as Agnes’ azure eyes 5 
Therefore bid thy song be merry ; dost thou hear, 
Mother dear? ” 406 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
ANGER. 
Anger or an excited resentful feeling is a mental state which 
should not be cherished. The frequent occurrence of it is an 
indication of a morbid condition of the mind, a condition 
which may be as much due to habit as disease. 
But although it. is well that the disposition should be placid 
it by no means follows that a person cannot be excessively 
void of spirit. Those who cannot be ruffled by an injury 
need not be expected to be alive to impressions of any kind. 
Nor will those who have not courage enough to resent an insult 
ever be distinguished for noble deeds. It is natural to become 
angry under provocation and it is well that it is so. 
Extreme irascibility is frequently the result of disease. 
When the nervous system becomes irritable the mind cannot 
be in a calm condition. This should be carefully borne in 
mind by those in charge of the young; for under the circum- 
stances they should be very forbearant and gentle in their 
conduct. 
Many children’s tempers are spoiled by irritating them 
without reason. Needlessly-opposing their wishes, disappoint- 
ing expectations deliberately excited and reproaching and 
punishing them for errors not inspired by wrong desires are 
practices which should be strictly abstained from. A very 
fertile source of wrathfulness in them is inconstant or variable 
treatment. Reproving to-day for what was praised yesterday 
will injure the disposition of the most indifferent. 
The example of irritability shown by parents is a great 
cause of it in their children. If they are constantly letting 
their tempers “ get the better of them,” as the phrase runs, 
how could those under their care be expected to do otherwise? 
They should never be fretful and cross themselves who expect 
those they are training to be always free from these faults. 
Now, when children become angry it is extremely unwise 
for their parents to become similarly affected and to oppose THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
407 
passion with passion. Yet, is not this often done? To 
subdue their excited feelings, one should be gentle and firm 
in demeanor and after diverting their attention to something 
pleasing until they get into a placid mood, advise them in a 
friendly way of their misconduct. If such a course be pur- 
sued they will learn to restrain their feelings. 
I may say a few words about sulkiness. This condition 
is very unnatural to children; they are not inclined to 
remember injuries long. Nor should it be encouraged. But 
it is not judicious to attempt to bring them into a state of 
good humor immediately after reprimanding, or punishing 
them; it is best to postpone it for a reasonable length of time 
so as to allow the emotions to somewhat subside. 
Fortitude or courage to face and wrestle with difficulties 
is a praiseworthy quality in children as well as in persons of 
mature years. It is in some respects the reverse of timidity. 
A consciousness of force or power is the basal principle of it. 
It should never be forgotten by parents that their children 
must sooner or later rely more or less on themselves. Hence, 
an enervating system of training should be scrupulously 
shunned. It is proper to foster a spirit of self-reliance from 
as early an age as possible, so that they may be prepared to 
encounter courageously the little pains and misfortunes of 
childhood as well as the serious trials which are likely to 
arise in adult life. Murmuring and discontent should always 
be repressed; for a habit of fretting and crying for trifles is 
easily formed. Every one will find that “ the miseries of this 
sinful world” are ample enough without being nursed. 
Very tenderly brought up children usually turn out to be 
men and women of feeble character. It is not from license 
and luxury that the best qualities of the species gather force. 
If the desirable powers of the mind are not called into play 
FORTITUDE. 408 
MENTAL, CULTURE. 
habitually they cannot be expected to be strong and subtile. 
Mental independence is the result of continued efforts, just as 
the art of walking alone is. 
When accustomed to rely on themselves children soon dis- 
play a surprising amount of self-possession and good sense. 
Some of them appear to be capable of running the gauntlet of 
all possible perils and dangers without sustaining any harm. 
Paradoxical as it may seem, yet it is a fact that those who are 
the most closely watched and guarded are the very ones that 
oftenest meet with accidents. It is judicious, then, to let them 
be in a great measure their own keepers. As Dr. Combe says, 
“ the child ought as far as possible to be allowed the choice 
of its own occupations and amusements and to become the 
chief agent in the development and formation of its own char- 
acter. So long as it manifests feelings, desires, and intellectual 
wants which are in themselves right and proper we cannot in 
any way contribute to its welfare and happiness as much as 
by allowing it free scope for their gratification.” 
Many mothers are prone to favor dependence, to cultivate 
infirmity of character in their children, under the idea that 
in this way they can reap an enlarged and prolonged return 
of affection. Such parents are apt to discover in time that 
they are anything but blessed in them. 
As children grow in years they should also grow in intelli- 
gence and wisdom, in independence. From infancy forward 
the mind should advance in stature gradually, just like the 
body. A child that increases in size and not in sense is 
idiotic. The ability to observe and reason should go on im- 
proving from birth forward. Between the condition of the 
mental faculties at five and at ten years of age there should 
be as marked a contrast as between that of the body at these 
periods. Hence it is proper not only to expect but to encour- 
age the disappearance of childishness. 
But wrong as it is to retard the mental unfoldment of the THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
409 
young it is, perhaps, still worse to over-hasten it. Attempt- 
ing to transform boys and girls into men and women prema- 
turely is very sure to be harmful to them and make them 
objects of contempt. There is, however, a certain indescribable 
sort of manliness in boys and womanliness in girls which 
cannot be developed too early. 
RESIGNATION. 
Resignation or satisfaction with the existing condition of 
things is in some respects a virtue and in some it is not. It 
is right to submit willingly to whatever is inevitable. Thus 
it matters not how seriously the rain this morning upsets my 
plans for the day there is no reason why I should lament 
about it. Unreasonable fault-finding is both unwise and 
useless. One should at least attempt to be happy under all 
circumstances. 
But it is wrong to bend passively to harmful forces which 
may be set aside, or to be reconciled easily to a lot which admits 
of improvement. It is a wholesome discontent with things 
as they are which leads people to undertake all new enter- 
prises. There could be no progress if none were to desire to 
improve their condition. And fortunately every one can by 
well-directed efforts satisfy even immoderate cravings for 
everything which ministers to happiness. Through earnest 
endeavors one may triumph over great obstacles and attain to 
even more than ambition may long for. In this great country 
in which we live, with its laws insuring equal rights to all, the 
humblest may confidently hope to rise if they will but try, if 
they will but exert themselves. 
It is to no one’s advantage to be of a passive, yielding nature. 
Only through an active, dauntless spirit can glorious deeds be 
wrought. People who are always in a retiring mood cannot 
be expected to prove victorious in any enterprise in which 
they may engage. Tenacity of purpose is the leading trait 410 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
of all who achieve greatness. The persevering need seldom 
be doubtful of succeeding in their undertakings. This is a 
truth which should be thoroughly grounded in the minds of 
the young. And they should be taught to put it in practice, 
to patiently apply themselves until they accomplish any task 
which is set before them. In their vocabulary there should 
be no such words as can’t and fail. It is by dint of untiring 
industry that much that is grand can be accomplished in life’s 
brief span. As Longfellow writes— 
“ The heights by great men reach’d and kept 
Were not attained by sudden flight, 
But they while their companions slept 
Were toiling upward in the night.” 
ANIMAL PROPENSITIES. 
The animal propensities are generally inclined to become so 
marked as to call for active repression. Nor should this be 
altogether regarded as unfortunate; for it is better to be pos- 
sessed of positive qualities, even that they are not very good, 
than none at all. It is hard to make much of a child that is 
not somewhat prone to indulge in excesses. 
In his book of advice to his children Penn tells them to be 
temperate in their diet, “ for that is physic by prevention : it 
keeps, nay, it makes people healthy and their generation 
sound.” The excessive indulgence of the appetite is in every 
respect a despicable vice. All children run some risk of gain- 
ing a taste for it. Their desires are too generally gratified, 
and not only gratified but pampered. Pressing them to eat 
when they have indulged sufficiently is a habit which mothers 
should not acquire. Those that are taught to be very fond of 
good eating are usually doomed to experience trouble and are 
not likely to become distinguished for much that is praise- 
worthy. Well indeed does the wish expressed by Burns for 
his countrymen in that fine poem, “The Cotter’s Saturday 
Night,” deserve to be thought over— THE CULTURE OF THE FEELINGS. 
411 
“ May Heaven their simple lives prevent 
From luxury’s contagion, weak and vile !” 
Temperance not only in eating but in everything else can- 
not be regarded with too much favor. The immoderate 
gratification of their appetites is the besetting sin of most 
people. The intemperate use of alcoholic liquors is one of the 
greatest of the curses which afflict the race. And what an 
irrational, foul habit it is! Well might Shakspeare through 
Cassius exclaim, “ To be now a sensible man, by and by a fool 
and presently a beast! O, strange! ” Parents should 
earnestly endeavor to prevent their children from contracting 
this terrible vice. 
It is to be regretted that the word temperate is used popu- 
larly to express the idea of total abstinence from alcoholic 
beverages. A temperate man is not one who abstains entirely 
from anything, but one who has no desire for whatever is 
injurious. Plato remarks, “ He who knows the temperate 
life will describe it as in all things gentle, having gentle pains 
and gentle pleasures, and placid desires and loves not insane.” 
Unfortunately a tendency to excessive self-indulgence is very 
prevalent. Few there are who have a complete mastery over 
themselves. To generate this power should be one of the 
chief aims in view in culturing the minds of the young. 
Crueety is a species of vileness which cannot be too 
forcibly condemned. Any one who needlessly inflicts pain 
on another, or on any creature is void of one of the finest 
traits of the human mind. Doubtless it is generally more 
from want of thought than deliberate wickedness that children 
practice it. Every One dreads suffering and consequently 
should have no desire to cause it; the recollection of the 
Golden Rule should be sufficient to deter the Avorst from 
acting so depravedly. And it should be understood by all 
that there is not a being in existence which may be injured at 
will without feeling hurt. Indeed there is reason to believe 412 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
that the sensibility of most animals is just as acute as that of 
man. 
It is but right for parents to teach their children to recoil 
from cruelty of every kind, to abhor wanton injury of even 
the most lowly thing which crawls at their feet. Far from 
being beyond question is the philosophy which proclaims 
that, as Pliny expresses it, “ for man’s sake all other things 
appear to have been produced by Nature.” But although 
no one need be made to believe with Ovid that “all things 
have an equal right to live,” yet every one should be taught 
that it is villainy, that it is sinful to causelessly give pain to 
the humblest animal which exists. If a habit of acting 
cruelly to animals is allowed to grow, it is easy to lapse into 
acting similarly to human beings. The boy who can injure a 
bird without experiencing any compunction of conscience 
would likely injure a horse without much hesitation ; and the 
boy who can injure a horse without hesitation would not 
likely be very sensitive about injuring his fellows. 
Fighting is a base practice. A desire to indulge in it, to 
resort to force in retaliation for any injury sustained is a usual 
accompaniment of an irascible disposition. The tendency to 
it should be combated early. A pugnacious person is very 
certain to sooner or later have reason to regret the possession 
of his wicked propensity. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
413 
CHAPTER III. 
THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
Preliminary Remarks— Observation—Reading—Reasoning— 
Imagination or Fancy. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
The nature of the intellect is an interesting subject, but one 
which is by no means easy to fathom; which facts account 
for the great extent as well as the miserable quality of the 
literature of it. 
Synonyms, or very nearly so of the word intellect are 
THOUGHT, REASON and UNDERSTANDING. 
The intellectual operations of the mind proceed so imper- 
ceptibly that it is not at all strange that people in general 
suppose that they have no connection with the physical 
organization, that they are carried on through pure spirit. 
Beyond all doubt, however, they are carried on by means of 
material organs, by the brain and the several senses. Careful 
observation indicates that they are very destructive of matter, 
of blood, of which, by the way, about one-fifth of all in the 
body circulates in the head. From them the brain grows 
weary just as surely as do the muscles of the arm from 
manual labor. But I need not dwell here on this theme, for 
it is treated of with sufficient fullness elsewhere. 
Like feelings, the thoughts are excited by the differences 
of things. Knowledge is a record of relations. Nothing can 
in itself be known. Heat and cold, up and down, white and 
black are relative things. Heat is known because of its dif- 
ference from cold; black is known because of its difference 
from white; and so on. And so it is also in respect to the 414 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
morality of actions. Good acts are recognized as such because 
of their unlikeness to bad ones. 
The intellect consists of three ultimate faculties, namely, 
the sense of difference, the sense of similarity and the 
memory. 
The sense of difference or the power of discrimination 
is an initial faculty of the mind. By it the contrasting fea- 
tures of things, including actions are noted. Through culti- 
vation it may become wonderfully acute. Thus the cultured 
eye is capable of distinguishing thousands of shades of color. 
It is principally in the ability to recognize distinctions or 
peculiarities in things that the grades of talent of people con- 
sist. And the development of this ability in every one is 
gradual. At birth the child knows nothing; not one of the 
impressions made on his senses can he distinguish; he cannot 
identify aught. Soon, however, he begins to notice differences 
and as time passes on he becomes alive to more and more. 
The sense of similarity, as a faculty, is the power by 
which likeness or agreement in things is recognized. It is by 
means of it that one takes cognizance of the resemblance of 
things to one another, that one identifies them. Through it 
old ideas are reproduced; and hence it is somewhat similar 
to imagination in meaning. By either it or the sense of 
difference all knowledge is collected; these are the only 
faculties by which original ideas can be gathered. 
The power to recognize likeness in things is acquired by 
degrees. The child at birth can no more trace resemblances 
than differences. To him at first each impression made on the 
eye, the ear, or any of the senses is an independent one. In 
the course of time he learns through repetition to recognize 
what he has before observed. His nurse becomes familiar to 
him by seeing her again and again. The idea of her 
individuality is formed and fixed by taking notice of her 
repeatedly. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
415 
In an essay on the culture of the observing powers of child- 
ren, which forms the introduction to a little book on botany, 
by Miss E. A. Youmans, of New York, it is rightly said, “ As 
to know a thing is to perceive its differences from other things 
and its likeness to other things, it is, therefore, strictly an act 
of classing. This is involved in every act of thought; for 
to recognize a thing is to classify its impression or idea with 
previous states of feeling. Classification in all its aspects and 
applications is but the putting together of things that are 
alike, the grouping of things by their resemblances; and as to 
know a thing is to know what it is like and what it is unlike, we 
begin to classify as soon as we begin to think. When a child 
learns to know a tree, for example, he discriminates it from 
objects that differ from it and identifies it with those that 
resemble it; and this is simply to class it as a tree. When he 
becomes more intelligent regarding it—when, for instance, he 
sees that it is an elm, or an apple-tree—he simply perceives a 
large number of characters of likeness and difference.” 
The memory or the power of continuing in the mind im- 
pressions which are no longer stimulated by the original agent 
and of recalling them at after times by purely mental forces 
is the basis of intellect. In absence of this faculty one could 
never be otherwise than like a new-born infant mentally. 
The memory of special ideas appears to be seated in the 
same parts through which they' were originally produced. 
Recalling a particular relish arouses something of the same 
taste. Undoubtedly the entire system is in intimate alliance 
with this and all other powers of the mind. Through thought 
it is possible to bring about marked changes in the organism. 
Dwelling intently on certain morbid conditions will give rise 
to them. 
The more marked the impression made on the mind is the 
more lasting will it be. Anything of which one becomes 
vividly conscious will not be readily forgotten. Hence the 416 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
attention should be brought to bear intently on whatever one 
wishes to memorize. Repetition of an impression serves to 
render it indelible. 
As a rule, the young can commit anything to memory 
faster than the old. This power is at its maximum at about 
the fifteenth year of age. It is somewhat more marked in 
females than males; and in the illiterate it is, perhaps, usually 
greater than in the educated. Impressibility has much to do 
with it. Evidently this is why it is greater in the morning 
than in the evening. 
The memory is not of unlimited capacity. The learned are 
all well aware that it can contain but a small part of what is 
known. As remarked by Mr. A. Bain, a distinguished writer 
on mind, “a wide scholarship turns into a knowledge of 
places where knowledge is.” It is probable, that, as a rule, 
the larger the brain is the greater is the capacity of the 
memory. 
Instincts are inherited acquisitions. Mr. Darwin remarks, 
u A belief constantly inculcated during the early days of life 
while the brain is impressible appears to acquire almost the 
nature of an instinct, and the very essence of an instinct is 
that it is followed independently of reason.” This important 
matter will be dwelt on elsewhere. 
OBSERVATION. 
Observation or the acquisition of ideas through the senses 
is the original source of all our knowledge of Nature. What 
is not learned in this way is generally not well understood. 
Indeed it is scarcely possible to gather a correct comprehension 
of anything from reading, or hearing about it. A better idea 
of the appearance of any flower can be gained at a glance 
than from a lengthy description of it; and one may hear a 
great deal about it without becoming able to identify it when 
seen. “ You study Nature in the house,” said the late Prof. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
417 
Agassiz, “and when you go out of doors you cannot find her.” 
We should do as is recommended by Bacon, “consult Nature 
herself about Nature.” 
The facts which people collect for themselves from their 
surroundings are the best known and are longest remembered; 
those that are taken from books come at second hand and are 
easily forgotten. It is therefore exceedingly desirable that the 
senses of the young should be not only thoroughly cultured 
but kept at play. Miss Youmans very well remarks, “ The 
existing systems of instruction are deficient by making no 
adequate provision for cultivating the growth of ideas by the 
exercise of the observing powers of children. Observation, 
the capacity for recognizing distinctions and of being mentally 
alive to the objects and actions around us is only to be acquired 
by practice and therefore requires to become a regular and 
habitual mental exercise and to have a fundamental place in 
education.” 
It is by means of the eye that a vast amount of our knowl- 
edge is acquired. The color, form and size of objects are 
largely learned through it. In The Spectator it is said, “ Our 
sight is the most perfect and most delightful of our senses. 
It fills the mind with the largest variety of objects, converses 
with its objects at the greatest distance and continues the 
longest in action without being tired, or satiated with its 
proper enjoyments.” 
The system of object-teaching which has been practiced 
more or less of late is a wise plan of instruction. Instead of 
reading a description of how a thing appears to another it is 
much better to see it with one’s own eyes. 
As already hinted far too little pains are taken to teach 
children to use their eyes. Habits of sight-observation should 
be early and persistently inculcated. The exercise of this 
sense renders it wonderfully active and acute. Some see far 
more and far better than others. 418 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
Through the sense of hearing a large amount of more or 
less original knowledge can be gained, Articulate and all 
other sounds furnish ideas to the mind. 
The ear should be trained to hear just as the eye to see; 
both because it is rendered more observing and acute and 
because it serves to augment one’s pleasures. 
The observations of taste are apt to be limited in quantity, 
but they are in a measure both useful and pleasurable. They 
are valuable on account of affording a safeguard against the 
consumption of injurious articles of diet. But unfortunately 
the taste is very liable to be seriously perverted. Nor are 
people inclined to indulge in only what is pleasing to the 
palate; they teach themselves to like through habit what is 
at first repelled with disgust. 
Observations made through the organ of smell may be both 
useful and pleasurable. Nature intended the nose to serve as 
a life-preserver, as a guard to prevent us from breathing air 
and from eating food which would prove harmful. As a rule, 
disagreeable smells bespeak danger. 
Touch-observations, like those of any of the other senses 
may be increased in number and accuracy to an almost in- 
credible degree. 
Of the touch St. Pierre remarks “ It is the most obtuse of 
all our senses and nevertheless it is in some sort the seal of 
our intelligence. To no purpose is an object exposed to the 
examination of the eye in every possible position; we cannot 
be persuaded that we know it unless we are permitted to put 
it to the touch.” This strange propensity has doubtless been 
often observed by every one. 
READING. 
A taste for wholesome reading is uncommon among chil- 
dren, and, indeed, people in general. A very large proportion 
of the printed matter in demand by the public simply minis- THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
419 
ters to unhealthy cravings. Were Sancho Panza alive to-day 
he could not truthfully say, “ There is no book so bad that 
there is no good in it.” But it is useless to dwell on this 
phase of my subject. 
By means of books one can become familiar with the 
observations and thoughts of others, whether of the past or 
the present, in all parts of the world. Through them I can 
learn whatever I may desire to know. Hence the value of 
them cannot be over-estimated. But obviously it is unwise to 
turn to them for knowledge which might be readily gained by 
one’s own personal observation. Children are often made to 
do this in the course of their education. In regard to this the 
following statement of Spencer is deserving of attention: 
“Only when his acquaintance with the objects and processes of 
the household, the street and the fields is becoming tolerably 
exhaustive, only then should a child be introduced to the new 
sources of information which books supply.” 
Now, it is a mistake to suppose that the more one reads the 
more one knows. If the human mind were retentive to a 
boundless degree it would be possible to read very much to 
advantage; but this is not the case; it is not hard to over-tax 
it; and, moreover, forcing a flood of borrowed ideas on it 
soon enfeebles it. Speaking on this subject an old divine 
(Fuller) quaintly says, “Overburden not thy memory to make 
so faithful a servant a slave! Bemember Atlas was weary. 
Have as much reason as a camel, to rise when thou hast thy 
full load. Memory, like a purse, if it be overfull that it cannot 
shut, all will drop out of it.” With still greater force Dr. 
Bush observes, “ There is a species of intemperance in reading 
as well as in eating. Its effects are the same upon the mind 
as great variety and excess in the use of aliments are upon the 
body. It bloats the mind and renders it weak and sickly. 
It moreover tends to destroy its active powers.” I cannot but 
believe that the minds of many are ruined through this form 420 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
of intemperance. No more should be read than can be 
thoroughly appropriated. This piece of advice cannot be too 
strongly emphasized. 
Parents err when they spur their children into excessive 
application to books; for it will not only result in injury to 
their health but will stunt their observational and other 
powers. And as I need scarcely remark it is wrong to urge 
those who are already very diligent in the acquisition of 
knowledge to make greater efforts. In some cases it is well 
to restrain the ardor for study and inspire a liking for recre- 
ation, physical and mental. For it is possible to be greatly 
fascinated by learning at an early age. The story of Lady 
Jane Grey told by Roger Ascham may be cited by way of 
proof of this. On visiting his pupil one day he found her 
“ readinge Phaedon Platonis in Greek” while her parents and 
friends were out amusing themselves. “ I asked her” says he 
“ whie she wold leese soch pastime in the Parke ? Smiling 
she answered me: ‘ I wisse all their sporte in the Parke is but 
a shadoe to that pleasure that I find in Plato. Alas good 
folke they never felt what trewe pleasure ment.’ ” 
To derive much permanent advantage from reading it is 
necessary to read with a purpose. If one takes up a book in 
order to obtain desired information the attention is kept active 
during the perusal of it. To let the eye run over the contents 
of a work without the exercise of thought will add almost 
nothing to one’s knowledge. As is said in “ Proverbs,” “with 
all thy getting get understanding.” 
Children should be taught never to pass over any words 
they may meet with in the course of their reading which are 
not understood. If nobody is at hand to give assistance let a 
dictionary be consulted. Besides, a desire to know something' 
of the lives of all whose names are frequently met with 
should be stimulated. An encyclopaedia, or a special diction- 
ary of biography may be turned to for this information. And THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
421 
here I may say that the minds of the young should be dis- 
abused of the idea that it is humiliating to confess ignorance 
of any subject. Franklin well observes, “ I find a frank 
acknowledgment of one’s ignorance is not only the easiest 
way to get rid of a difficulty but the likeliest way to obtain 
information.” 
In respect to what books, apart from educational text- 
books, should be read by the young it is difficult to give 
advice. Emerson gives three rules on the subject which are 
as follows: “ Never read any book that is not a year old. 
Never read any but famed books. Never read any but what 
you like; or in Shakspeare’s phrase— 
1 No profit goes where is no pleasure ta’en ; 
In brief, sir, study what you most affect.’ ” 
All these rules are in principle excellent. On each of them I 
will make a few remarks. 
The reason why it is not judicious to read very recent 
books is because it is hard to select from them those that are 
worth reading. Productions of value are proven so by the 
test of time. Not one of a thousand survive in popular 
favor for more than a few months. Of course, it is not the 
fact of being old which makes books worthy of perusal. 
The famed books are as a rule the best. They are the ones 
from which the others are largely drawn. Having read the 
Bible and the works of Homer, Plato, Plutarch, Shakspeare 
and other truly great authors one knows the gist of what is to 
be found in the rest. This statement holds good in regard to 
those on all departments of learning and knowledge. 
In following the taste in the selection of reading matter 
there is danger, unless it is good. It is because they read 
what they like that many never read any but trashy books. 
The appetite for works of an instructive character has to be 
cultivated. The more one knows of a subject the more 
interesting it becomes; or as the German proverb runs, every 422 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
beginning is difficult (“aller Anfang ist schwer”). It is the 
duty of parents to direct the attention of their children to such 
reading as will be most profitable as well as interesting to 
them. In doing this they will have to consider the capacity 
and requirements of each. The interesting rather than the 
useful is craved most by the very young; and it is proper to 
gratify them very fully. 
Novel-reading is sternly forbidden by some moralists; 
but I believe their unqualified opposition to it is irrational. 
A sensible piece of fiction, a truthful delineation of the better 
feelings, sentiments and actions of one’s fellow-men may be 
read advantageously by any one. Such a book as “The Vicar 
of Wakefield” is beneficial in its influence. But the greater 
portion of fictitious literature is mere trash, the perusal of 
which is harmful. The minds of multitudes of children are 
polluted by exciting stories and romances based on vileness of 
some sort. And here I may remark that nearly all the peri- 
odicals published specially for the young are productive of evil. 
They are prepared to suit the prevailing tastes regardless of 
their character. 
The posture in reading is a subject about which a few 
words may fitly be said. Many habitually sit in a bent, con- 
strained position. Now, this should not be the case. The 
mind cannot be clear unless the breathing is perfect; and this 
cannot be expected if the body is not kept straight and un- 
restrained. As Armstrong says— 
“ To stand and sit by turns 
As Nature prompts is best. But o’er your leaves 
To lean forever cramps the vital parts 
And robs the fine machinery of its play.” 
The recumbent posture should be avoided, as it is apt to be 
very trying to the eyes. One should sit erect and keep the 
page of the book in the line of vision and at almost right 
angles to it. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
423 
REASONING. 
By reasoning is meant the act of contrasting and combining 
and of explaining facts. This operation may involve most 
of the faculties of the mind; it may call at least for the exer- 
cise of the sense of difference, the sense of similarity and the 
memory. Through it the ideas are systematized, the knowl- 
edge is organized, or in other words, the natural unity or 
dependence of things is discovered. There can be neither 
coherency nor order in the thoughts unless reason has been at 
work. By the use of this, the most exalted of our powers 
we are led to and can not only trace causes but form conclu- 
sions or judgments. It is the active guiding principle of 
conduct. Hence reasoning should occupy a prominent place 
in a correct system of mental culture. 
The great aim of reason is, or should be the discovery of 
truth, a thing which Cowper beautifully characterizes as “ the 
only lasting treasure.” When it labors for any other purpose 
its efforts are misapplied. Facts, correct explanations and 
just inferences are what it should seek; and to these we should 
be unqualifiedly attached. 
Without ideas one cannot reason; in a vacant mind the 
process of reasoning cannot go on. It is necessary, then, to 
gather knowledge, or this power cannot act. In doing this 
very thing it may have a share ; not an observation can be 
made which does not involve a recognition of either unlike- 
ness or likeness, of relations. But it is with the higher 
relations and the causes of things that it deals principally. 
There are two great methods of reasoning, the deductive 
and the inductive. The former begins with generalities 
and descends to particulars; while the latter begins with par- 
ticulars and ascends to generalities. Bacon, in his great work, 
“ Novum Organum,” writes, “ There are and can exist but 
two ways of investigating and discovering truth. The one 
hurries on rapidly from the senses and particulars to the most 424 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
general axioms; and from them as principles and their sup- 
posed indisputable truth derives and discovers the intermediate 
axioms. * * * The other constructs its axioms from the 
senses and particulars by ascending continually and gradually 
till it finally arrives at the most general axioms.” Until this 
philosopher expounded the inductive method of inquiry, little 
progress was made in the study of Nature. The abstract 
sciences or those not dependent on observation, such as 
geometry, are products of deductive reasoning and were early 
brought to a high state of perfection. 
In reasoning, both the deductive and the inductive methods 
are useful; but the latter should be employed whenever 
possible. Were our knowledge perfect, perhaps, the deduct- 
ive method would be always the preferable one. 
I will now speak briefly of some of the ways by which the 
reasoning powers may be improved. 
As already remarked, through observation the simpler 
efforts of reason are made. In this way the sense of difference 
and the sense of similarity and also to some extent the memory 
are strengthened and disciplined. This is the basis of the art 
of reasoning laid in childhood. 
The study of the natural sciences is, perhaps, the very best 
means which can be resortel to for the culture of the reason- 
ing faculties. It calls into play all the mental powers. The 
chief features of it are the observation and classification of 
facts. As Mr. Phelps, a popular English writer, remarks, 
“ the higher branches of method cannot be taught at first but 
you may begin by teaching orderliness of mind. Collecting, 
classifying, contrasting and weighing facts are some of the 
processes by which method is taught. * * * Scientific 
method may be acquired without many sciences being learned, 
but one or two great branches of science must be accurately 
known.” One who has not studied any natural science is apt 
to know little of the inductive method of investigation. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
425 
The study of mathematics affords discipline to the reason. 
It is chiefly for this end that it is so much pursued iu the 
schools. It is for the most part deductive in method. 
The study of logic or the methods of reasoning, the deduct- 
ive and the inductive, is doubtless beneficial to the reasoning 
powers. It is possible, however, to be able to reason without 
having any knowledge of the rules laid down by logicians, 
just as it is possible to speak correctly without having a 
knowledge of the rules laid down by grammarians. And 
indeed it is better to learn both the art of reasoning and the 
art of speaking largely by practice. At any rate, one should 
have plenty to think about and be able to think well before 
undertaking to learn the rules by which he does so. 
The art of reasoning is of gradual development. As stated 
above, in its simpler forms it is begun as soon as the child 
begins to observe and to classify his ideas. At an early age 
a desire to know the why and wherefore of actions and things 
generally arises and it should be fostered. I cannot believe 
that it is right to force the young to submit in ignorance of 
reasons to all sorts of orders. Such a plan of training is 
unnatural. Locke justly observes, “ If I misobserve not 
they [children] love to be treated as rational creatures sooner 
than is imagined. It is a pride which should be cherished in 
them and as much as can be made the greatest instrument to 
turn them by.” A child that is not taught to think for him- 
self will find in time that rules and habits are not sufficient 
for his guidance. Let him, then, be taught to reason, to know 
the why and wherefore of matters. But, of course, a spirit of 
contradiction and wrangling should not be tolerated, much 
less encouraged. It is not akin to just reasoning. 
It has been said that few human beings are so contentedly 
superficial as to feed habitually on unexplained facts; that on 
the contrary, as we find every day, the ready assumption of any 
cause for a fact rather than remain contented with none affords 426 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
ample proof that the search for causes is characteristic of every 
normal human intellect. The majority of people, however, 
reason very little; and many of those who do indulge in it 
betimes lapse into fallacies. And indeed it is easy to reason 
incorrectly. A mistake which is often made is to take mere 
coincidences or accidental sequences for causes and effects. 
Thus to the medicine which is given to a patient affected with 
a disease which would likely pass away of itself is not infre- 
quently accorded the entire credit of cure. Again, if I 
undertake to explain the growth of the nation and think as 
does the average politician I would refer it almost exclusively 
to the form of government and overlook the natural advan- 
tages and other circumstances to which really it is mainly due. 
And again, if on wishing that I shall see a friend to-day he 
should unexpectedly come into my office after awhile, it would 
not be difficult to fall into the error of attributing his coming 
to my wish. 
The imagination is simply the power by which mind- 
pictures, so to speak, are formed from ideas gathered mainly 
from memory. It is to some extent constructive; it may 
invent or originate new phases of thought. Mr. Darwin says 
of it that it “ is one of the highest prerogatives of man. By 
this faculty he unites independently of the will former images 
and ideas and thus creates brilliant and novel results.” Fancy 
may be taken as of similar meaning. Some, however, give 
this name to the faculty when in its exercise matters very 
unreal and extravagant are dealt with. Thus a mental pic- 
ture of a body of men engaged in a military drill is produced 
by the imagination; while one of a body of fairies indulging 
in military evolutions is produced by the fancy. 
The imagination is not-as active in many as it might well 
be. Says Emerson, “ men are ever lapsing into a beggarly 
habit wherein anything that is not ciphering, that is, which 
IMAGINATION OR FANCY. THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
427 
does not serve the tyrannical animal is hustled out of sight. 
Our orators and writers are of the same poverty and in this 
rag-fair neither the imagination, the great awakening power, 
nor the morals, creative of genius and of men, are addressed. 
But though orator and poet be of this hungry train the 
capacities remain. We must have symbols. The child asks 
for a story and is thankful for the poorest.” 
The notion that imagination deals little with real things 
is erroneous. Nor‘is it of use only to poets, painters and 
the like; it may be of great practical value to every one. 
Through it we can in a manner enjoy anew the pleasures of 
the past and anticipate those of the future. Without it de- 
light could only arise from absolute impressions on the senses. 
If it were not for it few could have the courage necessary to 
undertake labors which bring no immediate gratification. 
Moreover, in absence of it we should be blind to the mental 
state of others, and consequently could have very little of that 
sympathy for one another upon which the observance of the 
Golden Buie almost wholly depends. 
Not only is the degree of development of the imagination 
very different in different persons but the character of imagin- 
ings may vary greatly. One can dwell on unpleasant as well 
as pleasant things; and indeed there are many who are almost 
constantly in a state of misery from painful contemplations. 
Hence the cultivation and guidance of the imagination are 
both affairs of great moment. 
As with mental faculties in general the imaginative powers 
are strengthened by use and are weakened by disuse. In 
culturing them, then, if inclined to be excessively active they 
should be kept as still as possible, and if inclined to be unde- 
sirably inactive they should be stimulated freely. 
I will now say a few words about the means by which the 
imaginative powers may be exercised. 
The contemplation of natural things affords the very best 428 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
stimulus to the imagination. A landscape with its many 
objects, inanimate and animate, cannot but arouse numerous 
trains of ideas. Every little plant, nay, every stone may 
furnish a text for lengthy musings of a wholesome character. 
Every one is surrounded by myriads of springs of refreshing 
thoughts but only a few are wont to draw liberally from 
them. 
Paintings, statuary and other works of art which are appre- 
ciable through the eye are all stimulating to the imagination. 
A very simple picture may be rich in suggestions which may 
be dwelt on profitably. 
Music ministers lavishly to the imagination. An air may 
be sufficient to fill one with sentiments. Hearing a strain 
which was familiar in other days may flood the mind with 
memories. 
Poetry being a product of glowing feelings and exuberant 
sentiments is promotive of the action of the imagination. A 
taste for this species of literature should be formed in early 
life. 
Novels, stories and tales are in general more or less works 
of imagination. Reading them serves to carry one’s thoughts 
away from the stern realities of life. It is easy, however, to 
indulge in it to excess. 
In cultivating the imagination care should be exercised not 
to distort it. The minds of children are often injured by the 
impressions made by narrations of horrors and of horrible 
things. Whatever is calculated to produce disagreeable 
thoughts should not be brought to the attention of any, but 
especially of the very young. In The Spectator there are 
some sensible remarks on this subject. “Were I a father,” 
says the writer, “ I would take particular care to preserve my 
children from those little horrors of the imagination which 
they are apt to contract when they are young and are not able 
to shake off when they are in years. I have known a soldier THE CULTURE OF THE INTELLECT. 
429 
who has entered a breach affrighted at his own shadow and 
look pale at a little scratching at his door, who the day before had 
marched up against a battery of cannon. There are instances 
of persons who have been terrified even to distraction at the 
figure of a tree, or the shaking of a bulrush. The truth of it 
is I look upon a sound imagination as the greatest blessing of 
life next to a clear judgment and a good conscience.” 
Besides a due appreciation of the imagination a knowledge 
of the nature of it is valuable in teaching. Particularly 
should it be known that facts incline to recur to mind in the 
order in which they were acquired. Thus the letters of the 
alphabet when learned in order from A up to Z cannot be 
readily repeated backward. By association the next one is 
suggested by the one which immediately precedes it. 430 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
CHAPTER IV. 
THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
Preliminary Remarks— Obedience—Rewards and Punishments 
— Good and Bad Habits—Decision of Character. 
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 
Will or volition becomes manifest in action, in the conduct. 
This power of the mind is, therefore, executive in function. 
Through it the intentions are carried out. Every one possesses 
it, but in some it is far more marked than in others. Persons 
who are void, or almost void of it are accounted imbeciles. 
Voluntary actions take their rise in feelings and are guided 
by the reason. Now there is a pronounced tendency to make 
for whatever is pleasurable and to shrink from whatever is 
painful. This great principle of self-conservation is both 
natural and beneficent. As stated by Spencer in his work, 
“ The Data of Ethics,” “ there are connections between plea- 
sure in general and physiological exaltation and between pain 
and physiological depression. Every pleasure increases 
vitality ; every pain decreases vitality. Every pleasure raises 
the tide of life; every pain lowers the tide of life.” Of this 
doctrine it is well to say that it does not give any countenance 
to excessive indulgence of any kind. The enlightened will 
shuns all forms and degrees of gratification which may induce 
pain sooner or later. And as said by Plato, “ the salvation 
of human life has been found to consist in the right choice of 
pleasures and of pains.” 
The guiding principle of conduct should be a fervent love 
of goodness. But when interests of importance to others as 
well as one’s self are involved it is hard to decide to what THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
431 
extent the good of either should be considered. It is certainly 
wrong to do anything for one’s own good at the expense of an 
injustice to any one. However, one is doubtless justified in 
acting as he pleases so long as he does not inflict any injury 
on others. Under certain circumstances it is a duty to place 
the good of others above that of one’s self. Thus, a mother 
who will not practice self-denial and undergo hardships in 
order to promote the welfare of her child is by no means a 
model parent. But there is a sense of satisfaction, a glow 
of feeling derivable from ministering to the good of others 
which is an ample recompense for the practice of consider- 
able self-sacrifice. 
The power of will is of gradual growth. In some children 
it gathers force much faster than in others. The culture of it 
should be begun in early infancy. 
Extension of the scope of self-command or voluntary power 
should be one of the principal aims in view during the whole 
period of training of the young. A child should be taught to 
do willingly and bravely whatever his conscience leads him to 
know ought to be done. The future of those who grow up 
without acquiring this faculty wall assuredly indicate that it 
is well to teach it in early life. For every one must become 
in time, for the most part, his own guide. And indeed the 
characters of all are largely of their own making. Shak- 
speare furnishes some good ideas on this point. “’Tis in 
ourselves,” says he, “ that we are thus, or thus. Our bodies 
are our own gardens; to the which our wills are gardeners; 
so that if we will plant nettles, or sow lettuce; set hyssop and 
weed up thyme; supply it with one gender of herbs, or dis- 
tract it with many; either to have it sterile with idleness or 
manured with industry; why the power and corrigible au- 
thority of this lies in our wills.” 
By practice many things may be done without thought or 
automatically. Through repeatedly acting in a certain way 432 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
the faculties afterward incline to act similarly without the 
guidance of reason. Hence it is important that correct habits 
should be cultivated in youth. This matter will be dwelt on 
later. 
Some actions, especially in the very young are the result of 
neither will nor habit; they spring simply from an exuber- 
ance of nervous energy, an effervescence of spirit. Not a few 
of the acts of healthy, playful children are thus explained. 
Actions of this class should be regarded with some degree of 
leniency, however evil they may b'e. 
I am not one of those who believe that children are totally 
depraved ; nor on the contrary do I hold that they are, as a 
rule, faultless. Most of them, like Mother Goose’s son Jack, 
are “ not very good nor yet very bad.” Their intentional and 
other acts of evil are very largely referable to defective train- 
ing. Every child is liable to become mischievous and will, 
if care be not exercised. Cowper writes— 
“ The spring time of our years 
Is soon dishonor’d and defil’d in most 
By budding ills, that ask a prudent hand 
To check them.” 
It is very easy to be too strict with children. Some parents 
are greatly prone to be constantly seeking for faults in them. 
This is all wrong. Acting in such a way toward a child tends 
to make him bad; for it lowers his self-respect. One that is 
habitually treated thus is apt to become dispirited and form a 
dislike to his home and all about it. 
In Longfellow’s poem, “ The Ladder of St. Augustine,” 
occur the following lines which deserve to be indelibly im- 
pressed on the mind of every young person :— 
“ The low desire, the base design, 
That makes another’s virtues less ; 
The revel of the ruddy wine, 
And all occasions of excess ; THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
433 
“ The longing for ignoble things ; 
The strife for triumph more than truth ; 
The hardening of the heart that brings 
Irreverence for the dreams of youth ; 
“ All thoughts of ill, all evil deeds 
That have their root in thoughts of ill; 
Whatever hinders, or impedes 
The action of the nobler will;— 
“ All these must first be trampled down 
Beneath our feet, if we would gain 
In the bright fields of fair renown 
The right of eminent domain.” 
OBEDIENCE. 
In the eyes of the common law, which is the expression of 
the experience of the past as to what is proper, all persons 
under twenty-one years of age are infants; and their parents, 
or guardians are largely responsible for their conduct. Were 
it not to the advantage of minors to be held in this position it 
is extremely likely that the laws in regard to it would soon 
be changed. Apart from other considerations, then, it is but 
right that a reasonable measure of obedience should be 
exacted. 
-It is in early childhood that the will is most pliable; and 
hence it is then that the greatest efforts should be made to 
properly shape the conduct of children. This is the right 
time in which to form the habit of obedience, than which 
there is no duty more deserving of attention. Fuller suggest- 
ively remarks, “ Let the child’s first lesson be obedience and 
the second may be what thou wilt.” 
All parents would do well to bear the following truth in 
mind: love and not fear should be the leading power at play 
to shape the conduct of the young. The obedience which 
springs from dread is not deserving of admiration and it 
affords but little, if any discipline to the will. 434 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
Firmness is a requisite feature of parental rule. Whatever 
orders are given should always be enforced, so that no hope of 
evading them can ever be entertained. Hesitation begets the 
idea that there is room for evasion. Children who have found 
by experience that they can obtain whatever they want, or do as 
they please, will never fail to make strenuous efforts to have 
their way. Not a few are in the habit of resorting to crying 
to force compliance with their wishes; and knowing that it 
will be successful they practice it repeatedly. In regard to 
this Dr. Chavasse says, “ Many a child has only to cry to gain 
his point, to obtain what he desires. And does he not cry 
with a vengeance? He bellows again and again until he 
gains the victory which he knows by experience he eventually 
shall do if he will but persevere, and if he will but make 
noise enough. Parental weakness of this kind is most repre- 
hensible. Such mothers are preparing rods not only for their 
own backs but for the backs of their unfortunate and deeply- 
to be pitied children !” 
Consistency is another requisite feature of parental rule. 
What is viewed with favor to-day should be viewed with 
favor to-morrow and what is disapproved of to-day should 
be disapproved of to-morrow. 
In training the young it is very unwise to be constantly 
forbidding. It is natural for people of every age to be restless 
under restraint, to be made somewhat headstrong by opposi- 
tion, especially if it be unreasonable. Parents who are ever- 
lastingly using such phrases as “you mustn’t do that,” and 
“ you mustn’t go there,” will assuredly be much troubled with 
their children. Miss Martineau properly remarks, “ Nature 
points out that the true method is to control the will not by 
another person’s will but by the other faculties of the child 
itself. When the child wills what is right and innocent let 
the faculties work freely. When it wills what is wrong and 
hurtful appeal to other faculties and let this one sleep; excite THE CULTUKE OF THE WILL. 
435 
the child’s attention; engage its memory, or its hope, or its 
affections. If the infant is bent on having something that it 
ought not put the forbidden object out of sight and amuse 
the child with something else.” It should be generally known 
that opposition is really the best means by which to strengthen 
most evil propensities. Any one may illustrate the truth of 
this statement by trying to make a child relinquish the use of 
improper words and phrases. 
Coaxing children to obey is a serious mistake. If the 
demand is reasonable let compliance with it be exacted as a 
matter of duty and not as a favor. It would be greatly wise 
for many to revolve this statement occasionally in their minds. 
Parents who bring up their children in such a way as to 
favor waywardness may not live long before seeing the folly 
of their course. Let a child habitually disobey his parents 
for a while and he will inevitably become disregardful of 
everything which stands in the way of the satisfaction of his 
unbridled desires. Pander to the wishes of the young and as 
surely as days grow into months and months into years their 
power of both self-denial and self-restraint will wane and 
leave them at the mercy of their own perverted longings. 
This would be an excellent plan to pursue if one’s purpose 
were to produce criminals, to fill penitentiaries, to furnish 
subjects for the gallows. I speak advisedly. Cases illustra- 
tive of what I have said are familiar doubtless to most of my 
readers. I may cite one. Among the sixteen hundred lan- 
guishing inmates of the cells of a massive and dreary-looking 
penal institution which is within a stone’s throw almost of 
where I am sitting there is an only son. A dozen years ago 
he was a playful, innocent little boy, and the pride of his fond, 
reputable mother. As he grew up he was allowed, nay 
encouraged to do what seemed right in his eyes. He went to 
school just when he pleased and he did nothing that was not 
pleasing to him. Soon he became the companion of boys not 436 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
less wayward than himself, and soon he was in the hands of 
the police authorities. Although he is not of age yet I 
believe he has been convicted half a dozen times of criminal 
offences. Every time he gets caught erring his mother comes 
to his rescue and defends him to the full extent of her ability. 
Now, which is the more to blame, he or his indulgent parent? 
REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 
The nature of children is such that it is easier and better to 
lead than to drive them ; from which it follows that in man- 
aging them rewards deserve more attention than punishments. 
Besides, the motives call for stricter consideration than the 
actions. If a child means to do right and does wrong, or in 
other words does not mean to do wrong it is unwise to punish 
him for his conduct. Accidents and the like should, therefore, 
be viewed with leniency, or, perhaps, be overlooked. 
Encouragement is relished by both old and young. It 
tends to arouse their energies, to inspire them to exert them- 
selves to do what is desired of them. In respect to this it is 
said by St. Pierre, in his remarks on education, “ If you wish 
children to learn quickly to read, put a sugar-plumb over each 
of their letters, and they will soon have their alphabet by 
heart, and if you multiply, or diminish the number they will 
soon have become arithmeticians.” 
It is wrong to couple every action requested with a reward; 
for it will not always be possible to thus stimulate activity. 
A child who is habitually induced to do anything by the ex- 
pectation of a reward will almost certainly refuse to act in the 
future, if a reward is not offered. Therefore, it is well to 
always encourage him to regard a sense of duty, a love of 
right as the main incentive to good conduct. 
Praise is one of the best of rewards. “ I assure you,” says 
Roger Ascham, “ there is no such whetstone to sharpen a good 
witte and encourage a will to learninge as is praise.” And it THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
437 
is just as promotive of anything else as learning. But 
flattery should be shunned; for it is productive of vanity 
chiefly. A sensible person of any age is not likely to be 
greatly pleased by it. 
Taking an interest in the actions of the young is to them 
somewhat in the nature of a reward. A child whose doings are 
noticed is inclined to exert himself to make them worthy of 
commendation. N. P. Willis finely pictures a mother as 
asking her “ restless one” how the day had been spent and on 
receiving the reply, 11 Playing,” she continues— 
“ But what hast thou done beside 
To tell thy mother at eventide ? 
What promise of morn is left unbroken, 
What kind word to thy playmate spoken, 
Whom hast thou pitied and whom forgiven, 
How with thy faults hast duty striven ? 
What hast thou learn’d by field and hill, 
By greenwood path and singing rill?” 
It was a kiss from his mother that inspired the celebrated 
Benjamin West to labor to be an artist. This she gave him 
as an expression of her appreciation of a rough sketch of his 
infant-sister’s face, made by him in boyhood. Said he after- 
ward, “ That kiss made me a painter.” 
It may not be amiss to say that any reward which is prom- 
ised should invariably be given; and, of course, none should 
be promised which cannot be given. A child should never be 
deceived. According to an old adage a cunning trick helps 
but once and hinders ever afterward. 
Turning now to the subject of punishments I may begin 
with a statement very similar to the one just made in respect 
to rewards and it is that if a penalty is attached to a particular 
offence let it be inflicted, if the offence is committed. Nor 
should there be any delay about doing so. It is demoralizing 
to a child, or, indeed, any one, to entertain the idea that there 
is only a slight chance of being punished for his acts of evil. 438 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
On the other hand a knowledge that there is a definite penalty 
for every voluntary misdemeanor and that it will surely and 
promptly be enforced tends to prevent wrong-doing. 
A scolding is, perhaps, the punishment to which children 
are most frequently subjected. It is, however, a penalty 
which is seldom productive of good. Those on whom it is 
inflicted often are not likely to have great self-respect. Nor 
will they be very regardful of what is said to them ; for their 
sense of shame is blunted by it. From bitter words great 
harm may result; they may rankle in the mind and inspire 
evil behavior. Then, as said by Shakspeare— 
“One doth not know 
How much an ill word may empoison liking.” 
Wise parents do not speak harshly, or apply bad epithets to 
their children. 
The deprivation of some pleasure is a good form of pun- 
ishment for ordinary errors of conduct, because it both causes 
pain and strengthens the power of self-denial. This kind of 
penalty as well as all others should, of course, be varied in 
severity according to the grade of the offence for which it is 
administered. The sense of injustice is not wanting in even 
very young children ; and consequently the impression made 
on them by the infliction of a similar degree of punishment 
for misdemeanors of different degrees of gravity is bad. If a 
boy be confined in a room alone and deprived entirely of food 
during half a dozen hours for deliberately persisting in wrong- 
doing it is unreasonable to subject him to like treatment for 
the commission of a simple breach of propriety. This 
matter, I am afraid, does not receive as much attention as it 
should. 
That it is wise under certain circumstances for parents to 
punish their children with the rod admits of no doubt. The 
ancient precept, spare the rod and spoil the child is not less 
applicable to-day than at any other period in the history of THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
439 
the world. But the frequent use of it is more harmful than 
beneficial; it at least generates indifference to the dictates of 
the sense of right and wrong. Moreover, one that is treated 
like an irrational animal for trivial offences is very certain to 
lose not only self-respect but respect for his tormentors. It 
may be taken for granted that persons who cannot manage 
their offspring without indulging repeatedly in cruelty are 
unfit to have charge of them. If a proper system of training 
is enforced, corporal punishment need not be required at all. 
When it is resorted to it should be for a well-defined reason, 
for a serious voluntary misdemeanor. And let this be re- 
membered : when a child is lashed it is a piece of unmiti- 
gated folly to at once take measures to allay the smart 
attendant on it. Some mothers that I am acquainted with 
no sooner use the rod than they begin to regret it and act as 
if they had committed a serious wrong. 
Of course, no parents, except those that are void of common 
sense and of love for their children inflict corporal punishment 
on them with a bludgeon, or any instrument which may give 
rise to any permanent injury. 
As to the use of the rod in schools, I believe it is not 
approved of by any thoughtful person. Teachers may resort 
to other methods of punishment with better effects. Says 
Plutarch, “ I am confident that no boy who will not be 
allured to letters without blows will ever be brought to any- 
thing with them.” Every one should know that when dis- 
turbed the mind is very unreceptive of ideas. Locke well 
remarks,u It is impossible children should learn anything whilst 
their thoughts are possessed and disturbed with any passion, 
especially fear, which makes the strongest impression on their 
yet tender and weak spirits. Keep the mind in an easy, calm 
temper when you would have it receive your instruction, or any 
increase of knowledge. It is as impossible to draw fair and 
regular characters on a trembling mind as on a shaking paper.” 440 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
The force of habit is very great. After acting repeatedly 
in a certain way, one finds it difficult to act otherwise. This 
fact may be regarded as one of cardinal importance in moral 
training. A child that is led to do right to-day will tend to 
do so to-morrow without any rule, or command, without 
thought. Shakspeare makes Hamlet say to one of evil -ways: 
“ Refrain to-night 
And that shall lend a kind of easiness 
To the next abstinence ; the next more easy, 
For use can almost change the stamp of nature.' ’ 
One that does right habitually has no desire to do wrong ; 
and the reverse is almost as true. This being so it surely 
behooves parents to keep their children from becoming familiar 
with evil and to prevent them from doing even once anything 
which they should not do again and again. Early biases 
cannot be removed easily. Those who have been accustomed 
from infancy to act in a certain way can scarcely be made to 
act differently. Or as Cowper says— 
“ Our most important are our earliest years ; 
The mind impressible and soft with ease 
Imbibes and copies what she hears and sees, 
And through life’s labyrinth holds fast the clue 
That education gives her, false or true.” 
Evidently, then, it is wise in training the young to look 
well to beginnings. It is the first step from the proper path- 
way which is the gravest. A trifling sin is sufficient to switch 
one into a career of criminality. On the other hand a very 
insignificant act of the right kind may divert one into a life 
of usefulness and glory. Johnson tells us that it was the 
reading of a copy of Spencer’s “ Fairy Queen” which hap- 
pened to be in his mother’s room which inspired Cowley as a 
poet and he ventures to declare that “ the true genius is a 
mind of large general powers accidentally determined' to some 
GOOD AND BAD HABITS. THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
441 
particular direction.” Looking at an apple fall diverted 
Newton to the study of the laws of gravitation • the incidental 
observation of the swinging of a lamp in a church set Galileo at 
the study of physics ; and to viewing a certain line of horizon 
in childhood Luskin attributes the development of his love for 
natural beauty. 
In this connection I may remark that it cannot be too 
explicitly and forcibly stated that it is all-important that the 
tastes of children should be properly shaped; for on these 
depends assuredly to a great extent their whole future course. 
If there is not an inward fondness, a love developed for a pursuit 
it is impossible to expect that it will be prosecuted earnestly 
and successfully. This is very evident in the matter of learn- 
ing. A person without a taste for knowledge cannot become 
a great scholar. As Plato observes, “ though a child have all 
the gifts of Nature at wish and perfection of memory at will, 
yet if he have not a special love of learning he will never 
attain much learning.” No one will pursue knowledge vol- 
untarily and ardently, who has not a thirst for it. This is a 
truth which should never be forgotten by educators. If the 
education which one receives does not inspire a lasting desire 
for self-improvement it fails to subserve its chiefest end. 
For let it be understood that however well the mind may be 
cultivated and however great the amount of knowledge 
acquired in childhood and youth may be there will be room 
to improve one’s self throughout life. Mental culture is only 
begun in the schools and can never be completed. The wisest 
and best may grow wiser and better. 
I will not attempt to enumerate the habits which are good 
and those which are bad. I may say a few words, however, 
about several. 
There should be order in one’s method of living and 
acting. An irregular mode of life is always a bad one. It 
is impossible to be either healthy or happy if the time is not 442 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
disposed of systematically. Nor need a person who lets his 
days and nights pass as they may expect that years will cover 
him with honors. One must work not only perseveringly 
but in accordance with a plan who hopes to accomplish much. 
Thus it is that people can perform great labors and yet feel 
that they have not been very busy. Dr. Gross, the most 
illustrious of American surgeons, says, “ To the question so 
often asked me, how I have been able to write so much, my 
answer invariably has been because I have labored systemati- 
cally while other men were asleep, smoking their cigar, 
lounging about the house, or spending the evenings in amuse- 
ment. A vast amount of this work has been done in my 
carriage in the daily rounds among my patients, not in active 
writing but in arranging and digesting my material, which 
after reaching my office I seized the earliest moment to commit 
to paper. In this manner a man may perform a large amount 
of literary labor in the twenty-four hours. The brain of a 
busy man is never idle. I have worked out many a sentence 
in my sleep.” 
Punctuality is a very desirable habit, and it should be 
taught early. One’s promises should be scrupulously re- 
garded. People soon lose confidence in those who do not 
abide strictly by their engagements. This has been the cause 
of the misfortunes of thousands. What I say I will do that I 
shall do should be a motto of all. To be sure it may be a 
physical impossibility to keep an appointment; but this is not 
likely to be often the case. 
Industry is largely a habit, and it is one which should be 
assiduously cultivated from early childhood forward. I have 
elsewhere spoken of it but it is impossible to say too much 
about it. Want of it is the prime reason why multitudes are 
unsuccessful in life and the cause of the unhappiness of count- 
less thousands. Doing nothing is a pestilential blight; a 
worse curse cannot fall to the lot of any one. People must THE CULTURE OF THE WILL. 
443 
work if they wish to be of any account in the world and to 
shun wretchedness. Without diligent application, “ with- 
out sweat, or endeavor” the finest talents can be of but 
little value. And once the taste for being busy is well 
formed idleness will prove irksome. Parents should lay 
these remarks to heart and act accordingly. They should 
not only infuse their children with the spirit of industry 
but engage them early in suitable employments. The follow- 
ing remarks, the substance of an article in a magazine of the 
day, are to the point: a copy of a circular sent to each of a 
hundred of the leading men of Springfield, Massachusetts, 
inquiring as to where and how their youth was passed, elicited 
eighty-six answers. Of these, sixty-four were brought up on 
farms, twelve in villages and twelve in cities. Six of those 
brought up in villages and cities were accustomed to do farm- 
work and were practically farm-boys and only five reported 
that they had no work in particular in early youth. In other 
words eighty-three of the eighty-six substantial men were 
workers in boyhood. If a like inquiry were instituted in 
Philadelphia, or any other large city it would, doubtless, be 
very similar in its results. 
It may not be amiss to observe that there are people in the 
world who think that one who earns his daily bread is not as 
deserving of respect as one who does not. Verily, such are 
far from being themselves the most worthy of it. Did not 
some one toil to produce the food they eat ? Did not the 
sweat roll from some brow to provide for them each of the 
comforts in which they revel ungratefully ? It is certainly far 
more creditable to be self-supporting than not. An excellent 
religious vow is the following: “ To learn and labor truly to 
get mine own living.” 
The habit of using tobacco calls for a few words. Of it 
I do not hesitate to say that it is one of the very worst which 
a boy can be allowed to form. It is filthy, debilitating, and 444 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
altogether an abomination. That it is injurious to health is a 
fact which there is no*reason to doubt. Dr. B. W. Richard- 
son remarks, “ It induces various nervous changes some of 
which pass into organic modifications of function. So long 
as the practice of smoking is continued the smoker is tempo- 
rarily out of health. When the odor of tobacco hangs long 
on the breath and different secretions of the smoker that 
smoker is in danger. Excessive smoking has proved directly 
fatal.” Being a deliberately cultivated habit there is never 
any excuse for it. It is related of Franklin that toward the 
close of his life he said to a friend that he had never used 
tobacco in any way and that he believed there was not much 
advantage to be derived from it, for he had never met with a 
man who used it who advised him to follow his example. 
DECISION #OF CHARACTER. 
Decision of character or power to form definite ideas in 
reference to any matter and when formed to stand by them 
firmly, is an important trait of mind. It exists in all possible 
degrees of completeness; and it is usually held to be more 
marked in males than females. 
Those in whom this faculty is poorly developed are very 
likely to be pressed to the wall in the battle of life. As 
Foster says in his essay on the subject, “ weakness in every 
form tempts arrogance and a man may be allowed to wish 
for a kind of character with which stupidity and impertinence 
may not make so free. When a firm decisive spirit is recog- 
nized it is curious to see how the space clears around a man 
and leaves him room and freedom.” 
The basal elements of decision of character are confidence 
in one’s own judgment and energetic feelings or courage. 
Now, to have full confidence in one’s own judgments it is 
necessary to be wrell informed and to be able to reason cor- 
rectly. When the mind wavers it is because the opinions are THE CULTUIIE OF THE WILL. 
445 
uncertain. Then, to be able to maintain or apply the opinions 
it is necessary to have courage or energy of feeling. Some, 
however, are so constituted that even without being intelligent 
and able to reason logically and definitely they are always 
self-reliant and decided in tlieir conduct. To them it matters 
little whether or not their views are right. This is a danger- 
ous class. To it belong the despots, bigots and evil-doers 
generally. Unless one is guided by sound moral principles 
headstrongness is harmful both to self and others. 
A shilly-shally cast of mind is very common. .There are 
really comparatively few who have power enough to reply to 
a question bearing on conduct which calls for either yes or 
no as an answer. This inability is not usually due to want 
of intelligence; it is nearly always attributable to moral 
cowardice. 
If one knows that his ideas are right it is wise to firmly 
believe in them, to tenaciously hold to them. Persons who 
are constantly veering in their opinions, who are satisfied to 
shift in their views from day to day, are unworthy of confi- 
dence. But it is not easy to be sure that one’s ideas are right. 
The most enlightened often discover reasons why they should 
modify their opinions; and indeed as Bacon says, “ the per- 
fectest man is the most susceptible of help, improvement, 
impression and alteration.” In regard to ordinary matters, 
however, there is generally little difficulty experienced in 
distinguishing between right and wrong. Miss Martineau 
remarks, “ There is no rational being who is not capable of 
understanding from the time he can speak what it is to wish 
to be good.” 
When one discovers that his ideas are wrong it is the part 
of wisdom to change them as soon as possible. And it is a 
duty of every one to search for light on all doubtful points 
before he comes to a definite conclusion in respect to them. 
It is amusing to see how easily some people can form opinions 446 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
on subjects which the most enlightened cannot understand. 
The ignorant are the people of fewest doubts and are the most 
positive in their convictions. Arguments make little impres- 
sion on them, for they cannot see the force of them. They 
require to be instructed more than reasoned with. This is 
precisely the position which children occupy. 
There is need for people of decided character. Men and 
women who have intelligence enough to form right opinions 
and courage enough to maintain them are far too few. It is 
easy to drift into the current of popular sentiments; and there 
it is that most people tend. Every wave of opinion carries 
the great majority captive and every fashionable whim is 
sufficiently powerful to turn their heads. Reason is the lamp 
of life, but few there be who are inclined to trim it and be 
guided by it. By the b'ght of it alone can right be distin- 
guished from wrong; and without a knowledge of what is 
right one is sure to stumble frequently. It is finely observed 
in “ Proverbs/5 “ He that walketh uprightly walketh surely.” 447 
THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
CHAPTER Y. 
THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
Preliminary Remarks—The Manners—The Sexes—Poverty 
and Riches—Games and Amusements. 
PEELIMINAEY REMARKS. 
Society is a complex organo n and every member of it is 
more or less vitally connected with it. A person is neces- 
sarily brought into intimate relations with many others. One 
can hardly pass a day without having some intercourse with 
those around. But it is not alone that people must associate 
to some extent with one another, for having social propensities 
they will deliberately cultivate acquaintanceship. It is appar- 
ent, therefore, that children should not be allowed to grow up 
without any systematic social culture. Left to themselves, 
they may, to be sure, learn by experience to so mould their 
bearing and behavior as to redound most to the advantage of 
one another; but experience is a slow teacher as well as a 
costly one. 
As hinted already man is a social creature and would 
associate with his fellow-men even that business and allied 
necessities did not lead him to do so. There is a natural love 
of others native to every one’s heart. In some, I am aware, 
it is poorly developed; but it nevertheless exists to a degree. 
In every bosom there is some humanitarian spirit, some sym- 
pathy and regard for even the most humble, nay, even the 
most depraved of the species. Doubtless, self-love is stronger 
than it, and, as a rule, it is perfectly proper that it should be. 
And here I may say that these are the two great influences at 
play in shaping conduct. Adam Smith, the student of politi- 448 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
cal economy and related matters, whom Buckle, the historian, 
declares to be “ by far the greatest of Scotch thinkers,” was 
the first, perhaps, to place emphasis on this. He opens his 
work on moral sentiments which was given to the world in 
1759 as follows: “How selfish soever man may be supposed 
there are evidently some principles in his nature which interest 
him in the fortune of others and render their happiness neces- 
sary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the 
pleasure of seeing it. Of this kind is pity or compassion, 
the emotion which we feel for the misery of others when we 
either see it or are made to conceive of it in a very lively 
manner. That \te often derive sorrow from the sorrow of 
others is a matter of fact too obvious to require any instances 
to prove it; for this sentiment, like all other original passions 
of human nature is by no means confined to the virtuous and 
humane, though they, perhaps, may feel it with the most 
exquisite sensibility. The greatest ruffian, the most hardened 
violator of the laws of society is not altogether without it.” 
Now, in the nature of things it is well to entertain good 
feelings for those, around us and to act toward them as we 
would wish them to act toward us. He who has no regard 
for others and consequently in his treatment of them considers 
the well being of himself only will discover before long that 
his sentiments are impolitic, that he must have some consider- 
ation for others if he wishes them to have any for him. 
Whoever would have friends must himself be friendly. 
Children should be taught to realize these truths; for if they 
are not time will in all probability bring them rudely to 
their right senses. Returning them good for evil is a 
wretched way to prepare them for self-steering through a 
selfish world. 
Although it is proper for children to be friendly disposed 
toward all around them it is hazardous to let them become 
intimate with everybody. Evil companions will corrupt THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
449 
them no matter how good they may be. As it is said in 
“ Proverbs,” “ can a man take fire in his bosom and his 
clothes not be burned ?” Every one tends to think and act 
like those with whom he associates habitually. Then, let one 
still cultivate the society of those from whom something 
which is improving can be gained. 
THE MANNERS. 
The manners or personal bearing to, or in the presence of 
others is an extensive subject, one to which a whole volume 
might be devoted. Much indeed has been written on it. An 
Englishman, Lord Chesterfield, prepared a book on it and 
allied themes, which is very celebrated, but which is now 
somewhat antiquated. Either this or one of recent date may 
be read with profit by those who are unfamiliar with the 
details of the matter in question. I will append, however, a 
few remarks on each of several features of it. 
The subject of manners is one which is far from being 
unworthy of much consideration; on the contrary it is highly 
deserving of attention, especially in early life. In his essay 
on it Emerson says, “ Manners are the happy ways of doing 
things; each once a stroke of genius, or of love, now repeated 
and hardened into usage. * * * When we reflect on 
their persuasive and cheery force; how they recommend, pre- 
pare and draw people together; how in all clubs manners 
make the members; how manners make the fortune of the 
ambitious youth; that for the most part his manners marry 
him and for the most part he marries manners; when we 
think what keys they are and to what secrets; what high 
lessons and inspiring tokens of character they convey; ami 
what divination is required in us for the reading of the fine 
telegraph we see what range the subject has and what rela- 
tions to communicate power and beauty.” 
A sincere desire to render one’s self pleasing to others is 450 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
the basis of good manners. A person possessed of this spirit 
will soon acquire the art of conducting himself in accordance 
with the rules which custom stamps as correct. If the wishes 
be right there is seldom much difficulty experienced in regu- 
lating the conduct. A right state of the feelings must exist 
or the actions will be at fault. Sentiments of good-will to 
others, then, should be fostered in children from as early an 
age as possible. And in respect to manners as to many other 
things the example shown them is a matter of the utmost 
importance; for they are imitative in the highest degree. 
Through association the ideas and ways are largely shaped. 
As showing this Locke says, “ If a true estimate were made 
of the morality and religions of the world we should find that 
the far greater part of mankind received even those opinions 
and ceremonies they would die for rather from the fashions 
of their countries and the constant practice of those about 
them than from any conviction of their reasons.” 
Bashfulness or a feeling of restraint in the presence 
of others is not uncommon among the young. Mr. Darwin 
observes, “No one can have attended to very young children 
without being struck at the unabashed manner in which they 
fixedly stare without blinking their eyes at a new face. An 
old person can look in this manner only at an animal, or an 
inanimate object. This I believe is the result of young 
children not thinking in the least about themselves, and there- 
fore not being in the least shy, though they are sometimes 
afraid of strangers. I saw the first symptom of shyness in 
my child when nearly two years and three months old.” 
When not marked, bashfulness is rather commendable than 
otherwise, particularly in girls; but when it is a very promin- 
ent trait of the character it should be regarded with disfavor. 
Certainly a person who has it in excess is not apt to become 
popular. And a rather silly element of character it is. There 
is seldom any reason why it should exist. It is only on meet- THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
451 
ing a total stranger that it is to any extent justifiable and then 
only for a short time. Children thus affected should be 
brought frequently into the company of others. However, as 
already remarked, bashfulness is not a despicable quality in 
the young. That peculiar old philosopher, Diogenes, on seeing 
a young man blush said, “ Take courage for that is the color 
of virtue.” 
Affability or an open, free manner is admired by most 
people. A child, or indeed a person of any age with this 
trait of character is very certain to make many friends. All 
young children are, or ought to be disposed to be affable; and 
consequently they should be taught that it is unwise to be 
otherwise. Teaching them to be reserved and to view every 
one more or less in the light of an enemy is entirely wrong. 
Unless there is some special offence given all are, as a rule, I 
believe, inclined to be friendly. 
Boldness or great self-assertion is not commendable in any 
one, but more particularly in the young. It springs mainly 
from the possession of an excessive degree of confidence in 
one’s self. Seldom does much advantage accrue from it in 
the end; time generally proves that it is to one’s inteiest not 
to be of an over-presuming disposition. 
Affectation or pretense in the manners merits condemna- 
tion, in spite of the fact that the object of it generally is to 
please. It is commonly a transparent piece of deception and 
tends greatly not only to bring the person’s defects into notice 
but to make him ridiculous. An excellent precept for the 
young to bear in mind is this : always act naturally. At any 
rate as I have already hinted it is impossible to assume alien 
airs and manners at pleasure to any purpose, one must be 
transformed into the kind of person of whom these are the 
true expression before they will appear becoming. Nature 
does not look on hypocrisy with favor; while as Emerson 
says she “ forever puts a premium on reality.” And it is only 452 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
after the fountain of one’s desires has been polluted that 
living in masquerade is at all pleasing. Children rarely in- 
cline to be affected in any way unless they are influenced by 
example, or instruction of an improper sort. 
Vanity or the entertainment of excessively high ideas of 
one’s worth and attractions is a palpable fault. It is a barrier 
in the way of self-improvement; and there are few other 
things which are better calculated to bring one into contempt. 
Children are not infrequently guilty of it; and in them it is 
usually encouraged, especially in the matter of personal 
appearance. 
THE SEXES. 
The existence of two kinds, a male and a female, of every 
one of the higher, and, indeed, of almost all species of animals 
is an obvious fact. I need scarcely say that this is a remark- 
able provision of Nature. Evidently it is for a great purpose. 
Each sex is the complement of the other; it requires both to 
constitute a complete unit. There are two sides, then, to 
humanity. Neither man nor woman is representative of the 
species; the two are needful to form an elementary part of it. 
Now, there is no reason to doubt that unlike as the sexes 
are physically they are quite as unlike mentally. Each is 
endowed with peculiarities which subserve the performance 
of a different mission in life. Herbert Spencer well observes, 
“ That men and women are mentally alike is as untrue as that 
they are alike bodily. Just as certainly as they have physical 
differences which are related to the respective parts they play 
in the maintenance of the race, so certainly have they physi- 
cal differences, similarly related to their respective shares in 
rearing and protection of offspring. To suppose that along 
with the unlikeness between their parental activities there do 
not go unlikenesses of mental faculties is to suppose that here 
alone in all Nature there is no adjustment of special powers 
to special functions.” THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
453 
The statements which precede are deserving of the serious 
consideration of both parents and educators. It may justly 
be inferred from them that in the culture of boys and girls 
the difference in their prospective1 duties should not be allowed 
to pass out of sight. This point has been dwelt on elsewhere. 
But strongly as I believe that the members of either sex should 
not be rendered alike in tastes, ideas and aspirations, I hold 
that it is unwise to draw distinctions between them very early. 
Children should not be taught to contemplate their sexual rela- 
tions ; yet there is no surer way to do this than to do as many do, 
endeavor to make them little men and women in their appear- 
ance and behavior. It is unnecessary to deliberately cultivate 
sentiments pertaining to sex; they will arise only too soon of 
themselves. It would doubtless be to the advantage of both 
males and females to try to have them alike, or nearly so in 
dress, actions and all other respects until they are at least ten 
years of age. JNTor is it judicious to take measures to prevent 
them from associating together at any period. He is a poor 
observer who has not noticed that the best way to strengthen 
one’s desires for anything is to magnify the obstacles in the 
way of their satisfaction. The natural tendency of the young 
of either sex to seek each other’s company cannot be blighted 
by opposition; and all efforts which may be made to keep 
them greatly apart are not in the interest of morality. 
When boys and girls have become twelve, thirteen, or four- 
teen years of age, or in other words, have arrived at the age 
of puberty, parents should teach them fully the meaning and 
import of matters pertaining to sex. There should be no 
hesitancy about doing this ; for it is a duty of extremely great 
importance. And I know of no greater sin on the part of 
parents than to neglect to point out to their children, at the 
proper time, the horrible evils which spring from indulging 
the passions. A little timely instruction and advice may be 
the means of preventing the encouragement of licentious 454 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
imaginings and also the committal of licentious acts. In respect 
to these matters this statement of Ascham is certainly true, 
“ He hazardeth sore that waxeth wise by experience.” 
The amount of evil which' arises from letting lustful desires 
go unbridled is appallingly great. The constitutions and 
minds that are shattered and the characters that are blasted 
by this despicable vice are incredibly numerous. I make these 
statements deliberately. There is a crying need for greater 
personal purity, for virtue. 
POVERTY AFD RICHES. 
One does not require to be told that riches are unequally 
distributed among the members of a community. Some have 
scarcely income enough to enable them to procure the neces- 
saries of life, while others have more than they can spend 
however extravagant they may be. Doubtless this is to some 
extent well. At any rate it is certain that if an even distri- 
bution of accumulated property were made to-day, in less 
than a year many would have less and many more than what 
they started with. And as every observer knows the poor 
often become rich and the rich poor. 
Now, every one has a liking for wealth and I do not disap- 
prove of it. Poverty is in some respects a curse, and I believe 
that all should try to get rid of it as soon as possible. But 
one can have longings for things better than money. The 
gifts and graces which ennoble humanity constitute the pos- 
session which all should most fervently desire and which all 
should most highly prize. A person that is void of enviable 
bodily and mental qualities though he were rich as Croesus is 
a miserable object; he is poor indeed. It is to be regretted 
that one’s wealth should be the thing which is most likely to 
attract attention as well as to be the chief basis of the admira- 
tion of people in general. Referring to this Dr. Johnson says, 
“ As many more can discover that a man is richer than that THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
455 
he is wiser than themselves superiority of understanding is 
not so readily acknowledged as that of fortune.” This is very 
true; and it is a pity that it is; but whatever is really meri- 
torious in people is rarely allowed to exist altogether unheeded 
and unappreciated. 
It seems to be natural for people to become stratified and 
for the stratification to be in accordance, for the most part, 
with the amount of material means at their command. At 
any rate turn where one may and it will be found that grades 
in society are recognized. This is, doubtless, to some extent 
well; but it is an evil when it produces pronounced unfriend- 
liness of one to another. Political equality is established by 
law, but social equality is not and cannot be. But good sense 
should lead every one to entertain kindly feelings for his 
fellow-men, no matter what their condition in life may be. I 
hold, therefore, that it is wrong for parents to teach their 
children to regard any one with dislike; they should foster 
in them an unbiased love of humanity. 
To envy those who are richer than ourselves is a common 
failing. Many imagine that wealth can make life delightful. 
This is a false notion. The happiest people in the world are 
those who can and do live comfortably by honest toil. To 
them Nature generally accords two incomparable gifts, health 
of body and peace of mind. Well would it be for children 
could they be made to realize the meaning of these truths. 
It is very foolish for the poor to imitate the rich in their 
ways. This is a common cause of the continuation of poverty. 
Legions are in beggary to-day who may justly attribute tlieir 
condition to the fact that it has been their custom to strive to 
seem and to do “ like others,” or in other words like those 
better off than themselves. Possessed of such ideas it is im- 
possible for a person of small income to ever accumulate 
anything. It was said by one of the ancient philosophers 
(Aristotle), “A man may become rich by being poor in desires;” 456 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
and by another (Socrates), “ People of small fortune if they 
know how to economize will be reckoned among the rich.” 
For persons of limited means to encourage their children 
to dress and to spend money like those of the affluent is a very 
serious error. Those who are thus treated are apt to remain 
poor all their lives ; and having extravagant tastes it is well 
if they do not resort to criminal practices in order to satisfy 
them. 
A fondness for games and amusements is natural to the 
young. In the evenings, or at any time when they have 
nothing in the way of a duty to attend to they are prone to 
seek for some means of pleasurable mental excitement. This 
fact is one which should not be lightly considered. 
Parents err greatly when they fail to do all in their power 
to make their home an interesting place to their children. 
The young will seek pleasure elsewhere if it cannot be found 
under the parental roof. Experience undoubtedly proves that 
people of puritanical ideas may almost count on having way- 
ward families. Evidently the lesson to be drawn from this is 
that children should be encouraged to indulge freely in inno- 
cent games and amusements at home. This place should be 
made for them what Montgomery would have it to be— 
11 The spot of earth supremely blest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.” 
I will now make a few remarks on each of a number of 
games and amusements, taking them up in alphabetical order. 
Backgammon is an interesting game. In playing it there 
is room for the exercise of considerable thought. I believe it 
is not objected to by even the strictest moralists. 
Bagatelle-playing is a pleasant pastime and is in no 
way objectionable if it be engaged in at home. The cost of 
the table stands in the way of its popularity. It is in hotels 
and club-rooms that it is played mostly. 
GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS. THE CULTURE OF THE SOCIAL SENTIMENTS. 
457 
Billiards, as a game is very similar to bagatelle, but it 
calls for more skill to play it well. From the fact that 
neither of them can be engaged in readily at home it is unwise 
to generate a taste for them in the young. 
Card-playing has been long practiced but never more 
perhaps than at present. The number of distinct games of 
cards which there are is very great; and while some of them 
are wholly of a chance nature others call for active exercise 
of the intellectual faculties. Euchre is the most popular one 
in at least many parts of the Union. It is simple and may be 
played without much mental effort. Whist is probably the 
best game of all. To play it well one must keep the intellect 
in action. The element of skill pertains in a much greater 
degree to it than to euchre. Old-maid and allied games are 
easily learned and are enjoyed greatly by children. 
Now, I am aware that there are still some people wno are 
totally opposed to card-playing in every form; but I do not know 
of any weighty reason which can be brought forward against it. 
Of course, it is possible to waste time at it, which is a serious 
matter, for as was remarked by an ancient philosopher (Theo- 
phrastus), “ time is the most valuable thing a man can spend 
and it is also possible to turn it into a species of gambling. 
But these are abuses. I condemn as heartily as any one the 
misuse of it. Dr. Johnson regretted that he had not learned 
to play and remarked of it that “ it is very useful in life; it 
generates kindness and consolidates society.” The most 
sanctified can take part occasionally in a game of euchre, or 
of whist to their advantage. Certainly, children may pass 
their idle hours in a much worse way. 
Checkers or draughts is one of the very best and most 
fascinating of games. Playing it is a capital intellectual 
exercise; indeed I am not acquainted with any better means 
of mental discipline. The attention is kept alive and at every 
move the reasoning faculties are brought into use. 458 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
Chess is one of the oldest and, perhaps, the best of games 
of skill. All that I have said of checkers is still more 
emphatically true of it. Taking the vital part of education 
to be the improvement of the powers of the mind it is assur- 
edly among the most efficient of all educational means. It is 
not as attractive to the young as to persons advanced in life; 
still a taste for it may be developed early. 
Concerts of various descriptions are popular forms of 
amusement. For the most part they are wholesome in their 
effects. Of course, I do not at all approve of the entertainments 
of this kind given in saloons and other places where intoxi- 
cating beverages are sold. These should be shunned, ab- 
horred ; they are wiles by which thousands are led to form 
intemperate habits. 
Dramatic or theatrical performances are attractive 
to people of all ages, but more particularly to the young. In 
cities and towns the number who spend their idle hours in 
attendance on them is very great. 
Now, some moralists utterly condemn theatres. This is 
wrong. A properly conducted theatre is beneficial in its in- 
fluence ; it may afford both amusement and instruction to a 
community. It must be confessed, however, that the effects 
of most theatres are bad. The managers of them have no 
other desire, as a rule, than to attract the people; and in order 
to do this they do not hesitate to pander to depraved tastes. 
Multitudes of the young are ruined by them. 
Lectures are mostly intended to be instructive as well as 
to some extent amusing. In them, of course, there is plenty 
of room for choice. Attending the better class of them is apt 
to be advantageous to the young. 
Operatic performances are generally speaking unob- 
jectionable forms of entertainment. Boys and girls who have 
gained some knowledge of music may be greatly benefited by 
an occasional attendance at them. THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
459 
CHAPTER YI. 
THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
Preliminary Remarks—Sunday-schools—Religious Societies— 
Sundays and Week Days—Prayer. 
PEELIMINAEY EEMAEKS. 
As the reader, probably, has observed I have treated, in the 
course of what precedes of this section of the book, of tlie 
mental culture of children as individuals and as members of 
society. It yet remains for me to speak of the mental cul- 
ture of them as beings who have spiritual relations. 
The essential fundamental principles of religion may be 
pointed out in a few words, and that they have a substantial 
basis is scarcely doubtful. 
Now, it is impossible for any thoughtful person to contem- 
plate Nature without being filled with a feeling at least akin 
to wonder. The human mind is finite and is consequently 
unable to fathom the structure and working of the illimit- 
able universe. Space, time, and the origin of things may 
each be thought of but can never be comprehended. But it 
is hardly conceivable that the world with all therein and the 
myriads of worlds which are in view arose as they are out of 
nothing, of themselves. Hence it is very natural for mankind 
to entertain a belief in the existence of a Creator. Then, 
when one turns the attention inward and consults the longings 
of the heart it is easy to form the idea that man is destined 
to be immortal and to live hereafter in a more blissful world 
than this. And a glorious idea it is ! As the good Yicar of 
Wakefield says in his splendid sermon, “ if already we are 
happy it is a pleasure to think that we can make that happi- 460 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
ness unending. And if we are miserable it is very consoling 
to think that there is a place of rest.” When one appeals to 
cold reason, however, and asks whether or not it is absolutely 
known that there is a Creator and that man is destined to be 
immortal the reply which is evoked is not definite. But if it 
be granted that the Bible is a credible revelation an affirm- 
ative answer may be given to each of the questions. 
In the nature of things it is irrational to deny that there 
can be a Supreme Being; because man’s knowledge is very 
limited. It is well remarked in “ The Book of Wisdom,” 
“ Hardly do we guess aright at the things that are upon earth 
and with labor do we find things that are before us. But the 
things that are in heaven who shall search out ?” Until one 
knows everything it is impossible to say what does, or what 
does not exist. 
Some philosophers deny very emphatically that man has in 
him an immortal animating principle, an undying spirit. 
They hold that he closely resembles other creatures and that 
he has no more reason to expect immortality for himself than 
for the rest. But even that they are right there is still plenty 
of room for hope. In his admirable essay on the influence 
of physical causes upon the moral faculty, that Christian and 
philosophical physician, Dr.Rush, observes, “The immortality 
of the soul depends upon the will of the Deity and not upon 
the supposed properties of spirit. Matter is in its own nature 
as immortal as spirit. It is resolvable by heat and mixture 
into a variety of forms; but it requires the same Almighty 
hand to annihilate it that it did to create it.” 
From the preceding remarks it would seem to be certain 
that there are good grounds for the existence of a system of 
religion or a body of sentiments in regard to the Creator and 
our relations to Him and to the life which is to come. 
Which one of the numerous religions which there are is the 
true one, or whether or not there is a true one no man can THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
461 
tell positively. Suffice it to say that the vast majority of the 
people of our country believe that the true one is Christianity 
in some form. But the views of different sects of Christians 
are' markedly unlike in many respects. Hence there is reason 
why there should be great toleration in respect to religion. 
No one can well be justified in saying of every one who does 
not believe exactly as he does that “ without doubt he shall 
, perish everlastingly.” 
Every religion, to be productive of good temporally at 
least must have incorporated with it sound moral principles. 
Beliefs in regard to purely religious mat'ters may have little 
to do with the conduct. It is of no importance what a man’s 
religion is if he do not act properly. Virtue and vice are 
matters of action and not of opinion. Therefore, it should be 
remembered in teaching religious tenets to children that it is 
vitally important to see that their conduct every day of the 
week is in accordance with them. 
A due regard for matters of a religious character is com- 
mendable in people of every age. A person who is satisfied 
to live and die without turning his attention in a reverent 
spirit to the relations which he holds to the Deity and to his 
future state is not in a proper frame of mind. It is right, 
then, to teach children to be pious, to a degree. 
It is easy to abuse the sentiment of piety. There are 
thousands of people who are rendered miserable by supersti- 
tion. This morbid condition of the mind is usually a result 
of ignorance. As the intelligence increases one is apt to learn 
that many of his former conceits were entirely imaginary. 
And in this connection I may say that it is too generally for- 
gotten in givingreligious instruction to children that their minds 
are not sufficiently developed to even moderately appreciate 
the meaning of any but the more practical part of it. Trying 
to teach them abstract truths which the average adult can but 
faintly comprehend is calculated simply to confound, to be- 462 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
wilder them. Religious, like every other species of education, 
should be progressive. 
Fear may be an element of religious feeling but it is irra- 
tional to cultivate it with ardor. It is nothing short of 
criminal to frighten children by picturing to them in exagge- 
rated language dreadful things which are in store for those 
who will not entertain certain beliefs, or follow certain 
precepts. Sermons on the uncertainty of life, on death, and 
on the punishment which lost souls are held to be subjected 
to are extremely harmful to the young; they are productive 
of depression and misery. Nor do they excite good ideas, or 
resolves. Self-abasement is not a virtue under any circum- 
stances. 
Love is, or should be the chief sentiment aroused by all 
religious teaching. A person who keeps in the path of virtue 
simply because he fears the consequences of vice is not 
righteous at heart. The truly virtuous are those who are 
devoted to virtue for its own sake. This is also true in 
respect to all matters of religion. The attachment to God 
and to all that is good which is not inspired by love is not of 
much account. A mind that is free from unholy ideas and 
that contains no holy ones is a blank. Only those who 
have a positive fondness for sacred things can be justly 
regarded as to any degree pious. If the instruction in regard 
to the Supreme Being which is given to children does not 
lead them to voluntarily yield thanks and praise to Him there 
need be no hesitancy m holding that it is not of the right sort. 
SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 
Precisely one century ago, that is, toward the end of June, 
1780, a benevolent printer and journalist, Robert Raikes, of 
Gloucester, England, being impressed with the idea that 
Sunday-schools would prove of great service to children whose 
moral and religious as well as general education was neglected THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
463 
by their parents, proceeded to carry it into application. Look- 
ing about for teachers he was directed by a friend to four 
women who kept every-day schools. “ To these/’ says he, “ I 
applied and made an agreement with them to receive as many 
children as I should send upon the Sunday.” His efforts were so 
successful that within five years there were thousands of schools 
throughout the kingdom with about a quarter of a million of 
pupils; and in 1811, the date of his death, there were great 
numbers of them everywhere. The teachers at first were 
paid but soon there was no difficulty experienced in getting 
plenty to serve gratuitously. At the beginning the churches 
had nothing to do with the movement, but becoming inter- 
ested in it they in time became the chief promoters of it. At 
present it is almost exclusively in their keeping. Under their 
management the schools gradually ceased to be principally to 
afford the rudiments of education to neglected children; 
religious instruction became the leading aim. Then the young 
in general were gathered into them. The greater portion of 
the rising generation in all Christian countries now come 
under their influence. They are regarded as nurseries of 
piety and religious enlightenment and no Protestant church at 
least is considered complete without it has one. in connection 
with it. And they are not only conducted with talent and 
energy but are more or less united in their plans and efforts. 
Since 1872 the passages of the Bible studied in nearly all 
those attached to Protestant churches in every part of the 
world have been alike, week after week. The selections are 
made by an international committee of distinguished divines. 
That the Sunday-school is the means of doing much good 
is admitted by, perhaps, all. As remarked in a paper of the 
day “ it keeps the children out of mischief. It fosters in 
them a wholesome development of the social element in their 
nature. It gives them a more or less intimate acquaintance 
with Bible-truth. And it brings the church and the home 464 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
together in a way that shows that ‘ a little child shall lead 
them/ ” It certainly to some extent relieves parents of the 
duty of giving religious instruction. But it is not well that 
this should be markedly the case. Shifting such responsibility 
largely from their shoulders is apt to lead to great neglectfulness. 
I need scarcely remark that in all Sunday-schools the in- 
struction given is largely of a special kind; a religion is 
taught. Still the major portion of it is of a general nature. 
But, of course, all parents desire that their children should be 
trained so as to be similar to themselves in religious faith. 
One cannot blame them for this, even that their doctrines and 
creeds are far from being free from errors. However, it is 
more than probable that not enough consideration is given in 
most Sunday-schools to the conduct. Yet as hinted above 
mere beliefs in respect to abstruse matters may not be of much 
practical significance; they may have but little to do with 
action. What a child needs most is to be taught to live in 
harmony with moral principles. 
It is well, I believe, for parents to send their children to a 
Sunday-school, even that the instruction given is not entirely 
in accordance with their views ; for they cannot help learning 
much that is calculated to make them better in every way. 
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 
Of late years societies, under different names, for religious 
and other instruction and general improvement have been 
growing fast in popularity. They are gotten up mainly, 
perhaps, for the good of boys and young men; but there are 
many which are carried on in the interest of the young of 
both sexes. For the most part they exist in connection with 
churches, but there are not a few which are entirely independ- 
ent of any such alliance. The numerous Young Men’s 
Christian Associations which are scattered throughout the land 
belong to the latter class. TIIE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
465 
Now, these institutions are of great advantage to the rising- 
generation. It is impossible to be an active member of one 
of them without profit to the religious, intellectual, social and 
all other elements of the mental nature. They are schools of a 
very practical character. I commend parents to induce their 
sons and daughters to become members of one, or more of 
them. 
SUNDAYS AND WEEK DAYS. 
In almost all civilized parts of the world it is customary for 
people to refrain from labor on one day of every seven. 
Wherever the Christian religion prevails Sunday is the one 
which is thus honored; and it is also viewed as holy, as the 
Lord’s day. 
Now, it is wise to rest from toil every seventh day. Ex- 
perience has shown that it is bad for both man and beast not 
to do this, that without an occasional period of relaxation 
health and strength are apt to soon become undermined. 
Some years ago Dr. Edward Smith made a long series of 
experiments as to the quantity of food consumed, the amount 
of the excretions and the weight of the body, which went to 
show that during the course of each week of hard, regular 
work the appetite gradually lessens, the power of digestion 
and the use of food diminish and the weight decreases. The 
rest received on Sunday tends to improve the appetite and 
digestion, to increase the consumption of food and to augment 
the weight. Similar results have been observed in horses and 
other animals which are forced to labor. No further evidence 
than this is needed to prove that on the score of health alone 
it is wise for man to have a day of rest weekly and to see that 
his beasts of burden likewise have one. 
As to how the weekly day of rest should be spent there is 
much difference of opinion. This is due mainly to the bias 
of thought produced by the religious views. A person who 
holds that it is not a human institution and that instead of 466 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
being set apart for the temporal good of man it is solely for 
the glory of God is not likely to spend it similarly to one 
who is opposite or almost so in his beliefs in regard to it. 
During it the former inclines to engage in pious meditations, 
prayers, praise and allied exercises ; while the latter inclines 
to act in no fixed way. But no one can, or should spend the 
day in a state of complete repose. As the author referred to 
above says, “ a moderate degree of action on the Sunday is 
necessary to obtain relief for the mind and to discharge our 
religious duties. And he who sleeps away Sunday may as 
much abuse the day as he who spends it in running hither 
and thither in pursuit of pleasure. A proper discharge of 
the special duties of the day associated with observation of 
the works of Nature and reflection in country fields and pure 
air when such is conveniently practicable seem to be that 
which is most conducive to health of body and mind. 
Tennyson sings— 
‘ On to God’s house the people press’d ; 
Passing the place where each must rest, 
Each enter’d like a welcome guest. 
******** 
And forth unto the fields I went, 
And Nature’s living motion lent 
The pulse of hope to discontent.’ ” 
The idea that it is wicked, that it is displeasing in the sight 
of God, to indulge in any form of recreation, to have any 
concern for the bodily and mental welfare on it, is no longer 
entertained by many. One may be pious without “ morti- 
fying the flesh;” one may glorify God and at the same time 
pursue wholesome pleasure. Nor is work less good in itself 
on one day than another, any more than is the motion of the 
earth around the sun, or on its axis, or the growth of living 
things, or the song of birds. What it is wrong to do on the 
first it is wrong to do on the second day of the week and what 
it is right to do on the second it is not wrong to do on the THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
467 
first. If it is not a sin for me to go into my garden and 
enjoy the beauty of the fiowers this morning it was not so on 
Sunday morning. The notion that deeds are rendered either 
better or worse in themselves by being done at any time more 
than another is of evil import, and the person who is satisfied 
to abstain from wickedness and to worship God only on one 
day of every seven has no reason to congratulate himself on 
his sanctity. 
Of course, no one will infer from the remarks which pre- 
cede that I do not hold it to be wise for people to be specially 
mindful of spiritual matters on the day of rest. Apart from 
any other consideration one can recuperate his physical and 
mental powers just as well, as a rule, in going to church and 
performing the various acts of worship as in any other way. 
The manner in which children spend the Sabbath day 
should receive the careful attention of parents. If they are 
not taught to be piously inclined on it there is danger that 
they will contract habits which will not be profitable to them 
in after life. 
PRAYER. 
The belief that there is an Almighty Power that watches 
over and controls everything in existence, including matters 
pertaining personally and otherwise to man, inspires people to 
pray or offer up petitions for favors. Whether or not there 
is a solid foundation for this practice is questioned by some. 
Patient, intelligent observation indicates that all material 
things are subject to laws which are unchangeable and that 
all manifestations in Nature arise from natural causes. The 
planets and other heavenly bodies move in such an orderly 
way that events connected with them can be predicted for 
thousands, nay, for any number of years ahead; and the 
lightning, the winds, the various diseases and indeed almost 
all other things which in former days were believed to be 
under direct supernatural direction are now known to be 468 
MENTAL CULTURE. 
invariably, wholly and exclusively in all relating to them 
dependent on natural conditions. An unnatural occurrence 
however slight it maybe is a miracle; but in accordance with 
all scientific knowledge, with the aggregate wisdom of modern 
times no miracle ever takes place. As Mr. Emerson remarks, 
<fthere is no chance and no anarchy in the universe; all is 
system and gradation.” 
Now, the doctrine of order or fixity in the affairs of creation 
would seem at first view to lead one to set aside prayer as 
vain ; but such is not the case; it merely leads one to offer up 
petitions for favors of a spiritual character only. I can believe 
in it firmly and yet pray fervently for a loving heart, pure 
ideas, good intentions and so on, or in other words that 
I may become like the Power whom I petition, that I 
may live in harmony with the will of the Deity. In a little 
book on self-culture an Edinburgh Christian professor (Blackie) 
writes, “ In the moral world it is not knowledge but aspiration 
that is the moving power; and the wing of aspiration is 
prayer. Where aspiration is wanting the soul creeps; it can- 
not fly; it is at best a caged bird curiously busy in counting 
and classifying the bars of its own confinement. Of course, 
we do not mean that any person should be so full of his own 
little self and so ignorant of the grandeur of the universe as 
to besiege the ear of Heaven with petitions that the laws of 
the universe shall be changed any moment that may suit his 
convenience. We do not pray that we may alter the Divine 
decrees, but that our human will may learn to move in har- 
mony with the Divine will.” 
There is plenty of need for prayer of the right kind, for 
soul-aspiring; it may be indulged in “ without ceasing” to 
one’s gain in all personal concerns. I cannot bend my knee, 
look heavenward and yearningly ask God to fill my heart 
with love without feeling well disposed toward everything 
around me; I cannot ask Him for pure ideas without turning THE CULTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS. 
469 
my attention from things evil; I cannot ask Him for good 
intentions without resisting a tendency to wrong-doing. As 
Tennyson makes the hero of his poem Morte D’Arther re- 
mark— 
u More things are wrought by prayer 
Than this world dreams of.” 
A habit of prayerfulness formed in childhood and kept up 
through after life is a means of good to every one. Let the 
wishes be right and it is hardly possible for wrong to be done; 
and strengthened by an appeal to the Almighty for support, 
sanctified desires and aspirations are rarely doomed to have 
existence for naught. It is a duty, then, for parents to teach 
their children to pray, and to pray aright; but even that they 
are taught to ask for some favors which in the nature of 
things cannot be granted no harm is likely to result. 
FINIS. INDEX. 
PAGE 
Absalom 359 
Abstinence in sickness 145 
Achromatopsia 349 
Acidity of the stomach 219 
Acids 811, 312 
Acne £77, 278 
Acute dyspepsia 218, 219 
Acute general diseases 187-210 
Adam 9 
Adams, John Quincy 125 
Addison 13 
Adhesive-plaster 156 
Affability 451 
Affectation 451, 452 
Agassiz, Prof 417 
Age at which to enter school, 
on the 389 
Ages, the physical condition at 
different 315-321 
Agesilaus 95 
Air 22-40 
composition of the 22 
relations of to life and 
health 24 
within and without our 
homes 26 
Air-cells 233 
Albinism 285 
Alcohol 61, 312 
Ale 43 
Alexander the Great... 85, 324, 402 
Allopathy 116 
Alum 156 
Ammonia 24 
aqua 156, 312 
Amulets, as preventives of dis- 
ease 122, 123 
Amusements, games and... 456-458 
Anaemia 171 
of the brain, headache 
due to 261 
Anger 406, 407 
Animal propensities 410-412 
Anthrax 275 
Antidotes 311 
Aphthae 215, 216 
PAGE 
Apoplexy 257 
Appetites ; 394 
Apple of the eye, the 344 
Apples 43 
Aqueous humor 343 
vapor 24 
Araeteus 130 
Archery 95 
Aristotle 455 
Armstrong, Dr..34, 66, 84, 146, 323, 
330, 401, 403, 422 
Arnica 156 
Aromatic spirits of ammonia... 157 
Arrow root 43, 147 
Arsenic 312 
Arteries 245 
Artificial light in bed-room 105 
nursing 69 
Ascham, Roger.... 15, 386, 420, 436, 
454 
Asparagus 43 
Asphyxia 290-292 
Athens, the plague of. 39 
Atrophy 172 
Atropos , 10 
Auditory canal or meatus, the, 338 
Auricle, the 338 
Auscultation 234 
Baby’s carriage, a 93 
Backgammon 456 
Bacon 43 
Bacon, Francis.il, 31, 89, 115, 374, 
417, 423, 445 
Bagatelle 456 
Bain, Mr. A...., 416 
Baker’s itch 271 
Baking 64 
Baking-powders, 43 
Ball-playing 96 
Bananas 44 
Band, a 80 
Bandoline, a 360 
Bandy 99 
Barley-meal 44 
Barley-water 147 
471 472 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Basal principle of mental cul- 
ture, the 383, 384 
Base-ball 95 
Bashfulness 450, 451 
Basis of beauty, the 375 
Bathers, rules for 87, 88 
Bathing, remarks about 85 
Baths and their effects 88, 89 
Bath-tub, a 86 
Battle-door and shuttle-cock... 96 
Beans 44 
Beauty, love of. 396, 397 
on the nature of... 372-375 
personal 372-378 
special remarks on the 
culture of. 375-378 
the basis of. 375 
Bed-room, the 104, 105 
Beds and bedding 105-107 
Beef 44 
Beef-essence 148 
Beef-tea 148 
Beer 45 
Beets 46 
Beginnings, the import of. 440 
Bell, Sir Charles 367 
Benevolence 398 
Bible, the 421 
Bichat 24 
Bicycle-riding 100 
Bile 212 
Bilious attack, a 218, 219 
Billiards 457 
Birds 1 51 
Birth-mark 286 
Bite, a 283 
Biting of the nails. 369 
Black, Dr 24 
Blackberries 46 
Black-eye, a 302 
Black-heads 276 
Blackie 468 
Blasphemy 401 
Bleeding 302 
from the nose 296 
Blind boils 274 
Blindness 350, 351 
Blisters 157 
Blood-vessel system, diseases 
of the 245-249 
Bloody flux 227-229 
Blue disease, the 298 
Blue-mass 157 
PAGE 
Bodily straightness, on 323-325 
Body and mind 15, 380 
temperature of in health 
and disease 142, 143 
the composition of the 41 
Boiling 63 
Boils 274 
Boldness 451 
Bone-felon 294 
Borax 157 
Bottle, a nursing 70 
Boulton, Dr. Percy 319 
Bowditch, Dr 316, 318, 392 
Bowel, falling of the 292, 293 
Brain, concussion of the.. 300, 301 
congestion of the 259 
inflammation of the 259, 260 
the 250 ' 
Bran 46 
Brandy 46, 157 
Bread 61 
Bread-soup 148 
Bretonneau, Dr 201 
Bright’s disease 287, 288 
Bristowe, Dr 206, 242 
Broccoli 46 
Bromide of potassium 157 
Bronchi 233 
Bronchitis 238-240 
Browning, Mrs 391 
Bruises 301, 302 
Buckle 447 
Buckwheat 46 
Bull, Dr 12, 103, 152, 224 
Burns 305, 306 
Burns, Robert 410 
Butter 46 
Buttermilk .- 64 
Byron 14, 95, 402 
Cabbage 46 
Calisthenic exercises 329, 330 
Calomel 157 
Camphor-water 157 
Canker of the mouth 216 
Cantaloupe 47 
Capillaries 246 
Carbolic acid 157 
Carbonic acid 24 
relations of life to 25 
Carbonic oxide 24 
Carbuncle 275 
Cardialgia 220 INDEX. 
473 
PAGE 
Card-playing 457 
Care of infants, on the 18 
of the ear, on the 340 
of the eye, the 345, 346 
of the feet 370 
of the hair, remarks on 360 
376, 377 
of the teeth, 364, 365, 377, 378 
Caries of the spine 183 
of the teeth 366 
Carriage-riding 96 
Carron-oil 305 
Carrots 47 
Castor-oil 158 
Catarrh 236, 237 
of the stomach and 
liver 218, 219 
Catnip 158 
Cato the Censor 18 
Cauliflower..... 46 
Celery 47 
Celsus 117, 235 
Cerebro-spinal meningitis 259 
Cesspool 28 
Chadwick, Mr 385 
Chafing 268 
Chalk-mixture 158 
Chandler, Prof. C. F 136 
Chapping of the hands 369 
Character, decision of. 444-446 
of the food for the 
sick •••• 140 147 
Chavasse, Dr...80, 98, 114, 199, 434 
Checkers 457 
Cheerfulness 404, 405 
Cheese 47 
Cherries 47 
Chess 458 
Chesterfield, Lord 449 
Chicken-broth 148 
Chicken-pox 207, 208 
Chilblain 296 
Child-rearing, general remarks 
on 17-21 
Child’s nurse, a 92 
Chloasma 282 
Chloral 158 
Chlorate of potash 158 
Chloride of lime 158 
Chlorosis 171, 172 
Chocolate 47, 148 
Choice of knowledge, the.. 391, 392 
Cholera infantum 224-226 
PAGE 
Cholera morbus 226, 227 
Chorea 256, 257 
Choroid, the 343 
Chyme 212 
Cider 48 
Circumstances and the action of 
medicines 154, 155 
Citrate of magnesia 159 
Clamminess of the hands 369 
Claret-stain 286 
Clark, Sir James 169 
Classification of foods 42 
Clavis 285 
Cleanliness 83-90 
in clothing 90 
Cleft-palate 299 
Clothing 73-82 
cleanliness in 90 
colors and 77, 78 
Cloves 48 
Club-foot . 294 
Coasting 100 
Coaxing, on 435 
Cochlea, the 339 
Cocoa 48 
Cod-liver oil 159 
Coffee 48 
Cohn, Dr 348 
Cold, a 236, 237 
Cold-bath, the 88 
Cold-cream 159 
Cold-sores 270 
Colic... 229, 230 
Color 77, 374 
Color-blindness 349 
Colors, and clothing 77, 78 
Combe, Dr 11, 68, 93, .408 
Comedo. 276 
Compass and other features of 
the voice, the 354, 355 
Competitive exercising, on 331 
Complexion, the 376 
Compound contusion, a 301 
Compression of the body, on... 81 
Concerts 458 
Concussion of the brain... 300, 301 
Condensed-milk 70 
Confectionery ’. 49 
Congestion 235 
of the brain 259 
headache due to 260 
Conjunctiva, the 343 
Consciousness 380 474 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Consistency in parental rule, on 434 
Constable of France 36 
Constipation 223, 224 
Constitutional and allied dis- 
eases 168-186 
Consumption 172, 176-179 
Contagion and infection 125-136 
Contusions 301, 302 
Convulsions 252, 253 
Cookery, remarks on 63 
Cooking-stove, a 34 
Cooper, Sir Astley 87 
Corn 285 
Cornea, the 344 
Corn-meal 49 
Corn-starch 49, 149 
Corrosive sublimate 313 
Coryza 236, 237 
Cosmetics 376 
Cosmoline 159 
Cottage-cheese 49 
Cotton fabrics 75 
Coughing 234 
Country, a home in the 19 
love of 399 
Court-plaster 159 
Cowley 440 
Cowper.38,91,382,394,423,432,440 
Coxalgia 184 
Cramp, colic due to 230 
Cramps 252 
Cranberries 49 
Creasote 159 
Creeping 93, 94 
Cricket 96 
Crookedness of the figure...324, 325 
Croquet 96 
Croup 180-182 
Cruelty 411, 412 
Crusta-lactea 271, 274 
Crusted ring-worm 281 
Crystalline lens, the 344 
Cucumbers 49 
Cullen 63, 68 
Culture of beauty, special re- 
marks on the 375, 378 
of the feelings, the 394—412 
of the intellect, the 413-429 
of the religious senti- 
ments, the 459-469 
of the social sentiments, 
the 447-458 
of the will, the 430-446 
PAGE 
Currants 49 
Currant-jelly 149 
Cuvier 362 
Cyanosis 298 
Dalton 23, 349 
Damper, a 33 
Dancing 97 
Dandruff. , 278, 279 
Darwin, Mr 353, 416, 426, 450 
Dates 60 
Deafness 342 
Debility 170 
Decision of character 444-446 
Deductive reasoning 423, 424 
Demosthenes 356 
Degeneration of the teeth, on 
363, 364 
Dental caries and related mat- 
ters 366 
Dentition 362, 363 
Depilatories 377 
Dermis, the 262 
Despondency 402 
Development, faults of. 297-299 
Dexterity, manual 368 
Diabetes insipidus 173, 174 
mellitus 173, 174 
Diarrhoea 222, 223 
Diet 41-72 
Dietetic preparations for the 
sick 147-151 
Difference, the sense of. 414 
Diffusion of gases 23 
Digestive system,diseases of 211-232 
Diogenes 451 
Diphtheria 201-204 
Discharge, a chronic, from the 
ear 341 
Discharges, nasal 337 
Discolorations of the skin.. 284, 285 
Discovering the disease present, 
on . 138 
Disease as its own preventive... 123 
the nature of. 119 
Diseases, acute general 187-210 
constitutional and al- 
lied.. 168-186 
of the air-passages 233-244 
of the blood-vessel 
system 245-249 
of the digestive sys- 
tem 211-232 INDEX. 
475 
PAGE 
Diseases of the nervous sys- 
tem 250-261 
of the skin 262-286 
Disinfectants, and contagious 
and infectious diseases 133-136 
Dislocations 307, 308 
Disorder of the blood, headache 
due to 261 
Doing good, love of. 398 
Dramatic performances 458 
Draughts 457 
Dreaming Ill, 112 
Dress, the love of. 399 
Dropsy 184, 185 
Drowning 292 
Drum of the ear, the 338 
Dry scall 270 
Dry tetter 271, 279 
Diirer, Albrecht 376 
Dust 24 
and home-air 30, 31 
Dysentery 227-229 
Dyspepsia 219, 220 
Dyspnoea 234 
Ear, a chronic discharge from 
the 341 
inflammation of the 341 
on objects in, and their re- 
moval 340 
on the care of the 340 
Earth-closet 28 
Ear-rings 378 
Eating 64 
Ecclesiasticus... 20, 40, 101, 346, 
399, 404 
Ecthyma 273 
Eczema 271, 272 
Edgeworths, the 395 
Education, and health 11 
Egg and wine 149 
Eggs..... 50 
Electricity 24 
on lighting with 32 
Emerson... 379, 421, 426, 449, 451, 
468 
Emotions 394 
Endemic, meaning of 129 
Ends of mental culture, the 382, 383 
English cholera 226, 227 
Enlargement of glands 295, 296 
Enteric fever 208-210 
Ephelis 284 
PAGE 
Epidemic, meaning of 129 
roseola 200, 201 
Epidermis, the 263 
Epilepsy 253-265 
Epistaxis 296 
Epsom salts 159 
Eruptions, inflammatory... 265-268 
papular 269, 270 
parasitic 280-282 
poison- 283, 284 
pustular 273-275 
squamous 278, 279 
tubercular 296-298 
vesicular 270-273 
Erysipelas 265, 266 
surgical 266 
Erythema 268 
Essence of ginger 165 
Euchre 457 
Eustachian tube, the 338 
Excremental emanations, and 
home air 28-30 
Exercise 91-101 
and the muscular sys- 
tem 323 
and the time of day... 331 
Exercising, on systematic...325-327 
on competitive 331 
Expectoration 235 
Eye, inflammation of the... 346, 347 
observations through the.. 417 
on the care of the 345, 346 
Eyeball, the ... 343 
Eyelids, the. 344 
Facial paralysis 258 
Faculties of the mind 380 
Fainting 249 
Fallacies in reasoning. 426 
Falling of the bowel 291, 292 
Falling sickness 253-255 
Fancy, imagination or 426-429 
Farina 50 
Far-sightedness 349 
Fats 50 
Fau 324 
Faults of development 297-299 
Favus 281 
Fear 403, 404 
Features of disease, on observ- 
ing the 142 
Feeling 380 
Feelings, the culture of the 394-412 476 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Feet and hands, the 367-371 
Felon 294, 295 
Fever 187 
Fever-blisters 270 
Fighting 412 
Filling of the teeth, on 366 
Fingers, features of the 367 
Finger-nails, the 368 
Fire, and home-air 32-34 
Firmness in parental rule, on.. 434 
Fish 51 
Fishing 97 
Fish-skin disease 279 
Flattery 437 
Flatulence 229 
Flaxseed 159 
Flaxseed-tea - 149 
Flesh-felon, a 294 
Flesh-worms 276 
Flowers in bed-rooms, on 105 
Fonssagrives, Dr 71 
Foods 43-62 
on the selection of. 62, 63 
Foot-ball 97 
Forbidding, on 434 
Fortitude 407-409 
Foster 444 
Foul ah', and diseases 38, 39 
Fowls 61 
Fractures 308-310 
Franklin, Benjamin 28, 74, 77 
Freckles 284 
Froebel, 92, 101, 390 
Frost-bite 296 
Frying 64 
Fuller 419, 433 
Furnace, a 34 
Furs 77 
Furuncle 274 
Galen 130, 399 
Galileo 441 
Game 51 
Games and amusements.... 456-458 
Gastralgia 220 
Gastrodynia 220 
Gastric juice 212 
General diseases, acute 187-210 
General features of mental cul- 
ture 379-393 
German measles 200, 201 
Gin 51 
Ginger 51 
PAGE 
Ginger, tincture or essence of.. 165 
Glands, enlargement of.... 295, 296 
Glycerine 160 
Goethe 355, 359 
Goldsmith 19, 388, 398, 400 
Good and bad habits 440-444 
Gooseberries 51 
Governments, and affairs of 
health 10, 11 
Grace 373, 374 
Graces 97 
Graduated-glass, a 167 
Grapes 51 
Green-sickness 171, 172 
Grey, Lady Jane 420 
Grits 62 
Grocer’s itch 271 
Gross, Dr 442 
Growths of the skin 285, 286 
Gruel 149 
Gullet 211 
Gunning 97 
Gymnastic exercises 330 
Habits, good and bad 440-444 
Hahnemann 116 
Hair, the 357-360, 376, 377 
Ham 43 
Hamlet 29 
Hands and feet, the 367-371 
Hare and hounds 97 
Hare-lip 298, 299 
Harmony in the state of the 
muscles, on 323 
Hartshorn 156 
Harvey, Dr. William 245 
Headache 260, 261 
Head-dress 80 
Healers, spiritualistic 116 
Hearing, how takes place.. 339, 340 
observation through.. 418 
the organ and sense 
of. 338-342 
Heart 246 
palpitation of the 248 
Heart-burn 220 
Heat, and home-air 34, 35 
Heaves, the, 180-182 
Height at different ages, the 316, 317 
ratio of weight to at dif- 
ferent ages 319, 320 
Hemiplegia 257 
Hemorrhage 302 INDEX. 
477 
PAGE 
Herb-doctors 116 
Heredity 13, 14, 168-170 
Hernia 293 
Herodotus 64 
Herpes 270, 271 
Herrick Ill 
Hip-disease 184 
Hippocrates, 116, 254, 255, 368, 399 
Hives 180-182, 267 
Hogarth 373 
Holland, Sir Henry 117 
Home, remarks on 18 
Home-air 26-36 
Home-culture of the mind.. 386, 387 
Homer 54, 130, 133, 421 
Hominy 52 
Homoeopathy 116 
Honey 52 
Honey-comb ring-worm 281 
Hooping-cough 192-194 
Hoop-rolling 98 
Hope 401-403 
Horseback-riding 98 
Horse-radish 52 
Hosack, Dr 333 
Hot-baths 160 
Huckleberries 52 
Hufeland 27 
Humidity, relative 25 
Hunt the hare 97 
Hunting 97 
Hydrocephalus 185, 186 
Hypermetropia 349 
Iago 62 
Iced-cream 52 
water 160 
Icterus 221, 222 
neonatorum 221 
Icthyosis 279 
Idleness 101 
Ignorance of hygiene, on the... 11 
Imagination or fancy 426-429 
Impetigo..." 274 
Incised wounds 302, 303 
Incontinence of urine 288, 289 
Increase of height and weight 
at different ages, the rate 
of. 319, 320 
India-rubber fabrics 76 
Indian doctors .' 116 
Indigestion 219, 220 
Inductive reasoning 423 
PAGE 
Industry 442, 443 
Infancy, exercise in 92, 93 
sleep in 109, 110 
Infantile paralysis 258 
remittent fever 208 
Infants, clothing of. 79 
food and diet of. 67-72 
Inflammation 235 
colic due to 230 
of the brain.. 259, 260 
of the ear 341 
oflhe eye.... 346, 347 
Inflammatory eruptions 265-268 
Ingrowing of nails 371 
Injection, an 160 
Inoculation 123, 124 
Instincts 416 
Intellect 380 
the culture of the.. 413-429 
Intelligence, on parental need 
of 20 
Intestinal worms 230-232 
Introduction 9-15 
Inunction 160 
Invigoration of the hair, on 
the 359, 360 
Iris, the 344 
Itch, the 280, 281 
Items about the feet 369-371 
Jack-stones 98 
Jacotot 392 
John, Friedrich Ludwig 331 
Jamestown-weed 314 
Jaundice 221, 222 
Jelly 52 
Jenner, Dr. Edward... 124, 125, 126 
Johnson, Dr. Samuel 397, 440, 454, 
457 
Jumping 98 
Junius 14 
Justice, love of 398 
Kidneys 52 
Kindergarten method of educa- 
tion, the 389, 390 
King’s evil 175, 176 
Kite-flying 98 
Knowledge, the choice of.. 391, 392 
Knox 324 
Labyrinth, the 339 
Lacerated wounds 304 478 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Lachrymal duct, the 344 
gland, the 344 
Lacteals 213 
Lager 52 
Lamb 52 
Lancing of the gums, on 363 
Large intestine 211 
Laryngitis 237, 238 
Laryngoscope 234 
Larynx 233 
Lashes, the 344 
Laudanum 160, 313 
Lavoisier 23 
Laycock, Dr. Thomas 39 
Lead-water 161 
Leap-frog 98 
Lectures 458 
Leibig 42 
Lemonade 161 
Lemons 53 
Lentigo 284 
Lepra 279 
Lice 282 
Lichen 269 
Life, relation of air to 24 
Lighting, and home-air 31, 32 
Lime-water 161 
Limes 53 
Line of beauty, the 373 
Linen fabrics 75 
Liver, the , 53, 212 
Liver-spots 282 
Locke, John... 9, 45, 153, 384, 425, 
439, 450 
Long-dresses 80 
Longfellow 410, 432 
Love 396-400 
Lumbricoid worms 231 
Lung fever 240-243 
Luxations 307, 308 
Lycurgus 11 
Lymphatics 295 
Macaroni 53 
Mace 53 
Magnesia 161 
Malt-extract 161 
Manna 161 
Manners, the 449-452 
Manual dexterity 368 
Marasmus 172, 173 
Marble-shooting 98 
Marsh gas 24 
PAGE 
' Martineau, Miss 372, 399, 403, 
434, 445 
Materials used as clothing 75 
Meals 66, 71 
Measles, 194-196 
Meats, on poisoning from 313 
Medicine and food, on giving... 141 
Medicine-chest, the 155, 156 
Medicines as preventives of dis- 
ease 122 
circumstances and 
* the action of.. 154, 155 
Meibomian glands, the 344 
Membrane of the tympanum, 
the 338 
Memory, the 415, 416 
Mental care in sickness 139-141 
culture, ends of ... 382, 383 
general features 
of.. 379-393 
in private and 
in public 388, 389 
sex and.... 392, 393 
the basal prin- 
ciple of.. 383, 384 
when it should 
begin 384-386 
improvement, remarks 
on 12-14 
precocity , 386 
Mesenteric glands 213 
Meteorology, and medicine... 39, 40 
Military drills 98 
Milium 276 
Milk 53 
and lime-water 150 
Milk-crust 271, 272 
Milk-punch 150 
Milk-set of teeth 361 
Mill, John Stuart 383 
Milton 398 
Mind, body and 15, 380 
home culture of the 386, 387 
on the nature of. 380, 381 
Mint-water 162 
Mirthfulness 405 
Miscellaneous diseases and con- 
ditions 287-296 
items about the 
hands 369 
Mitchell, Dr. Weir 138, 140 
Mixed fabrics 76 
Mode of life,and disease, the 119,120 INDEX. 
479 
Modified small-pox....... 206 
Moist tetter 271 
Moisture, and home-air 35, 36 
Molasses 54 
Mole 286 
Money, love of 399 
Montague, Lady Wortley 123 
Montgomery 456 
Mortality, and fate 10 
in Philadelphia 9 
Moses 83, 130 
Mother, high function of a 20 
Mother Goose, her son 432 
Mother-mark 286 
Moth-patches 282 
Mound-Builders, the teeth of the 364 
Mouth, canker of the 216 
Mumps 191, 192 
Music 428 
Musical training, on 355 
Muscular system, the 322-331 
Mushrooms 314 
Musk-melons 47 
Mustard 54, 162 
Mutton 54 
Mutton-broth 150 
Myopia 347, 348 
286 
Nasal discharges 337 
Nature of beauty, the 372-375 
contagion and infec- 
tion 130, 131 
mind 380, 381 
and mental cul- 
ture 381, 382 
voice and speech, on 
the 352, 353 
Near-sightedness 347, 348 
Nerve, a 250 
Nervous derangement, head- 
ache due to 261 
Nervous system, diseases of... 250- 
261 
Nettle-rash 267 
Newton 441 
Night-air 104 
Nightingale, Miss Florence 32, 104 
Nightmare Ill, 112 
Night-terrors Ill, 112 
Nine-pins 98 
Nitric acid 162 
Nitrogen 23 
PAGE 
Nitrogen relations of life to 25 
Norton, Mrs 17, 403 
Nose, bleeding from the 296 
on objects in and their 
removal 337 
Novel-reading 422 
Novels 428 
Nursery, the 103 
Nursing, and contagious dis- 
eases 132 
artificial 69 
diet in 68 
of the sick, the.... 137-143 
Nutmeg , 54 
Nuts 54 
Oaten meal 54 
Obedience 433-436 
Observation 416-418 
Odors, personal 85 
Oils 50 
Old-maid 457 
Oleo-margarine 46 
Onions 64 
Onychia 371 
Onyxis 371 
Open fire-place, the 33 
Operatic performances 458 
Ophthalmia 346, 347 
Opodeldoc 163 
Oranges 55 
Order 441, 442 
Organ of hearing, the 338, 339 
of sight, the 843, 344 
of smell, the...% 336 
Otoliths 339 
Otorrhoea 341 
Over-feeding in sickness 146 
Ovid 412 
Oxygen 23 
relations of to life 25 
Ozsena 337 
Ozone 24 
Palpitation of the heart 248 
Palsy 257-259 
Pancreas, the 212 
Panza, Sancho 404, 419 
Papilla of hair 357 
Papular eruptions 269, 270 
Paralysis 257-259 
Paraplegia 258 
Parasitic eruptions 280-282 480 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Par6, Ambrose 378 
Paregoric 162 
Parents, ignorance of 11 
Parotid glands 212 
Parotitis 191, 192 
Parsnips 55 
Passions 394 
Patriotism 399 
Peaches 55 
Pearl-barley s 44 
Pears 55 
Peas 55 
Pediculi 282 
Pemphigus 273 
Penn, William 387, 410 
Pepper 55, 162 
Pepper, Dr. William 177 
Perambulator, a... 93 
Percussion 234 
Pericles 39 
Permanent teeth, the 361, 361 
Personal beauty 372-378 
cleanliness 84, 85 
emanations, and 
home-air 27, 28 
Pestalozzi 384, 390 
Phelps, Mr 24 
Phthisis 176-179 
Physical condition at different 
ages, the 315-321 
Physician, on the choice of a... 115 
on the duty of a 117 
Pickles 65 
Piebald skin 284 
Piety 461 
Pimples 277 
Pine apples. 55 
Pityriasis 278, 279 
Plague of Athens, the 39 
Plato 13, 115, 245, 386, 389, 411, 
420, 421, 430, 441 
Playing 95 
Pleasure, denial of as a pen- 
alty 438 
Pleurisy 243, 244 
Pliny 48, 116, 362, 412 
Plumbs 55 
Plutarch.. 11, 14, 18, 20, 39, 66, 85, 
95, 356, 421, 439 
Pneumonia 240-243 
Poetry 428 
Poisoned wounds 804, 305 
Poison-eruptions 283, 284 
PAGE 
! Poisoning 310-314 
: Poison-ivy 283 
Poison-sumac 283 
Pope 123 
Pork 60 
Porrigo 281 
Porter 66 
Port-wine mark 286 
Posture in reading, the 422 
in sleep 107 
Potatoes 66 
Pott’s disease 183 
Poverty and riches 454-456 
Praise as a reward 436 
Prayer 467-469 
Precocity, mental 386 
Premature deaths, and ignorance 12 
Preventable diseases 122 
Prevention of disease... 10, 119-128 
Prickly heat 269 
Priestly, Dr 24 
Procter 405 
Propensities, animal 410-412 
Properties and allied features 
of hair 358, 359 
of clothing 74, 75 
Proportion 373 
Proverbs 404, 420, 446, 449 
Prunes 56 
Psoriasis 279 
Public schools and their work.. 387, 
388 
Pulse 247, 248 
Pumpkins 57 
Punctuality 442 
Punctured wounds 303, 304 
Punishments, rewards and 436-439 
Pupil, the 344 
Pustular eruptions 273-275 
Putrid sore throat 201-204 
Putting an infant to sleep, on.. 110, 
m 
Pyrosis 220 
Quack medicines, on 155 
Quacks, on 115, 155 
Quinsy 216-218 
Quoits 98 
Race, relations of to height 
and weight at different ages 
320, 321 
Radishes 57 INDEX. 
481 
PAGE 
Ragnails 369 
Raikes, Robert 462 
Range, a 31 
Raspberries 57 
Ratio of weight to height at 
different ages 319, 320 
Reading 418-422 
the posture in 422 
Reason 413 
Reasoning 423-426 
Rectum, the 212 
Red-gown 269 
Red-gum 269 
Religious sentiments, the cul- 
ture of the 459-469 
Remarks on attention to home- 
air. 39, 40 
Remedies in sickness 152-167 
referred to in this 
book 156-167 
Remittent fever, infantile 208 
Resignation 409, 410 
Results of violence 300-314 
Retina, the 343 
Reverence 400 
Rewards and punishments 436-439 
Reynolds, Sir Joshua...' 373 
Rhubarb 57 
Rice 57 
Rice-flour 162 
Rice-water 150 
Richard the Third 324 
Richardson, Dr. B. W. 87, 96, 381, 
444 
Riches, poverty and 454-456 
Rickets 182, 183 
Right, love of. 398 
Ring-games 99 
Roasting 64 
Rod, on the use of the 438, 439 
Root of a hair 357 
Roseola 266, 267 
epidemic 200, 201 
Rose-rash 266, 267 
Rotheln 200, 201 
Round-worms 231 
Rousseau 384, 389 
Rowing 99 
Rubeola notha 200, 201 
Rules for bathers 87, 88 
Running 99 
scall.. 271 
Rupture 293 ! 
PAGE 
Rush, Dr. Benjamin, 117, 335, 373, 
419, 400 
Ruskin 396, 397, 441 
Rutherford, Dr 23 
Sacred disease, the 254 
Sago 57, 150 
Salernum, the code of health of 
the school of.... 56, 66, 95, 103 
Saliva 212 
Salt 57 
Salt-rheum 271 
Samson 359 
Sauces 57 
Scabies 280, 281 
Scalds 306 
Scalled-head 281, 282 
Scarlatina 196-200 
Scarlet fever 196-200 
Sclerotica, the 343 
Scolding as a punishment 438 
Scrofula 175, 176 
Sea-bathing 162 
Seasonal changes, and disease.. 120 
Sebaeeous glands 263 
Seborrhoea 275 
Seeing, how it takes place 344, 345 
Seguin, Dr 143 
Seidlitz powders 163 
Self, love of. 396 
Semicircular canals 339 
Senna 136 
Sense of difference, the 414 
of hearing, the 338-342 
of sight, the 343-351 
of similarity, the 414 
of smell, the 336, 337 
of touch, the 332, 333 
the muscular 333 
Sex, and mental culture 392 
relations of height and 
weight to 320, 321 
Sexes, the 452 
Shaft of a hair 357 
Shakspeare, 9, 36, 62, 175, 882, 398, 
402, 411, 421, 431, 438, 440 
Shell-fish 57 
Shingles 270 
Shinny 99 
Shock 300, 301 
Shoes 370 
Sick, general remarks on caring 
for the 113-118 482 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Sick the diet of the 144-151 
the nursing of the 137-143 
Sick-headache 218, 219 
Sick-room, the 139 
Sickness, abstinence in 145 
mental care in... 139-141 
over-feeding in 146 
remedies in 152-167 
use of food in.... 144, 145 
use of medicine in 153, 154 
Sight, organ and sense of 343-351 
Silken fabrics 76 
Similarity, the sense of 414 
Sinew, a 322 
Singing 99 
Site of homes 26 
Skating 99 
Skin, diseases of the 262-286 
dislocations of the... 284, 285 
growths of the 285, 286 
Skipping the rope 100 
Sledding .' 100 
Sleep, hours of, for the young.. Ill 
in infancy 109, 110 
the posture in 107, 108 
Sleeping alone and with others, 
on 108, 109 
and waking 102-112 
Slow nervous fever 208-210 
Small intestine, the 211 
Small-pox 204-207 
Smell, the sense of. 336 
on observation through.. 418 
Smith, Adam 447 
Dr. Edward.. 35, 42, 50, 51, 
52, 53, 59, 465, 466 
Smoking 31 
Sneezing 234 
Soap-liniment 163 
Social sentiments, the culture of 
the 447-458 
Societies, religious 464, 465 
Socrates 66, 456 
Soda. 163 
Solution of morphia 163 
of the acetate of am- 
monia 163 
Soothing syrups, poisoning from 314 
Sore throat 237 
Sourness of the stomach 219 
Spasms 252 
Special remarks on the culture 
of beauty 375-378 
PAGE 
Spectator, the.. 13, 83, 101, 325, 389, 
417, 428 
Speech, how and when ac- 
quired 353 
the voice and 352-350 
Silencer 440 
Herbert.. 12, 24, 384, 387, 
391, 419, 430, 452 
Spiced syrup of rhubarb 164 
Spina-biiida 299 
Spinach 58 
Spinal cord, the 250 
Spirits of turpentine 164 
Sponge-bath, a 87 
Sporadic cholera — 226,- 227 
Sports and active games 95-100 
as forms of exercise 328 
Sprains 306, 307 
Sputa 235 
Squamous eruptions 278, 279' 
Squashes 58 
Squint 349, 350 
St. Anthony’s fire 265, 266 
St. Pierre 404, 418, 436 
St. Vitus’s dance 256, 257 
Stammering 356 
Statistics, mortality 9 
Stewed oysters 150 
Stewing 64 
Sting, a 283 
Stomach, the 211 
Stove, a 33 
Strabismus 349, 350 
Straightness, on bodily 323-325 
Stramonium 314 
Strawberries 58 
Strophulus 269, 270 
Structure and allied features 
of hair, the... 357, 358 
of the teeth 361 
Stuffing 180-182 
Styes 351 
Style and other features of 
clothing 79-82 
Sublingual glands, the 212 
Submaxillary glands, the 212 
Suckling 67 
Sudamina 270 
Sugar 58 
Sulkiness 407 
Sulphureted hydrogen 24 
Summer cholera 226, 227 
complaint 224-226 INDEX. 
483 
PAGE 
Sun-burn 284 , 
Sundays and week-days 465-467 i 
Sunday-schools 462-464 j 
Sunlight 32 j 
Surfeit 219 j 
Swallowing certain objects, on. 290 
Sweet spirits of nitre 164 
Sweet-bread, the 212 
Swimming 100 
Swinging 100 
Symmetry 374 
Sympathetic system of nerves.. 251 
Sympathy, as a reward 437 
Syncope 249 
Syrup of ipecac 164 
of squills 164 
of the iodide of iron 164 
Systematic exercising, on.. 325-327 
Tabes mesenterica 172 
Talipes 294 
Tape-worms 230 
Tapioca 58, 151 
Taste, on observation through.. 418 
the sense of 334, 335 
Tastes, significance of 441 
Tea 58 
Tears, the 344 
Teeth, the 361-366, 377, 378 
Temperance ••••• 411 
Temperature, and contagious 
and infectious - 
diseases 131 
and health 26, 35 
in disease 142, 143 
Temporary teeth, the 361, 362 
Tendon, a 322 
Tennis 100 
Tennyson 20, 402, 466, 469 
Tepid-baths 89 
Tetter 271, 279 
Theatrical performances 458 
Theophrastus 457 
Thermometer 86 
a clinical 143 
Thoracic duct 213 
Thorn-apple 314 
Thought 413 
Thread-worms 232 
Thrush 214, 215 
Thucydides 130 
Tight shoes, on wearing 376 
Time of day, and exercise 331 
PAGE 
Timidity 408 
Tincture of barks 10-3 
of myrrh 165 
of ginger 165 
Tinea circinatus 281, 282 
decalrans 282 
favosa 281 
tonsurans 282 
versicolor 282 
Toast-water 151 
Tobacco, poisoning from 314 
on using 443, 444 
Tomatoes 59 
Tongue-tied 294 
Tonsilitis 216-218 
Toothache 365, 366 
Tooth-pick, a 365 
Tooth-powders 365 
Tootli-rash 271 
Top-spinning 100 
Touch, on observation through 418 
the sense of 332, 333 
Trachea, the 233 
Training, on musical 355 
on the force of 13, 14 
Truth, love of. 397 
Tubercular eruptions 275-278 
Turnips 59 
Turner-schools 330, 331 
Tympanum, the. 338 
the membrane of 
the 338 
Typhoid fever 208-210 
Ulysses 133 
Understanding 413 
Unity of the mind 381 
Urine, incontinence of..... 288, 289 
Urticaria 267 
Use of clothing 78 
of medicine in sickness 153,154 
Using tobacco, on 443, 444 
Vaccination 124-128 
Vanity 452 
Varicella 207, 208 
Variola .....204-207 
Varioloid 206 
Veal 60 
Veal-skin 284 
Veins, the 245 
Velocipede-riding 100 
Venison 60 484 
INDEX. 
PAGE 
Ventilation 37, 38 
Vermicelli 60 
Verruca : 285 
Vesicular eruptions 270-273 
Vestibule, the 339 
Vinegar 60, 165 
Violence, results of. 300-314 
Virchow 188 
Virgil 112 
Vitiligo 284 
Vitreous humor, the 343 
Voice and speech, the 352-356 
the compass and other 
features of the.... 354, 355 
Waist, the 375 
Waking and sleeping 102-112 
AValking 91 
as a form of exercise, 327, 
328 
Warm-baths 89 
Wart 285 
Washerwoman’s itch 271 
Water 60 
Water-blebs 273 
Water-brash 220 
Water-closet 29 
Water-cresses 61 
Water-melons 61 
Water-proof overshoes 371 
Waywardness in children, on.. 435, 
436 
Weaning 71 
Weight at different ages, the 317, 318 
Weights and measures. 166-167 
Welch, Dr. W. M 126, 127 
West, Benjamin 437 
Dr 67, 133, 142, 190 
Wet-nurse, on a *.. 69 
Wheaten flower 61 
PAGE 
Whisky 61, 165 
Whist 457 
White-mouth 214, 215 
Whitlow 294, 295 
Whortleberries 52 
Will 380 
the culture of the 430-446 
Willis, N. P 437 
Wilson, Dr. Erasmus 84 
Dr. George.. 65, 82, 84, 129, 
327 
Winckelmann 376 
Wind-colic 229 
Windpipe 233 
Wine 62, 165 
of ipecac 165 
of iron 165 
Wine-whey 151 
Wisdom, the Book of 21, 460 
teeth, the 362 
Woolen fabrics 76 
Work 100, 101 
as a form of exercise 329 
of public schools 387, 388 
Worm-fever 208 
Worms, intestinal 230-232 
Wounds, incised 302, 303 
lacerated 304 
poisoned 304, 305 
punctured 303, 201 
Wrestling 100 
Yeast 44 
Youmans, Miss E. A 415, 417 
Young, hours of sleep for the'.... 111 
Zeroderma 279 
Zinc-ointment 166 
Zona 270