that as the periods come round, by keeping the infant as much as possible from the breast during its continuance, and feeding him upon artificial food, she will prevent disorder of the child's health, and be able in the intervals to nurse her infant with advantage. It must be added, however, that a wet-nurse is to be resorted to rather than any risk incurred of injuring the child's health, and that in every case partial feeding will be necessary at a much earlier period than when a mother is not thus affected.

The milk may also be rendered less nutritive and diminished in quantity by the mother again becoming pregnant. In this case, however, the parent's health will chiefly suffer, if she persevere in nursing; this, however, will again act prejudicially to the child. It will be wise, therefore, if pregnancy should occur, and the milk disagree with the infant, to resign the duties of a nurse, and to put the child upon a suitable artificial diet—if, however, pregnancy should take place before the infant is six months old, a wet-nurse ought to be procured.

2. Irregular nursing.-This is one of the most frequent sources of derangement of the stomach and bowels of the child. The infant that is constantly at the breast will always be suffering, more or less, from flatulence, griping, looseness of the bowels, and vomiting. This is caused by a sufficient interval not being allowed between the meals for digestion. The milk, therefore, passes on from the stomach into the bowels undigested, and the effects just alluded to follow. Time must not only be given for the proper digestion of the milk, but the stomach itself must be allowed a season of repose. This evil, then, must be avoided most carefully by the mother strictly adhering to those rules for

nursing which have been laid down in the earlier part of this work.

3. Teething. The bowels of the infant at the breast, as well as after it is weaned, are generally affected by teething. And it is fortunate that this is the case, for it prevents more serious affections. Indeed, the diarrhoea that occurs during dentition, except it be violent, must not be subdued; if, however, this is the case, attention must be paid to it. It will generally be found to be accompanied by a swollen gum; the freely lancing of which will sometimes alone put a stop to the looseness; further medical aid may, however, be necessary.

4. Cold and Damp.-Of course there are other causes besides those already alluded to, giving rise to bowel complaints during this period-causes not cognisable by the mother, however, and therefore not mentioned here. It is right, however, that she should be aware that these affections are sometimes the result simply of impressions of cold or damp, particularly at certain seasons of the year; in the autumn, for instance, when, as is well known, bowel complaints are very frequent. When thus produced, it is important early to seek medical aid, as inflammation is generally the result.

Sect. 2. At the Period of Weaning.

There is great susceptibility to derangements of the stomach and bowels of the child at the period when weaning ordinarily takes place, so that great care and judgment must be exercised in effecting this object. Usually, however, the bowels are deranged during this process from one of these causes-from weaning too early, from effecting it too suddenly and abruptly, or

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from over-feeding and the use of improper and unsuitable food. There is another cause which also may give rise to diarrhoea at this time, independently of weaning, viz., the irritation of difficult teething.

1. From Weaning too Early. The substitution of artificial food for the breast-milk of the mother at a period when the digestive organs of the infant are too delicate for this change, is a frequent source of the affections now under consideration. The attempt to wean a delicate child, for instance, when only six.. months old, will inevitably be followed by disorder of the stomach and bowels. Unless, therefore, a mother is obliged to resort to this measure from becoming pregnant, or any other unavoidable cause, if she consult the welfare of her child, she will not give up nursing at this early period. But if she should be no longer competent to suckle, and her infant be delicate, a wet-nurse must be obtained; for the infant's bowels becoming disordered, medicine or remedies will avail little without healthy breast-milk.

The age at which weaning ought to take place must ever depend upon circumstances; the sixth month would not be too early for some, the twelfth would be for others. This, however, is spoken of elsewhere (p. 42).

2. From sudden and abrupt Alteration of Diet. -Depriving the child at once of the breast, and substituting artificial food, however proper under due regulations such food may be, will invariably cause bowel complaints. Certain rules and regulations must be adopted to effect weaning safely, the details of which are given in the article on weaning.

3. From Over-feeding and the Use of Improper and Unwholesome Food.-These causes are more pro

ductive of disorder of the stomach and bowels at the time of weaning than any yet referred to. If too large a quantity of food is given at each meal, or the meals are too frequently repeated, in both instances the stomach will become oppressed, wearied, and deranged; part of the food will be perhaps thrown up by vomiting, whilst the remainder, not having undergone the digestive process, will pass on into the bowels, irritate its delicate lining membrane, and produce flatulence, with griping, purging, and perhaps convulsions. Then, again, improper and unsuitable food will be followed by precisely the same effects; and unless a judicious alteration be quickly made, remedies will not only have no influence over the disease, but the cause being continued, the disease will become most seriously aggravated. It is, therefore, of the first importance to the well-doing of the child, that at this period, when the mother is about to substitute an artificial food for that of her own breast, she should first ascertain what kind of food suits the child best, and then the precise quantity which nature demands. Many cases might be cited, where children have never had a prescription written for them, simply because these points having been attended to, their diet has been managed with judgment and care; whilst, on the other hand, others might be referred to, whose life has been hazarded, and all but lost, simply from the want of judicious dietetic regulation. Over-feeding, and improper articles of food, are more frequently productive, in their result, of anxious hours and distressing scenes to the parent, and of danger and loss of life to the child, than almost any other causes.

4. Teething. The irritation occasioned by dif ficult teething may give rise to diarrhoea at the period

when the infant is weaned, independently of the weaning itself. Such disorder of the bowels, if it manifestly occur from this cause, is a favourable circumstance, and should not be interfered with, unless indeed the attack be severe and aggravated, when medical aid

becomes necessary. Slight diarrhoea, then, during weaning, when it is fairly traceable to the cutting of a tooth (the heated and inflamed state of the gum will at once point to this as the source of their derangement), is of no conséquence; but it must not be mistaken for disorder arising from other causes. Lancing the gum will at once remove the cause, and generally cure the bowel complaint.

Sect. 3.-In the Infant brought up by Hand.

Children brought up on an artificial diet are very liable to indigestion and bowel complaints; indeed, none more so and it is from these affections that so many of these infants perish. When, therefore, it is absolutely necessary from untoward circumstances to have recourse to this mode of nourishing the child, the rules laid down in the section on 'Artificial Feeding' (p. 56) must be most strictly followed out, if the parent would hope to avoid disease and rear her child. And if unfortunately these affections should at any time manifest themselves, the mother ought carefully and diligently to examine whether the plan of feeding pursued is in every particular correct, especially bearing in mind that the two causes most frequently productive of disorder in the child are over-feeding, and the exhibition of unsuitable food-the two grand errors of the nursery. These results, however, have already been sufficiently dwelt upon as likely to take place at