essential to health. Flannel being a bad conductor of heat, is one of the best materials of which the clothing can be composed, if it does not produce too much irritation of the skin, in which case the interposition of a little soft calico will be necessary. Long-clothes may be useful in the first instance, as conducive to the warmth of the lower extremities, but they should be discontinued as soon as the child evinces sufficient vigour to keep warm without them. The principal point to be attended to at this period, with regard to dress, is to leave the clothing so loose that the infant may have the fullest use of all its joints, and room for the development of its organs. The head should be covered only with a very thin cap, or better still, not covered at all, and the pillow on which it rests should not be so soft as to allow the head to sink in it, and thus promote perspiration.
We may incidentally mention, with regard to the sleeping of infants, that we consider the best position for repose to be lying on the back; for if the child lies on either side, the ribs will be forced inward by the pressure of the arm above; and if, as is too frequently the case, the baby be laid upon its stomach, and patted off to sleep, not only does it experience a difficulty in breathing, but the sternum is compressed, and the chest lessened in its dimensions, while in addition the diaphragm cannot descend into the abdominal cavity in consequence of the pressure on that portion of the body. We purposely abstain from any observations on the food or general treatment of infants, as that must always depend on the constitution; and on a variety of circumstances, which fall more properly within the regulation of the medical attendant, who alone is a competent judge, and whose decisions should always be implicitly obeyed.
From what we have advanced here, it will naturally occur to the reader that what is required in infantile clothing is warmth, freedom, and, where support is required, elasticity. To meet all such necessities, we have constructed an Umbilical Band, which affords sufficient umbilical pressure, and allows all the great organs of life to perform their natural functions. The construction is simple, and the elasticity so great, that the tender organs are never oppressed: thus, whilst we afford all needful support to the abdomen, the heart, lungs, liver, and stomach, are left perfectly free.
We repeat, then, that the baby must never be pressed and confined;
