615. Surgical operations and medical treatment are not highly advantageous in a majority of these cases. In the young and middle aged, this defect can be remedied by _patient_ and judicious training. At first, only those letters and words should be spoken that can be articulated with distinctness. Let there be repetition, until the words can be spoken at any time with readiness. Then take for a lesson other words, more difficult to articulate; and pursue a similar process of training and repetition, until every part of the vocal organs can be called into a ready and harmonious action in giving utterance to any word in common use. 616. _The method of removing foreign bodies from the throat._ It is not necessary to ascertain which passage the foreign body is in, for the immediate treatment ought in either case to be the same. Some person should place one hand on the front of the chest of the sufferer, and, with the other, give two or three smart blows upon the back, allowing a few seconds to intervene between them. This treatment will generally be successful, and cause the substance to be violently thrown from the throat. _Observation._ If the foreign body passes into the larynx violent spasmodic coughing immediately succeeds, which continues until it is removed or life is extinct. Such cases demand the prompt opening of the trachea below the larynx by a skilful surgeon. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 615. How can stammering be remedied? 616. What is the method of removing foreign bodies from the throat? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= CHAPTER XXXI. THE SKIN. 617. The skin is a membrane which envelops the muscles and other parts of the system. In youth, and in females particularly, it is smooth, soft, and elastic. In middle age, and in males, it is firm and rough to the touch. In old age, in persons who are emaciated, and about the flexions of the joints, it is thrown into folds. The interior of the body, like the exterior, is covered by a skin, which, from the constantly moistened state of its surface, is called the mucous membrane. At the various orifices of the body, the exterior skin is continuous with the internal. ANATOMY OF THE SKIN. 618. The SKIN, to the naked eye, appears composed of one membrane. But examination has shown that it consists of two layers of membrane, namely, the _Cu´ti-cle_, (scarf-skin,) and the _Cu´tis Ve´ra_, (true skin.) These layers are widely different from each other in structure, and perform very different offices in the animal economy. 619. The CUTICLE (sometimes called the _ep-i-derm´is_) is the external layer of the skin. This membrane is thin and semi-transparent, and resembles a thin shaving of soft, clear horn, and bears the same relation to other parts of the skin that the rough bark of a tree does to the liber, or living bark. The cuticle has no perceptible nerves or blood-vessels; consequently, if it is cut or abraded, no pain will be felt, and no fluid will ooze from it.