Tangstate of soda may be used either with or without starch; but full directions for the using of it will, at the time of purchase, be given by the chemist. 291. _Is a burn more dangerous than a scald_? A burn is generally more serious than a scald. Burns and scalds are more dangerous on the body, especially on the chest, than either on the face or on the extremities. The younger the child, the greater the danger. Scalds both of the mouth and the throat, from a child drinking boiling water from the spout of a tea-kettle, are most dangerous. A poor person's child is, from the unavoidable absence of the mother, sometimes shut up in the kitchen by himself, and being very thirsty, and no other water being at hand, he is tempted, in his ignorance, to drink from the tea-kettle: If the water be unfortunately boiling, it will most likely prove to him to be a fatal draught! 292. _What are the best immediate applications to a scald or to a burn_? There is nothing more efficacious than flour. It ought to be thickly applied over the part affected, and should be kept in its place either with a rag and a bandage, or with, strips of old linen. If this be done, almost instantaneous relief will be experienced, and the burn or the scald, if superficial, will soon be well. The advantage of flour as a remedy, is this, that it is always at hand. I have seen some extensive bums and scalds cured by the above simple plan. Another excellent remedy is, cottonwool of superior quality, purposely made for surgeons. The burn or the scald ought to be enveloped in it; layer after layer should be applied until it be several inches thick. The cotton-wool must not be removed for several days. These two remedies, flour and cotton-wool, may be used in conjunction; that is to say, the flour may be thickly applied to the scald or to the burn, and the cotton wool over all.