If the hair cannot, without some application, be kept tidy, then a little castor oil, scented, might, by means of an old tooth-brush, be used to smooth it; castor oil is, for the purpose, one of the most simple and harmless of dressings; but, as I said before, the hair's own natural oil cannot be equalled, far less surpassed! If the hair fall off, the castor oil, scented with a few drops either of otto of roses or of essence of bergamot, is a good remedy to prevent its doing so; a little of it ought, night and morning, to be well rubbed into the roots of the hair. Cocoa-nut oil is another excellent application for the falling off of the hair, and can never do harm, which is more than can be said of many vaunted remedies for the Hair! CLOTHING. 318. _Do you approve of a boy wearing flannel next to the skin?_ England is so variable a climate, and the changes from heat to cold, and from dryness to moisture of the atmosphere, are so sudden, that some means are required to guard against their effects. Flannel, as it is a bad conductor of heat, prevents the sudden changes from affecting the body, and thus is a great preservative against cold. Flannel is as necessary in the summer as in the winter time; indeed, we are more likely both to sit and to stand in draughts in the summer than in the winter; and thus we are more liable to become chilled and to catch cold. Woollen shirts are now much worn; they are very comfortable and beneficial to health. Moreover, they simplify the dress, as they supersede the necessity of wearing either both flannel and linen, or flannel and calico shirts. 319. _Flannel sometimes produces great irritation of the skin: what ought to be done to prevent it_? Have a moderately fine flannel, and persevere in its use; the skin in a few days will bear it comfortably. The Angola and wove-silk waistcoats have been recommended as substitutes, but there is nothing equal to the old-fashioned Welsh flannel. 320. _If a boy have delicate lungs, do you approve of his wearing a prepared hare-skin over the chest_? I do not: the chest may be kept too warm as well as too cold. The hare-skin heats the chest too much, and thereby promotes a violent perspiration; which, by his going into the cold air, may become suddenly checked, and may thus produce mischief. If the chest be delicate, there is nothing like flannel to ward off colds. 321. _After an attack of Rheumatic Fever, what extra clothing do you advise_? In the case of a boy, or a girl, just recovering from a severe attack of Rheumatic Fever, flannel next the skin ought always, winter and summer, to be worn--flannel drawers as well as a flannel vest. 322. _Have you any remarks to make on boys' waistcoats_?