If early rising be commenced in childhood it becomes a habit, and will then probably be continued through life. A boy ought on no account to be roused from his sleep; but, as soon as he be awake in the morning, he should be encouraged to rise. Dozing--that state between sleeping and waking--is injurious; it enervates both body and mind, and is as detrimental to health as dram drinking! But if he rise early he must go to bed betimes; it is a bad practice to keep him up until the family retire to rest. He ought, winter and summer, to seek his pillow by nine o'clock, and should rise as soon as he awake in the morning. Let me urge upon a parent the great importance of _not_ allowing the chimney of any bedroom, or of any room in the house, to be stopped, as many are in the habit of doing to prevent, as _they_ call it, a draught, but to prevent, as _I_ should call it, health. 357. _How many hours of deep ought a boy to have_? This, of course, will depend upon the exercise he takes: but, on an average, he should have every night at least eight hours. It is a mistaken notion that a boy does _better_ with _little_ sleep. Infants, children, and youths require more than those who are further advanced in years; hence old people can frequently do with little sleep. This may in a measure be accounted for from the quantity of exercise the young take. Another reason may be, the young have neither racking pain, nor hidden sorrow, nor carking care, to keep them awake; while, on the contrary, the old have frequently, the one, the other, or all:-- "Care keeps his watch on every old man's eye, And where care lodges, sleep will never lie."--_Shakspeare_. ON THE TEETH AND THE GUMS. 358. _What are the beet means of keeping the teeth and the gums in a healthy state_? I would recommend the teeth and the gums to be well brushed with warm salt and water, in the proportion of one large tea-spoonful of, salt to a tumbler of water. I was induced to try the above plan by the recommendation of an American writer--_Todd_. The salt and water should be used _every night_. The following is an excellent tooth-powder:-- Take of--Finely-powder Peruvian Bark; '' Prepared Coral; '' Prepared Chalk; '' Myrrh, of each half an ounce '' Orris root, a quarter of an ounce: Mix them well together in a mortar, and preserve the powder in a wide mouthed stoppered bottle. The teeth ought to be well brushed with the above tooth-powder every morning.