115. In concluding the first part of our subject--Infancy--I beg to remark: there are four things essentially necessary to a babe's well-doing, namely, (1) plenty of water for his skin; (2) plenty of fresh genuine milk mixed with water for his stomach (of course, giving him ONLY his mother's milk during the first six, eight, or nine months of his existence); (3) plenty of pure air for his lungs; (4) plenty of sleep for his brain: these are the four grand essentials for an infant; without an abundance of one and all of them, perfect health is utterly impossible! Perfect health! the greatest earthly blessing, and more to be coveted than ought else beside! There is not a more charming sight in the universe than the beaming face of a perfectly healthy babe,-- "His are the joys of nature, his the smile, The cherub smile, of innocence and health."--_Knox._ PART II. CHILDHOOD. _The child is father of the man_.--WORDSWORTH. _Bairns are blessings_--SHAKESPEARE. _These are MY jewels!_--CORNELLA. ABLUTION. 116. _At twelve months old, do you still recommend a child to be_ PUT IN HIS TUB _to be washed_? Certainly I do, as I have previously recommended at page 6, in order that his skin may be well and thoroughly cleansed. If it be summer time, the water should be used cold; if it be winter, a dash of warm must be added, so that it may be of the temperature of new milk: but do not, on any account use _very warm_ water. The head must be washed (but not dried) before he be placed in a tub, then, putting him in the tub (containing the necessary quantity of water, and washing him as previously recommended), [Footnote: See Infancy-Ablution, page 6.] a large sponge should be filled with the water and squeezed over his head, so that the water may stream over the whole surface of his body. A jugful of water should, just before taking him out of his bath, be poured over and down his loins; all this ought rapidly to be done, and he must be quickly dried with soft towels, and then expeditiously dressed. For the washing of your child I would recommend you to use Castile soap in preference to any other; it is more pure, and less irritating, and hence does not injure the texture of the skin. Take care that the soap does not get into his eyes, or it might produce irritation and smarting. 117. _Some mothers object to a child's STANDING in the water._ If the head be wetted before he be placed in the tub, and if he be washed as above directed, there can be no valid objection to it. He must not be allowed to remain in his tab more than five minutes. 118. _Does not washing the child's head, every morning, make him more liable to catch cold, and does it not tend to weaken his sight_?