Felt or cotton mattresses are firm, but heavy, difficult to keep clean, and likely to absorb odors. A useful mattress made from straw is sometimes found in country districts. Such a bed is thoroughly hygienic, for the worn straw may be burned and the tick washed and refilled with clean straw; but straw beds are generally hard and lumpy. The least desirable of all mattresses is the old fashioned feather bed, and it should never be used if a better can by any possibility be obtained; but a feather bed should not be arbitrarily taken away from an old person accustomed to its use, unless his welfare is really at stake. A mattress made in two sections is unnecessary for a single bed; indeed, a mattress made in one piece is more easily kept in place if the patient is restless. A good quality of blue and white ticking makes a serviceable cover for both mattress and pillows since its color is not likely to run. CARE OF THE MATTRESS.--A mattress should be brushed frequently with a whisk broom, especially around the tufts and edges. If a patient is long confined to bed, a fresh one should occasionally be substituted so that the regular mattress may be removed, well brushed, beaten with a carpet beater, and left exposed to the sun and air for a day or two. A mattress that is badly soiled should be sent to a cleaner and made over; it cannot be cleaned properly at home. It is generally possible to remove blood stains, if they have not soaked through the ticking, by applying a thick cream made from raw starch and cold water. When the starch becomes dry it should be brushed away, and the application should be repeated until the stain has disappeared. For the best results the starch should be applied before the stain is dry. PILLOWS.--One patient can use an almost unlimited number of feather pillows. Some should be soft and others firm, some large and some small; but pillows that are very large and thick are less useful than a greater number of smaller ones. It is well to have several small pillows of varying size and thickness to support different parts of the body. Hair pillows are often acceptable in warm weather, and they are also desirable for patients with high fever or excessive perspiration. Rubber air pillows are a convenience in traveling and add much to the comfort of a patient when he first goes out in a carriage or motor car, but air pillows are not sufficiently durable for general use. If a pillow tick becomes soiled, the feathers may be transferred to a clean tick by making an opening about six inches long in the end of each pillow, sewing the ticks together, and then shaking the feathers from one tick to the other. The soiled tick can then be washed. If the feathers themselves have become soiled they should be renovated by a cleaner. Pillows, like mattresses, should be frequently brushed, sunned, and aired. They should not be held in the mouth while a clean pillow-case is adjusted.