A strong single or three-quarter bed is better than the double size, and it should be so placed that it can be reached from all sides by the nurse and doctor. If it is possible to rent a high iron bed, such as is used in hospitals, the work of the doctor and nurse will be lightened. If this cannot be done, a bed of ordinary height can be raised on four strong blocks of wood. There should be an ample supply of old soft night-dresses, either open all the way down the front or, better still, open in the back and tied at the neck with tapes. For the mother’s convalescence there should be, especially in cold weather, dainty short negligées or dressing-sacques in softly tinted silk and wool, albatross, or outing flannel. For the home confinement the following equipment should be purchased under the direction of doctor or nurse: One and one-half yards of rubber sheeting, 36 inches wide, or more—or ordinary white table oilcloth—to stretch over the mattress. One 2-quart fountain syringe. Two agateware basins, 11 inches and 16 inches in diameter, respectively. Two agateware pitchers, holding one quart or more. One slop-jar or covered enameled bucket. One douche pan. One nailbrush. One medicine glass. One medicine dropper. Several cakes of castile or pure white soap. One jar of vaseline. Fifty bichloride of mercury tablets, clearly marked, for disinfectant purposes. One ounce fluid extract of ergot, bought one week before confinement. Pint bottle of chloroform. Small bottle of brandy. Quart bottle of alcohol for rubbing purposes. Two dozen large safety-pins. Two yards stout muslin for abdominal binders. Two old sheets. One dozen old soft towels. One yard of bobbin, or very narrow tape, or braided silk, for tying the cord. Twenty-five yards of sterile gauze. Four rolls of cotton-batting. Three pounds of absorbent cotton. The ergot and chloroform need not be provided by the city mother, with the drugstore close at hand, but for the suburban or country mother their presence in the house, if the doctor is summoned hastily and there is no drugstore near by, may save confusion and perhaps futile errand running. Neither drug is to be used without the permission of the doctor, for, if chloroform is administered too soon, it may hinder the progress of labor. If given in too large a quantity it increases the possibilities of hemorrhage.