It would answer little purpose to specify the particular species of dress proper for an infant. These will always vary in different countries, according to custom and the humour of parents. The great rule to be observed is, _That a child have no more clothes than are necessary to keep it warm, and that they be quite easy for its body_. Stays are the very bane of infants. A volume would not suffice to point out all the bad effects of this ridiculous piece of dress both on children and adults. The madness in favour of stays seems, however, to be somewhat abated; and it is to be hoped the world will, in time, become wise enough to know, that the human shape does not solely depend upon whale-bone and bend-leather[11]. I shall only add with respect to the clothes of children, that they ought to be kept thoroughly clean. Children perspire more than adults; and if their clothes be not frequently changed, they become very hurtful. Dirty clothes not only gall and fret the tender skins of infants, but likewise occasion ill smells; and, what is worse, tend to produce vermin and cutaneous diseases. Cleanliness is not only agreeable to the eye, but tends greatly to preserve the health of children. It promotes the perspiration, and, by that means, frees the body from superfluous humours, which, if retained, could not fail to occasion diseases. No mother or nurse can have any excuse for allowing a child to be dirty. Poverty may oblige her to give it coarse clothes; but if she does not keep them clean, it must be her own fault. _Of the Food of Children._ Nature not only points out the food proper for an infant, but actually prepares it. This, however, is not sufficient to prevent some who think themselves wiser than Nature, from attempting to bring up their children without her provision. Nothing can shew the disposition which mankind have to depart from Nature, more than their endeavouring to bring up children without the breast. The mother’s milk, or that of a healthy nurse, is unquestionably the best food for an infant. Neither art nor nature can afford a proper substitute for it. Children may seem to thrive for a few months without the breast; but, when teething, the small-pox, and other diseases incident to childhood, come on, they generally perish. A child, soon after the birth, shews an inclination to suck; and there is no reason why it should not be gratified. It is true, the mother’s milk does not always come immediately after the birth; but this is the way to bring it: besides, the first milk that the child can squeeze out of the breast answers the purpose of cleansing, better than all the drugs in the apothecary’s shop, and at the same time prevents inflammations of the breast, fevers, and other diseases incident to mothers.