[2] This subject is fully treated in another volume of this Library, entitled _Home Water-works_, written by PROF. CARLETON J. LYNDE. It shows where water should be sought, and how it may be supplied under perfectly safe conditions to the household, with descriptions of machinery, estimates of expense, etc. This thoroughly practical book meets a widely recognized need for information, and is written by a specialist. Thousands of men living in rural parts of the United States and Canada, out of reach of a public water-system, have equipped their homes with water-supply conveniences equal to any found in the cities. Thousands more who could well afford to do so and who could do so advantageously, have not done so for various reasons--because the idea has not occurred to them, or because they did not know how to go about it, or because they mistakenly thought the expense too great. To all such this book should prove of the greatest practical help. CHAPTER IV HYGIENE OF INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD No characteristic of the Caucasian mind is more marked, and none more universally affects his actions than a constant, gnawing suspicion that the things going on around him are not being done in the proper way, and consequently an irrepressible desire to experiment, and if possible, to change everything. Such a spirit is unquestionably the basis of what we call progress, and, in so far as it conduces to the health and happiness of mankind, is entitled to our most hearty commendation. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that too often we endeavor to bring about changes with but an imperfect understanding of the basic principles at issue, and naturally, under such circumstances, our efforts are crowned with anything but success. In other words, an enlightened investigation of the whys and wherefores of any existing state of affairs may and often does, lead to improvement, while, on the other hand, ignorant meddling is likely to be followed by disastrous consequences. Nowhere do we see the bad results of false conceptions more marked than in our treatment of infants and children.