IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAN BOWEL.--Every mother, sooner or later, observes that a physician always thoroughly cleans out the bowel of a sick child at once, no matter what the character of the sickness is. He does this for two reasons,--first, because he knows that the great majority of children's ailments are of gastro-intestinal origin; second, if the origin of the disease is not in the stomach or bowels, experience has taught him that if the bowels are clean at the beginning of a disease, that disease will run a milder and shorter course than if complicated with a condition of self-poisoning. If a child develops fever the digestive function stops; whatever food is in the stomach or bowel will promptly ferment and putrefy because of the abnormal heat caused by the fever and the arrested digestion. If this is not cleaned out at once the self-poisoning process begins. The above is a suggestive admission for a physician to make. It simply means that the vast majority of the calls made by a physician on ailing children are caused by errors in diet and can be completely cured by a dose of castor oil or calomel, or, better still, need never occur. A mother who neglects, who is guilty of inattention to the conditions of her child's bowel, fails in one of the most important duties of motherhood. I know as a father and a physician that if a child's bowel acts regularly and thoroughly, that child is fortified to the highest efficient degree against the multitude of little ailments common to all children. A clean bowel means good blood, good digestion, ability to exercise properly, to sleep soundly and to think clearly. Such a child will resist infection and throw off the minor troubles that pave the way for serious sickness. It is a secret worth knowing. A DAILY MOVEMENT OF THE BOWEL NECESSARY.--In order to preserve good health one thorough movement of the bowel is necessary daily. A baby may have two or three and enjoy robust health. A larger daily number suggests an abnormal condition of the bowel and an investigation should be made. If a nursing baby's bowels do not move before bedtime it should be given an injection of equal parts of glycerine and hot water, one-half cupful; or an enema of soap and water, or a glycerine suppository. When a child is six months old, in some sooner, it should be put on the stool at a certain time every morning. This will aid in the establishment of the habit, as a child soon understands why it is made to assume this position and acts accordingly.