I must not leave the consideration of the ailments of the digestive organs in early infancy without some notice of that affection of the mouth popularly known as _thrush_ to which an exaggerated importance was once attached as the supposed cause of those symptoms of disordered health, of which it is in reality only the accompaniment. Still it is a sign of such grave disorder that it needs a careful study. THRUSH.--If you examine the mouth of a young infant, in whom the attempt at hand-feeding is not turning out well, you will often observe its lining to be beset with numerous small white spots, that look like little bits of curd lying upon its surface, but which on a more attentive examination are found to be so firmly adherent to it as not to be removed without some difficulty, when they leave the surface beneath it a deep red colour, and now and then bleeding slightly. These specks appear upon the inner surface of the lips, especially near the angles of the mouth, on the inside of the cheeks, and upon the tongue, where they are more numerous at the tip and edges than towards the centre. They are likewise seen upon the gums, though less frequently and in smaller numbers. When they first appear they are usually of a circular form, scarcely larger than a small pin's head; but after having existed for a day or two, some of the spots become three or four times as large, while at the same time they in general lose something of their circular form. By degrees the small white crusts fall off of their own accord, leaving the surface where they were seated redder than before; a colour which gradually subsides, as with the infant's improved health the mouth returns to its natural condition. If the improvement is tardy the white specks may be reproduced and again detached several times before the mouth resumes its healthy aspect. In the worst cases the specks coalesce, and coat the mouth as though lined with a membrane which is usually of a yellowish-white tint instead of having the dead white colour of the separate spots. Even here, however, though the surface is very red, it scarcely bleeds if the deposit is removed from it gently and with care.