As soon as the naval-string comes away. Do not be afraid of water,—and that in plenty,—as it is one of the best strengtheners to a child’s constitution. How many infants suffer, for the want of water, from excoriation! A nursery-basin (Wedgwood’s make is considered the best) holding either six or eight quarts of water, and which will be sufficiently large to hold the whole body of the child. The basin is generally fitted into a wooden frame, which will raise it to a convenient height for the washing of the baby. Sir Charles Locock strongly recommends that an infant should be washed _in a tub_ from the _very_ commencement. He says: “All those that I superintend _begin_ with a tub.”—_Letter to the Author._ 5. _Which do you prefer—flannel or sponge—to wash a child with?_ For the first part of the washing a piece of flannel is very useful—that is to say, to use with the soap, and to loosen the dirt and the perspiration; but for the finishing-up process, a sponge—a large sponge—is superior to flannel, to wash all away, and to complete the bathing. A sponge cleanses and gets into all the nooks, corners, and crevices of the skin. Besides, sponge, to finish up with, is softer and more agreeable to the tender skin of a child than flannel. Moreover, a sponge holds more water than flannel, and thus enables you to stream the water more effectually over him. A large sponge will act like a miniature shower bath, and will thus brace and strengthen him. 6. _To prevent a new-born babe from catching cold, is it necessary to wash his head with brandy?_ It is _not_ necessary. The idea that it will prevent cold is erroneous, as the rapid evaporation of heat which the brandy causes is more likely to give than to prevent cold. 7. _Ought that tenacious, paste-like substance, adhering to the skin of a new-born babe, to be washed off at the first dressing?_ It should, provided it be done with a soft sponge and with care. If there be any difficulty in removing the substance, gently rub it, by means of a flannel, either with a little lard, or fresh butter, or sweet oil. After the parts have been well smeared and gently rubbed with the lard, or oil, or butter, let all be washed off together, and be thoroughly cleansed away, by means of a sponge and soap and warm water, and then, to complete the process, gently put him for a minute or two in his tub. If this paste-like substance be allowed to remain on the skin, it might produce either an excoriation or a “breaking-out.” Besides, it is impossible, if that tenacious substance be allowed to remain on it, for the skin to perform its proper functions.