These groin ruptures require great attention and supervision, as the rupture (the bowel) must, before putting on the truss, be cautiously and thoroughly returned into the belly; and much care should be used to prevent the chafing and galling of the tender skin of the babe, which an ill-fitting truss would be sure to occasion. But if care and skill be bestowed on the case, a perfect cure might in due time be insured. The truss must not be discontinued until a _perfect_ cure be effected. Let me strongly urge you to see that my advice is carried out to the very letter, as a groin rupture can only be _cured_ in infancy and in childhood. If it be allowed to run on, unattended to, until adult age, he will be obliged to wear a truss _all his life_, which would be a great annoyance and a perpetual irritation to him. CLOTHING. 21. _Is it necessary to have a flannel cap in readiness to put on as soon as a babe is born?_ Sir Charles Locock considers that a flannel cap is _not_ necessary, and asserts that all his best nurses have long discarded flannel caps. Sir Charles states that since the discontinuance of flannel caps infants have not been more liable to inflammation of the eyes. Such authority is, in my opinion, conclusive. My advice, therefore, to you is, by all means discontinue the use of flannel caps. 22. _What kind of a belly-band do you recommend—a flannel or a calico one?_ I prefer flannel, for two reasons—first, on account of its keeping the child’s bowels comfortably warm; and, secondly, because of its not chilling him (and thus endangering cold, etc.) when he wets himself. The belly-band ought to be moderately but not tightly applied, as, if tightly applied, it would interfere with the necessary movements of the bowels. 23. _When should the belly-band be discontinued?_ When the child is two or three months old. The best way of leaving it off is to tear a strip off daily for a few mornings, and then to leave it off altogether. “Nurses who take charge of an infant when the monthly nurse leaves are frequently in the habit of at once leaving off the belly-band, which often leads to ruptures when the child cries or strains. It is far wiser to retain it too long than too short a time; and when a child catches hooping-cough while still very young, it is safer to resume the belly-band.” [Communicated by Sir Charles Locock to the Author.] 24. _Have you any remarks to make on the clothing of an infant?_