Nature, indeed, has saved mothers the necessity of oppressing their stomachs by way of providing for the wants of their young, and has enabled them to give suck without either suffering from exhaustion or having recourse to a more stimulating diet. This is accomplished simply by the suppression of that periodical evacuation to which all healthy women are subject during the greater portion of life except when pregnant or nursing; and as, in every situation, it is certainly more advantageous for all parties to follow out the intentions of Nature, than to substitute any contrivance of their own to effect a given end, so, in the present instance, more will be gained by the observance of the ordinary laws of health on the part of the nurse, than by any foolish deviation founded on ignorance and caprice. It often happens, for example, that, from the waste caused by a great flow of milk, the appetite becomes keener, and digestion more vigorous than usual. In such cases, it is obviously allowable to increase to a moderate extent the amount of food, because the demand for it is natural and healthy. But it is a total perversion to say, that, because the appetite and digestion are vigorous, the diet ought therefore to be made rich and stimulating. And it is not less absurd to infer, that because a healthy nurse enjoys a keen appetite, and derives benefit from a moderate increase of her usual food, a sickly or delicate nurse will therefore be benefited by also eating more whether she has a natural appetite for it or not. The two cases, although generally confounded, are so widely different, that, while the increase of food promotes the flow of milk in the one, it is almost sure to diminish or put an entire stop to it in the other. The length of time during which an infant ought to be fed at the breast is subject to some variation. In this country, the end of the ninth month is usually considered a proper time for weaning; but much depends on the condition of the mother, and also on that of the child. If both are in vigorous health, if the infant has cut several of its teeth and been already accustomed to be fed, and if the season be favourable, weaning ought to be then gradually accomplished. But if the nursling is feeble in constitution, the teeth late in appearing, and the nurse has a sufficient supply of good milk, especially if it be the winter season, it will be far better to prolong the nursing for a few months. In such a case, the single fact of the non-appearance of the teeth, would suffice to indicate an unfitness of the system for any other than the natural food from the maternal breast. In general, weaning takes place too early, at least in Scotland.