Aëtius gives somewhat fuller directions. He says, the nurse ought not to be younger than twenty, nor older than forty; should be free from disease, and have breasts neither too small nor too large; for when the breasts are too large, they contain more milk than the child can manage: and part being retained spoils, and proves injurious to the child, and even affects the health of the nurse; when too small, on the other hand, they do not contain a sufficient supply of milk. Large nipples, he remarks, hurt the gums, and impede deglutition; whereas, when too small, they cannot be got hold of. The nurse, he says, should be chaste, sober, cleanly, and cheerful. (iv, 4.) The directions given by the other authorities, are very similar to our author’s. See, in particular, Rhases (ad Mansor. iv, 30); Avicenna (Cantic.); Averrhoes (in Cant. p. ii, tr. 1.) Avicenna says, the nurse ought to be from twenty-five to thirty-five years old. Averrhoes says, from twenty to thirty. It appears to have been a general practice among the Romans, after they became luxurious and effeminate, for the ladies of noblemen to consign the care of their infants to wet nurses. Tacitus, in his elegant dialogue ‘de Oratoribus,’ inveighs against this practice. See also a spirited declamation on this subject, by the philosopher, Phavorinus, in the ‘Noctes Atticæ’ of Aulus Gellius. (xii, 1.) SECT. III.—ON THE MILK OF THE NURSE. The best milk is that which is moderate in thickness, quantity, colour, smell, and taste. It is a proper way to try the quality of the milk, by pouring a little of it upon the nail of the thumb and observing it in the sun; for, when upon turning the nail, it neither runs off too slowly nor too quickly, it is good milk. You may also try it thus: by pouring some milk into a glass vessel, and putting some runnet into it, then squeezing them together with your fingers, allow it to coagulate, and observe whether the cheesy part be less than the serous; for such milk is unsuitable, and also the opposite kind is of difficult digestion. The best kind is that which has a moderate proportion of each. * * * * * COMMENTARY. This Section is taken from Oribasius (Synops. v, 3), and Aëtius (iv, 3.) The method of trying the quality of the milk here recommended is mentioned by Aëtius, Barytus (ap. Geopon. xviii, 20), Dioscorides, Avicenna, Haly Abbas, and Alsaharavius. According to Avicenna, a child ought not to be allowed to take suck oftener than twice or thrice in the day. See, in particular, Haly Abbas (Pract. i, 21), and Alsaharavius (Pract. xxx, 3.) SECT. IV.—HOW TO CORRECT THE BAD QUALITIES OF MILK.