The first thing in lending a helping hand to the little stranger is to give him a bath. This is done ordinarily by using soap and warm water. The _vernix caseosa_, a thick, white, unctuous material that usually covers the child, and is abundant in the axilla and groin, is much more easily and thoroughly removed by cleansing it entirely with some oily substance. For this purpose olive oil or lard can be used. It should be applied with a soft, worn piece of flannel, keeping the child well covered. When it is entirely clean, rub all over with a fresh piece of flannel, and the skin is left in a soft, smooth condition. R. P. Harris, M. D., says: “As the _vernix caseosa_ is readily miscible with pure lard, and can be easily removed by its means, the practice prevails with many obstetricians in the United States of ordering the infant well anointed, and then wiped from head to foot with soft rags, until all the vernix disappears, and the skin retains an oily trace, not enough to soil the clothing. By this means water is avoided, and with it much risk of taking cold; the skin is left much less sensitive, after the sudden change which it is made to endure at birth than when subject to soap and water.” DRESS THE NAVEL with absorbent antiseptic cotton. Put a piece three or four inches square on the left side of the abdomen, just above the navel, the remnant of the cord laid upon it, with its cut end pointing to the left, and upward--the cotton arranged to embrace the base of the cord, and another piece of cotton the same size placed over the cord, the whole kept in place by a soft flannel band. This is preferable to linen. It absorbs the secretion more readily, making less liability of an unpleasant odor. It is kept in place better, and the cord comes off much sooner. Can often be entirely removed the fourth day. There needs to be no grease or oil upon the cotton. After the separation of the cord, the navel should be dressed with a little simple cerate or cosmoline, and still use the absorbent cotton. _Any pouching of the navel_ can be relieved by using a thin slice of cork or a piece of thick pasteboard two inches in diameter. Wrap it with several thicknesses of linen and place it outside of the cotton, applying the bandage sufficiently snug to keep it in place. THE CLOTHING of the child should be soft, warm, light, loose, and easily adjusted. Superfluous garments should be avoided, and waistbands dispensed with. Activity is so natural to child-life that it seems almost life itself. Months before it is born a babe is in ceaseless motion, and after birth it is never still during its waking hours. This activity is synchronous with its development and should be encouraged rather than hindered. A child’s dress, while it serves the purposes of warmth, protection and adornment, should in no way prevent this activity.