Every mother should nurse her child--if she can. There is no perfect substitute for mother's milk. There is only one excuse for a mother not nursing--that is when she has no milk, or when the quality of the milk is so poor that the child does not thrive on it, or when the mother is run down, is threatened with or is suffering with tuberculosis, etc. In such cases the nursing would prove injurious to both mother and child. When the mother cannot nurse the child, it should be brought up artificially on modified cow's milk. Formulas for modified milk have been worked out for every month of the child's life, and if the formulas are carefully followed, and the bottle and nipples are properly sterilized, the child should have no trouble, but should thrive and grow like on good mother's milk. If the child is sickly or delicate and does not thrive on modified cow's milk or on the other artificial foods, such as Horlick's malted milk, or Nestle's food, then a wet nurse may become necessary. But before engaging a wet nurse great care should be taken to make sure that she is healthy, that the age of her child is approximately the same as the age of the child which she is about to nurse, and particularly that she is free from any syphilitic taint. One, two or more Wassermann tests should be made to settle the question definitely. Mothers should bear in mind that suckling the child is good not only for the child, but for the mother as well. Lactation helps the _involution_ of the uterus: the uterus of a nursing mother returns more quickly and more perfectly to its normal ante-pregnant condition than the uterus of the mother who cannot or will not nurse her child. It is asserted that the reciprocal affection between mother and child is greater in cases in which the child suckled its mother's breast. This is quite likely. It is also asserted that the nursing mother transmits certain traits to its child, which the non-nursing mother cannot. This is merely a hypothesis without any scientific proof. On the other hand, the statement that many women experience decidedly pleasurable sexual feelings while nursing seems to be well substantiated. That the mother who nurses her child should partake of sufficient nourishment goes without saying. But the advice often given to nursing mothers to partake of beer, ale or wine is a bad one. It is a question if a mother partaking of considerable quantities of alcoholic beverages may not transmit the taste for alcohol to her children. No, alcoholics should be left alone, but milk, eggs, meat, fruit and vegetables should be partaken of in abundance. =Preparing the Nipples.= For the infant to be able to nurse properly the nipples of the breast must be in good condition. If the nipples are sunken, depressed, it is torture for the child to nurse. It uses up a lot of energy uselessly, becomes exhausted, and gets very little milk; while if the nipples be tender or cracked the process of nursing is a torture for the mother.