It is therefore necessary to attend to the nipples in due time--to begin at the fifth or sixth month is not too early. If the nipples are sufficiently prominent, little need be done for them except to wash them with a little boric acid solution (one teaspoonful of boric acid to a glass of water) occasionally, and now and then to rub in a little petrolatum, plain or borated. But if the nipples are sunken so that they are below the surface of the breast, or if they are only slightly above the surface of the breast, they must be treated. Gentle traction must be made on them with the fingers three or four times a day. There are only a few cases where persistent manipulation will not develop the nipple and make it stand out prominently. If the nipple is tender it should be washed two or three times a day with a mixture of alcohol and water; one part of alcohol to three parts of water is sufficient. In washing the nipple with this diluted alcohol it should be dried and a little petrolatum or vaseline rubbed in. This done two or three times a day during the last month or two of the pregnancy will generally produce a good healthy nipple. =The Treatment of Cracked Nipples.= If the care of the nipple has been neglected, and it develops cracks or fissures so that the nursing of the child causes the mother severe pain, the nursing should be done through a nipple shield, and in the meantime between the nursings the nipple should be rubbed with the following preparation, which is excellent and which I can fully recommend: thymol iodide, 1/2 dram; olive oil, 1/2 ounce. This should be applied every hour to the nipple and covered with a little cotton; before each nursing, however, it must be well washed off with warm water or warm boric acid solution. When the nipples are cracked, the infant's lips should also before nursing be carefully wiped out with boric acid solution. For the baby's mouth contains bacteria which while harmless in themselves may if they get into the cracks of the nipple set up an inflammation of the breast or "mastitis" and cause an abscess. If the cracks are excruciatingly painful, as they sometimes are, it is necessary to give the one breast a rest for twenty-four hours and have the child nurse at the other until the cracks have partially healed.