My method of directing the first toilet of the baby is without the possible dangers to which I have referred, for it has for its object not only to clean the child, but to dress it as quickly as possible and again wrap it in flannel. Warmth is the life of the newborn babe; it does not require much food, if any, the first twenty-four or forty-eight hours of its life, but it requires to be kept warm. The room in which the child is to be cleansed must be warm and free from draft, and if there is a fire in the chamber where the mother is, the toilet of the child had better be made here under her eyes and those of the physician. The nurse or person delegated to dress the baby provides herself with a vase or bowl of warm water and a saucerful of warm olive oil or vaseline and a few soft cloths. She then seats herself in a low chair, and by means of a small piece of flannel she applies the oil all over the baby’s body, rubbing in an extra quantity in the armpits, groins and other places where the cheesy substance is thickest. When the oil has softened the sebaceous material, take a soft muslin cloth, provided for the purpose, and beginning on the head the oil is wiped off again; where there are blood stains left, wash these off with a soft flannel cloth; at the same time the eyes are to be bathed and the mouth washed out. I have not mentioned the use of soap, for the reason that it is not at all necessary and very often injurious. The oil removes all the caseous matter and what oil remains is rather an advantage than otherwise; it preserves the warmth of the child and protects its skin. If the soap comes in contact with the eyes of the infant it often becomes a fruitful source of that annoying and often dangerous disease of the eyes that is technically termed _purulent ophthalmia_.