Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-02-24

4 French sclensssse Substitute O
Mother,

The report OF some remarkable experimea1D
In so-oalled artificial child incubation CON-
rom France. The Glasgow Mod says that t.
Immense success which has attended the artiA-
cial incubation OF chickens In France recently
attracted the attention OF Dr. Tavernier. .
learned and Ingenious physician. He was sx-
tached to hospital for feundlings. and was AM
noyed at the large number OF foundlinys wbo
had died within the first six months OF their lfa
The majority OF those admitted TO the hospit.l
were weak and sickly, and he resolved 10 try
what artificial incubation" would accomp,,sh
IL applied TO infants The doctor CONSTRUCTED
child Incubator on precisely the model Of the
ordinary chicken incubator IL was q boz
covered with glass slide. furnished with son
wooden bed and kept at the temperature OF
eighty-siX degrees Fahrenheit by the aid Of hoe
water. He selected as the subject OF his frst
experiment niserably-m infant, one that
nad come into the world at an injudciousiy
early period. This infant was placed in thS
Incubator, provided with nursing bottle. Ard
Kept In dark room. To the surprise OF the
doctor II ceased 10 cry on the second day after
II was placed In the incubator and although r
had previously been q preternatually sleep.
sleep. The child remained In the ipcubs-
tor for about eight weeks, during which
time 1t never once cried, and never remained
awake except when taking nourshment. n
grew rapidly. and when, at the expiration q
sixty days, IL was removed from the incubator
1t presented the appearance of healthy infant
OF at least year old. Delighted with the suo-
cess OF the experiment DR.. Tavernier next
selected an ordinary six months old infant adj
dicted to the usual pains and collie. and exhibit
Ing the usual fretfulness OF French infants The
child conducted itself while I'm the incubator
precisely as Its predecessor had done. IL never
cried, 1t spent its whole time IN sleep, and it
grew as II 1t had made up its mind to embrace
the career OF professional giant. After a six
weeks stay I'm the incubator II was removed and
weighed; during this brief period Il had don.
bled Its weight. Ii had become so strong ana
healthy that Ii resembled q child three yeore
Old, and 1t could actually walk when holding On
to a convenient piece of furniture These two
experiments satisfied DR.. Tavernier of the vast
advantages OF artificial child incubation He
immediately proceeded with the permission OF
the authorities OF the hospital to construct an
incubator OF the capacity of 400 infants and IN
TINS ne placed every one OF the $50 infants who
were In the hospital on the 10th day of Febru-
airy last. With the exception Of one who
died Of congenital hydrocephalus and another
who was claimed by its repentant parenta
the Infants were kept continuously In the incu-
bator for six months when Naey were removed
In consequence of having outgrown their mar
row beds. The result will seem almost incredi-
Ole 10 persons who are unfamiliar with the repu.
tation OF DIR. Tavernier, and have not seen the
report made to the French government on the
cuAyCSt w ccicCt OF WE'VE T00
average age o: the infants last February was
eight months and three days, the youngest be-
ing less than twelve hours old and the eldeck
not more than eleven months Their average
weight was sixteen pounds. only one q
the entire 800 having attained a weight Of
thirty-two pounds. At the end OF AZ
months OF artificial incubation the average
weight Of each infant was twenty -four pounda.
and there was not one who would not have
been supposed by a casual observer to be q
least three years old. In other words, SIX
months OF artificial incubation did as much in
the way of developing DIR. Tavernier's found.
ilngs as three years OF ordinary life would have
done. The infants were strong and healthy q
well as big. they walked within a week at leav.
ing the incubator, and most of them have sinoo
learned to talk. These results surpassed Or.
Iaverniers most enthusiastic expectations, and
there can be no doubt, that his system of arti-
hcial child incubation will be adopted. not only
In every child's hospital in France but In eyerv
private family throughout the civilized world.