The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-12-02
The Three Momentous Years.

Air is the first, the most constant and
absolutely uninterrupted need of human
existence. Respiration is necessary to
the publication of the blood; it is the
means by which oxygen, the most i'm:
portant food Of the system, is introduced
into the body; and is a source of animal
heat. The value of pure air to the infant
cannot be overrated. In 1871, in the
lying-in hospital IN Dublin, every sixth
child died. With no other remedy than
thorough ventilation, the mortality was
soon reduced to one in twenty. In a
London hospital, by the same means,
the death rate has diminished from one
in fifteen to one in seventy-seven.
Various reliable authorities unite in
the opinion that bad air has a more in
furious OBJECT upon health than bad food.
All physicians arc ware that few RENE
dies are so prompt in their beneficial &C
ton as a removal from a vitiated atmos.
phere to one that is pure. Dark bed
rooms, into which the sun never shines,
are fruitful sources of scrofula, trick
ets," malaria and "Pure
air is one of the safest and most power
full nervous sedatives and tonics in the
world" says Combe.
The situation, then, of the house in
which the child is to be reared becomes
of prime Importance. Its aspect should
be CHEEKY, with no trees or vines crowd
ing about it to shut out the sun. Its
drainage should be perfect. its whole
surroundings healthful. The nursery
should not be on the ground floor; it
should be large, airy and sunny. Its
temperature should be from IS to 20
degrees by day. and at night may sink
to so degrees without harm. A screen
can shield from draught, but circulation
must be insured. A CRATE secures O bet
ter atmosphere than a stove, which is apt
to make the air too hot and dry. A large
rug which can be taken out and shaken
is preferable to a carpet which remains
down months at a time. The wall paper
should have no arsenical tints, neither
should several thlckncsses Of paper over
lay each other. A wall that can be
cleanscd and whitewashed is the best.
The moral atmosphere should be created
by pleasant pictures. The thoughts of a
child are nodded even by the pictures on
its nursery walls.
The nursery should be aired each day,
while the child is taken to another room.
Soiled articles should not be hung around
the fire to dry. Cooking, tobacco smoke,
or other rank odors, should not be per-
mitted. A child of fourteen days old
died from the effects of a strong liniment,
applied by its father to himself, in close
proximity to the cradle. A child should
never be held in the arms of n who is
smoking, or scarcely by one who uses
tobacco, for the odor of it taints both
breath and garments.
Never cover the head of q child with
blankets, nor with a thick veil, while
sleeping. Children often suffer with
commissions simply from close, bad air.
Sleeplessness may frequently be cured
by pure air. Summer babies may be
carried out of doors as early as at two
weeks old. Winter babies must wait for
appropriate weather, but outdoors must
be brought in and warmed for them.
The child should pass as large a part Of
its time in the open air as possible.
Dressed according to the weather, an
active child, old enough to walk, may 60
out of doors some part of each day
Mary 4. Alkn, AZ. d.