Omaha daily bee., 1896-08-30

white iron. trimmed with brass and set In
a frame that folds up, to be handily car
ried or packed, is usually hung with wash
silk, while the two little mattresses are sc
made that in an hour they can be turned
inside out, the cover and contents washed
or thoroughly disinfected and put back
again, pure and fresh as new.
This, of course, is a vast Improvement on
anything used before, and now that the
physicians have taken even cradles under
their supervision we make one mattress
hard and another rather tightly stuffed
with down. For the first few months, while
the child's bones are soft and the fesh
very tender, the plump down bed In Its
linen tick is used, but by medical advice a
baby must as soon as possible sleep on a
hard springy layer of the finest hair.
This is supposed to keep the small body
cool, and contribute to a straight spine, and
both these mattresses lie on a bottom oil
ne-wove wire, but no amount of serious
talk of ventilation and microbes has in
duced mothers to do away with the canopy
cribs, and the average woman likes 10 Sc
lect her child's bed untrimmed and then
order her decorations.
POPPY AND TRAVELLING BEDS.
The very smart baby, who takes his maps
in a cradle of the most exquisite brass
work, lumbers under a huge poppy flower,
made all of silk and suspended over his
head by a stem springing from the back.
The stem is enameled to resemble that OF
the natural flower, and the pink or yellow
poppy is quite the size of a small sunshade
with the calyx and streamers all carefully
copied in green and yellow.
Right inside the head of these cradles a
thermometer fits into a slot, and the legs
OH which it stands have their castors en-
cased in rubber. Now and then we have
orders for travelling baby beds, woven OF
wire and so arranged as to fold up that
bed, stand, canopy and mattresses will all
fit into the top of an ordinary trunk, or
compress into a medium-siZed hand parcel.
The mattresses are filled with air, and the
under gear is a nice device like the springs
of the carriage.
Mothers of moderate means always wisely
buy pretty baby beds of willow work, and
this season many children Of the highest
degree have lain in baskets, woven OF dell
cate wyths and sweet hay, of Indian grasses
and reeds, colored and worked by the In
dams, who have found in this a market to
replace the ruined trade In hand boskets,
Light as they are, these grass and reed
beds are strong enough and very pictur-
esque, but the physicians, who have taken
away our business in rocking cradles, have
done one good turn.
U DOOR CRADLES.
No longer is a mother or nursemaid al
lowed to cosset or dandle a child, put it to
sleep in their arms or hold 1t longer than
is absolutely necessary. Weak spines,
bowed legs and bad tempers are 10 a grea'
extent avoided by keeping the child In a
day cradle. These are made of canvas, and
the best one is the Hindoostanee hammock,
of white duck, swung between two wooden
frames. This pretty day cradle can be set
up anywhere, out in the garden shade, on
the yeranda corner or in the hallway and
tipped in the singing to suit any posture
the baby seems to prefer.
From colored silks or fax threads we do
make small limitations OF the regulation
grown folks hammock, and here is a child's
beach cradle, a square white canvas box on
four legs and the bottom Of the box
stretched so taut that it Forms a cool easy
mattress without further additions, A hooI
of wood holds a canvas hood over one end
II shade Is needed, and IN a trice all this
can be folded up and carried off as easily
as a camp chair.