The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-07-06
NURSERY COOKERY,
THE SMALL CHILD's SUMMER DIET
By Christine Terhune Herrick.
(contlnued from lagt week.l

Continued from last week.)
Perhaps it may seem unnecessary to
give caution with regard to the cleanli-
ness of the bottles from which the child
is fed but no cautions on this point can
be too strenuous. The long, snal1y rub
Der tube should never be used. No
amount Of washing or brushing can keep
it free from germs. I have had this state
ment contradicted by mothers who are
loath to yield the convenience of the long
tube that enables them to save them
selves time and trouble. No doubt it is
much easier to lay the baby in his cradle
or carriage and allow him to nurse at
will than 10 hold either him or the bottle
until his hunger is satisfied. I appre-
ciate the point Of view of the busy mother
who would be only too happy to give the
child his meal herself were 1t not that
other duties were calling her At the
same time the rubber tube must be con-
demned The best brush ever made can
not cleanse it adequately, and the germs
that are formed in the decaying particles
of the spoiled food will yield to the child S
powers of suction, although they may
have escaped every cleansing agency.
If the results of the rubber tube are
bad even when this is carefully looked
after the effect of negligence may be
easily imagined A physician once told
me that after having in vain attempted
to convince a mother that her baby was
suffering from illness because he drank
his food through rubber tube, he took
his penknife and slit open the tube The
inside was a mass of almost infinitesimaI
white worms. Yet the mother had in
sisted that the tube was thoroughly
cleansed every day. This is an extreme
case, but the mere possibility Of such a
contingency should be avoided.
The rubber nipple is the only mouth
piece fit to use, because this can be turned
inside out and made clean as soon as it
has been used. This precaution should
never be omitted, and the bottles should
be no less carefully cleansed. Between
each feeding they should be washed thor
oughly, and at least twice a day should be
scalded out with boiling water and soda
or borax. Care in these apparent trifies
will save the baby suffering and the
mother anxiety.
The children who are little older and
have been put on more extended diet,
lnCIuQlUS cereals anu meat, SuOulQ NC
watched carefully when the warm days
begin. If they show any signs of illness,
solid food should at once be stopped and
they should be put upon a fluid diet In
this milk, or milk and cream soups should
hold chief places. Small and frequent
feelings should be substituted for the
four or five meals day. Unless indispo-
sition of some sort shows itself, however,
the child may keep to his regular diet,
although this should be modified a trifle.
Oatmeal and hominy, which are little
heavy, should appear less frequently
than cracked wheat and similar prepare
tons. Sometimes a good light Cruel may
be given instead Of the regular porrideg.
RICE CRUEL.
Wash thoroughly a tablespoonful of
rice and put it into a double boiler with a
pint Of fresh milk. Keep the water in the
outer vessel at a steady boil for an hour
and a half BY the end of that time the
rice should be a soft paste and have alb
sorbed all the milk. Salt to taste and eat
with cream and with or without sugar.
A simpler Cruel is made by using the
ground rice and boiling it for three-quar-
tiers of an hour in a quart of water. For
this quantity only one tablespoonful of
ground rice is used. This Cruel is, how
ever, less nutritious than that made with
milk.