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CHAP. VII.] and allows the foot to turn over in walking. The inner margin of the boot or shoe must be made straight to the line of the big toe, and the toe of the boot must be wide enough to allow movement in the child's toes. The waist of the sole, which corresponds to the arch of the foot, should be to a certain extent elastic, and, if any heels are worn, they must be broad, low, and under the natural heel.

There must be no roughness on any part of the inside, or corns will result; and the boots must be given up directly they are beginning to be outgrown. They should be laced or buttoned, and should cover the ankle so as to give it support. This is especially important for children inclined to be ricketty, and for such weak legs the boots should be made very high, and only taken off when the child goes to bed. In decided cases of rickets inch-broad strips of thin steel may be inserted between lining and leather from the top of the boot right down each side of the ankle; these may be made as high even as the knee, and will be found more comfortable, being very much lighter than the irons usually worn for incipient bandy legs. Not only does deformity result from the use of improper boots, but from the discomfort arising from them the natural activity of childhood is impeded, and the whole constitution suffers accordingly.

However desirable economy may be, it must not be practised in the following cases, for then it would be injurious to health. We must not grudge paying our laundresses' bills, or if we cannot afford to