Page:The physical training of children (IA 39002011126464.med.yale.edu).pdf/55

 then the following from the very commencement should be given:

New milk, the produce of healthy cow, Warm water, of each, equal parts; Table salt, a few grains; Lump sugar, a sufficient quantity to slightly sweeten it.

Liebig, the great chemist, asserts that a small quantity of table salt to the food is essential to the health of children. The milk itself ought not to be heated over the fire, but should, as above directed, be warmed by the water; it must, morning and evening, be had fresh and fresh. It now and then happens that if the milk be not boiled, the motions of an infant are offensive; when such is the case let the milk be boiled, but not otherwise. The milk and water should be of the same temperature as the mother's milk, that is to say, at about ninety to ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. It ought to be given by means of a feeding-bottle, and care must be taken to scald the bottle out twice a day, for if attention be not paid to this point the delicate stomach of an infant is soon disordered. As he grows older the milk should be gradually increased, and the water decreased, until nearly all milk be given.

There will, in many cases, be quite sufficient nourishment in the above; I have known some robust infants brought up on it alone. But if it should not agree with the child, or if there should not be sufficient nourishment in it, then the food recommended in answer to No. 34 question ought to be given, with this only difference—a little new milk must from the beginning be added, and should be gradually increased, until nearly all milk be used.

The milk, as a general rule, ought to be unboiled; but if it purge violently, or if it cause offensive motions—which it sometimes does—then it must be boiled. The moment the milk boils up it should be taken off the fire.