Yet, although swathing is given up, young children have often their numerous and nameless coverings fastened too tight across the chest, and often with shoulder-straps too short; which is but another form of swathing with all its certain evils. Without great care and constant watching to adjust the size and shape of these garments to the constantly changing proportions of the parts they have to cover, much injury may be done. To use a nursery phrase pregnant of evil, the child "will grow out of them;" which means that the clothes become too small for the child, and therefore that there is a constant and abiding pressure and constraint a pressure and constraint intensified by every day's neglect upon that portion of the little frame most liable to injury from such abuse, and which it is the most desirable to keep free from all such constraint. I am most earnest in desiring to draw attention to this circumstance, because to it I believe I can trace many of the otherwise unaccountable malformations, and departures, more or less marked, from a fair and normal development of the upper region of the trunk, which come daily under my observation, both in juvenescence and in adult life.

For the due performance of its functions, the heat of the body must be maintained at a given temperature; and this temperature the body can itself maintain amid all the changes of climate and season to which it may be exposed. But, when we consider the character of the skin, and the extent of surface which it presents to the surrounding atmosphere, it is at once evident that this heat is liable to be diminished or lowered by exposure to an atmosphere of a temperature lower than its own. The preservation of this desired degree of heat must therefore be greatly dependent, first, on the condition of the atmosphere itself, and, secondly, on the character of the coverings of the skin as good or bad conductors of heat.

The body then generates sufficient heat for its own wants, and the object

being abstracted from it by a cold atmosphere, or to screen it from an atmosphere, or object, of a temperature higher than that required for its comfort and well-being. It must therefore be always remembered that clothes are in themselves neither hot or cold. Their title to such epithets is due to their character as good or bad conductors of heat (that is, as they have a tendency or otherwise to conduct from the body the heat generated by it), and good or bad radiators (that is, as they have a tendency or otherwise to retain the heat they receive). Upon the character of clothing in these two respects depends its power of maintaining between the surrounding atmosphere and the skin a stratum of air already heated to a temperature approximating to that of the body. And, as each successive garment interposes another layer of heated air between the body and the surrounding atmosphere, the heat-preserving power of clothing depends upon the number of garments as well as upon the character of the material. A third point affecting this heat-preserving power of clothing is the thickness of the textures of which it is composed, because each of the meshes or interstices formed by the threads contains a separate collection of air, and the thicker the texture the greater of course will be the quantity of air thus retained, and in this manner is formed as it were an additional inner covering of air, already the recipient of heat from the body.

But, although the interior of the body, in all climates and at all seasons, with scarcely perceptible variation during health, preserves its standard and uniform temperature, its surface is liable to considerable variation, because to it is transmitted all superabundant heat generated in the body by certain states of action or being, such as exercise. For the rapid performance of this operation, moisture is exuded through the skin over the surface of the body-all moisture being a ready conductor of heat; but, as all nature's laws are perfect, and as it is desired that both the

should be removed from the skin, this is accomplished in the moment, and by the very act of their union, in the form of evaporation. It is, therefore, essential to health that the textures of which the clothing is composed shall be sufficiently open to admit of this evaporation.

The materials usually selected to form articles of clothing are wool, silk, cotton, and linen or flax. Of these, wool, woven into cloth of various kinds, as flannel, merino, &c., ranks first as a bad conductor and good radiator of heat; and its value in this respect is increased by the character of its textures, and also by the cellular structure of the material itself, which is actually hair, each of the little cells of which contains its separate collection of air. The looseness of the texture of all woollen preparations also provides for the second requisite by rendering them perfect ventilators. Silk ranks next to wool as a non-conductor and radiator; but, from the roundness of its filaments, and the closeness of its textures, it is very defective as a ventilator. Cotton possesses considerable claims both as a non-conductor and radiator, and also as a ventilator; for, the filaments from which the threads are spun being unequal and flat, these characteristics are preserved in the threads themselves, securing the openness of the cloth into which they are woven. Linen has the smallest claims in any of these capacities. It is a good conductor and a bad radiator of heat; moreover, from the porous character of its fibres, it is highly retentive of moisture, itself a rapid conductor of heat.

Another material frequently brought into use as an article of clothing is fur. It has the same qualities as wool in extreme, save that, being quite impervious to air or moisture, it has no ventilating properties whatever.

Thus fur, the natural protective covering of animals which inhabit the coldest countries of the globe, is the most powerful of all preservers of the heat generated in the frames which it coverstoo powerful, indeed, for use in a moderate climate, save as small local

Wool, manufactured from the natural protective coverings of animals which have to encounter the vicissitudes of the seasons in a moderate climate, holds the second place.

Silk, manufactured from a material produced by an insect for its protection. during a state of transformation, holds the third place.

Cotton, manufactured from the product of a plant growing in hot countries, and forming the protective covering of its seeds, holds the fourth place.

Linen, derived from the fibres of the bark of a plant, which springs from a cold and moist soil, holds the last place.

Linen has, therefore, little claim as a skin-covering garment. Its qualities of readily conducting heat, and of imbibing and retaining moisture, combine to unfit it for this purpose. Linen is now generally superseded by cotton, and deservedly so; for this second material possesses all the qualities desired for the preservation of the temperature requisite to the comfort and health of the body. Flannel, being a preparation of wool, holds, of course, the first place as a nonconductor and ventilator; but it possesses a third quality, which, while enhancing its value as a skin-covering garment in some cases, renders it objectionable in others. From its open and unequal texture, presenting every gradation of inequality, the skin is subjected to an active and sustained stimulus, amounting, with an unaccustomed wearer, to actual irritation. Now this stimulus is invaluable to the delicate and the ailing; to those whose skin, from enforced sedentary pursuits, from illness, or from constitutional weakness, is wanting in vigour and tone; to all, indeed, who stand in need of powerful artificial means to maintain the functional activity of the skin. But, with the additional power of flannel as a non-conductor, it is too great in a moderate climate for the healthy and active frame. For this reason, with children in moderate health, who are able to make use of the agents of bathing and exercise, the more gentle friction of the cotton garment is infi

But it is not alone to the material of which the fabric is composed, nor to the texture of the fabric that we must confine our attention. The shape of the garment, its weight and even its colour, have an important effect in determining its fitness. All clothes should be light; and this is especially the case with those of children. It is a great error to put heavy clothes on a child; and, unfortunately, this is frequently done at the very time when it is least desirable when about to take what is often its only exercise and recreation, a walk -thereby compelling the child to carry an uninteresting burden. Now, although a healthy child will voluntarily undergo an amazing amount of exertion in the form of play-that is when it has merely itself to carry-it will undergo very little if it has to support any extraneous weight; in fact, there is no part of a child's frame fitted for it. It is a mistake also to think that weight gives warmth. It in no way does so, except by pressure on certain parts of the body, and the continuous and exhausting efforts of those parts to support it. Besides, it is an ascertained fact that respiration is diminished in proportion to the weight of the clothing; and the full expansion of the lungs and

free inhalation of air is one of the chief objects of all recreative exercise. Proper warmth is best obtained by selecting a soft and light material that will fall aroind and drape itself about the figure, and follow the shape and action of the parts it covers. Again, all clothes should be loose. No tight garment, however thick, can be warm, because the stratum of air which should lie between it and the inner garment is lost. No garment whatever, nor any part of one, should press or lie tight upon any part of the body, but, on the contrary, should have a margin for that expansion which takes place when it is in motion. The hand cannot be opened or closed, the foot cannot be lifted, without certain parts of hand and arm, foot and leg, expanding under the operation; and the whole trunk is lifted upwards and outwards at every breath inhaled. Let, therefore, the clothes of children not only be free but loose; for every restraint is an injury-an injury exactly proportionate to the extent of the restraint. On this subject I shall be more precise in another paper, in which I shall also make some remarks on Exercise for Children, and the various forms of it.

should be removed from the skin, this is accomplished in the moment, and by the very act of their union, in the form of evaporation. It is, therefore, essential to health that the textures of which the clothing is composed shall be sufficiently open to admit of this evaporation.

The materials usually selected to form articles of clothing are wool, silk, cotton, and linen or flax. Of these, wool, woven into cloth of various kinds, as flannel, merino, &c., ranks first as a bad conductor and good radiator of heat; and its value in this respect is increased by the character of its textures, and also by the cellular structure of the material itself, which is actually hair, each of the little cells of which contains its separate collection of air. The looseness of the texture of all woollen preparations also provides for the second requisite by rendering them perfect ventilators. Silk ranks next to wool as a non-conductor and radiator; but, from the roundness of its filaments, and the closeness of its textures, it is very defective as a ventilator. Cotton possesses considerable claims both as a non-conductor and radiator, and also as a ventilator; for, the filaments from which the threads are spun being unequal and flat, these characteristics are preserved in the threads themselves, securing the openness of the cloth into which they are woven. Linen has the smallest claims in any of these capacities. It is a good conductor and a bad radiator of heat; moreover, from the porous character of its fibres, it is highly retentive of moisture, itself a rapid conductor of heat.

Another material frequently brought into use as an article of clothing is fur. It has the same qualities as wool in extreme, save that, being quite impervious to air or moisture, it has no ventilating properties whatever.

Thus fur, the natural protective covering of animals which inhabit the coldest countries of the globe, is the most powerful of all preservers of the heat generated in the frames which it coverstoo powerful, indeed, for use in a moderate climate, save as small local

Wool, manufactured from the natur protective coverings of animals which have to encounter the vicissitudes of the seasons in a moderate climate, holds the second place.

Silk, manufactured from a material produced by an insect for its protection during a state of transformation, holds the third place.

Cotton, manufactured from the product of a plant growing in hot countries, and forming the protective covering of its seeds, holds the fourth place.

Linen, derived from the fibres of the bark of a plant, which springs from a cold and moist soil, holds the last place.

Linen has, therefore, little claim as a skin-covering garment. Its qualities of readily conducting heat, and of imbibing and retaining moisture, combine to unit it for this purpose. Linen is now generally superseded by cotton, and deservedly so; for this second material possesses all the qualities desired for the preservation of the temperature requisite to the comfort and health of the body. Flannel, being a preparation of wool, holds, of course, the first place as a nonconductor and ventilator; but it possesses a third quality, which, while enhancing its value as a skin-covering garment in some cases, renders it objectionable in others. From its open and unequal texture, presenting every gradation of inequality, the skin is subjected to an active and sustained stimulus, amounting, with an unaccustomed wearer, to actual irritation. Now this stimulus is invaluable to the delicate and the ailing; to those whose skin, from enforced sedentary pursuits, from illness, or from constitutional weakness, is wanting in vigour and tone; to all, indeed, who stand in need of powerful artificial means to maintain the functional activity of the skin. But, with the additional power of flannel as a non-conductor, it is too great in a moderate climate for the healthy and active frame. For this reason, with children in moderate health, who are able to make use of the agents of bathing and exercise, the more gentle friction of the cotton garment is infi

But it is not alone to the material of which the fabric is composed, nor to the texture of the fabric that we must confine our attention. The shape of the garment, its weight and even its colour, have an important effect in determining its fitness. All clothes should be light; and this is especially the case with those of children. It is a great error to put heavy clothes on a child; and, unfortunately, this is frequently done at the very time when it is least desirablewhen about to take what is often its only exercise and recreation, a walk -thereby compelling the child to carry an uninteresting burden. Now, although a healthy child will voluntarily undergo an amazing amount of exertion in the form of play-that is when it has merely itself to carry-it will undergo very little if it has to support any extraneous weight; in fact, there is no part of a child's frame fitted for it.

It is a mistake also to think that weight gives warmth. It in no way does so, except by pressure on certain parts of the body, and the continuous and exhausting efforts of those parts to support it. Besides, it is an ascertained fact that respiration is diminished in proportion to the weight of the clothing; and the full expansion of the lungs and

free inhalation of air is one of the chief objects of all recreative exercise. Proper warmth is best obtained by selecting a soft and light material that will fall around and drape itself about the figure, and follow the shape and action of the parts it covers. Again, all clothes should be loose. No tight garment, however thick, can be warm, because the stratum of air which should lie between it and the inner garment is lost. No garment whatever, nor any part of one, should press or lie tight upon any part of the body, but, on the contrary, should have a margin for that expansion which takes place when it is in motion. The hand cannot be opened or closed, the foot cannot be lifted, without certain parts of hand and arm, foot and leg, expanding under the operation; and the whole trunk is lifted upwards and outwards at every breath inhaled. Let, therefore, the clothes of children not only be free but loose; for every restraint is an injury-an injury exactly proportionate to the extent of the restraint. On this subject I shall be more precise in another paper, in which I shall also make some remarks on Exercise for Children, and the various forms of it.