It is the minority, not the majority of people, who I can afford the luxury of a trained nurse, especially in cases of protracted and chronic illnesses.

These lessons are intended to help those who cannot always command the services of a trained nurse, to teach how to carry out the doctor's orders, what to look for and observe in his absence, so that by giving him a definite report of what the patient's condition has been he may be able to work more understandingly, be able to diagnose the disease more quickly, be surer of how the patient is progressing, and of the influence the medicine ordered is having. And to teach above all how to handle and move patients without tiring them, how to render them comfortable, there-by ensuring rest of nerve and body.

What to do in illness is purposely omitted in these lessons, except in very simple troubles and in cases of emergency. The "what to do" is for the doctor to decide, the "how to do" for the mother to know. Incalculable harm is continually being done by the latter encroaching on the doctor's, prerogative. Many a mother has treated her child for supposed colic and only called the doctor in after some days when the pain has refused to yield to her treatment. In very

Aims of the Lessons

The Doctor's Province.

many cases the treatment has been the worst thing possible for what has proved to be appendicitis, gastroenteritis, or other serious abdominal trouble.

There are few who can afford to run up the doctor's bill by calling him in unnecessarily. To avoid this, and yet not run the risk of endangering the lives of those entrusted to her care, especially the little children who cannot tell clearly where the pain is or how badly they feel, it is imperative that every mother should know how to count the pulse, take the temperature, and be cognizant of at least a few of the primary symptoms of the most common diseases, especially the contagious ones, where the lack of early recognition and isolation may imperil the health or life of others.

The following table gives the primary symptoms, period of incubation, and usual time required for isolation of the most common contagious diseases. The number of days between exposure to and the development of a disease is called the period of incubation.