Doctor, You Have Discussed The Processes, Of Digestion And The Properties Of Foods, Cannot The People Adapt Their Diet To Their Needs From The Information You Have Given?

"Well, the advice ought to be of great help, yet there is more to learn; for we have not said a word about the quantities of food needed for different conditions."

"A good many people think that appetite ought to govern, both in the selection and amount of food that each person should eat."

"What else has been governing them since the dawn of creation? As the people now live, ninety-nine out of every hundred are partly or wholly disabled a considerable portion of the time, which is a poor reason for doing things as they have in the past. Those who say that appetite should absolutely govern, are not very thoughtful, to say the least."

Why So? Do You Think Present Conditions Show Such Grievous Effects?

"Not the effects alone, however bad, but the principle of being governed by appetite is not in harmony with common practice; for is it not the cook who decides what food we shall eat?"

"I guess you are right, Doctor; the cook may not prepare one meal a week to suit the appetite or needs of a single member of the family."

"That's the point; most people have little or no choice in the selection of their diet; they must eat what is furnished, and that is often incompatible; hence, the system is not nourished, and an excessive amount of food must be consumed to supply some necessary ingredients. It is foolish to talk about instinct guiding a human being. If such were possible, it would be the least perverted, and therefore a safe guide in the care of infants. Now, a child will go into the fire, or off of a precipice, or swallow pins, coins, buttons, and often kill themselves eating popcorn, raisins and other foods; while an animal, governed by instinct, will not do such things. Here is another very striking illustration of both ignorance and lack of instinct. Young infants often have indigestion from nursing too frequently. This gives them the colic, so-called, and their discomfort makes them fretful."

Well, What Of That?

"The baby cries, and the mother hastens to nurse it. Now, it is already suffering because it has nursed too often, but the child has no instinct and the mother no knowledge to prevent the repetition of the injury."

"Your statement seems reasonable, Doctor; for almost every one knows that a grown person cannot stand continual feeding, and it does not seem rational to conclude that a young babe could do it."

"No; the injurious effects of continual feeding have been so often proven by every good physician, it must be accepted as a fact."

Doctor, How Often Should A Baby Nurse?

"During the first three days after birth, four or five times a day. One or two teaspoonfuls of water may be given occasionaly, but no other food. After the first few days the child may be allowed to nurse every two or three hours, between 5 a. rn. and 11 p. m., and once during the night, until five or six months old."

Should The Child Be Fed At Regular Intervals?

"Yes; it is of greatest importance. The hours for feeding should even be more regular than that of a grown person."

Doctor, Would It Not Be A Good Idea To Give A Table, Showing How Children Should Be Fed At Different Ages?

"Perhaps so; the best authorities give the following as a guide to hours and quantity of food required for a child up to one year of age:

Of course the size and vigor of the child make it necessary to vary the quantity accordingly."

Will There Not Be A Tendency To Fretfulness Between The Periods Of Nursing?

"There should not be, although babies frequently get dry and cry for water. If a child is fretful and there is no reason why it should be hungry, it should be given water with a teaspoon."

How Soon Can The Night Nursing Be Discontinued?

"After a child is six months old it may be nursed at bed time, say ten o'clock, and early in the morning, before seven. After it is a year old, it need not be fed later than seven or eight in the evening and at its usual hour of awaking in the morning."

Will Babies Readily Accept This Arrangement?

"Not always. They may want to nurse every fifteen minutes; but the mother should be guided by reason in feeding, just as she would in keeping her babe out of the fire if it should have an impulse to go into it."

Suppose The Child Doesn't Thrive, What Then?

"Of course no arrangement of feeding can supply the place of wholesome milk, and it often happens that the mother is incapable of doing this. In such cases the next best thing is cow's milk."

"That would seem to be very poor, considering the number of deaths attributed to it."

"Artificial feeding has always been the greatest source of infant mortality, and great care should always be exercised in the preparation of milk for infants. Cow's milk differs greatly from human milk."

"Yes; I remember that you said it contained much more casein, or curd, and much less milk sugar."

"So I did; and it is therefore much more difficult to digest, and should be modified for infant feeding."

What Do You Mean By Modified?

"It must be diluted to make the curd smaller, and enriched by cream and sugar."

What Is The Best Method Of Doing This?

"It should receive about twice as much water as the quantity of milk, so that one pint of milk makes three after being diluted. This may be done in several ways. If the child's digestion be good, pure water may be all that is required; but if not, and the child is sick or cross, some other method must be resorted to. The most common diluent is barley water. For this, take pearl barley (or rice) and pound or grind to a fine flour; add two tablespoonfuls of the flour to each quart of cold water and boil for an hour, and then strain through clean, fine linen or a colander. Keep in cool place. In case of diarrhoea, lime water will be most useful. Take a lump of unslaked lime, half the size of an egg, and pour two quarts of hot water on it, and let it stand until clear; then pour off the clear liquid for use. Do not use any part of the sediment. For ordinary use 10 grains of bicarbonate of soda (common baking soda) to each pint of water, will make a better alkaline water than the lime. This should be used in constipation. If neither of these methods should prove satisfactory, refined gelatine, such as the Keystone (made by the Michigan Carbon Co.) may be soaked in twice its bulk of cold water until soft, and then boiled and strained.

As gelatine is a good and easily digested food, a considerable quantity may be added to the water, to be used for diluting the milk."