The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing Part 54

Electric ma.s.sage is very beneficial, and if properly given, brings quick and sure results.

Swimming and deep breathing are great aids.

CARE OF THE HANDS.

A study of the hand is very interesting, and if mothers understood more of its beautiful construction many of the little accidents which result in deformed finger nails could be avoided. Mothers should attend most carefully to the early cultivation of their children's finger nails, as the habit of biting them is so easily formed and is sure to permanently destroy their beauty.

A perfect hand is rounded and plump, soft, white and dimpled, with tapering finger tips and filbert-shaped nails, snowing the little half-moon.

It is possible for any woman to have such a hand if she is willing to take time once a week to have the nails treated and to give them a little personal attention each day. Great care should be taken in washing the hands. A mild soap should be used, and particular attention paid to the thorough drying of them, after which a good cuticle cream should be applied and well rubbed in. The same cream may be used to loosen the cuticle at the base of the nail, when it can be gently pushed back, thus keeping the half-moon exposed. An orange-wood stick should always be used to clean the nails.

Ma.s.saging the hands at least once a month aids wonderfully in making them symmetrical and keeping the joints flexible and the skin free from dark spots and wrinkles.

INFANT FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT.

It is of prime importance in feeding an infant to do this at regular intervals, since during the first three months of its life the feeding habits of the child should be established, and if care be used in this regard the child will wake of its own accord at the proper time. The last meal at night should be at 11 p. m., and if the child is healthy and will sleep it need not be fed until 3 to 5 a. m. the following morning. In both breast and artificial feeding the above applies, and the same method should be employed; namely, the child should be held in the arms during the meal, which should last from ten to fifteen minutes.

Both in breast and artificial feeding it is possible to overfeed the child. Many infants are systematically overfed. The young mother should understand how small an infant's stomach is. At birth it will hold a little more than an ounce of fluid, or two tablespoonfuls, and at the end of two months only three ounces. If, therefore, the mother persists in trying to give the child four ounces of food, the child will suffer from an excess. Many children during the first few mouths of life bring up their food, and the mother fears that there is some inherited tendency to weak digestion. It is wrong to feed a child simply because it cries, as very frequently it is not a cry of hunger, but one caused by indigestion from overfeeding.

If the child is being fed with the bottle it is important that the food be given at a temperature of 100 deg. F., or as nearly that as possible; never over; and if the child be fed out of doors in its carriage it is well to have a flannel bag of some kind to slip over the bottle to keep it at the same temperature until the meal is finished. Many cases of colic are caused by inattention to this point.

It is a common mistake that when a child cries it needs additional food.

There are many cases where a little drink of water is the prime need of the child, and great care should be taken that this is heated to the proper temperature, and especially that no water be given to the child except that which has been boiled. A few teaspoonfuls should be given to the child, therefore, several times a day, but aside from that he should have nothing but his regular food until he is at least a year old. For the same reason, therefore, if a child be fed by the bottle, the water used in preparing the food should have been previously boiled, and care should be exercised not to expose the food to the air during or after its preparation. It should be remembered that the food of a child must be nutritious, and that in this food, especially when at the proper temperature for the infant, bacteria from the air will flourish wonderfully fast, and therefore the food should not be exposed to possible contamination.

It is of very great importance that the feeding-bottles be always clean and sweet. It is an advantage to have several bottles on hand, and also two or three brushes for cleaning. Keep a special vessel, with water in which there is a little bicarbonate of soda, so that the moment the bottle is used it may be thoroughly washed and kept in the water. Do not use a nipple with a rubber tube, but the short, black rubber nipples, which fit over the mouth of the bottle. Do not enlarge the hole in the nipple, so as to make it too easy for the baby to draw its food, otherwise the food being taken so rapidly into the stomach will often cause pain or vomiting. In washing the nipples turn them inside out and see that they are as thoroughly cleaned as possible, and keep them for use in a bottle filled with boiled water with a pinch of boric acid added.

The First Nursing.

It is very important that the child should be put to the breast immediately after it is washed. This is very necessary, both for the mother and the child, and prevents subsequent troubles. The fluid contained in the breast is at this stage called colostrum, and is intended by Nature to act upon the child as a laxative. This first nursing stimulates the secretion of the milk and causes uterine contraction, which is very much needed at this time. It is well to wash the infant's mouth out with sterilized water every time it feeds. For this purpose use clean water which has been boiled and allowed to cool, or a solution of boric acid in boiled water--5 grains to the ounce of water.

Infants, as a rule, should be bathed once a day, but never immediately after being nursed or fed. In very warm weather a child may be sponged in the evening as well as in the morning. The water for the bath of a young baby should be warm, and the temperature can be judged by testing it with the elbow, which is more sensitive than the hand. Lay a small blanket on the lap, cover the child with a flannel and sponge it under the clothes. This prevents it from taking cold from exposure, The room should not be cooler than 68 deg. F., and the door must be kept closed to avoid drafts. Use only pure white soap, and a soft cloth is better than a sponge. The body should be carefully dried and lightly powdered to absorb any moisture that may remain.

THE NAMES OF THE MONTHS.

THE DERIVATIONS OF THE NAMES OF THE MONTHS.

January.--The Roman G.o.d Ja.n.u.s presided over the beginning of everything; hence the first month of the year was called after him.

February.--The Roman festival Februs was held on the 15th day of this month, in honor of Lupercus, the G.o.d of fertility.

March--Named from the Roman G.o.d of war, Mars.

April.--Latin, Aprilis, probably derived from aperire, to open; because spring generally begins, and the buds open in this month.

May.--Lat. Maius, probably derived from Maia, a feminine divinity worshiped at Rome on the first day of this month.

June.--Juno, a Roman divinity worshiped as the Queen of Heaven.

July (Julius)--Julius Caesar was born in this month.

August.--Named by the Emperor Augustus Caesar, B. C. 30, after himself, as he regarded it as a fortunate month, being that in which he had gained several victories.

September (septem, or 7).--September was the seventh month in the old Roman calendar.

October (octo, or 8).--Eighth month of the old Roman year.

November (novem, or 9).-November was the ninth month in the old Roman year.

December (decem, or 10).--December was the tenth month of the early Roman year. About the 21st of this month the sun enters the Tropic of Capricorn, and forms the winter solstice.

DAYS OF THE WEEK.

Sunday, (Saxon) Sunnandaed, day of the sun,

Monday, (German) Montag, day or the moon.

Tuesday, (Anglo-Saxon) Tiwesdaeg, from Tiw, the G.o.d of war.

Wednesday, (Anglo-Saxon) Wodnesdaeg, from Odin, the G.o.d of storms.

Thursday, (Danish) Thor, the G.o.d of thunder.

Friday, (Saxon) Frigedaeg, day of Freya, G.o.ddess of marriage.

Sat.u.r.day, the day of Saturn, the G.o.d of time.

The names of the seven days of the week originated with the Egyptian astronomers. They gave them the names of the sun, moon, and five planets, viz.: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

WHAT HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD REMEMBER.

That cold rain water and soap will remove machine grease from washable fabrics.

That fish may be scaled much easier by first dipping them into boiling water for a minute.

That fresh meat beginning to sour will sweeten if placed outdoors in the cool air over night.

That milk which has changed may be sweetened or rendered fit for use again by stirring in a little soda.