ounce and a half. Mix. And to a child of one year, give half a teaspoonful every four hours. From two to three years, a teaspoonful; from three to six years, two teaspoonsful; and from six to ten years, a dessert spoonful, every four or five hours. 931. When the lungs are oppressed, and the breathing difficult or hard, use the warm bath 493, and if necessary, from the urgency of the symptoms, apply one or two leeches, according to age, over the breastbone, where the bleeding can always be suppressed with ease by pressure, should the bites be troublesome to close. When the cough remains obstinate, a small blister, from the size of a shilling to a crown-piece, is to be applied to the lower part of the throat, and the following powders either substituted for the pectoral mixture, or al ternated with it : : 932. Take of powdered sugar, half a drachm; gray powder, twenty grains; tartar emetic, two grains. Mix thoroughly, and divide into twelve powders for a child from one to two years, giving one powder to the first twice, and the latter three times, a day. Divide into nine powders for a child from two to four years, giving a powder three times a day. Divide into six powders for all ages above four years, and give a powder twice or thrice a day. 933. Through the whole time of the disease the bowels are to be kept open, by administering either the senna mixture, No. 492, or the aperient powders, 494. 934. Where the after debility is great, it will be necessary to give the steel mixture, 607 and 608. The diet should be light and easy of digestion, such as farinaceous food, custards, &c. As soon as the disease moderates, change of air will be found highly beneficial, attended, if in summer time, with cold sea bathing and liberal exercise: avoiding, as much as possible, all exposure to a humid or irritating atmosphere, and allowing the child when first taken out to breathe through the medium of a single or double veil. 935. CROUP. Croup is by far the most formidable and fatal of all the diseases to which infancy and childhood are liable. It is purely an inflammatory affection, attacking that por tion of the muccus membrane lining the windpipe and air passages, or bronchial tubes, and from the effect of which a false-or as it is called an adventitious-membrane is formed along the windpipe, resembling the finger of a glove dropped down the passage, and terminating the life of the patient by suffocation; for as no air can, in consequence of such an obstruction, enter the lungs, the result must be the death of the child. 936. There is a certain class of children who are peculiarly predisposed to this disease, such as fat, flabby children, with short necks, and who make a constant wheezing noise in their ordinary respiration; children of dull, gross, and full habit of body, and those who are the offspring of asthmatical or consumptive parents. Infants or children presenting these characteristics are more liable to attacks of croup than others of a spare frame and more vivacious temperament. 937. Croup is always sudden in its attack and rapid in its course, usually proving fatal within three days. It often commences in the night, and generally attacks children between the age of three and ten years. Mothers should consequently be on their guard who have children predisposed to the disease, and avail themselves of the remedies prescribed the moment the first symptom shows itself. 938. SYMPTOMS.-Croup is preceded by languor and restlessness, hoarseness, wheezing, short dry cough, with occasional rattling in the throat during sleep, the child often plucking at its throat with the fingers; difficulty of breathing, which in a few hours becomes distressing, with anxious face, and the veins of the neck becoming swollen and knotted: the voice, in speaking or coughing, acquiring a sharp, crowing or croupy sound, while the inspirations have a harsh metallic intonation. After a few hours, the cough loses its dry character, and a tenacious ropy mucous is discharged, or hangs about the mouth, mixed with patches of a whitish film, the efforts to expel which are attended with suffocating fits of coughing. 939. TREATMENT.-Place the child immediately in a hot bath (493). On removing the patient from the water give an emetic, as prescribed at 728; when the vomiting has subsided, place a long blister down the front of the throat, on the wind pipe, and administer one of the following powders every twenty minutes, to a child from three to six years : smooth, clear, healthy one formed, and the tree will re assume a healthy appearance, and produce abundance of fruit. 947. FROZEN POTATOES. In the time of frosts the only precaution necessary is, to retain the potatoes in a perfectly dark place for some days after the thaw has commenced. In America, when they are sometimes frozen as hard as stones, they rot if thawed in open day, but if thawed in darkness they do not rot, and lose very little of their natural odour and properties. 946. TO RESUSCITATE OLD APPLE TREES.—Take fresh made lime from the kiln, slake it well with water, and well 940. Take of calomel, 12 grains; tartar dress the tree with a brush; by this means emetic, 2 grains; sugar, 30 grains. Mix the insects and moss will be completely dethoroughly, and divide into twelve pow-stroyed, the outer rind fall off, and a new, ders. For a child from six to twelve years, divide the same quantity into six powders, and give one powder every halfhour. Should the symptoms, after a few hours, still continue urgent and unabated, apply a leech on each side of the throat, and put hot mustard poultices to the feet and thighs, keeping them on for about eight minutes; and in extreme cases, place a mustard-plaster on the spine and chest, and rub mercurial ointment into the arm-pits, thighs, and the angle of the jaws and throat. 941. Such is the routine treatment of croup in its worst and most dangerous form; but in the milder and more usual attack the following succession of remedies will be found sufficient :-The hot bath and emetic; mustard-plaster round the throat for five minutes; the powders, a second emetic after six hours, if necessary, and blister over the windpipe, and if demanded, one or two leeches on the throat, repeating, if requisite, the hot bath. 943. When convalescent, small doses of the senna mixture, or an aperient powder (see paragraphs 492 and 494), every morning, for a few times, must be given, to carry off the mercury in the system, and the collected mucous from the stomach and bowels. 944. The diet must be light and strength. ening, with the addition of a few spoonsful of wine, and an occasional dose of the quinine mixture (see 500). 945. Change of air is advisable as soon after recovery as possible, but carefully avoiding all exposure to damp or moisture. Should the cough continue after the abatement of all other symptoms, a little honey and syrup of squills may be given three or four times a-day, and a hot bran poultice placed round the throat on going to bed. 948. DRESS IN QUEEN ELIZABETH'S TIME.-The ordinary habit of a nobleman at that time consisted of a doublet and hose, a cloak, or sometimes a long, sometimes a short gown, with sleeves. It must be remembered that the gown was originally a common, not a professional habit only, but that as state and gravity yielded to convenience in ordinary dress, it was exchanged for a short clcak, which, about the time of Charles the Second, gave way, in its turn, to the coat, as that is nothing more than the ancient sleeve doublet prolonged. In the meantime, ecclesiastics and other members of the learned profes sions, whose habits varying little at first from the common dress of the times, had those little distinctions fixed by canons and statutes, persevered in the use of their old costume; in consequence of which they retain the gown, under various modifications, may be made with respect to the hood, at the present day. The same observation which however ill adapted to a common use, was the ancient covering for the head in ordinary clothing. The different orders of monks, the different universities, only varied the cut or the material of the hood for distinction's sake. But, for common use, the hood was supplanted by the round citizen's cap, yet retained by the yeomen of the guard. This was succeeded by the hat, which first became general in Queen Elizabeth's time, nearly the shape of the modern round hat, only turned up on one side. 949. LIBRARIES FOR THE POOR. The following interesting particulars, in connection with this subject, were furnished to the parliamentary committee by Mr. Imray, whose labours in this direction are worthy of all praise :— Have you had the means of observing whether the poorest classes of the population show much disposition to avail themselves of facilities for reading?—I have lately taken the superintendence of a ragged-school in the Marylebone district, and in connection with that school we have established a small library and readingroom, and those that have attended have attended with great regularity, and read the books with the greatest quietness and attention; the room is open every evening but one in the week. : How many frequent the room?-There have been one hundred at this season (May) generally only twenty or thirty. Of what age?--Those who attend in the evening are of the age of from sixteen to thirty or thirty-five. Do you throw it open to anybody ?-To anybody without restriction; generally those who attend the library are the same as those who attend the school. They do not go there for the mere object of passing their time, or having a comfort. able place to sit down in ?-It is possible that they may begin from that motive; but having begun, they get interested in the books, and they return to get books to read. Since the means of emigration have been provided for those classes, and many have gone from that school, the inclination among them for reading works, which will give them information regarding the countries to which they intend to go, has been very great. Is it not likely that they will imbibe more knowledge from books which they take up themselves, provided those books are well chosen, than from any other source?-I think so; I may add, that a great number of those same persons who frequent the ragged-school library had been in the habit of reading before: but they had read the bad cheap publications, which had circulated in thousands among these classes. I may say, that among those classes there is, perhaps, a greater amount of reading than among the better classes in London, but it is reading of the worst description. You think the institution of good libraries would withdraw the population, and especially the most dangerous part of the population, from bad reading, to which they at present apply themselves?—I think it would have that tendency: and not only draw them from worse reading, but from worse pursuits. How do the people conduct themselves in the reading-room ?-With the greatest order and quietness. and very poorly clad ?-Extremely so, and Although they may be very humbly born many of them persons who would, under rude in their conduct. any other circumstances, be most noisy and Have you known persons who apparently came with habits of disorder, gradually re claimed, in consequence of reading in the library, to habits of order?--I have known men of from twenty to thirty, who when they came smoked their pipes in the schoolroom, overturned the forms, and did all kinds of mischief, and now they are perfectly quiet and orderly, and they dress better instead of rags they come with whole clothes (though of the poorest kind still), and they sit down in the library with the greatest quietness and decorum, and read the books. Is it possible for the class amongst which you benevolently labour, to make a small subscription in aid of the funds of the library?—I am afraid they are too poor for that; we have to provide them with almost everything, in order to attract them to the school; we are not only obliged to make them pay nothing, but we are obliged occasionally to give them an entertainment-a supper or tea-party. At first, when the system was begun, they were very rude and unmannerly, but now they behave with the greatest courtesy, politeness, and quiet ness. 950. MICE-HAUNTS.-Mice invariably establish themselves underground whereever men lead the way. In the coal pits at Whitehaven they are numerous at the depth of one hundred and forty fathoms, conveyed probably at first in bundles of horse provender. DIAGRAMS, EXACT SIZE FOR PATCHWORK BORDERS. (See next page). rain may be expected. Lord Bacon tells us that the stalks of the trefoil swell and grow more upright previous to rain; and the gerenander speedwell, so universal a favourite in every hedgerow, closes its blue corolla before rain comes on, opening again when it ceases. The 951. INDICATIONS OF CHANGE OF WEATHER AFFORDED BY PLANTS. -Very many of our most common plants are excellent indicators of atmospheric changes. The opening and shutting of some flowers depend not so much on the action of light as on the state of the atmosphere, and hence their opening and shutting 952. GREY HAIR.-The sedentary, the betokens change. The common chickweed, studious, the debilitated, and the sickly, or stitchwort, may be considered a natural are, with very few exceptions, those who barometer; for if the small white upright are earliest visited with grey hair. flowers are closed, it is a certain sign of agricultural labourer, the seaman, and all rain. During dry weather they expand whose employment consists of or involves freely, and are regularly open from nine in exercise in the open air, are those whose the morning till noon. After rain they be- hair latest affords signs that the last process come pendant, but in the course of a few has commenced, that the fluids have begun days they again rise. The purple sandwort to be absorbed, and the textures dried up is another indicator of the weather. Its and withered. All whose employment beautiful pink flowers expand only during renders much sitting necessary, and little the sunshine, and close at the approach of or no exercise possible; all who, from whatrain. The pompernel has been justly named ever cause, have least determination, partithe poor man's weather glass." When its cularly if towards the head, are the persons tiny, brilliant red flowers are widely ex- most liable to carry grey hairs. It is well tended in the morning, we may expect a known that mental emotions and violent fine day; on the contrary, it is a certain passions have, in a night, made the hair sign of rain when its delicate petals are grey. These instances are in the same way closed. If the Siberian sow-thistle shuts at to be understood and explained. They are night the ensuing day will be fine, and if it owing to the increased determination of the opens it will be cloudy and rainy. When blood stimulating the absorbents into pre. the African marigold remains closed after ternatural activity, and causing them to seven o'clock in the morning or evening, take up the colouring matter of the hair. 953. PATCHWORK PATTERNS FOR BORDERS. These are intended to be used in cases where borders are required to a pattern, the materials and colours must therefore be regulated accordingly. The whole width of border No. 1 is nine inches, and the sizes of the pieces forming the centre are given. The diamonds should be the lightest colour, and the darkest should form the edge, which is composed of two double strips, each double strip being two and aquarter inches wide. In border No. 2, the strips are the same size, and should be of the lightest colour outside, and the next shade next. The size of the small triangles is given; they should be the darkest colour. The row of pieces forming the central part are each three-quarters of a square, three inches square. The effect will be improved if some stitches be worked in chain-stitch, in black purse silk, in the position shown by the dotted lines in the pattern. 954. MARRIAGE RING SYMBOLIZED.-We see many times even the godly couples to jar when they are married, because there is some unfitness between them which makes odds. What is odds but the contrary to even? Therefore, make them even, saith one, and there will be no odds. Hence came the first use of the ring in weddings; for if it be straiter than the finger it will pinch, and if it be wider than the finger it will fall off; but if it be fit, it neither pincheth nor slippeth.-Henry Smith's Sermons. |