ctory as
curled hair. It is light and clean and elastic, it does not readily
absorb odors, and it is easily renovated. Although hair is more costly
than other materials, a hair mattress may be used almost indefinitely if
it is occasionally made over.

Felt or cotton mattresses are firm, but heavy, difficult to keep clean,
and likely to absorb odors. A useful mattress made from straw is
sometimes found in country districts. Such a bed is thoroughly hygienic,
for the worn straw may be burned and the tick washed and refilled with
clean straw; but straw beds are generally hard and lumpy. The least
desirable of all mattresses is the old fashioned feather bed, and it
should never be used if a better can by any possibility be obtained; but
a feather bed should not be arbitrarily taken away from an old person
accustomed to its use, unless his welfare is really at stake.

A mattress made in two sections is unnecessary for a single bed; indeed,
a mattress made in one piece is more easily kept in place if the
patient is restless. A good quality of blue and white ticking makes a
serviceable cover for both mattress and pillows since its color is not
likely to run.

CARE OF THE MATTRESS.--A mattress should be brushed frequently with a
whisk broom, especially around the tufts and edges. If a patient is long
confined to bed, a fresh one should occasionally be substituted so that
the regular mattress may be removed, well brushed, beaten with a carpet
beater, and left exposed to the sun and air for a day or two. A mattress
that is badly soiled should be sent to a cleaner and made over; it
cannot be cleaned properly at home. It is generally possible to remove
blood stains, if they have not soaked through the ticking, by applying a
thick cream made from raw starch and cold water. When the starch becomes
dry it should be brushed away, and the application should be repeated
until the stain has disappeared. For the best results the starch should
be applied before the stain is dry.

PILLOWS.--One patient can use an almost unlimited number of feather
pillows. Some should be soft and others firm, some large and some small;
but pillows that are very large and thick are less useful than a greater
number of smaller ones. It is well to have several small pillows of
varying size and thickness to support different parts of the body.

Hair pillows are often acceptable in warm weather, and they are also
desirable for patients with high fever or exc