first,
and then to warm it by drawing the food through before putting it into
the child's mouth.

Food, and its Preparation.

2499. The articles generally employed as food for infants consist of
arrowroot, bread, flour, baked flour, prepared groats, farinaceous food,
biscuit-powder, biscuits, tops-and-bottoms, and semolina, or manna
croup, as it is otherwise called, which, like tapioca, is the prepared
pith of certain vegetable substances. Of this list the least
efficacious, though, perhaps, the most believed in, is arrowroot, which
only as a mere agent, for change, and then only for a very short time,
should ever be employed as a means of diet to infancy or childhood. It
is a thin, flatulent, and innutritious food, and incapable of supporting
infantine life with energy. Bread, though the universal _regime_ with
the labouring poor, where the infant's stomach and digestive powers are
a reflex, in miniature, of the father's, should never be given to an
infant under three months, and, even then, however finely beaten up and
smoothly made, is a very questionable diet. Flour, when well boiled,
though infinitely better than arrowroot, is still only a kind of
fermentative paste, that counteracts its own good by after-acidity and
flatulence.

2500. Baked flour, when cooked into a pale brown mass, and finely
powdered, makes a far superior food to the others, and may be considered
as a very useful diet, especially for a change. Prepared groats may be
classed with arrowroot and raw flour, as being innutritious. The
articles that now follow in our list are all good, and such as we could,
with conscience and safety, trust to for the health and development of
any child whatever.

2501. We may observe in this place, that an occasional change in the
character of the food is highly desirable, both as regards the health
and benefit of the child; and though the interruption should only last
for a day, the change will be advantageous.

2502. The packets sold as farinaceous food are unquestionably the best
aliment that can be given from the first to a baby, and may be
continued, with the exception of an occasional change, without
alteration of the material, till the child is able to take its regular
meals of animal and vegetable food. Some infants are so constituted as
to require a frequent and total change in their system of living,
seeming to thrive for a certain time on any food given to them, but if
persevered in too long, decl