tter dust around the
room.

All bedding and rugs should receive their daily shaking and airing out
of doors, remembering that particles of dust are veritable airships
for the transportation of germs. In every way possible avoid raising a
dust. So much of the lint which commonly comes from blankets may be
avoided with the daily shaking out of doors.

Soiled diapers should not accumulate in a corner or on the radiator;
their removal should be immediate, and if they must await a more
opportune time, soak them in a receptacle filled with cold water. Even
those diapers slightly wetted should never be merely dried and used
again, but should be properly washed and dried. No washing soda should
be used in the cleansing of diapers--just an ordinary white soap, a
good boil, and plenty of rinse water, with drying in the sun if
possible. They require no ironing. Hands that come in contact with
soiled or wet diapers must be thoroughly cleansed before caring for
the baby or preparing his food.

As before mentioned, and it will bear repetition often, all windows
and doors must be well screened, for flies and mosquitoes are dreaded
foes in any community and in babyland in particular. All used bottles
and nipples as well as used cups, pitchers, bits of used cotton,
should be removed at once. The washcloth is a splendid harbinger of
germs. There should be one for the face, and one for the body and
bath, and both should receive tri-weekly boiling. Bath towels should
not be used more than twice, better only once.

The technic of bathing, together with the location, furnishings, and
cleanliness of the baby's sick room, will be taken up in later
chapters.

CHAPTER XIV

WHY BABIES CRY

It is surprising how soon even a young and inexperienced mother will
learn to distinguish between the _pain_ cry and the _plain_ cry of her
baby; for most crying can easily be traced to some physical discomfort
which can be relieved, or to some phase of spoiling and indulgence
which can be stopped.

NORMAL HEALTHY CRYING

The young baby can neither walk, talk nor engage in gymnastics, except
to indulge in those splendid physical exercises connected with a good
hearty cry. To be good and healthy, an aggregate of an hour a day
should be spent in loud and lusty crying. He should be allowed to
kick, throw his arms in the air and get red in the face; for such
gymnastics expand the lungs, increase general circulation and promote
the gener