ider themselves as licensed, during a part of
their lives, not only to eat immoderately, and even to gluttony, but
also to swallow almost every species of vile trash which a vile world
affords.

How long will it be, ere the mother can be induced to take as much pains
to select the most appropriate and most healthy aliment for herself and
her child, as she now does that which is demanded by a capricious
appetite, without the smallest reference to fitness or digestibility!
How long will it be ere the mother can be brought to believe and feel
that, in every step she takes, she is forming the habitation of an
immortal spirit--a spirit, too, whose character and destiny, both
present and eternal, must depend, in no small degree, upon the character
of the dwelling it occupies while passing through this stage of earthly
existence! How long will it be, before mothers can be made to believe
even these two simple truths, that the nourishment, which the human
being actually receives, is not always in exact proportion to the
quantity of nutritious food which he throws into his stomach, and that
the diet is always best for both mother and child, which is least
exciting.

The Charleston Board of Health, during the existence of cholera in that
city in 1836, publicly announced that the "best food is the least
exciting," and this great truth is just as true in all other places and
circumstances on the globe as it was then in South Carolina. And though
I am far from believing that health depends more on food and drink than
on all other things put together, as many seem to suppose, yet I am
entirely of opinion that he who should devote himself successfully to
the work of applying this truth, in all its bearings, to the dietetic
practice of all mankind, would do more for their reformation--yes, and
their salvation too--than has yet been done by any merely _human_ being,
since the first day of the creation.

SEC. 3. _Nursing--how often._

Many lay it down, as an invariable rule, that no system can be pursued
with a child till it is six months old; and it must be admitted by all,
that for several months after birth there are serious difficulties in
the way of determining, with any degree of precision, how often a child
should be nursed or fed. Still, there are a few rules of universal
application; some of which are here presented.

1. A child should never be nursed, merely to quiet it; for if this be
done, it will soon learn to cry, w