rhaps, but of wood--but instead of being put on
loosely, and causing the body or limbs to fill them, they are made to
compress the body in the outset; and as the size of the latter
diminishes, the shackles are contracted or tightened. As with the
eastern, so with the western females, many of them die under the
process; though a far greater number die at a remote period, as the
consequence of it."

SEC. 3. _Material._

I have already committed myself to the reader as favoring the use of
soft flannel in cold weather, especially for children who are not yet
able to run about freely in the open air. The advantages of an early use
of this material, at least for under-clothes, are numerous. The
following are a few of them.

1. Flannel, next to the skin, is a pleasant flesh brush; keeping up a
gentle and equable irritation, and promoting perspiration and every
other function which it is the office of the skin to perform, or assist
in performing.

2. It guards the body against the cooling effects of evaporation, when
in a state of profuse perspiration.

3. By preventing the heat of the body from escaping too rapidly, it
keeps up a steadier temperature on the surface than any other known
substance. The importance of the last consideration is greater, in a
climate like our own, than elsewhere.

But there are limits to the use of this article of clothing. Whenever
the temperature of the atmosphere is so great, even without artificial
heat, that we no longer wish to retain the heat of the body by the
clothing, then all flannel should be removed at once, and linen should
be substituted; taking care to replace the flannel whenever the
temperature of the atmosphere, as indicated by the thermometer, or by
the child's feelings, may seem to require it.

It should also be kept clean. There is a very general mistake abroad on
this subject. Many suppose that flannel can be worn longer without
washing than other kinds of cloth. On the contrary, it should be changed
oftener than cotton, or even linen, because it will absorb a great deal
of fluid, especially the matter of perspiration, which, if long
retained, is believed to ferment, and produce unhealthy, if not
poisonous gases. For this reason, too, flannel for children's clothing
should be white, that it may show dirt the more readily, and obtain the
more frequent washing; although it is for this very reason--its
liability to exhibit the least particles of dirt--that it is common