Its afternoon mealy about four o'clock, the same diet as formed the
breakfast. At seven, a little arrow-root, made with a very small
proportion of milk, or a biscuit, or crust of bread, after which the
child should be put to bed.

The child must be taught to take its food slowly, retain it in it's
mouth long, and swallow it tardily. Nothing must be given in the
intervals of the meals. The stomach requires a period of repose after
the labour of digestion; and if the child is entertained by its nurse,
and its mind occupied, there will be no difficulty in following out
this important direction.

As the child grows older, the quantity at each meal should be
increased; the tops and bottoms changed for bread and pure milk, boiled
or not; meat may be taken daily, except circumstances forbid it; and a
small quantity of vegetable also.

If a child, then, be of a sound constitution, with healthy bowels, a
cool skin, and clean tongue, the diet may be liberal, and provided it
is sufficiently advanced in age, animal food may be taken daily. Too
low a diet would stint the growth of such a child, and induce a state
of body deficient in vigour, and unfit for maintaining full health:
scrofula and other diseases would be induced. At the same time let the
mother guard against pampering, for this would lead to evils no less
formidable, though of a different character. And as long as the general
health of this child is unimpaired, the body and mind active, and no
evidence present to mark excess of nutriment, this diet may be
continued. But if languor at any time ensue, fever become manifested,
the skin hotter than natural, the tongue white and furred, and the
bowels irregular, then, though these symptoms should bebonly in slight
degree, and unattended with any specific derangement amounting to what
is considered disease, not only should the parent lower the diet, and
for a time withdraw the animal part, but the medical adviser should be
consulted, that measures may be taken to correct the state of repletion
which has been suffered to arise. For some time after its removal, care
should also be taken to keep the diet under that, which occasioned the
constitutional disturbance.

But if the child be of a delicate and weakly constitution (and this is
unfortunately the more common case), it will not bear so generous a
diet as the foregoing. During the three or four earliest years, it
should be restricted chiefly to a mild farinaceous diet, w