mother who nurses her child should partake of sufficient
nourishment goes without saying. But the advice often given to nursing
mothers to partake of beer, ale or wine is a bad one. It is a question
if a mother partaking of considerable quantities of alcoholic
beverages may not transmit the taste for alcohol to her children. No,
alcoholics should be left alone, but milk, eggs, meat, fruit and
vegetables should be partaken of in abundance.

=Preparing the Nipples.= For the infant to be able to nurse properly
the nipples of the breast must be in good condition. If the nipples
are sunken, depressed, it is torture for the child to nurse. It uses
up a lot of energy uselessly, becomes exhausted, and gets very little
milk; while if the nipples be tender or cracked the process of nursing
is a torture for the mother.

It is therefore necessary to attend to the nipples in due time--to
begin at the fifth or sixth month is not too early. If the nipples are
sufficiently prominent, little need be done for them except to wash
them with a little boric acid solution (one teaspoonful of boric acid
to a glass of water) occasionally, and now and then to rub in a little
petrolatum, plain or borated. But if the nipples are sunken so that
they are below the surface of the breast, or if they are only slightly
above the surface of the breast, they must be treated. Gentle traction
must be made on them with the fingers three or four times a day. There
are only a few cases where persistent manipulation will not develop
the nipple and make it stand out prominently.

If the nipple is tender it should be washed two or three times a day
with a mixture of alcohol and water; one part of alcohol to three
parts of water is sufficient. In washing the nipple with this diluted
alcohol it should be dried and a little petrolatum or vaseline rubbed
in. This done two or three times a day during the last month or two of
the pregnancy will generally produce a good healthy nipple.

=The Treatment of Cracked Nipples.= If the care of the nipple has been
neglected, and it develops cracks or fissures so that the nursing of
the child causes the mother severe pain, the nursing should be done
through a nipple shield, and in the meantime between the nursings the
nipple should be rubbed with the following preparation, which is
excellent and which I can fully recommend: thymol iodide, 1/2 dram;
olive oil, 1/2 ounce. This should be applied every hour to the nipple
and cov