 section 97 of the Book of Household Management. This is a Librebox recording. All Librebox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librebox.org. The Book of Household Management by Isabella Beaton. Domestic Servants, Chapter 41, Part 5. Duties of the Maid of All Work. 2340. The General Servant or Maid of All Work is perhaps the only one of her class deserving of commissuration. Her life is a solitary one, and in some places her work is never done. She is also subject to rougher treatment than either the house or kitchen maid, especially in her earlier career. She starts in life, probably a girl of thirteen, with some small tradesman's wife as her mistress, just a step above her in the social scale. And although the class contains among them many excellent, kind-hearted women, it also contains some very rough specimens of the feminine gender, and to some of these it occasionally falls to give our Maid of All Work her first lessons in her multifarious occupations. The mistress's commands are the measure of the Maid of All Work's duties. By the time she has become a tolerable servant, she is probably engaged in some respectable tradesman's house, where she has to rise with the lark, for she has to do in her own person all the work which in larger establishments is performed by cook, kitchen maid, and housemaid, and occasionally the part of a footman's duty, which consists in carrying messages. 2341. The General Servant's duties commence by opening the shutters and windows of the weather permits of all the lower apartments in the house. She should then brush up her kitchen range, light the fire, clear away the ashes, clean the hearth, and polish with a leather the bright parts of the range, doing all as rapidly and as vigorously as possible that no more time be wasted than is necessary. After putting on the kettle, she should then proceed to the dining room or parlor to get it in order for breakfast. She should first roll up the rug, take up the fender, shake and fold up the tablecloth, then sweep the room, carrying the dirt towards the fireplace. A coarse cloth should then be laid down over the carpet, and she should proceed to clean the grate, having all her utensils close to her. When the grate is finished, the ashes cleared away, the hearth cleaned, and the fender put back in its place. She must dust the furniture, not omitting the legs of the tables and chairs. And if there are any ornaments or things on the sideboard, she must not dust round them, but lift them up onto another place, dust well where they have been standing, and then replace the things. Nothing annoys a particular mistress so much as to find, when she comes downstairs, different articles of furniture looking as if they had never been dusted. If the servant is at all methodical, and gets into a habit of doing a room in a certain way, she will scarcely ever leave her duties neglected. After the rug is put down, the tablecloth arranged, and everything in order, she should lay the cloth for breakfast, and then shut the dining room door. 2342. The hall must now be swept, the mats shaken, the doorstep cleaned, and any brass knockers or handles polished up with the leather. If the family breakfast very early, the tidying of the hall must then be deferred until after that meal. After cleaning the boots that are absolutely required, the servant should now wash her hands and face, put on a clean white apron, and be ready for her mistress when she comes downstairs. In families where there is much work to do before breakfast, the master of the house frequently has two pairs of boots in wear, so that they may be properly cleaned when the servant has more time to do them in the daytime. This arrangement is, perhaps, scarcely necessary in the summertime, when there are no grates to clean every morning, but in the dark days of winter it is only kind and thoughtful to lighten a servant of all work's duties as much as possible. Illustration, Lacking Brush Box. 2343. She will now carry the urn into the dining room where her mistress will make the tea or coffee, and sometimes will boil the eggs to ensure them being done to her liking. In the meantime, the servant cooks if required, the bacon, kidneys, fish, etc. If cold meat is to be served, she must always send it to table on a clean dish, and nicely garnished with tufts of parsley if this is obtainable. 2344. After she has had her own breakfast, and whilst the family are finishing theirs, she should go upstairs into the bedrooms, open all the windows, strip the clothes off the beds, and leave them to air whilst she is clearing away the breakfast things. She should then take up the crumbs in a dustpan from under the table, put the chairs in their places, and sweep up the hearth. 2345. The breakfast things washed up, the kitchen should be tidied, so that it may be neat when her mistress comes in to give the orders for the day. After receiving these orders, the servant should go upstairs again with a jug of boiling water, the slop pail, and two claws. After emptying the slops, and scalding the vessels with the boiling water, and wiping them thoroughly dry, she should wipe the top of the wash table and arrange it all in order. She then proceeds to make the beds in which occupation she is generally assisted by the mistress, or if she have any daughters by one of them. Before commencing to make the bed, the servant should put on a large bed apron kept for this purpose only, which should be made very wide to button round the waist and meet behind while it should be made as long as the dress. By adopting this plan, the blacks and dirt on servant's dresses, which at all times it is impossible to help, will not rub off onto the bed clothes, mattresses, and bed furniture. When the beds are made, the rooms should be dusted, the stairs lightly swept down, hall furniture, closets, etc. dusted. The lady of the house, where there is but one servant kept, frequently takes charge of the drawing room herself, that is to say, dusting it. The servant's sweeping, cleaning windows, working glasses, grates, and rough work of that sort. If there are any ornaments and knickknacks about the room, it is certainly better for the mistress to dust these herself, as a maid of all works hands are not always in a condition to handle delicate ornaments. 2346 Now she has gone the rounds of the house and seen all is in order, the servant goes to her kitchen to see about the cooking of the dinner, in which very often her mistress will assist her. She should put on a coarse apron with a bib to do her dirty work in, which may be easily replaced by a white one if required. 2347 Half an hour before dinner is ready, she should lay the cloth that everything may be in readiness when she is dishing up the dinner, and take all into the dining room that is likely to be required in the way of knives, forks, spoons, bread, salt, water, etc., etc. By exercising a little forethought, much confusion and trouble may be saved both to mistress and servant by getting everything ready for the dinner in good time. 2348 After taking in the dinner when everyone is seated, she removes the covers, hands the plates round, and pours out the beer, and should be careful to hand everything on the left side of the person she is waiting on. 2349 We need scarcely say that a maid of all work cannot stay in the dining room during the whole of dinnertime, as she must dish up her pudding or whatever is served after the first course. When she sees everyone helped, she should leave the room to make her preparations for the next course, and anything that is required, such as bread, etc., people may assist themselves to in the absence of the servant. 2350 When the dinner things are cleared away, the servant should sweep up the crumbs in the dining room, sweep the hearth, and lightly dust the furniture, then sit down to her own dinner. Illustration Knife Cleaning Machine 2351 After this, she washes up and puts away the dinner things, sweeps the kitchen, dusts and tidies it, and puts on the kettle for tea. She should now, before dressing herself for the afternoon, clean her knives, boots and shoes, and do any other dirty work in the scullery that may be necessary. Knife cleaning machines are rapidly taking the place, in most households, of the old knife board. The saving of labor by the knife cleaner is very great, and its performance of the work is very satisfactory. Small and large machines are manufactured, some cleaning only four knives, whilst others clean as many as twelve at once. Nothing can be more simple than the process of machine knife cleaning, and although, in a very limited household, the substitution of the machine for the board may not be necessary, yet we would advise all housekeepers, to whom the outlay is not a difficulty, to avail themselves of the services of a machine. We have already spoken of its management in the duties of the footmen, number 2177. 2352. When the servant is dressed, she takes in the tea, and after tea turns down the beds, sees that the water jugs and bottles are full, closes the windows, and draws down the blinds. If the weather is very warm, these are usually left open until the last thing at night to cool the rooms. 2353. The routine of a general servant's duties depends upon the kind of situation she occupies, but a systematic maid-of-all-work should so contrive to divide her work that every day in the week may have its proper share. By this means she is able to keep the house clean with less fatigue to herself than if she left all the cleaning to do at the end of the week. Supposing there are five bedrooms in the house, two sitting rooms, kitchen, scullery, and the usual domestic offices, on Monday she should thoroughly clean the drying room, on Tuesday two of the bedrooms, on Wednesday two more, on Thursday the other bedroom and stairs. On Friday morning she should sweep the dining room very thoroughly, clean the hall, and in the afternoon her kitchen tins and bright utensils. By arranging her work in this manner, no undue proportion will fall to Saturday's share, and she will then have this day for cleaning plate, cleaning her kitchen, and arranging everything in nice order. The regular work must, of course, be performed in the usual manner as we have endeavored to describe. 2354 Before retiring to bed she will do well to clean up glasses, plates, etc., which have been used for the evening meal, and prepare her morning's work by placing her wood near the fire on the hob to dry, taking care there is no danger of it igniting before she leaves the kitchen for the night. Before retiring she will have to lock and bolt the doors, unless the master undertakes this office himself. 2355 If the washing or even a portion of it is done at home it will be impossible for the maid of all work to do her household duties thoroughly during the time it is about, unless she has some assistance. Usually if all the washing is done at home the mistress hires someone to assist at the wash tub and sees to little matters herself in the way of dusting, clearing away breakfast things, folding, starching, and ironing the fine things. With a little management much can be accomplished, provided the mistress be industrious, energetic, and willing to lend a helping hand. Let washing week be not the excuse for having everything in a muddle, and although things cannot be cleaned so thoroughly and so much time spent upon them as ordinarily, yet the house may be kept tidy and clear from litter without a great deal of exertion either on the part of the mistress or servant. We will conclude our remarks with an extract from an admirably written book called Home Truths for Home Peace. The author says, with respect to the great wash, quote, amongst all the occasions in which it is most difficult and glorious to keep muddle out of a family, the great wash stands preeminent, and as very little money is now saved by having everything done at home, many ladies with the option of taking another servant or putting out the chief part of the washing have thankfully adopted the latter course, end quote. She goes on to say, quote, when a gentleman who dines at home can't bear washing in the house but gladly pays for its being done elsewhere, the lady should gratefully submit to his wishes and put out anything in her whole establishment rather than put out a good and generous husband, end quote. 2356, a bustling and active girl will always find time to do a little needle work for herself if she lives with consistent and reasonable people. In the summer evenings she should manage to sit down for two or three hours and for a short time in the afternoon in leisure days. A general servant's duties are so multifarious that unless she be quick and active she will not be able to accomplish this. To discharge these various duties properly is a difficult task and sometimes a thankless office, but it must be remembered that a good maid of all work will make a good servant in any capacity and may be safely taken not only without fear of failure but with every probability of giving satisfaction to her employer. Duties of the Dairy Maid, 2357 The duties of the Dairy Maid differ considerably in different districts. In Scotland, Wales and some of the northern counties women milk the cows. On some of the large dairy farms in other parts of England she takes her share in the milking but in private families the milking is generally performed by the cowkeeper and the Dairy Maid only receives the milkpales from him morning and night and empties and cleans them preparatory to the next milking. Her duty being to supply the family with milk, cream and butter and other luxuries depending on the milking mothers of the herd. 2358 The Dairy The object with which gentlemen keep cows is to procure milk unadulterated and sweet butter for themselves and families. In order to obtain this however great cleanliness is required and as visitors as well as the mistress of the house sometimes visit the dairy some efforts are usually made to render it ornamental in picturesque. The locality is usually fixed near to the house. It should neither be exposed to the fierce heat of the summer sun nor to the equally unfavorable frosts of winter. It must be both sheltered and shaded. If it is a building apart from the house and other offices the walls should be tolerably thick and if hollow the temperature will be more equitable. The walls inside are usually covered with Dutch glazed tiles. The flooring also of glazed tiles set an asphalt to resist water and the ceiling laugh in plaster or closely jointed woodwork painted. Its architecture will be a matter of fancy. It should have a northern aspect and a thatched roof is considered most suitable from the shade and shelter it affords and it should contain at least two apartments besides a cool place for storing away butter. One of the apartments in which the milk is placed to deposit cream or to ripen for churning is usually surrounded by shelves of marble or slate on which the milk dishes rest but it will be found a better plan to have a large square or round table of stone in the center with a watertight ledge all around it in which water may remain in hot weather or if the attempt at the picturesque is desired a small fountain might occupy the center which would keep the apartment cool and fresh. Round this table the milk dishes should be ranged. One shelf or dresser of slate or marble being kept for the various occupations of the dairy made it will be found a better plan than putting them on shelves and corners against the wall. There should be a funnel or ventilator in the ceiling communicating with the open air made to open and shut as required. Double windows are recommended but of the lattice kind so that they may open and with wire gauze blinds fitted into the opening and calico blinds which may be wedded when additional coolness is required. The other apartment will be used for churning washing and scrubbing in fact the scullery of the dairy with a boiler for hot water and a sink with cold water laid on which should be plentiful and good. In some dairies a third apartment or at least a cool airy pantry is required for storing away butter with shelves of marble or slate to hold the cream jars while it is ripening and where cheeses are made a fourth becomes necessary. The dairy utensils are not numerous churns milk pails for each cow hair sieves pieces of tin milk pans marble dishes for cream for family use scales and weights a portable rack for drying the utensils wooden bowls butter molds and butter patterns and wooden tubs for washing the utensils comprising pretty nearly everything. 2359 pails are made of maple wood or elm and hooped or of tin more or less ornamented one is required for each cow 2360 the hair sieve is made of closely twisted horse hair with a rim through which the milk is strained to remove any hairs which may have dropped from the cow in milking. 2361 milk dishes are shallow basins of glass of glazed earthenware or tin about 16 inches in diameter at top and 12 at the bottom and 5 or 6 inches deep holding about 8 to 10 quarts each when full. 2362 churns are of all sorts and sizes from that which churns 70 or 80 gallons by means of a strap from the engine to the square box in which a pound of butter is made. The churn used for families is a square box 18 inches by 12 or 13 and 17 deep beveled below to the plane of the dashers with a loose lid or cover the dasher consists of an axis of wood to which four beaters or fanners are attached these fans are simply four pieces of elm strongly dovetailed together forming an oblong square with a space left open two of the openings being left broader than the others attached to an axle they form an axis with four projecting blades the axle fits into supports at the center of the box a handle is fitted to it and the act of churning is done by turning the handle 2363 such is the temple in which the dairymaid presides it should be removed both from stable and cowhouse and larder no animal smells should come near it and the drainage should be perfect 2364 the dairymaid receives the milk from the cowkeeper each pale being strained through the hercif into one of the milk basins this is left in the basins from 24 to 36 hours in the summer according to the weather after which it is skimmed off by means of the slicer and poured into glazed earthenware jars to turn for churning some persons prefer making up a separate churning for the milk of each cow in which there is some advantage in this case the basins of each cow for two days would either be kept together or labeled as soon as emptied the pails should be scalded and every particle of milk washed out and placed away in a dry place till next required and all milk spilt on the floor or on the table or dresser cleaned up with a cloth and hot water where very great attention is paid to the dairy the milk coolers are used larger in winter when it is desirable to retard the cooling down and increase the creamy deposit and smaller in summer to hasten it the temperature required being from 55 to 50 degrees in summer it is sometimes expedient in very sultry weather to keep the dairy fresh and cool by suspending claws dipped in chloride of lime across the room 2365 in some dairies it is usual to churn twice and in others three times a week the former produces the best butter the other the greatest quantity with three cows the produce should be 27 to 30 quarts a day the dairy maid should churn every day when very hot if they are in full milk and every second day in more temperate weather besides supplying the milk and cream required for a large establishment the churning should always be done in the morning the dairy maid will find it advantageous in being at work on churning mornings by five o'clock the operation occupies from 20 minutes to half an hour in summer and considerably longer in winter a steady uniform motion is necessary to produce sweet butter neither too quick nor too slow rapid motion causes the cream to heave and swell from too much air being forced into it the result is a tedious churning and soft bad colored butter 2366 in spring and summer when the cow has her natural food no artificial color is required but in winter under stall feeding the color is white and tallowy and some persons prefer a higher color this is communicated by mixing a little finely powdered arnato with the cream before putting it into the churn a still more natural and delicate color is communicated by scraping a red carrot into a clean piece of linen cloth dipping it into water and squeezing it into the cream 2367 as soon as the butter comes the milk is poured off and the butter put into a shallow wooden tub or bowl full of pure spring water in which it is washed and kneaded pouring off the water and renewing it until it comes away perfectly free from milk imperfect washing is the frequent cause of bad butter and in nothing is the skill of the dairy maid tested more than in this process moreover it is one in which cleanliness of habits and person are most necessary in this operation we want the aid of Phyllis's neat soft and perfectly clean hand for no mechanical operation can so well squeeze out the sour particles of milk or curd 2368 the operations of churning and butter making over the butter milk is disposed of usually in England it goes to the pigs but it is a very wholesome beverage when fresh and some persons like it the disposal therefore will rest with the mistress the dairy maid's duty is to get rid of it she must then scald with boiling water and scrub out every utensil she has used brush out the churn clean out the cream jars which will probably require the use of a little common soda to purify wipe all dry and place them in a position where the sun can reach them for a short time to sweeten them 2369 in Devonshire celebrated for its dairy system the milk is always scalded the milk pans which are of tin and contain from 10 to 12 quarts after standing 10 or 12 hours are placed on a hot plate of iron over a stove until the cream has formed on the surface which is indicated by the air bubbles rising through the milk and producing blisters on the surface coating of cream this indicates its approach to the boiling point and the vessel is now removed to cool when sufficiently that is quite cool the cream is skimmed off with the slice it is now the clotted cream for which Devonshire is so famous it is now placed in the churn and churned until the butter comes which it generally does in a much shorter time than by the other process the butter so made contains more casing than butter made in the usual way but does not keep so long 2370 it is a question frequently discussed how far it is economical for families to keep cows and make their own butter it is calculated that a good cow costs from May 1st to October 1st when well but economically kept 5 pounds 16 shillings 6 pence and from October 1st to April 30th 10 pounds 2 shillings 6 pence during that time she should produce 227 pounds of butter besides the skimmed milk of course if new milk and cream are required that will diminish the quantity of butter 2371 besides churning and keeping her dairy in order the dairy made has charge of the whole produce handing it over to the cook, butler, or housemaid as required she will do well to keep an exact account both of what she receives and how and when she disposes of it duties of the laundry made 2372 the laundry made is charged with the duty of washing and getting up the family linen a situation of great importance where the washing is all done at home but in large towns where there is little convenience for bleaching and drying it is chiefly done by professional laundresses and companies who apply mechanical and chemical processes to the purpose these processes however are supposed to injure the fabric of the linen and in many families the fine linen cottons and muslins are washed and got up at home even where the bulk of the washing is given out in country and suburban houses where greater conveniences exist washing at home is more common in country places universal 2373 the laundry establishment consists of a washing house and ironing and drying room and sometimes a drying closet heated by furnaces the washing house will probably be attached to the kitchen but it is better that it should be completely detached from it and of one story with a funnel or shaft to carry off the steam it will be of a size proportioned to the extent of the washing to be done a range of tubs either round or oblong opposite to and sloping towards the light narrower at the bottom than at the top for convenience in stooping over and fixed at a height suited to the convenience of the women using them each tub having a tap for hot and cold water and another in the bottom communicating with the drains for drying off foul water a boiler and furnace proportioned in size to the wants of the family should also be fixed the flooring should be York stone laid on brick piers with good drainage or asphalt sloping gently towards a gutter connected with the drain 2374 adjoining the bleaching house a second room about the same size is required for ironing drying and mangling the contents of this room should comprise an ironing board opposite to the light a strong white deal table about 12 or 14 feet long and about three and a half feet broad with drawers for ironing blankets a mangle in one corner and clothes horses for drying and airing cupboards for holding the various irons starch and other articles used in ironing a hot plate built in the chimney with furnace beneath it for heating the irons sometimes arranged with a flu for carrying the hot air around the room for drying where this is the case however there should be a funnel in the ceiling for ventilation and carrying off steam but a better arrangement is to have a hot air closet adjoining heated by hot air pipes and lined with iron with proper arrangements for carrying off steam and clothes horses on casters running in grooves to run into it for drying purposes this leaves the laundry free from unwholesome vapor 2375 the laundry maid should commence her labors on Monday morning by a careful examination of the articles committed to her care and enter them in the washing book separating the white linen and collars sheets and body linen into one heat find muslins into another colored cotton and linen fabrics into a third woolens into a fourth and the coarser kitchen and other greasy cloths into a fifth every article should be examined for ink or grease spots or for fruit or wine stains ink spots are removed by dipping the part into hot water and then spreading it smoothly on the hand or on the back of a spoon pouring a few drops of oxalic acid or salts of sorrel over the ink spot rubbing and rinsing it in cold water till removed grease spots by rubbing over with yellow soap and rinsing in hot water fruit and wine spots by dipping in a solution of cell ammonia or spirits of wine and rinsing 2376 every article having been examined and sorted the sheets and fine linen should be placed in one of the tubs and just covered with lukewarm water in which a little soda has been dissolved and mixed and left there to soak till the morning the greasy cloths and dirtier things should be laid to soak in another tub in a liquor composed of one half pound of unslaked lime to every six quarts of water which has been boiled for two hours then left to settle and strained off when clear each article should be rinsed in this liquor to wet it thoroughly and left to soak till the morning just covered by it when the things are pressed together coppers and boilers should now be filled and the fires laid ready to light 2377 early on the following morning the fires should be lighted and as soon as hot water can be procured washing commenced the sheets and body linen being wanted to whiten in the morning should be taken first each article being removed in succession from the lie in which it has been soaking rinsed, rubbed, and rung and laid aside until the tub is empty when the foul water is drawn off the tub should be again filled with lukewarm water about 80 degrees in which the articles should again be plunged and each gone over carefully with soap and rubbed novices in the art sometimes rub the linen against the skin more experienced washer women rub one linen surface against the other which saves their hands and enables them to continue their labor much longer besides economizing time two parts being thus cleaned at once 2378 after this first washing the linen should be put into a second water as hot as the hand can bear and again rubbed over in every part examining every part for spots not yet moved which require to be again soaped over and rubbed till thoroughly clean then rinsed and rung the larger and stronger articles by two of the women the smaller and more delicate articles requiring gentler treatment 2379 in order to remove every particle of soap and produce a good color they should now be placed and boiled for about an hour and a half in the copper in which soda in the proportion of a teaspoon full to every two gallons of water has been dissolved some very careful laundresses put the linen into a canvas bag to protect it from the scum and the sides of the copper when taken out it should again be rinsed first in clean hot water and then in abundance of cold water slightly tinged with big blue and again rung dry it should now be removed from the washing house and hung up to dry or spread out to bleach if there are conveniences for it and the earlier in the day this is done the clearer and whiter will be the linen 2380 colored muslins, cottons and linens require a milder treatment any application of soda will discharge the color and soaking all night even in pure water deteriorates the more delicate tins when ready for washing if not too dirty they should be put into cold water and washed very speedily using the common yellow soap which should be rinsed off immediately one article should be washed at a time and rinsed out immediately before any others are wedded when washed thoroughly they should be rinsed in succession in soft water in which common salt has been dissolved in the proportion of a handful to three or four gallons and afterwards rung gently as soon as rinsed with as little twisting as possible and then hung out to dry delicate colored articles should not be exposed to the sun but dried in the shade using clean lines and wooden pegs 2381 woollen articles are liable to shrink unless the flannel has been well shrunk before making up this liability is increased where very hot water is used cold water would thus be the best to wash woollen in but as this would not remove the dirt lukewarm water about 85 degrees and yellow soap are recommended when thoroughly washed in this they require a good deal of rinsing in cold water to remove the soap 2382 greasy cloths which have soaked all night in the liquid described should be now washed out with soap and water as hot as the hands can bear first in one water and rinsed out in a second and afterwards boiled for two hours in water in which a little soda is dissolved when taken out they should be rinsed in cold water and laid out or hung up to dry 2383 silk handkerchiefs require to be washed alone when they contain snuff they should be soaked by themselves in lukewarm water two or three hours they should be rinsed out and put to soak with the others in cold water for an hour or two then washed in lukewarm water being soaked as they are washed if this does not remove all stains they should be washed a second time in similar water and when finished rinsed in soft water in which a handful of common salt has been dissolved in washing stuff or woolen dresses the band at the waist and the lining at the bottom should be removed and wherever it is gathered into folds and in furniture the hems and gatherings a black silk dress if very dirty must be washed but if only soiled soaking for four and twenty hours will do if old and rusty a pint of common spirits should be mixed with each gallon of water which is an improvement under any circumstances whether soaked or washed it should be hung up to drain and dried without ringing 2384 satin and silk ribbons both white and colored may be cleaned in the same manner 2385 silks when washed should be dried in the shade on a linen horse taking care that they are kept smooth and unwrinkled if black or blue they will be improved if laid again on the table when dry and sponged with gin or whiskey or other white spirit 2386 the operations should be concluded by rinsing the tubs cleaning the coppers scrubbing the floors of the washing house and restoring everything to order and cleanliness 2387 Thursday and Friday in a laundry and full employ are usually devoted to mangling, starching, and ironing 2388 linen, cotton, and other fabrics after being washed and dried are made smooth and glossy by mangling and by ironing the mangling process which is simply passing them between rollers subjected to a very considerable pressure produced by weight is confined to sheets, towels, table linen, and other similar articles which are without folds or plates ironing is necessary to smooth body linen and made up articles of delicate texture or gathered into folds the mangle is too well known to need description 2389 ironing the irons consist of the common flat iron which is of different sizes varying from four to ten inches in length triangular in form and from two and a half to four and a half inches in width at the broad end the oval iron which is used for more delicate articles and the box iron which is hollow and heated by a red hot iron inserted into the box the Italian iron is a hollow tube smooth on the outside and raised on a slender pedestal with a foot stock into the hollow cylinder a red hot iron is pushed which heats it and the smooth outside of the ladder is used on which articles such as frills and plated articles are drawn crimping and goffering machines are used for a kind of plating where much regularity is required the articles having passed through two iron rollers fluted so as to represent the kind of plate or fold required 2390 starching is a process by which stiffness is communicated to certain parts of linen as the collar and front of shirts by dipping them in a paste made of starch boiled in water mixed with a little gum arabic where extra stiffness is required to make starch 2391 ingredients allow one half pint of cold water and one quart of boiling water to every two tablespoon fulls of starch 2392 mode put the starch into a tolerably large basin pour over at the cold water and stir the mixture well with a wooden spoon until it is perfectly free from lumps and quite smooth then take the basin to the fire and whilst the water is actually boiling in the kettle or boiler pour it over the starch stirring at the whole time if made properly in this manner the starch will require no further boiling but should the water not be boiling when added to the starch it will not thicken and must be put into a clean saucepan and stirred over the fire until it boils take it off the fire strain it into a clean basin cover it up to prevent a skin forming on the top and when sufficiently cool that the hand may be born in it starch the things many persons to give a shiny and smooth appearance to the linen when ironed stir around two or three times in the starch a piece of wax candle which also prevents the iron from sticking 2392 when the things to be starched are washed dried and taken off the lines they should be dipped into the hot starch made as directed squeezed of it and then just dipped into cold water and immediately squeezed dry if fine things be wrong or roughly used they are very liable to tear so too much care cannot be exercised in this respect if the article is laced clap it between the hands a few times which will assist to clear it then have ready laid out on the table a large clean towel or cloth shake out the starched things lay them on the cloth and roll it up tightly and let it remain for three or fours when the things will be ready to iron 2393 to be able to iron properly requires much practice and experience strict cleanliness with all the ironing utensils must be observed as if this is not the case not the most expert ironer will be able to make her things look clear and free from smears etc after wiping down her ironing table the laundry maid should place a course cloth on it and over that the ironing blanket with her stand and iron rubber and having ascertained that her irons are quite clean and of the right heat she proceeds with her work 2394 it is a good plan to try the heat of the iron on a course cloth or apron before ironing anything fine there is then no danger of scorching for ironing fine things such as collars cuffs muslins and laces there is nothing so clean and nice to use as the box iron the bottom being bright and never placed near the fire it is always perfectly clean it should however be kept in a dry place for fear of its rusting goffering tongs or irons must be placed in a clear fire for a minute then withdrawn wiped with a coarse rubber and the heat of them tried on a piece of paper as unless great care is taken these will very soon scorch 2395 the skirts of muslin dresses should be ironed on a skirt board covered with flannel and the fronts of shirts on a smaller board also covered with flannel this board being placed between the back and front 2396 after things are mangled they should also be ironed in the folds and gathers dinner napkins smoothed over as also tablecloths pillowcases and sometimes sheets the bands of flannel petticoats and shoulder straps to flannel waist coats must also undergo the same process end of section 97 section 98 of the book of household management this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Katie Gibbany the nursery is of great importance in every family and in families of distinction where there are several young children it is an establishment kept apart from the rest of the family under the charge of an upper nurse assisted by under nursery maids proportioned to the work to be done the responsible duties of upper nursemaid commenced with the weaning of the child it must now be separated from the mother or wet nurse at least for a time and the cares of the nursemaid which have hitherto been only occasionally put in requisition are now to be entirely devoted to the infant she washes dresses and feeds it walks out with it and regulates all its little wants and even at this early age many good qualities are required to do so in a satisfactory manner patients in good temper are indispensable qualities truthfulness purity of manners minute cleanliness and docility and obedience almost equally so she ought also to be acquainted with the art of ironing and trimming little caps and be handy with her needle there is a considerable art in carrying an infant comfortably for itself and for the nursemaid if she carry it always seated upright on her arm and presses it too closely against her chest the stomach of the child is apt to get compressed and the back fatigued for her own comfort a good nurse will frequently vary this position by changing from one arm to the other and sometimes by laying it across both raising the head a little when teaching it to walk and guiding it by the hand she should change the hand from time to time so as to avoid raising one shoulder higher than the other this is the only way in which a child should be taught to walk leading strings and other foolish inventions which force an infant to make efforts with its shoulders and head forward before it knows how to use its limbs will only render it feeble and retard its progress most children have some bad habit of which they must be broken but this is never accomplished by harshness without developing worse evils kindness perseverance and patience in the nurse are here of the utmost importance when finger sucking is one of these habits the fingers are sometimes rubbed with bitter aloes or some equally disagreeable substance others have dirty habits which are only to be changed by patience perseverance and above all by regularity in the nurse she should never be permitted to inflict punishment on these occasions or indeed on any occasion but if punishment is to be avoided it is still more necessary that all kinds of indulgences and flattery be equally forbidden yielding to all the whims of a child picking up its toys when thrown away in mere wantonness would be intolerable a child should never be led to think others inferior to it to beat a dog or even the stone against which it falls as some children are taught to do by silly nurses neither should the nurse affect or show alarm at any of the little accidents which must inevitably happen if it falls treated as a trifle otherwise she encourages a spirit of cowardice and timidity but she will take care that such accidents are not a frequent occurrence or the result of neglect the nurse should keep the child as clean as possible and particularly she should train it to habits of cleanliness so that it should feel uncomfortable when otherwise watching especially that it does not soil itself in eating at the same time vanity in its personal appearance is not to be encouraged by overcare in this respect or by too tight lacing or buttoning of dresses nor a small foot cultivated by the use of tight shoes nursemaids would do well to repeat to the parents faithfully and truly the defects they observe in the dispositions of very young children if properly checked in time evil propensities may be eradicated but this should not extend to anything but serious defects otherwise the intuitive perceptions which all children possess will construe the act into spying and informing which should never be resorted to in the case of children nor indeed in any case such are the cares which devolve upon the nursemaid and it is her duty to fulfill them personally in large establishments she will have assistance proportioned to the number of children of which she has the care the under nurse made lights the fires sweeps scours and dusts the rooms and makes the beds empty slops and carries up water brings up and removes the nursery meals washes and dresses all the children except the infant and assists in mending where there is a nursery girl to assist she does the rougher part of the cleaning and all take their meals in the nursery together after the children of the family have done in smaller families where there is only one nursemaid kept she is assisted by the housemaid or servant of all work who will do the rougher part of the work and carry up the nursery meals in such circumstances she will be more immediately under the eye of her mistress who will probably relieve her from some of the cares of the infant in higher families the upper nurse is usually permitted to sup or dine occasionally at the housekeeper's table by way of relaxation when the children are all well and her subordinates trustworthy where the nurse has the entire charge of the nursery and the mother is too much occupied to do more than pay a daily visit to it it is desirable that she be a person of observation and possess some acquaintance with the disease's incident to childhood as also with such simple remedies as may be useful before a medical attendant can be procured or where such attendance is not considered necessary all these little ailments are preceded by symptoms so minute as to be only perceptible to close observation such as twitching of the browse restless sleep grinding the gums and in some inflammatory diseases even to the child abstaining from crying from fear of the increased pain produced by the movement dentition or cutting the teeth is attended with many of these symptoms measles thrush scarletina croup whooping cough and other childish complaints are all preceded by well-known symptoms which may be alleviated and rendered less virulent by simple remedies instantaneously applied dentition is usually the first serious trouble bringing many other disorders in its train the symptoms are most perceptible to the mother the child sucks feebly and with gums hot inflamed and swollen in this case relief is yielded by rubbing them from time to time with a little of mrs. johnson's soothing syrup a valuable and perfectly safe medicine selfish and thoughtless nurses and mothers too sometimes give cordials and sleeping trots whose effects are too well known convulsion fits sometimes follow the feverish restlessness produced by these causes in which case a hot bath should be administered without delay and the lower parts of the body rubbed the bath being as hot as it can be without scalding the tender skin at the same time the doctor should be sent for immediately for no nurse should administer medicine in this case unless the fits have been repeated and the doctor has left directions with her how to act croup is one of the most alarming diseases of childhood it is accompanied with a horse croaking ringing cough and comes on very suddenly and most so in strong robust children a very hot bath should be instantly administered followed by an a medic either in the form of tartar a medic croup powder or a teaspoon full of Ipaquana wrapping the body warmly up in flannel after the bath the slightest delay in administering the bath or the a medic may be fatal hence the importance of nurses about very young children being acquainted with the symptoms hooping cough is generally preceded by the moaning noise during sleep which even adults threatened with the disorder cannot avoid it is followed by violent bits of coughing which little can be done to relieve a child attacked by this disorder should be kept as much as possible in the fresh pure air but out of droughts and kept warm and supplied with plenty of nourishing food many fatal diseases flow from this scourge of childhood and a change to pure air if possible should follow convalescence worms are the torment of some children the symptoms are an unnatural craving for food even after a full meal costiveness suddenly followed by the reverse fetid breath a livid circle under the eyes enlarged abdomen and picking the nose for which the remedies must be prescribed by the doctor measles and scarlet Tina much resemble each other in their early stages headache restlessness and fretfulness are the symptoms of both shivering fits succeeded by a hot skin pains in the back and limbs accompanied by sickness and in severe cases sore throat pain about the jaws difficulty in swallowing running at the eyes which become red and inflamed while the face is hot and flushed often distinguish scarlet Tina and scarlet fever of which it is only a mild form while the case is doubtful a dessert spoon full of spirit of nighter diluted in water given at bedtime will throw the child into a general perspiration and will bring out the rash in either case in measles this appears first on the face in scarlet Tina on the chest and in both cases a doctor should be called in in scarlet Tina tartar a medic powder or Ipacacana may be administered in the meantime in all cases cleanliness fresh air clean utensils and frequent washing of the person both of nurse and children are even more necessary in the nursery than either drawing room or sick room in as much as the delicate organs of childhood or more susceptible of injury from smells and vapors than adults it may not be out of place if we conclude this brief notice of the duties of a nurse made by an extract from Florence Nightingale's admirable notes on nursing referring to children she says they are much more susceptible than grown people to all noxious influences they are affected by the same things but much more quickly and seriously by want of fresh air of proper warmth want of cleanliness in house clothes bedding or body by improper food want of punctuality by dullness by want of light by too much or too little covering in bed or went up and all this in health and then she quotes a passage from a lecture on sudden deaths in infancy to show the importance of careful nursing of children in the great majority of instances when death suddenly befalls the infant or young child it is an accident it is not a necessary inevitable result of any disease that which is known to injure children most seriously is foul air keeping the rooms where they sleep closely shut up is destruction to them and if the child's breathing be disordered by disease a few hours only of such foul air may endanger its life even where no inconvenience is felt by grown-up persons in the room persons moving in the best society will see after perusing miss nightingale's book that this foul air want of light too much or too little clothing and improper food is not confined to crown street or saint giles's that belgravia and the squares have their own north room where the rays of the sun never reach a wooden bedstead two or three mattresses piled up to above the height of the table a balance attached to the frame nothing but a miracle could ever thoroughly dry or air such a bed and bedding is the ordinary bed of a private house than which nothing can be more unwholesome don't treat your children like sick she sums up don't dose them with tea let them eat meat and drink milk or half a glass of light beer give them fresh light sunny and open rooms cool bedrooms plenty of outdoor exercise facing even the cold and wind and weather insufficiently warm clothes and with sufficient exercise plenty of amusements and play more liberty and less schooling and cramming and training more attention to food and less to physics duties of the sick nurse all women are likely at some period of their lives to be called on to perform the duties of a sick nurse and should prepare themselves as much as possible by observation and reading for the occasion when they may be required to perform the office the main requirements are good temper compassion for suffering simply with sufferers which most women worthy of the name possess neat handedness quiet manners love of order and cleanliness with these qualifications there will be very little to be wished for the desire to relieve suffering will inspire a thousand little attentions and surmount the disgusts which some of the offices attending the sick room are apt to create where serious illness visits a household and protracted nursing is likely to become necessary a professional nurse will probably be engaged who has been trained to its duties but in some families and those not a few let us hope the ladies of the family would oppose such an arrangement as a failure of duty on their part there is besides even when a professional nurse is ultimately called in a period of doubt and hesitation while disease has not yet developed itself when the patient must be attended to and in these cases some of the female servants of the establishment must give their attendance in the sick room there are also slight attacks of cold influenza and accidents in a thousand forms to which all are subject where domestic nursing becomes a necessity where disease though unattended with danger is nevertheless accompanied by the nervous irritation incident to illness and when all the attention of the domestic nurse becomes necessary in the first stage of sickness while doubt and a little perplexity hang over the household as to the nature of the sickness there are some things about which no doubt can exist the patient's room must be kept in a perfectly pure state and arrangements made for proper attendance for the first canon of nursing according to Florence nightingale its apostle is to keep the air the patient breathes as pure as the external air without chilling him this can be done without any preparation which might alarm the patient with proper windows open fireplaces and a supply of fuel the room may be as fresh as it is outside and kept at a temperature suitable for the patient state windows however must be opened from above and not from below and droughts avoided cool air admitted beneath the patient's head chills the lower strata and the floor the careful nurse will keep the door shut when the window is open she will also take care that the patient is not placed between the door and the open window nor between the open fireplace and the window if confined to bed she will see that the bed is placed in a thoroughly ventilated part of the room but out of the current of air which is produced by the momentary opening of doors as well as out of the line of drought between the window and the open chimney and that the temperature of the room is kept about 64 degrees where it is necessary to admit air by the door the window should be closed but there are a few circumstances in which good air can be obtained through the chamber door through it on the contrary the gases generated in the lower parts of the house are likely to be drawn into the invalid chamber these precautions taken and plain nourishing diet such as the patient desires furnished probably little more can be done unless more serious symptoms present themselves in which case medical advice will be sought under no circumstances is ventilation of the sick room so essential as in cases of febrile diseases usually considered infectious such as typhus and puperal fever influenza hooping cough small and chicken pox scarlet fever measles and erosypolis all these are considered communicable through the air but there is little danger of infection being thus communicated providing the room is kept thoroughly ventilated on the contrary if this essential be neglected the power of infection is greatly increased and concentrated in the confined and impure air it settles upon the clothes of the attendants and visitors especially where they are wool and is frequently communicated to other families in this manner under all circumstances therefore the sick room should be kept as fresh and sweet as the open air while the temperature is kept up by artificial heat taking care that the fire burns clear and gives out no smoke into the room that the room is perfectly clean wiped over with a damp cloth every day if boarded and swept after sprinkling with damp tea leaves or other aromatic leaves if carpeted that all utensils are emptied and cleaned as soon as used and not once in four and twenty hours as is sometimes done a slot pale miss nightingale says should never enter a sick room everything should be carried direct to the water closet emptied there and brought up clean in the best hospitals the slot pale is unknown i do not approve says miss nightingale of making housemates of nurses that would be waste of means but i have seen surgical sisters women's whose hands were worth to them two or three guineas a week down on their knees scouring a room or hut because they thought it was not fit for their patients these women had the true nurse spirit bad smells are sometimes met by sprinkling a little liquid chloride of lime on the floor fumigation by burning pastiles is also a common expedient for the purification of the sick room they are useful but only in the sense hinted at by the medical lecturer who commenced his lecture thus fumigations gentlemen are of essential importance they make so abominable a smell that they compel you to open the windows and admit fresh air in this sense they are useful but ineffectual unless the cause be removed and fresh air admitted the sick room should be quiet no talking no gossiping and above all no whispering this is absolute cruelty to the patient he thinks his complaint the subject and strains his ear painfully to catch the sound no rustling of dresses nor creaking shoes either where the carpets are taken up the nurse should wear list shoes or some other noiseless material and her dress should be a soft material that does not rustle miss nightingale denounces crinoline and quotes lord melbourne on the subject of women in the sick room who said i would rather have men about me when ill than women it requires very strong health to put up with women ungrateful man but absolute quiet is necessary in the sick room never let the patient be waked out of his first sleep by noise never roused by anything like a surprise always sit in the apartment so that the patient has you in view and that it is not necessary for him to turn in speaking to you never keep a patient standing never speak to one while moving never lean on the sick bed above all be calm and decisive with the patient and prevent all noises overhead a careful nurse when a patient leaves his bed will open the sheets wide and throw the clothes back so as thoroughly to air the bed she will avoid drying or airing anything damp in the sick room it is another fallacy says florins nightingale to suppose that night air is injurious a great authority told me that in london the air is never so good as after ten o'clock when smoke has diminished but then it must be air from without not within and not air vitiated by gaseous airs a great fallacy prevails also she says in another section about flowers poisoning the air of the sick room no one ever saw them overcrowding the sick room but if they did they actually absorb carbonic acid and give off oxygen cut flowers also decompose water and produce oxygen gas lilies and some other very odorous plants may perhaps give out smells unsuited to a close room while the atmosphere of the sick room should always be fresh and natural patients says miss nightingale are sometimes starved in the midst of plenty from one to attention to the ways which alone make it possible for them to take food a spoonful of beef tea or arrowroot and wine or some other light nourishing diet should be given every hour for the patient's stomach will reject large supplies in very weak patients there is often a nervous difficulty in swallowing which is much increased if food is not ready and presented at the moment when it is wanted the nurse should be able to discriminate and know when this moment is approaching diet suitable for patients will depend in some degrees on their natural likes and dislikes which the nurse will do well to acquaint herself with beef tea is useful and relishing but possesses little nourishment when evaporated it presents a teaspoon full of solid meat to a pint of water eggs are not equivalent to the same weight of meat arrowroot is less nourishing than flour butter is the lightest and most digestible kind of fat cream in some diseases cannot be replaced but to sum up with some of miss nightingale's useful maxims observation is the nurse's best guide and the patient's appetite the rule half a pint of milk is equal to a quarter of a pound of meat beef tea is the least nourishing food administered to the sick and tea and coffee she thinks are both too much excluded from the sick room the monthly nurse the choice of a monthly nurse is of the utmost importance and in the case of a young mother with her first child it would be well for her to seek advice and counsel from her more experienced relatives in this matter in the first place the engaging a monthly nurse in good time is of the utmost importance as if she be competent and clever her services will be sought months beforehand a good nurse having seldom much of her time disengaged there are some qualifications which it is evident the nurse should possess she should be scrupulously clean and tidy in her person honest sober and noiseless in her movements should possess a natural love for children and have a strong nerve in case of emergencies snuff taking and spirit drinking must not be indulged in her habits but these are happily much less frequent than they were in former days receiving as she often will instructions from the doctor she should bear these in mind and carefully carry them out in those instances where she does not feel herself sufficiently informed she should ask advice from the medical man and not take upon herself to administer medicines etc without his knowledge a monthly nurse should be between 30 and 50 years of age sufficiently old to have had a little experience and yet not too old or infirm to be able to perform various duties requiring strength and bodily vigor she should be able to wake the moment she is called at any hour of the night that the mother or child may have their once immediately attended to good temper united to a kind and gentle disposition is indispensable and although the nurse will frequently have much to endure from the whims and caprices of the invalid she should make allowances for these and command her temper at the same time exerting her authority when it is necessary what the nurse has to do in the way of cleaning and dusting her lady's room depends entirely on the establishment that is kept where there are plenty of servants the nurse of course has nothing whatever to do but attend on her patient and ring the bell for anything she may require where the number of domestics is limited she should not mind keeping her room in order that is to say sweeping and dusting it every morning if fires be necessary the housemaid should always clean the grate and do all that is wanted in that way as this being rather dirty work would soil the nurse's dress and unfit her to approach the bed or take the infant without soiling its clothes in small establishments to the nurse should herself fetch things she may require and not ring every time she wants anything and she must of course not leave her invalid unless she sees everything is comfortable and then only for a few minutes when downstairs and in company with the other servants the nurse should not repeat what she may have heard in her lady's room as much mischief may be done by a gossiping nurse as in most houses the monthly nurse is usually sent for a few days before her services may be required she should see that all is in readiness that there be no bustle and hurry at the time the confinement takes place she should keep two pairs of sheets thoroughly aired as well as night dresses flannels etc all the things which will be required to dress the baby the first time should be laid in the basket in readiness in the order in which they are to be put on as well as scissors thread a few pieces of soft linen rag and two or three flannel squares if a burkinette is to be used immediately the nurse should ascertain that the mattresses pillow etc are all well aired and if not already done before she arrives she should assist in covering and trimming it ready for the little occupant a monthly nurse should be handy at her needle as if she is in the house sometime before the baby is born she will require some work of this sort to occupy her time she should also understand the making up of little caps although we can scarcely say this is one of the nurses duties as most children wear no caps except outdoors her powers in this way will not be much taxed a nurse should endeavor to make her room as cheerful as possible and always keep it clean and tidy she should empty the chamber utensils as soon as used and on no account put things under the bed soiled baby's napkins should be rolled up and put into a pan when they should be washed out every morning and hung out to dry they are then in a fit state to send to the laundress and should on no account be left dirty but done every morning in this way the bedroom should be kept rather dark particularly for the first week or ten days of a regular temperature and is free as possible from droughts at the same time well ventilated and free from unpleasant smells the infant during the month must not be exposed to strong light or much air and in carrying it about the passages stairs etc the nurse should always have its head flannel on to protect the eyes and ears from the currents of air for the management of children we must refer our readers to the following chapters and we need only say in conclusion that a good nurse should understand the symptoms of various ills incident to this period as in all cases prevention is better than cure as young mothers with their first baby are very often much troubled at first with their breasts the nurse should understand the art of emptying them by suction or some other contrivance if the breasts are kept well drawn there will be but little danger of inflammation and as the infinite first cannot take all that is necessary something must be done to keep the inflammation down this is one of the greatest difficulties a nurse has to contend with and we can only advise her to be very persevering to rub the breasts well and to let the infant suck as soon and as often as possible until they get in proper order the wet nurse we are aware that according to the opinion of some ladies there is no domestic theme during a certain period of their married lives more fraught with vexation and disquietude than that ever fruitful source of annoyance the nurse but as we believe there are thousands of excellent wives and mothers who pass through life without even a temporary embryo in the kitchen or suffering a state of moral hectic the whole time of a nurse's empire in the nursery or bedroom our own experience goes to prove that although many unqualified persons palm themselves off on ladies as fully competent for the duties they so rashly and dishonestly undertake to perform and thus expose themselves to ill will and merited censure there are still very many fully equal to the legitimate exercise of what they undertake and if they do not in every case give entire satisfaction some of the fault and sometimes a great deal of it may be honestly placed to the account of the ladies themselves who in many instances are so impressed with the propriety of their own method of performing everything as to insist upon the adoption of their system in preference to that of the nurse whose plan is probably based on a comprehensive forethought and rendered perfect in all its details by an ample experience in all our remarks on this subject we should remember with gentleness the order of society from which our nurses are drawn and that those who make their duty a study and are termed professional nurses have much to endure from the caprice and egotism of their employers while others are driven to the occupation from the laudable motive of feeding their own children and who in fulfilling that object are too often both selfish and sensual performing without further interest than is consistent with their own advantage the routine of customary duties properly speaking there are two nurses the nurse for the mother and the nurse for the child or the monthly and the wet nurse of the former we have already spoken and will now proceed to describe the duties of the latter and add some suggestions as to her age physical health and moral conduct subjects of the utmost importance as far as the charge entrusted to her is concerned and therefore demanding some special remarks when from illness suppression of the milk accident or some natural process the mother is deprived of the pleasure of rearing her infant it becomes necessary at once to look around for a fitting substitute so that the child may not suffer by any needless delay a physical loss by the deprivation of its natural food the first consideration should be as regards age state of health and temper the age of possible should not be less than twenty nor exceed thirty years with the health sound in every respect and the body free from all eruptive disease or local blemish the best evidence of a sound state of health will be found in the woman's clear open countenance the ruddy tone of the skin the full round and elastic state of the breasts and especially in the erectile firm condition of the nipple which in all unhealthy states of the body is pendulous flabby and relaxed in which case the milk is sure to be imperfect in its organization and consequently deficient in its nutrient qualities appetite is another indication of health in the suckling nurse or mother for it is impossible a woman can feed her child without having a corresponding appetite and though inordinate craving for food is neither desirable nor necessary a natural vigor should be experienced at mealtimes and the food taken should be anticipated and enjoyed besides her health the moral state of the nurse is to be taken into account or that mental discipline or principle of conduct which would deter the nurse from at any time gratifying her own pleasures and appetites at the cost or suffering of her infant charge the conscientiousness and good faith that would prevent a nurse so acting are unfortunately very rare and many nurses rather than forego the enjoyment of a favorite dish though morally certain of the effect it will have on the child will on the first opportunity feed with avidity on fried meats cabbage cucumbers pickles or other crude and injurious elements in defiance of all orders given or confidence reposed in their word good sense and humanity and when the infant is afterwards racked with pain and a night of disquiet alarms the mother the doctor is sent for and the nurse covering her dereliction by a falsehood the consequence of her gluttony is treated as a disease and the poor infant is dosed for some days with medicines that can do it but little if any good and in all probability materially retard its physical development the selfish nurse in her ignorance believes too that as long as she experiences no admonitory symptoms herself the child cannot suffer and satisfied that whatever is the cause of its screams and plunges neither she nor what she had eaten had anything to do with it with this flattering assurance at her heart she watches her opportunity and has another luxurious feast off the proscribed dainties till the increasing disturbance in the child's health or treachery from the kitchen opens the eyes of mother and doctor to the nurses and principled conduct in all such cases the infant should be spared the inflection of medicine and as a wholesome corrective to herself and relief to her charge a good sound dose administered to the nurse respecting the diet of the wet nurse the first point of importance is to fix early and definite hours for every meal and the mother should see that no cause is ever allowed to interfere with their punctuality the food itself should be light easy of digestion and simple boiled or roast meat with bread and potatoes with occasionally a piece of sego rice or tapioca pudding should constitute the dinner the only meal that requires special comment broths green vegetables and all acid or salt foods must be avoided fresh fish once or twice a week may be taken but it is hardly sufficiently nutritious to be often used as a meal if the dinner is taken early at one o'clock there will be no occasion for luncheon which too often to the injury of the child is made the cover for a first dinner half a pint of stout with a reading biscuit at eleven o'clock will be abundantly sufficient between breakfast at eight and a good dinner with a pint of porter at one o'clock about eight o'clock in the evening half a pint of stout with another biscuit may be taken and for supper at ten or half past a pint of porter with a slice of toast or a small amount of bread and cheese may conclude the feeding for the day animal food once in twenty four hours is quite sufficient all spirits and less in extreme cases should be avoided and wine is still more seldom needed with a due quantity of plain digestible food and the proportion of stout and porter ordered with early hours and regularity the nurse will not only be strong and healthy herself but fully capable of rearing a child in health and strength there are two points all mothers who are obliged to employ wet nurses should remember and be on their guard against the first is never to allow a nurse to give medicine to the infant on her own authority many have such an infatuated idea of the healing excellence of castor oil that they would administer a dose of this disgusting grease twice a week and think they had done a meritorious service to the child the next point is to watch carefully lest to ensure a night's sleep for herself she does not dose the infants with godfrey's cordial syrup of poppies or some narcotic potion to ensure tranquility to the one and give the opportunity of sleep to the other the fact that scores of nurses keep secret bottles of these deadly syrups for the purpose of stilling their charges is notorious and that many use them to a fearful extent is sufficiently patent to all it therefore behooves the mother while obliged to trust to a nurse to use her best discretion to guard her child from the unprincipled treatment of the person she must to a certain extent depend upon and trust and to remember in all cases rather than resort to castor oil or sedatives to consult a medical man for her infant in preference to following the counsel of her nurse end of section 98 section 99 of the book of household management this is a libervox recording all libervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libervox.org recording by sarah jennings the book of household management by isabella beaten the rearing management and diseases of infancy and childhood chapter 42 part 1 physiology of life as illustrated by respiration circulation and digestion the infantine management of children like the mother's love for her offspring seems to be born with the child and to be a direct intelligence of nature it may thus at first sight appear as inconsistent and presumptuous to tell a woman how to rear her infant as to instruct her in the manner of loving it yet though nature is unquestionably the best nurse art makes so admirable a foster mother that no sensible woman in the novitiative parent would refuse the admonitions of art or the teachings of experience to consummate her duties of nurse it is true that in a civilized state of society few young wives reach the epic that makes them mothers without some insight traditional or practical into the management of infants consequently the cases wherein a woman is left to her own unaided intelligence or what in such a case may be called instinct and obliged to trust to the promptings of nature alone for the well-being of her child are very rare indeed again every woman is not gifted with the same physical ability for the harassing duties of a mother and though nature as a general rule has endowed all female creation with the attributes necessary to that most beautiful and at the same time holiest function the healthy rearing of their offspring the cases are sufficiently numerous to establish the exception where the mother is either physically or socially incapacitated from undertaking these most pleasing duties herself and where consequently she is compelled to trust to the adventitious aid of those natural benefits which are at once the mother's pride and delight to render to her child in these cases when obliged to call in the services of hired assistants she must trust the dearest obligation of her life to one who from her social sphere has probably notions of rearing children diametrically opposed to the preconceived ideas of the mother and at enmity with all her sentiments of right and prejudices of position it has justly been said we think by hood that the children of the poor are not brought up but dragged up however facetious this remark may seem there is much truth in it and that children reared in the reeking dens of squalor and poverty live at all is an apparent anomaly in the course of things that at first sight would seem to set the laws of sanitary provision at defiance and make it appear a perfect waste of time to insist on pure air and exercise as indispensable necessaries of life and especially so as regards infantine existence we see elaborate care bestowed on a family of children everything studied that contend to their personal comfort pure air pure water regular ablution a dietary prescribed by art and every precaution adopted that medical judgment and maternal love can dictate for the well-being of the parents hope and find in spite of all this care and vigilance disease and death invading the guarded treasure we turn to the fetter of darkness that in some obscure court attend the robust brood who coated in dirt and with mud and refuse for play things live and thrive and grow into manhood and in contrast to the pale face and flabby flesh of the aristocratic child exhibit strength vigor and well-developed frames and our belief in the potency of the life-giving elements of air light and cleanliness receives a shock that at first sight would appear fatal to the implied benefits of these in reality all sufficient attributes of health and life but as we must enter more largely on this subject hereafter we shall leave its consideration for the present and return to what we were about to say respecting trusting to others aid in the rearing of children here it is that the young and probably inexperienced mother may find our remarks not only an assistance but a comfort to her in as far as knowing the simplest and best system to adopt she may be able to instruct another and see that her directions are fully carried out the human body materially considered is a beautiful piece of mechanism consisting of many parts each one being the center of a system and performing its own vital function irrespectively of the whole it is in fact to a certain extent like a watch which once wound up and set in motion will continue its function of recording true time only so long as every wheel spring and lever performs its allotted duty and at its allotted time or till the limit that man's ingenuity has placed to its existence as a moving automaton has been reached or in other words till it has run down what the key is to the mechanical watch air is to the physical man once admit air into the mouth and nostrils and the lungs expand the heart beats the blood rushes to the remotest part of the body the mouth secretes saliva to soften and macerate the food the liver forms its bile to separate the nutriment from the digested element the kidneys perform their office the eye elaborates its tears to facilitate motion and impart that glistening to the orb on which depends so much of its beauty and a dewy moisture exudes from the skin protecting the body from the extremes of heat and cold and sharpening the perception of touch and feeling at the same instant and in every part the arteries like innumerable bees are everywhere laying down layers of muscle bones teeth and in fact the coral zoo fight building up a continent of life and matter while the veins equally busy are carrying away the debris and refuse collected from where the zoo fight arteries are building this refuse in its turn being conveyed to the liver there to be converted into bile all these and they are but a few of the vital actions constantly taking place are the instant result of one gasp of life-giving air no subject can be fraught with greater interest than watching the first spark of life as it courses with electric speed through all the gates and alleys of the soft and sensate body of an infant the effect of air on the newborn child is as remarkable in its results as it is wonderful in its consequence but to understand this more intelligibly it must first be remembered that life consists of the performance of three vital functions respiration circulation and digestion the lungs digest the air taking from it its most nutritious element the oxygen to give to the impoverished blood that circulates through them the stomach digests the food and separates the nutriment kyle from the element which it gives to the blood for the development of the frame and the blood which is understood by the term circulation digests in its passage through the lungs the nutriment kyle to give it quantity and quality and the oxygen from the air to give it vitality hence it will be seen that speaking generally the three vital functions resolve themselves into one digestion and that the lungs are the primary and the most important of the vital organs and respiration the first in fact as we all know it is the last indeed of the functions performed by the living body the lungs respiration the first effect of air on the infant is a slight tremor about the lips and angles of the mouth increasing to twitchings and finally to a convulsive contraction of the lips and cheeks the consequences sudden cold to the nerves of the face this spasmodic action produces a gasp causing the air to rush through the mouth and nostrils and enter the windpipe and upper portion of the flat and contracted lungs which like a sponge partly immersed in water immediately expand this is succeeded by a few faint sobs or pants by which larger volumes of air are drawn into the chest till after a few seconds when a greater bulk of the lungs has become inflated the breastbone and ribs rise the chest expands and with a sudden start the infant gives utterance to a succession of loud sharp cries which have the effect of filling every cell of the entire organ with air and life to the anxious mother the first voice of her child is doubtless the sweetest music she has ever heard and the more loudly it peels the greater should be her joy as it is an indication of health and strength and not only shows the perfect expansion of the lungs but that the process of life has set in with vigor having welcomed in its own existence like the morning bird with a shrill note of gladness the infant ceases its cry and after a few short sobs usually subsides into sleep or quietude at the same instant that the air rushes into the lungs the valve or door between the two sides of the heart and through which the blood had previously passed is closed and hermetically sealed and the blood taking a new course bounds into the lungs now expanded with air and which we have likened to a wedded sponge to which they bear not an unapt affinity air being substituted for water it here receives the oxygen from the atmosphere and the kyle or white blood from the digested food and becomes in an instant arterial blood a vital principle from which every solid and fluid of the body is constructed besides the lungs nature has provided another respiratory organ a sort of supplemental lung that as well as being a covering to the body inspires air and expires moisture this is the cuticle skin and so intimate is the connection between the skin and lungs that whatever interest the first is certain to affect the latter hence the difficulty of breathing experienced after skulls or burns on the cuticle the cough that follows the absorption of cold or damp by the skin the oppressed and laborious breathing experienced by children in all eruptive diseases while the rash is coming to the surface and the hot dry skin that always attends congestion of the lungs and fever the great practical advantage derivable from this fact is the knowledge that whatever relieves the one benefits the other hence to the great utility of hot baths and all affections of the lungs or diseases of the skin and the reason why exposure to cold or wet is in nearly all cases followed by tightness of the chest sore throat difficulty of breathing and cough these symptoms are the consequence of a larger quantity of blood than is natural remaining in the lungs and the cough is a mere effort of nature to throw off the obstruction caused by the presence of too much blood in the organ of respiration the hot bath by causing a larger amount of blood to rush suddenly to the skin has the effect of relieving the lungs of their excess of blood and by equalizing the circulation and promoting perspiration from the cuticle affords immediate and direct benefit both to the lungs and the system at large the stomach digestion the organs that either directly or indirectly contribute to the process of digestion are the mouth teeth tongue and gullet the stomach small intestines the pancreas the salivary glands and the liver next to respiration digestion is the chief function in the economy of life as without the nutritious fluid digested from the element there would be nothing to supply the immense and constantly recurring waste of the system caused by the activity with which the arteries at all periods but especially during infancy and youth are building up the frame and developing the body in infancy the period of which our present subject treats the series of parts engaged in the process of digestion may be reduced simply to the stomach and liver or rather its secretion the bile the stomach is a thick muscular bag connected above the gullet and at its lower extremity with the commencement of the small intestines the duty or function of the stomach is to secrete from the arteries spread over its inner surface a sharp acid liquid called the gastric juice this with a dew mixture of saliva softens dissolves and gradually digests the food or contents of the stomach reducing the whole into a soft pulpy mass which then passes into the first part of the small intestine where it comes into contact with the bile from the gallbladder which immediately separates the digested food into two parts one is a white creamy fluid called kyle and the absolute concentration of all nourishment which is taken up by proper vessels and as we have before said carried directly to the heart to be made blood of and vitalized in the lungs and thus provide for the wear and tear of the system it must be here observed that the stomach can only digest solids for fluids being incapable of that process can only be absorbed and without the result of digestion animal at least human life could not exist now as nature has ordained that infantine life shall be supported on liquid element and as without digestion the body would perish some provision was necessary to meet this difficulty and that provision was found in the nature of the liquid itself or in other words the milk the process of making cheese or fresh curds and whey is familiar to most persons but as it is necessary to the elucidation of our subject we will briefly repeat it the internal membrane or the lining coat of a calf stomach having been removed from the organ is hung up like a bladder to dry when required a piece is cut off put in a jug a little warm water poured upon it and after a few hours it is fit for use the liquid so made being called rennet a little of this rennet poured into a basin of warm milk at once coagulates the greater part and separates from it a quantity of thin liquor called way this is precisely the action that takes place in the infant's stomach after every supply from the breast the cause is the same in both cases the acid of the gastric juice in the infant's stomach immediately converting the milk into a soft cheese it is gastric juice adhering to the calf's stomach and drawn out by the water forming rennet that makes the curds in the basin the cheesy substance being a solid at once undergoes the process of digestion and is separated into kyle by the bile and in a few hours finds its way to the infant's heart to become blood and commenced the architecture of its little frame this is the simple process of a baby's digestion milk converted into cheese cheese into kyle kyle into blood and blood into flesh bone and tegument how simple is the cause but how sublime and wonderful are the effects we have described the most important of the three functions that take place in the infant's body respiration and digestion the third namely circulation we hardly think it necessary to enter on not being called for by the requirements of the nurse and mother so we shall omit its notice and proceed from theoretical to more practical considerations children of weekly constitutions are just as likely to be born of robust parents and those who earn their bread by toil as the offspring of luxury and affluence and indeed it is against the ordinary providence of nature to suppose the children of the hardworking and necessitous to be hardier and more vigorous than those of parents blessed with ease and competence all children come into the world in the same imploring helplessness with the same general organization and wants and demanding either from the newly awakened mother's love or from the memory of a motherly feeling in the nurse or the common appeals of humanity and those who undertake the earliest duties of an infant the same assistance and protection and the same fostering care end of section 99