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"MUSCATOL."

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Open-air life has many benefits it is rich in forces for the maintenance of health and agencies for recovery from disease. In the up-building of delicate and sick children the application of outdoor methods has accomplished much. Among all ranks of society and subjects of every age the benefits of open-air treatment and a hygienically directed out-door life are becoming understood. But it cannot be denied that there are certain drawbacks to a regular conduct of the open-air life, and chief among these are the discomforts and disorders arising from the onslaughts of mosquitoes, midges, gnats, harvesters' and other biting and blood-sucking invaders. Children in sanatoria and open-air schools often suffer much, and many boys and girls when camping out or engaged in outdoor work or games fall victims. some adults the lesions resulting from insect bites are most painful, and sometimes really serious. We have investigated many of the numerous preparations which have been introduced for combating mosquitoes and like invaders, and amongst them all there is one which for convenience and reliability must be given premier place. It is known as MUSCATOL, and is prepared by Mr. Frank A. Rogers, the well-known pharmacist of 327, Oxford Street, London, W.1. This preparation is a colourless liquid with a pleasant scent, free from oil or grease, and as clean as eau de cologne. Muscatol can be sprinkled or sprayed on to exposed parts, but for the protection of young children, it is best applied by means of a small tuft of cotton-wool moistened with the preparation. Muscatol is supplied in small bottles of convenient size and at varying prices. This excellent anti-fly application only needs to be used to be appreciated. The sphere of beneficent influence of this serviceable preparation is

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YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND TO-MORROW.

Under this general heading appear miscellaneous notes and records of current events and other topics relating to child welfare, and to this section it is earnestly hoped readers of this Journal will contribute

"THE CHILD."

THE CHILD with the present issue completes its eighth year. THE CHILD was conceived and born in the long-ago days of peace and seeming prosperity, but more than half its life has been lived in a time of war. THE CHILD OCcupies an unique position among medical and educational journals. It is the organ of no special school or institution. It has no particular axe to grind, and no definite tenets or dogmas to hold and support. Its aim is the furtherance of all scientifically planned and rationally conducted enterprises and efforts striving for human betterment by the establishment and maintenance of principles and practices of child welfare. THE CHILD is essentially a medico-sociological and medicoeducational journal, primarily intended for medical advisers and practical educationists engaged in work for maternity and child welfare. With the coming of war many difficulties have had to be faced. The perplexities and obstacles have steadily increased, but so far they have been successfully overcome. The cost of production has increased enormously, and expenses in connection with all departments have multiplied to such an extent as to threaten the very existence of the journal. In spite of all, however, we have been able to hold on, and with the support and encouragement of our many friends we trust to weather all the storms. We take this opportunity of expressing sincere thanks to all our contributors and subscribers, for it is through their practical sympathy and generous assistance that the journal has been enabled to continue its work, which is now recognized as an enterprise of national importance. The increasing pressure of war conditions has made it necessary to diminish somewhat the size of the journal, and our exchange and free lists have had to be seriously curtailed. Through the generosity of several friends of child welfare work we have been enabled to send regu

larly copies of THE CHILD to a number of superintendents and responsible workers in connection with certain homes and orphanages and other educational enterprises. This form of educational endeavour we are most anxious to extend. We earnestly invite all interested in improving services for child welfare to cooperate in providing for an extension of the plan to distribute free copies of the journal to those who are not in a position to become regular subscribers. We are most anxious that a copy of THE CHILD should be available in every public library in the country. We are desirous also that the Directories published each month in the journal should be extended. It will be of considerable advantage to all if supporters of child welfare work can arrange for those homes, orphanages, schools and other institutions and organizations in which they are interested to have place month by month in the Directories appearing in THE CHILD. Entry is free to subscribers. At a time when increasing attention is being given to schemes for child welfare it is essential that organizers and administrators should be acquainted with experiments and enterprises which are now being carried out in various parts of this country and in America. THE CHILD seeks to keep its readers in touch with all forms of progressive work making for child betterment. A few sets of the eight volumes of THE CHILD are still available and form a veritable encyclopædia of child welfare service. Applications for these should be made at once to the publishers. These volumes might well have a permanent place in all reference libraries in Great Britain and America. THE CHILD looks forward to increasing service in the cause it seeks to serve; and we count on continued sympathy and support from contributors and subscribers, so that in the coming year of the journal's existence we may grow in wisdom and power, and may thus be better fitted to co-operate with the many and various forces now striving for the

establishment of justice, liberty and righteousness on earth, and for the establishment of truth and freedom among the children of men.

THE EDUCATION ACT, 1918.

The greatest reform measure of modern times is now an accomplished fact. The Education Act, 1918, received the Royal Assent on Thursday, August 8. The same day the Board of Education issued an Order fixing the first appointed day under Sub-section (3) of Section 52 of the Act. It now rests with the people of England and Wales to use this instrument for educational progress and human betterment to the full extent of its farreaching powers. In the Times Educational Supplement for August 8, the full text of the Act was reproduced. The National Education Association, Caxton House, Westminster, S. W.1, have issued in convenient pamphlet form an excellent abstract and epitome: "The Education Act, 1918, Summarized and Explained" (price 6d.). Educationists would be well advised to procure these publications and keep them for reference. Every effort must now be made to educate the people for education.

MATERNITY AND CHILD

WELFARE.

A circular on "Maternity and Child Welfare" has recently been issued by the Local Government Board for England and Wales, explaining the widened powers given by the Maternity and Child Welfare Act, 1918, and emphasizing the necessity for efficient and immediate action. With a view to encouraging the provision of further services, which experience has shown would be of value for conserving infant lives and health, Mr. Hayes Fisher has obtained the sanction of the Treasury to a considerable extension of the scope of the Board's grant. The additional services for which the grant is now available, subject to the Board approving the arrangements, relate to hospital treatment for children up to 5 years of age; lying-in homes; home helps the provision of food for expectant

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and nursing mothers and for children under 5 years of age; crèches and day nurseries; convalescent homes; homes for the children of widowed and deserted mothers and for illegitimate children; and experimental work for the health of expectant and nursing mothers, and of infants and children under 5 years of age. It should be noted also that in certain other respects the scope of the grant has been enlarged.

THE PEOPLE OF BRITAIN.

The Cambridge University Press have recently issued a striking History of England in four volumes under the general title of "The Story of the People of Britain." The series seeks to provide manuals for school children which will give a consecutive account of the fortunes, adventures, and progress of the British people from the time of Julius Cæsar up to the present time. The everyday life of men and women in all classes of society and in various parts of the British Isles is most picturesquely and accurately depicted. The doings of monarchs, and the course of battles and the effects of treaties are referred to in the narrative, but mainly only to indicate how the people as a whole are affected either for good or ill. Only short lists of dates are presented, and just sufficient to prevent any chronological confusion arising in the mind of the young scholar. Special praise must be given for the splendid collection of illustrations which illuminate these pages. Many contemporary prints have been reproduced, and photographs of historic relics and portraits appear.

We have nothing but praise for these splendid volumes. Book I deals with the period 55 B.C. to A.D. 1485; Book II, 1485 to 1688; Book III, 1688 to 1815; and Book IV, 1815 to 1914. We hope that on an early date an additional volume may be issued which shall give to our children a reliable and reasonable history of the Great War. It should be added that in the production of the four volumes, Miss Mary Sarson, formerly Exhibitioner of Somerville College, Oxford, is responsible for Books I and II, and Miss Lucy Hanson for Books III and IV. These history handbooks will stir the imagination of Britain's sons and

daughters, and should awaken the true spirit of patriotism which dwells in every child's soul. The history of their country as here so effectively set forth should also go far to quicken in children an intelligent interest and participation in the state of society in which they have their lot, and to determine them in playing an honourable part in faithful service for the Commonwealth.

DRIED MILK.

The long continuance of war conditions and the difficulties in connection with the provision and transit of food have done much to focus attention on the milk problem. The recent issue of the masterly Report of Dr. F. J. H. Coutts has also directed prominent attention to the convenience, economy, hygienic and nutritive advantages of making use of dried milk. In a previous issue of this journal we have directed attention to the more important conclusions presented in the official Report (New Series, No. 116, Food Reports, No. 24). The complete Report may be obtained from His Majesty's Stationery Office. The Local Government Board have very wisely issued, in four-page tract form, a summary of such essentials of Dr. Coutts's report as should be known by every careful housewife. In order to bring this valuable information before the notice of many taking an active part in practical measures for the furtherance of child welfare we venture to reproduce the official résumé. During coming months it seems very probable that in many parts of the country unsurmountable difficulties will be experienced in regard to the supply of an abundance of pure milk for children. It is reassuring to know that dried milk will be available, and that it may be used with confidence, that it will furnish a reliable and nutritious food for infants and young children, and free from any drawbacks provided a reliable brand is used. Dried milk or milk powder is a substance prepared from cows' milk by the abstraction of almost the whole of the water so as to leave practically nothing but the solids of the milk. The product may contain varying amounts of milk fat, according as it is made from full cream milk or from milk partially or completely

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skimmed. Dried milk made from full cream milk contains 26.62 per cent. of fat, 24 46 per cent. of protein, 36'98 per cent. of milk sugar, 612 per cent. of mineral matter, and 4:32 per cent. of water. There are several processes for preparing dried milk, but two methods are most commonly employed: (a) by passing liquid milk over metal cylinders heated internally by steam or hot water; and (b) by spraying milk, after partial condensation, into heated air. The chief object is to obtain milk in a solid condition with as little change as possible in the milk constituents. Dried milk is a light yellowish-white powder which, when carefully prepared from good fresh milk, keeps for several weeks or months if it is kept dry. On mixing with warm water in the proportion of one part by weight of the dry powder to seven parts by weight of water (approximately one large teaspoonful of the dried milk to two tablespoonfuls of water), a liquid is obtained corresponding in composition to ordinary milk, but usually having a slight boiled taste and a tendency for a little solid matter to settle and for fat to rise to the top. Dried milk as put on sale in this country comes usually under one of four classes: (1) full cream; (2) threequarter cream; (3) half cream; and (4) skimmed. Full cream dried milk for baby feeding is sometimes sold merely under this description, but certain firms supply it under special names or brands. It is most important to emphasize that babies should, wherever possible, be fed solely on their mothers' milk. If this is impossible, it is best to feed partly on the breast and partly on the bottle. No other food can really replace breast milk. If, however, an infant must be hand-fed, cows' milk in some form or other is the most satisfactory substitute usually available. Dried Milk for Feeding of Infants. -Experience during the last twelve or fourteen years shows that dried milk is one of the most satisfactory forms of cows' milk for use in the feeding of infants. It has been very largely employed in connection with infant welfare centres in England, particularly in Leicester and in Sheffield, and experience in these towns, and also in many other places, shows that a very large proportion of babies can take dried milk very well, and

that on this food they thrive and develop in a satisfactory manner. It has been found that babies digest dried milk well. Vomiting is less frequent with dried milk than with ordinary cows' milk. Fresh, clean, pure, raw cows' milk is a very good food for a baby when mother's milk is not available, but unfortunately the milk ordinarily sold in towns does not conform to this description, being often far from clean and containing large numbers of germs. Such milk, especially in summer, will not keep a day without becoming sour, and is apt to cause digestive troubles in babies. Dried milk contains far fewer germs than ordinary town milk, and is less likely to contain the germs of infectious diseases. Also germs do not multiply in dried milk; they do in ordinary milk. Dried milk keeps well so long as it is kept dry. Only as much should be made up at a time as is required for one feed, and there need, therefore, be no waste. Pasteurized, sterilized, or boiled cows' milk are useful foods if properly prepared, but they have some disadvantages as compared with dried milk. In particular, they do not keep well, especially in summer. Unsweetened full cream condensed milk is also useful for baby feeding, but when mixed with water in the proportions sometimes recommended it is too weak for the satisfactory nourishment of the baby. Sweetened condensed milk is often used for baby feeding. Dried milk has the advantage, when made up with the proper proportion of water, of containing the essential food elements in a proportion more suitable for the baby than when ful cream sweetened condensed milk is used. The latter, if made up so as to give the right proportion of fat, has a very excessive amount of sugar. This is not good for the baby, who usually becomes fat and flabby and is liable to suffer from diseases, such as rickets, &c. These same risks attach to other infant foods containing excess of sugar. Socalled 'malted' milks have in recent years been recommended for baby feeding. These, like sweetened condensed milks, contain much too low a proportion of fat as compared with the amount of sugar. They differ from sweetened condensed milk in the nature of the sugar. In condensed milk this is mainly cane

sugar, in malted milk it is largely malt sugar derived from the malted cereal used in its preparation. The ordinary patent infants' foods, containing large quantities of practically unaltered starch, are worse than sweetened condensed milk or malted milk. They are not fit for use for a baby under seven months of age. In view of the above considerations it is not surprising that at official infant welfare clinics dried milk is becoming used to an increasing extent as on the whole it is the most convenient and most suitable food when babies cannot get breast milk. In feeding babies on dried milk the full cream variety should alone be used, unless on the advice of a doctor. Commencing with 1 teaspoonful of dried milk in 3 tablespoonfuls of water in the first or second weeks of life, it can be rapidly increased to 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls of dried milk in 4 to 5 tablespoonfuls of water by the end of the second month, and so on to 5 teaspoonfuls of dried milk in 10 tablespoonfuls of water at the age of 5 or 6 months. Fears were at one time expressed that the use of dried milk for babies might result in scurvy or rickets. Prolonged experience at infant welfare centres has indicated no ground for these fears; but as an extra precaution to avoid the possibility of scurvy, and particularly if the use of dried milk is to be continued for a long time, a little fruit juice, such as orange or grape juice, may be given to the baby one or twice a week. Dried milk is also a valuable food for nursing mothers. In a very large number of towns dried milk for baby feeding is supplied from infant welfare centres, at which advice is also given as to the method of preparing and using the food. Where any difficulty is experienced in obtaining supplies of dried milk for infant feeding, information can be obtained by application to the medical officer of health."

COMING EVENTS.

The National Association for the Prevention of Infant Mortality, whose previous fifteen courses of lectures on mothercraft have proved so popular, is now organizing autumn courses, which are to be given in London, Nottingham and Swansea. The London course will be held at 1, Wimpole Street, on Mondays,

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