CARRIAGES AND GO-CARTS
The first carriage should be roomy and comfortable. The bed should be thirty-three inches long and fourteen inches wide, and should be twenty-eight or thirty inches from the floor. The wheels should be rubber tired. The cover should be a good sized hood containing a dark lining, and provided with a wind shield. This dark lining creates a neutral shade for the eyes and protects them from the glare of the sun and the bright skies.
The bed of the carriage should be soft and warm; and, with the size before mentioned, there is ample room for the "tucking in" with warm blankets, which are first spread out on the bed and then the baby placed into the blanket, after which it is brought up and over him.
The folding go-cart and the small carrying-basket are to be used only in an emergency. They are convenient in traveling or shopping for the mother who has no maid or caretaker with whom to leave the baby; but they are not satisfactory pleasure vehicles, neither should the baby be left to sit fastened in one of these carts for any great length of time.
The mattress of the carriage should be of hair, while needed warmth may be secured by the use of a thick, light-weight woolen blanket, placed under the child and brought up and around him.
A top covering for the carriage must have washing or dry cleaning qualities. A crocheted afghan, a washable embroidered cover, or a firm silk puff, are good covers. The one thing to be remembered is that everything about the carriage soils readily, and if this thought enters into the selection of fabrics, you will not be disappointed when cleaning time comes.
The carriage pillow should be of down, except in the very hot months, when hair is preferable. Simple, easily laundered slips may be made from two men's-size handkerchiefs.