“Infants born with a cleft palate cannot suck from an ordinary bottle, as the deficiency in the hard palate prevents the necessary vacuum being formed in the mouth. Such children are, therefore, usually brought up with a spoon, and often waste and die through insufficient nourishment. An ingenious contrivance first suggested by Mr Oakley Coles will, however, entirely remove the difficulty, and enable them to suck with as much ease as if they suffered from no such congenital difficulty. The plan is a very simple one, and consists in attaching to the nipple of any ordinary feeding-bottle a flap of sheet elastic, cut to fit the roof of the mouth. This flap must be of the shape and about the size of the bowl of a teaspoon, and is to be sewn to the upper part of the stalk of the teat, where this projects from the shield. In the mouth of the child the flap forms an artificial palate, which if the sheet elastic chosen be sufficiently stout, offers firm resistance to the tongue pressing against in sucking, and prevents fluid from passing into the nose in the act of swallowing.
“The closest attention must be paid to the cleaning of feeding-bottles. Each time after being used the whole apparatus should be well washed out with water containing a little soda in solution.
“The inside of the cap must be carefully cleaned, and the brush should be carried several times through the whole length of the tubing. Afterwards the bottle and tubes should be laid in cold water until again wanted. An objection to the common brush usually supplied with each feeder is, that after a few days’ use the softened bristles are apt to get detached and be caught in the joints of the tubing, whence they may afterwards be washed by the stream of fluid and be swallowed by the child. Accordingly, a new cleaner has been manufactured by Messrs Maw and Sons, in which bristles are entirely dispensed with. They are replaced by a thin strip of caoutchouc, which is wound round in a spiral form, at the end of the ordinary wire handle. This instrument answers all the purposes of a brush, without the disadvantages alluded to, and is besides far more durable.
“Excellent feeding-bottles are now made by many different manufacturers, and are sold at prices which place them within the reach of the poorest. These cannot all be mentioned, but some of the bottles more commonly met with, may be shortly referred to. The six-penny feeder made by Messrs Maw, Son, and Thompson, can be recommended for its simplicity of construction, and at the same time for its perfect efficiency. In this instrument there is no cap, instead the mouth of the bottle is closed by a cork, which is perforated for the passage of the flexible tube. In all other respects the construction of this apparatus is the same as in the more expensive instruments. The ‘Alexandra’ feeding-bottle, price half-a-crown, by the same makers, is an admirable bottle. The cap screws on to the neck, and is furnished with a small hole for the admission of air. A ‘stop’ in the lower part of the flexible tube prevents the glass pipe being drawn into the cap, and the instrument is supplied with all the latest improvements. The bottles made by Messrs Maw are all furnished with the new patent cleaner just described. The improved feeding-bottle made by Messrs Lynch and Son, at one shilling and eighteen pence, has been before referred to. The material used for the cap is boxwood. It is a capital bottle, and will give the fullest satisfaction to the purchaser. Mr Lang’s ‘Alma Mater’ feeding-bottle can also be recommended. In this instrument the cap is made of earthenware and is lined with cork. A good bottle is made by Mr Elam, of Oxford Street, price two shillings; the cap is formed of britannia metal, and screws on to the neck. A cheaper bottle, but one which for elegance of design and accuracy of detail cannot be surpassed, is Mr Mather’s ‘Princess’ feeding-bottle. A tin cup screws on the neck, and is pierced by a small hole for the admission of air. The opening is fitted with a ‘cone valve’ of simple and ingenious construction, which allows air to enter freely when suction is applied to the tube, but closes firmly against any escape through the air-hole of the fluid contents of the bottle. The bottle itself has a double curve towards the neck to provide against too sudden bending of the flexible tube against the tap. This is apt to happen when the curve is single, if the bottle lie with the convexity downwards, and partial obstruction of the tube may be the result. The ‘Princess’ feeding-bottle is sold in the shops for eighteen pence.
“All bottles bear their name in raised letters upon the glass, but a report which has obtained currency that these letters are hollow in the interior, and difficult to cleanse is without any foundation in fact. Any one may test this for himself by placing a finger within the bottle underneath the letters, when the internal surface will be found perfectly plain and uniform. In all cases where cork enters into the construction of a feeding-bottle, especial care should be taken in cleansing the apparatus, and the cork should be well soaked in soda and water in order that any sour milk it may contain may be neutralised at once.”
FEET (The). To preserve the feet in a proper condition, they should be frequently soaked, and well washed in warm or tepid
water. The nails of the toes should be pared, to prevent their becoming inconveniently long, and from growing into the flesh, soaked, and well washed in warm or tepid water. Many persons suffer severely from TENDER FEET. This generally arises from the use of thin cotton or silk stockings, and boots or shoes that are either too tight or stiff, or not sufficiently porous to permit of the escape of the perspiration. Waterproof boots and shoes which are also air-tight (as those of gutta percha and India rubber), are common causes of tender feet, and even of headaches, dyspepsia, and apoplexy. The best treatment of tender feet is the immediate adoption of worsted stockings or socks, and light, easy shoes of buckskin, goatskin, or some other equally soft kind of leather. It is highly necessary for the preservation of health to preserve the feet DRY; persons who are, therefore, exposed to the wet, or who are frequently passengers through the public streets in bad weather, should regard sound and good boots and shoes as of the first importance. In fact, in a hygienic point of view, a wet back should be less shunned than wet feet. Many persons frequently experience EXTREME COLDNESS and NUMBNESS OF THE FEET. The best and most natural remedy for this is active exercise or friction, the former being always adopted when possible. In such cases the use of warm woollen stockings is absolutely necessary, and the debilitated and aged may advantageously keep them on throughout the night, or at all events until the feet acquire a comfortable degree of warmth. The DISAGREEABLE ODOUR which is evolved by the feet of some individuals in hot weather may be removed by the observance of extreme cleanliness, and by occasionally soaking the feet in warm water, to which a small quantity of chloride of lime or sal ammoniac has been added. A good deodoriser for unpleasant smelling feet is said to be the following, invented by M Paulcke:—A mixture of equal parts of salicylic acid, soap, talc, and starch, to be applied in the form of powder.
Distortion of the feet is not uncommon in childhood, being sometimes congenital, but as frequently the result of weakness or bad nursing. “A child with its feet turned inwards is called VARUS; when they are turned outwards it is styled VALGUS. The proper use of bandages, early applied, will generally correct these deformities; but if they be neglected in infancy they become incurable.” (‘Med. Lex.’) Clubfoot, of which there are several varieties, may also be frequently relieved by a simple surgical operation. See Boots and Shoes, Distortions.
FELT′ING. This is a process by which various species of fur, hair, and wool, are blended into a compact texture, in many respects resembling cloth. It depends on the peculiar anatomical construction of these substances, enabling them to interlace and intertwine with each other, by which they become permanently matted together. Felt was formerly chiefly employed for hats. It is now commonly used for mill-bands, filters, &c.; and when varnished or japanned, or saturated with asphalte or bitumen, is a durable substitute for japanned leather, and for roofing.
FENNEL. Syn. Fœniculum (Ph. L.), L. The fruit (seed) of Fœniculum dulce, or sweet fennel; the oil distilled from the fruit (OIL OF FENNEL; OLEUM FŒNICULI, L.) as well as a distilled water (FENNEL WATER; AQUA FŒNICULI, L.), are officinal in the Pharmacopœias. They are stimulant and carminative; but are now seldom employed.