the court may hold that no nuisance is created within the meaning of this Act, and dismiss the complaint, if it is satisfied that such fireplace or furnace is constructed in such a manner as to consume as far as practicable, having regard to the nature of the manufacture or trade, all smoke arising therefrom, and that such fireplace or furnace has been carefully attended to by the person having the charge thereof. (P. H., s. 91.)
The Act also defines and specifies:—1. The duty and powers of a local authority to inspect a district with the view to an abatement of any nuisance. 2. The process of information to be pursued in representing a nuisance to any local authority. 3. Procedure on failing to comply with notice. 4. The power of the court to make an order dealing with such nuisance. 5. The penalty for neglecting to obey such order. 6. The power of complaint by private individuals. 7. The power of the police to proceed in certain cases. 8. The cost and expense of executing the provisions relating to nuisances. 9. The power of sale of manure, &c. 10. The supervision of nuisances caused by drains, privies &c. 11. The proceedings to be taken in certain cases against nuisances in ships, &c.
NUR′SING. Milk is the natural food of the mammalia during the earlier period of their existence. It contains all that is necessary for the nourishment of their bodies, and on it they thrive and grow. Its secretion only actively commences at the time when it is required for the sustenance of the offspring, and it either materially lessens in quantity, or wholly disappears, as soon as the necessity of its existence has passed away, and the little being who depended on it has acquired sufficient age and strength to exist on cruder aliment. The nursing mother, when in a state of perfect health, and properly supplied with a sufficiency, without excess, of nutritious food, elaborates this secretion in the fittest condition to ensure the health and vigour of her offspring. Her bosom is the fountain whence flows the beauty and stamina of the future adult, and whilst giving strength and life to another, she increases and prolongs her own.
The milk of woman varies with the food, health, age, &c., of the nurse. That produced from a mixed animal and vegetable diet, neither acesces nor coagulates spontaneously, like cows’ milk; and when gently evaporated in an open vessel, “the last drop continues thin, sweet, and bland.” Acids and rennet, however, coagulate it readily, and so does the gastric juice of the infant, as shown by the condition in which it is often ejected by the latter. The milk of a woman who lives wholly on vegetable food acesces and coagulates with equal readiness and in a precisely similar manner to cows’ milk. The quality of the milk also varies with the progress of the digestion. Within the first hour or two after a meal it
is thin and serous, and then gradually improves in richness and flavour, until at about the fourth or fifth hour it possesses these qualities in the highest degree. This, then, is the period at which the infant should be applied to the breast, which, according to the present habits of society, would be during the hour immediately preceding each meal, except the breakfast. After about the fifth or sixth hour the milk gradually loses its peculiar colour and odour, until towards the tenth or twelfth hour after eating food it becomes yellowish, bitter, and often nauseous; and in this condition is frequently refused by the infant. This points out the impropriety of a nurse fasting longer than 4 to 5 hours, except during the night, when the period may be extended to 7 or 8 hours, but never longer. The time after accouchement is another matter that influences the character of human milk in respect of its wholesomeness for the infant. The milk secreted soon after delivery is very thin and serous, but in the course of a few days it becomes thicker, richer, and more nutritious; and a gradual change in the same direction proceeds during the usual period of suckling. When the mother suckles her own infant, or the “age of the milk,” as the nurses say, corresponds to that of the child, all goes on well; but when the former much exceeds the latter, the reverse is the case. Thus, it is found that an infant is incapable of completely digesting the milk of a nurse whose own child is much older than itself; and that an infant of a few weeks old will often starve on the milk intended by nature for one several times its age. It is, therefore, necessary, in selecting a wet-nurse, to be certain that her condition, in this respect, closely corresponds to that of the mother of the infant, or that it does not differ, on this point, more than 3 or 4 weeks. In respect of the use of high-flavoured or improper food and beverages, medicine, &c., it appears that all these substances immediately affect the milk, and impart to it more or less of their peculiar flavour and properties; and, except with remedies administered under medical advice, in nearly all cases prove injurious to the infant. The diet of a nurse should be nutritious and succulent, and its healthy digestion should be promoted by exercise and pure air. Strong liquors, more especially spirits, act like slow poisons on the infant, and their habitual use by a nurse should, therefore, be considered as a positive disqualification for the duties of her office. The care of the mother or wet-nurse should be particularly directed to the maintenance of her own health and equanimity, by which both the health and good temper of the infant will be, as far as possible, ensured. A grieving, irritable, or angry mother forces her bad qualities on her offspring, in the shape of fits, convulsions, or hopeless marasmus. See Infancy, Milk, Infants, Food for,
&c.
NUT′MEG. Syn. Myristicæ nucleus, Nucista, Nux moschata, N. myristica, N. aromatica, Myristica (B. P., Ph. L.), L. “The shelled seed of Myristica officinalis (Linn.; M. moschata—Thunberg),or nutmeg-tree.” It is chiefly used as a spice and condiment, but it is also esteemed as an aromatic in flatulency and diarrhœa.—Dose. Half a teaspoonful, or more, grated. The distilled and expressed oils (OLEUM MYRISTICÆ) are also officinal.
Of the different varieties of nutmegs met with in commerce, those known as Penang are the most valuable. Next to these rank the Dutch or Batavian kind, and after these the Singapore nutmegs. In the Dutch or Batavian variety the exterior is composed of a number of white furrows, with brown projections, which aspect is caused by their having been dusted over with lime previous to their exportation. Besides the above, there is also a very inferior description, known as the long or wild nutmeg, which are met with either in the shell, out of the shell, or in the shell with the mace attached.
Nutmegs are subject to the ravages of a worm which would seem to devour or destroy their aromatic principle, since when attacked by this parasite they lose both their odour and taste.
In 100 parts sound nutmegs contain—