25. Making Beds.—Close or press bedsteads are ill adapted for young persons or invalids; when their use is unavoidable, the bed-clothes should be displaced every morning, and left for a short time before they are shut up.
The windows of bed-rooms should be kept open for some hours every day, to carry off the effluvia from the bed-clothes; the bed should also be shaken up, and the clothes spread about, in which state the longer they remain, the better.
The bed being made, the clothes should not be tucked in at the sides or foot, as that prevents any further purification taking place, by the cool air passing through them.
A warming-pan should be chosen without holes in the lid. About a yard of moderately-sized iron chain, made red hot and put into the pan, is a simple and excellent substitute for coals.
26. To Detect Dampness in Beds.—Let the bed be well warmed, and immediately after the warming-pan is taken out, introduce between the sheets, in an inverted position, a clean glass goblet: after it has remained in that situation a few minutes, examine it; if found dry and not tarnished with steam, the bed is perfectly safe; and vice versa. In the latter case, it will be best to sleep between the blankets.
27. Beech-tree Leaves.—The leaves of the beech-tree, collected at autumn, in dry weather, form an admirable article for filling beds for the poor. The smell is grateful and wholesome; they do not harbor vermin, are very elastic, and may be replenished annually without cost.
28. Useful Hints relative to Bed-clothes, Mattresses, Cushions, &c.—The purity of feathers and wool employed for mattresses and cushions ought to be considered as a first object of salubrity. Animal emanations may, under many circumstances, be prejudicial to the health; but the danger is still greater, when the wool is impregnated with sweat of persons who have experienced putrid and contagious diseases. Bed-clothes, and the wool of mattresses, therefore, cannot be too often beat, carded, cleaned, and washed. This is a caution which cannot be too often recommended.