improper or impure, the blood is impure likewise; and, moreover, when
we know that every part of the body is built up by the blood, we
cannot be considered to be too particular in making our selection of
food. Besides if indigestible or improper food be taken into the
stomach, the blood will not only be made impure, but the stomach and
the bowels will be disordered. Do not let me be misunderstood: I am no
advocate for a child having the same food one day as another--
certainly not. Let there be variety, but let it be _wholesome_
variety. Variety in a child's (not in infant's) food is necessary. If
he were fed, day after day, on mutton, his stomach would, at length be
brought into that state, that in time it would not properly digest any
other meat, and a miserable existence would be the result.

154. _What ought a child to drink with his dinner_?

Toast and water, or, if he prefer it, plain spring water. Let him
have as much as he likes. If you give him water to drink, there is no
fear of his taking too much; Nature will tell him when he has had
enough. Be careful of the quality of the water, and the source from
which you procure it. If the water be _hard_--provided it be free from
organic matter--so much the better. [Footnote: See the _third_ edition
of _Counsel to a Mother_, under the head of "Hard or soft water as a
beverage!"] Spring water from a moderately deep well is the best. If
it come from a land spring, it is apt, indeed, is almost sure to be
contaminated by drains, &c.; which is a frequent cause of fevers, of
diphtheria, of Asiatic cholera, and of other blood poisons.

Guard against the drinking water being contaminated with lead; never,
therefore, allow the water to be collected in leaden cisterns, as it
sometimes is if the water be obtained from Water-works companies. Lead