everything about the patient scrupulously clean. But competent nurses
who charge less than the customary fee will be hard to find. The
recommendations which these women receive are apt to be even more
misleading than in the case of trained nurses, because more is
expected of the latter. My experience has taught me that patients
form particularly unreliable opinions of practical nurses, and I have
frequently witnessed incompetence in such women which was overlooked
by the patient.

A low-priced nurse is seldom a cheap one, as her shortcomings may be
reflected in the health of the mother or the infant long after she
has left the case. Especially when the baby is the first, the mother
will depend upon the nurse for instruction which should be both sound
and thorough. The principles taught her will be put into practice and
utilized for many months, playing a vital part in the training of the
infant. It becomes essential, therefore, to secure a nurse who will
give the baby a good start, and instruct the mother along right
lines. Perhaps this is less needful if the mother has learned her
lesson from previous experiences. But even then a good nurse relieves
her of responsibility and materially assists her to a quick and
lasting convalescence. In the end the most proficient nurses are the
least expensive.

THE PRELIMINARY VISITS OF THE NURSE.--Many of the precautions which
safeguard a confinement should be considered by the patient and the
nurse together. The character and quantity of the supplies, the
choice of a room for delivery and subsequent convalescence, the
proper clothing for the infant--all these are problems which may be
solved most satisfactorily in the light of the nurse's experience and
the resources at hand. Two visits are usually sufficient to arrange