along  this  line  has  for  an  ally  one  of  the  most  potent  influ-
ences in  Nature  in  the  growth  of  the  body.  The  popular
reliance  on  this  force,  expressed  in  the  common  question,
"Will  the  child  not  outgrow  the  ailment?"  whatever  it
may  be,  is  not  always  misplaced.  Happy  the  physician
who,  imparting  his  confidence  to  the  patient's  friends  and
relying  on  the  exact  science  of  the  physicist,  sees  grace
and  power  growing  out  of  deformity  and  helplessness.
A  good  general  rule  in  the  treatment  of  deformity  in  a
growing  child  is  to  keep  the  part  as  near  as  possible  in
the  desired  shape  as  much  of  the  time,  day  and  night,  as
is  practicable,  so  that  the  increment  shall  be  on  the  right
side  of  the  dividing  line  between  the  normal  and  abnor-
mal. The  familiar  proverb  says:  "As  the  twig  is  bent
the  tree  's  inclined."  In  the  troubles  following  infantile
paralysis  the  principle  should  be  extended.  We  should
not  only  persist  in  keeping  the  part  as  near  the  normal
shape  as  we  can,  but  we  should  also  give  as  wide  play  as
the  crippled  condition  of  the  limb  will  allow  to  the  func-
tions of  motion  and  weight-bearing.  From  the  very
earliest  attempt  to  walk  or  to  make  use  of  the  muscles
and  joints  which  are  imperilled  by  the  cord  lesion,  extra-
neous assistance  should  be  afforded.  It  should  not  be
said,  offhand,  that  the  child  is  too  young.  The  first  and
repeated  question  should  be:  Is  the  child  not  yet  old
enough,  or  is  he  not  already  giving  sufficient  evidence  of
a  desire  to  make  use  of  the  questionable  muscles  and
joints  to  make  assistance  desirable  or  necessary?

When  efficient  treatment  is  begun  it  is  easily  continued.
