P1RSTBORN 



smothered by covering them with 

 any rug, blanket, cushion, or table- 

 cover which may be at hand. 

 Apparent drowning or asphyxia- 

 tion should be treated by the im- 

 mediate and sustained application 

 of artificial respiration. 



In cases of poisoning a message 

 should be sent immediately to the 

 nearest doctor explaining the 

 nature of the case, and, if possible, 

 giving the name of the suspected 

 poison. The bottle or other vessel 

 containing the suspected poison, 

 together with any vomited ma- 

 terial, should be kept until it has 

 been examined. Treatment should 

 be directed to the elimination of 

 the poison by the administration 

 of an emetic, except in the case of 

 poisoning by a corrosive fluid, such 

 as oil of vitriol, etc., when the lips, 

 etc., will be found to be burned ; 

 towards antagonising the action of 

 the poison by administering the 

 appropriate antidote and by giving 

 the patient demulcent drinks ; and 

 by neutralising the tendency to 

 shock by promoting the warmth 

 of the patient. Emetics readily 

 obtainable are mustard, one table- 

 spoonful in a tumbler of warm 

 water, and salt, one or two table- 

 spoonfuls in a tumbler of warm 

 water. For children a convenient 

 emetic is the wine of ipecacuanha, 

 of which one teaspoonf ul should be 

 given every twenty minutes until 

 vomiting "occurs. Demulcent 

 drinks are milk, milk beaten up 

 with eggs, cream, and any vegetable 

 or animal oil. 



Loss of Consciousness 



When loss of consciousness 

 occurs, all tight clothing should be 

 loosened, and the patient put 

 where he can obtain an ample 

 supply of fresh air. If the face is 

 pale, the head should be placed on 

 the ground, and the lower limbs 

 elevated. If the face is flushed, the 

 body should be laid flat on the 

 ground with the head slightly 

 raised. In all cases the face 

 should be inclined to one side 

 lest vomiting occurs, and the 

 vomited matter be sucked into the 

 air-passages. No alcohol, or in- 

 deed any other liquid, should be 

 given to an unconscious patient. 

 The patient should be kept warm. 



Foreign bodies in the eye may 

 readily be removed, if on the under 

 surface of an eyelid, by a camel's 

 hair brush, or the moistened corner 

 of a handkerchief. If the foreign 

 body, however, is on the ball of 

 the eye, and not easily removed 

 by gentle brushing, a drop of 

 almond or castor oil should be 

 dropped into the eye, and a pad 

 of cotton wool bandaged over the 

 eyelid in such a manner that the 

 light pressure of the cotton wool 



31 66 



prevents undue movements of the 

 eyeball, until medical advice can 

 be obtained. 



Foreign bodies in the nose or 

 ear should not be interfered with 

 by the unskilled. They will do 

 no harm during the time necessary 

 to secure medical advice. No at- 

 tempt should be made to remove 

 a needle unless a part of it is pro- 

 jecting. The limb should be kept 

 at rest, and medical advice sought. 

 Stretchers are necessary in cases 

 of serious illness or of accident out 

 of doors, to convey the patient to 

 his home or to a hospital. These 

 may be improvised by removing 

 a door or a field gate from its 

 hinges, or by the use of a ladder. 



Clothing should always be re- 

 moved very carefully from an in- 

 jured limb. In all cases, it should 

 first be removed from the sound 

 limb, and in some instances it is 

 necessary also to cut away the gar- 

 ment on the injured side. If this 

 is necessary, the trousers or coat- 

 sleeve should always be cut up the 

 outer, and not the inner, seam. 

 A boot is best removed by cutting 

 the lace and then the back seam ; 

 the boot will then fall away easily 

 from the foot. 



Bites and Stings 



Bites of animals should be cauter- 

 ised by a liquid caustic, such as 

 pure carbolic acid or caustic 

 potash, but if no such fluid is at 

 hand, a red-hot wire should be 

 used. If there is any suspicion 

 that the animal which has in- 

 flicted the injury is mad, a doctor 

 should be consulted, that treat- 

 ment for rabies may be carried out 

 without loss of time. In stings 

 of plants and animals the sting 

 should be removed, the part 

 bathed with weak ammonia, and 

 then dressed with a paste of bi- 

 carbonate of soda with water or 

 sal volatile. 



Firstborn. Technical term 

 among the Jews. It signifies " that 

 which openeth the womb," and 

 does not necessarily imply the birth 

 of other children. In commemora- 

 tion of the deliverance from Egypt, 

 all firstborn human males were con- 

 secrated to God, but every child 

 that lived more than one month 

 could be redeemed. In lieu of the 

 firstborn the tribe of Levi were 

 chosen for service, thus becoming 

 the priesthood. 



In the case of animals the first- 

 lings, if clean, were offered in sacri- 

 fice ; if unclean, redeemed. For 

 an ass a lamb had to be substituted, 

 otherwise the neck of the ass had 

 to be broken. The Jews, who are 

 referred to as the firstborn among 

 the nations, still solemnise the re- 

 demption of the firstborn on the 



FIRST OFFENDER 



30th day after birth. In the N.T. 

 the term firstborn is used in re- 

 lation to Christ, the dead, and the 

 Church (Ex. 4, 13, 22, 34; Num. 

 3, 8, 18 ; Col. 1 ; Heb. 12 ; Rev. 1). 

 See Birthright ; Passover. 



First Empire. Name given in 

 France to the period between 1804 

 and 1814. In May, 1804, Bona- 

 parte was made emperor, and the 

 first republic came to an end. The 

 empire lasted until Napoleon's ab- 

 dication in April, 1814. See French 

 Revolution ; Napoleon. 



First Footing. New Year's Day 

 folk custom, especially in Scotland 

 and the N. of England. It was re- 

 garded as unlucky for a woman or 

 a fair-haired man to be the first 

 visitor to any house on New 

 Year's Day. As soon as midnight 

 chimed people hurried to give their 

 friends first footing, to offer them 

 good wishes, and to partake of 

 their hospitality. The custom may 

 be traced back to Druid times, 

 when the priests sent their young 

 men from house to house bearing 

 branches of mistletoe. 



First Fruits. Ancient religious 

 practice of offering to God a por- 

 tion of the first fruits of a crop or 

 of the first profits of any commer- 

 cial undertaking. Prescribed by 

 the law of Moses, among the 

 Hebrews it was usually one-sixtieth, 

 but might be as much as one- 

 fortieth. In the early Christian 

 Church the practice was con- 

 tinued, though it was regarded as a 

 work of devotion and not of obli- 

 gation. Later, it was claimed by 

 the clergy as their due, and formed 

 part of their official income. 



The Apostolic Constitutions (q.v. ) 

 direct that the first fruits of cattle 

 and crops should go to the clergy, 

 and that other first fruits should 

 be devoted to the relief of widows 

 and orphans. See Annates ; Tithes. 



First Offender. In England at 

 common law there was always 

 jurisdiction to bind over any 

 offender to be of good behaviour. 

 But since many magistrates seemed 

 to ignore this, the First Offenders 

 Act, 1887, was passed, giving all 

 courts of criminal jurisdiction 

 power to bind over first offenders 

 instead of punishing them. The 

 Probation of Offenders Act, 1907, 

 extends this power to all cases, 

 whether first offences or not ; and 

 gives the court power to order the 

 first offender to be placed under 

 the supervision of some person 

 named (generally the probation 

 officer) for a period. The order may 

 also provide that the offender shall 

 abstain from intoxicating liquor, 

 refrain from associating with 

 thieves, etc., and shall lead an in- 

 dustrious life. See Borstal Sys- 

 tem; Children. 



