BABY FARMING, a term meaning generally the taking in of infants to nurse for payment, but usually with an implication of improper treatment. Previous to the year 1871 the abuse of the practice of baby farming in England had grown to an alarm ing extent. The evil was, no doubt, largely connected with the question of illegitimacy, for there was a widespread existence of baby-farms where children were received without question on pay ment of a lump sum. Such children were nearly all illegitimate, and in these cases it was to the pecuniary advantage of the baby f armer to hasten the death of the child. It had become also the practice for factory operatives and mill-hands to place out their children by the day, and since in many cases the children were looked upon as a burden and a drain on their parents' resources, too particular enquiry was not always made as to the mode in which the children were cared for. The form was gone through too of paying a ridiculously insufficient sum for the maintenance of the child.
In 1871 the House of Commons found it necessary to appoint a select committee "to enquire as to the best means of prevent ing the destruction of the lives of infants put out to nurse for hire by their parents." The practical result of this investigation was the Infant Life Protection Act, 1872, which provided for the compulsory registration of all houses in which more than one child under the age of one year was received for a longer period than twenty-four hours. In 1896 a select committee of the House of Lords sat and reported on the working of this act. In conse quence of this report the act of 1872 was repealed and super seded by the Infant Life Protection Act, 1897, which did away with the system of registration and substituted for it one of notice to a supervising authority. By the act all persons retain ing or receiving for hire or reward more than one infant under the age of five, or adopting an infant under two years for a lump sum, paid down, and not exceeding 12o, had to give written notice of the fact to the local authority within 48 hours. The local au thorities, in this case, the boards of guardians, except in London, where the London County Council is the authority, were em powered to appoint inspectors, and required to arrange for the periodical inspection of infants so taken in, while they could also fix the number of infants who might be retained. The act of 1897 was repealed and amended by the Children Act, 1908, which codified the law relating to children, and added many new pro visions. This act is dealt with in the article CHILDREN, LAW