FOUNDLING, a child abandoned by its parents, and found by strangers. Though infanti cide was not punished among the ancient nations, with the exception of Egypt, where the child's corpse was fastened to the guilty parent's neck for three days and nights, yet natural feeling would prompt parents to expose their offspring, and leave their fate to accident rather than kill them. They usually selected places which were much frequented, where there was a greater chance of the child being saved. In Athens and Rome they were exposed in especially appointed places. In the 4th century under the Emperors Valentinian, Valerius and Gratian, the practice was prohibited. The bishop of Treves in the 6th century allowed foundlings to be placed in a marble basin in front of the cathedral, thus entrusting them to the care of the Church. In 787 a foundling hospital was established at Milan and in the same year the Council of Nicna determined that each large city should maintain such an institution. Foundling hos pitals were established at Montpellier in 1070; in Rome, 1212; in Paris, 1362; and in Vienna, 1380. Among the most famous of modern in stitutions is the foundling hospital in Paris formerly established in 1670. With the found ing of. the institution which it superseded Saint Vincent de Paul was closely identified. It re ceives not only foundlings strictly so called, that is, deserted children of unknown parent age, but also deserted children of known parents, and destitute children generally, as well as children pronounced incorrigible by the courts or declared to be so by their parents.
England has no foundling hospital properly so called; all exposed children are brought up at the expense of the parish in which they are found. The Foundling Hospital in London, es tablished by Thomas Coram, a master-mariner, in 1739, was originally a hospital for exposed and deserted children. It for a time fulfilled the purposes intended by its founder, and it was repeatedly assisted by parliamentary grants; but the enormous increase of abandon ments, and the expense which they occasioned, produced such an alteration in public senti ment that the hospital was changed to what it now is, a hospital for poor illegitimate first born children whose mothers are known and of good character before conception. About 500 children are maintained till the age of 15.
Under the old Russian system foundlings were received at the church windows by a staff of women paid by the state; but they are now in the hands of the provincial officers of public charity. In Mexico, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos
Aires there are large foundling hospitals. Sim ilar' institutions are maintained for destitute and abandoned children in China.
In the United States foundlings are usually consigned to the county poor farm, but found ling and maternity hospitals exist in the prin cipal cities. Foundling hospitals are said to diminish not only the exposing of children, but also to render infanticide and intentional abor tion less frequent. The objection that they contribute to the corruption of morals, if they receive children indiscriminately, and that they encourage parents to rid themselves of responsi bility, is the strongest which can be urged against such institutions, and is not easily an swered. In Massachusetts foundling hospitals are legally forbidden. In New York city found lings are sent to Bellevue Hospital — where the finger-print method of identification has re cently been adopted— and formerly were trans ferred to the Infants' Hospital on Randall's Island or in the borough of Brooklyn, to Flat bush. • The rate of mortality among them was alarming; in 1897 all children received at the Randall Island institution died before reaching the age of two years, chiefly owing to the change of food and neglect before and exposure during abandonment. At baby farms, private institutions where babies were boarded for gain, the same conditions also prevailed. The at tempt to remedy these deplorable conditions has in recent years met with great success. Found lings of whose parentage nothing is known are baptized alternately Roman Catholic and Prot estant, the Roman Catholic children being in charge of the Guild of the Infant Saviour, while the committee care for the Protestants. In connection with this admirable work is an agency for providing situations in the country for destitute mothers with infants. The mothering system has been long enforced in the Chicago Foundling Asylum, where the death rate is very low, and is being adopted in sim ilar institutions throughout the States. A strong public sentiment has sprung up in favor of placing all dependent children in family homes as the normal environment in which children may best be reared, and against institutional treatment. Consult Folks, H., 'Care of Neg lected and Dependent Children' (New York 1901) ; Gorst, 'Children of the Nation' (ib. 1907) ; Henderson, 'Dependents, Defectives and Delinquents' (Boston 1901) • Hill, F. D., 'Chil dren of the State' (2d ed., 1889).