2J2 Fuh. Paget Sound Biol. jSta. Vol. 2, No. 47 



specially in the leaf that sphagnum is so highly desirable for surgical 

 dressings, which in many respects have proved superior to those made of 

 absorbent cotton. 



"According to Professor Porter (1917) sphagnum pads surpass cotton 

 pads in the following important particulars: (1) They absorb liquids much 

 more rapidly, about three times as fast. (2) They take up liquids in much 

 greater amounts ; a cotton pad will absorb only five or six times its weight 

 of water, as compared with sixteen, eighteen, and even as high as twenty- 

 two times for a sphagnum pad. (3) They retain liquids much better, 

 which means, of course, that the dressings need be changed less frequently. 

 (4) They distribute the absorbed liquids more uniformly throughout their 

 mass. (5) They are cooler and less irritating, yet at the same time fully 

 as soft. (6) They can be produced at much less expense." (Nichols 1918a). 

 So acceptable have these dressings proved that they have been used on 

 practically all the allied fronts as well as in most of the base hospitals 

 in Great Britain, France, Italy, Egypt, and to some extent in the United 

 States. 



Of the 40 species of sphagnum found in the United States there are 

 only four that are commonly used for surgical dressings, though other 

 species may be used to a limited extent,. In the light of our present 

 experience, it is probable that species hitherto rejected may be utilized 

 for this purpose. The essential qualities of desirable sphagnum are soft- 

 ness, flexibility, elasticity and absorbency. Other things being equal, any 

 species that will hold at least ten times its dry weight of liquid might well 

 be considered among those suitable for surgical dressings. But as long as 

 plenty of material that has an absorbency of 16 to 20 can be obtained, it 

 is obviously undesirable to use an inferior quality. 



It is estimated that fully 90/^ of the sphagnum in the United States 

 suitable for surgical dressings is located on the Pacific Coast, from Oregon 

 to Alaska. Up to the time the armistice was signed the Northwestern 

 Division was entrusted with practically all allotments for sphagnum 

 dressings asked for by the National Red Cross for overseas. 



During the first two years of the war there was considerable opposi- 

 tion by British surgeons to the use of the sphagnum dressings on the ground 

 that it was an "unnecessary makeshift." The opposition gradually dis- 

 appeared, and in February 1916. they were made "official" dressings by 

 the British War Office. 



When the United States entered the war there was a similar indis- 

 position on the part of American surgeons in France to use these dress- 

 ings, a condition that one would naturally expect, as surgeons as a rule 

 are extremely conservative, especially with the material they use in oper- 

 ations. Later this opposition had apparently disappeared, judging from 



