236 Pub. Pubet Sound Biol. Sta. Vol. 2, No, 47 



actual use. With this device a bolt of gauze containing 100 yards (91.4 m.) 

 can easily be spread and cut in half an hour by two people. 



(c) General directions for making sphagnum dressings 



In making a sphagnum dressing a piece of zorbik or Scot tissue of 

 appropriate size is placed on the table and on it a wooden frame corre- 

 sponding to the particular size to be made. The frame used for the 8x12 

 inch (20.2x30.5 cm.) pad is 6I4 x IOI4 x I/2 inches (15.9x26x2.3 

 cm.); that for the 12x24 inch (30.5x61 cm.) pad is lOl^ x 22 x % 

 inches (26 x 55.9 x 1,9 cm.), and the one for the 14x20 inch (35.6x50.8 

 cm.) pad is 12 x 18 x % inches (30,5 x 45,7 x 1,9 cm.). Some prefer using 

 a piece of pink cardboard the same size as the inner measurements of the 

 frame, placing it under the gauze to indicate the limits of the moss, but 

 the frame is generally found more satisfactory. It is immaterial which 

 device is used so long as the results are obtained. The frame is filled 

 evenly with moss but not packed. Over this a thin layer of cotton is 

 placed and the frame removed. The margins of the zorbik are then 

 folded over the cotton and sphagnum. It is usually convenient to use 

 spring clothes-pins to hold the ends in place, although this is not abso- 

 lutely necessary. In order to keep the outside covering free from par- 

 ticles of moss it is best to remove this incomplete pad to another table 

 where there is no moss. Here it may be finished by the same worker or 

 by another, A piece of gauze of appropriate size is spread out on the 

 table and the incomplete pad on the center of it, with the non-absorbent 

 cotton up, A thicker layer of cotton is then put over the pad, extending 

 about %-inch (1,3 cm,) beyond the edges. The gauze is folded over the 

 pad so that the long fold is on the back, that is, on the side next the 

 non-absorbent cotton. The open ends are folded in "muff-wise," first 

 folding the under side up over the zorbik envelope, then folding the upper 

 side to correspond and adjusting the"muff-end" carefully. The pad is 

 patted lightly to make sure the sphagnum is evenly distributed through- 

 out, and then passed through a clothes-wringer (plate 44). The object 

 of putting the pad through the wringer is partly to reduce its thickness, 

 thus saving shipping space ; and partly to press the moss into the thin 

 layer of cotton and zorbik thus preventing it from shifting when han- 

 dled. This is extremely important specially in large pads. The zorbik 

 which envelops the sphagnum and the thin layer of cotton keeps the moss 

 from sifting out, the thicker layer of non-absorbent cotton on the back 

 prevents the discharge from soaking through the bandages, and the gauze 

 on the outside holds everything in place, exposing a soft absorbent sur- 

 face to the wound. A photograph showing the steps in making a standard 

 sphagnum pad 8x12 inches (20.3 x 30.5 cm.) is shown in plate 47, 



