PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 179 



manifest in his subsequent work, to compare and weigh all access- 

 ible human knowledge on each branch of his subject before arriving 

 at his own conclusions. 



These characteristics were, if possible, still more fully displayed 

 in the second of the studies referred to : A Report on Excisions oj 

 the Head oj the Femur for Gunshot Injury, published as Circular 

 No. 2, Surgeon General's Office, January 2, 1869 ; a monograph in 

 which the subject was treated in a manner similar to that of Cir- 

 cular No. 7, but with a still greater wealth of literary resources. 

 The appearance of each of these monographs was welcomed with 

 acclamations of praise, in which the authoritative expressions of 

 approval by the recognized masters of European surgery were 

 united with the encomiums of the American military surgeons. 



Great interest in the forthcoming Surgical History of the War 

 was excited by these publications, and very high expectations were 

 formed, which, however, were fully realized by the character of the 

 First Surgical Volume. Tbis volume was issued in 1870. It treated 

 of the special wounds and injuries of the head, face, neck, spine, 

 aud chest, was richly illustrated, and discussed the vast amount of 

 material collected during the civil war, in connection with the sev- 

 eral subjects treated, with characteristic learning and ability. The 

 Second Surgical Volume was issued in 1876. It treated of the 

 wounds and injuries of the abdomen, pelvis, back, and upper 

 extremities. Fully equal in interest and execution to the first vol- 

 ume, it was much more voluminous. The two volumes represent a 

 prodigious amount of patient labor on the part of the editor. The 

 extremely favorable manner in which they were received in surgical 

 circles at home and abroad is well known. 



During the interval between the appearance of these two vol- 

 umes, and subsequently, Otis found time to prepare and publish 

 several valuable reports on subjects connected with military surgery, 

 of which the most important were: A Report of Surgical Cases 

 treated in the Army of the United States from 1865 to 1871, issued as 

 Circular No. 3 from the Surgeon General's Office, August 17, 1871, 

 A Report on a Plan for Transporting Wounded Soldiers by Railway 

 in time of War, Surgeon General's Office, 1875 ; and A Report on 

 the Transport of Sick and Wounded by Pack Animals, issued as Cir- 

 cular No. 9 from the Surgeon General's Office in 1877. A full list 

 of his official and other publications would occupy, too much space 

 to be presented in this place. 



