TRUSS. 



ilraw-colour, in felf or plain-coloured flowers. The farina, 

 mealy, or dully property fhould alfo be fine ; as, if coarfe, 

 it will be unpleifant to the eye, or in appearance. The 

 eye of the flower fhould appear entire, though not feparate 

 from the dific or rim ; that is, it fhould be blended with or 

 fhaded into it in fuch a manner, as not to ocCafion any in- 

 diilinftnefs between the edges of the one and the other : as, 

 in flowers where thefe two properties of the eye are imper- 

 fcft, the lively contrail or difference between the rim and 

 the eye, which otherwife reciprocally difplay and Ihew each 

 other off to the befl and moft advantage, is, in a great 

 meafure, loil and deitroyed. The face of the whole pip, 

 rim, and eye, fhould likewife be fo opened as to lie per- 

 feftly or very nearly flat ; as when it either inclines inward, 

 ^\•hich is termed cupping, or throws itfelf backwards, as in 

 particular flowers, fuch as the martagan lily, the true form 

 as well as colours are in fome degree obfcured by being 

 covered and put out of fight. See Tube and Thrum. 



The length of the pedicles which fupport the pips or 

 bloffoms in the trufs, fliould be proportioned to the number 

 and fize of the pips which they fuflain ; as, if they be very 

 long, and the pips fmall, there will be unfightly vacancies 

 in the trufs ; or if they be fhort, and the bloffoms many 

 and large, they will be too much crowded together, fo that 

 neither the colours can be fully viewed, nor the other pro- 

 perties of the pips be difplayed. The pedicles fhould alfo 

 be fufficiently elaflic, firm, and flrong, in order that they 

 may not droop by the weight of the pips or bloffoms, and 

 fall loofe and in a difarranged manner, but fuflain the trufs 

 firmly and clofely, without either vacancy or crowding. 

 They fhould, too, be nearly all of the fame length, fo that 

 the pips may ftand together at the fame height, and form a 

 regular umbel, or rather corymb, which is the formal per- 

 feftion of the trufs. The pips fhould alfo be nearly of the 

 fame fize and colour, fo as not to be readily diftinguifhed 

 from each other ; as otherwife the unity and harmony of 

 the trufs will be deftroyed, and though ever fo plentifully 

 formed, would appear as if taken from different forts of 

 thefe flowers. A plant of thefe kinds fhould blow freely, 

 and expand all its pips or bloffoms at the fame time ; as, by 

 this means, the colours in them all will appear equally frefh 

 and lively ; whereas in thofe which do not blow fome of the 

 pips until others have paffed their prime, the whole appear- 

 ance of the trufs falls much fhort of that beauty whicli 

 would otherwife be confpicuous. 



The flem or flalk which fupports the trufs, and which is 

 moflly termed the main flalk, fhould be elaflic, ftraight, 

 and fufficiently flrong for bearing it without drooping. It 

 is alfo an excellency in it to be ereft and lofty, as thereby 

 the trufs, and of courfe the whole flower, will make a more 

 llately, commanding, and handfome appearance. 



Such plants of thefe kinds as have thefe properties or 

 qualities can hardly fail to pleafe the curious florifl: ; yet as, 

 on the one hand, fome plants may be fomewhat deficient in 

 feveral particulars of lefs confideration, and flill be juftly 

 deemed fine and valuable flowers ; fo, on the other hand, it 

 •v*ill be an additional excellence, in fuch as have all thefe 

 properties, that they naturally ftand long in bloom, and 

 wear their colours without alteration or fading in any way. 

 The trufs or bunch is probably fo named by florifts, in 

 confequence of its having naturally fomething of that ap- 

 pearance about it. 



Truss, in the language of Surgery, is a particular fort of 

 bandage, or apparatus, employed in cafes of ruptures, (fee 

 Hernia,) for the purpofe of keeping up the reduced parts, 

 and hindering a frefh protrufion. It muil of courfe be 



adapted to the fituation aad nature of tie rupture. As a 

 trufs is of all the inventions of furgery one of the mod im- 

 portant, and highly efibntial to the health of a large portion 

 of the human race, the moft advantageous modes of con- 

 ftruftmg and applying it are objefts which it is as much the 

 duty of the furgeon to know fomething about, as about any 

 other means of curing or leffening the danger of fo ferious 

 and common a difeafe as a rupture. 



A trufs which fulfils its intention properly, (hould 

 comprefs the neck of the hernial fac, and the ring or ex- 

 ternal opening of the hernia, in fuch a manner, that a pro- 

 trufion of any of the contents of the abdomen will be pre- 

 vented with complete fecurity. Hence, it is the indifpen- 

 fable quality of a good trufs, firft, to make effeaual and 

 equal preffure on the parts indicated, without caufing pain 

 or inconvenience to the patient ; fecondly, not eafily to flip 

 out of its right fituation, in the varying motions and pofi- 

 tions of the body. 



The different kinds of herniary bandages may be re- 

 duced to the two claffes of elaftic and inclaftic. The 

 latter are compofed of leather, fuftian, dimity, or fimilar 

 materials. Thefe cannot be at all depended on, and fhould, 

 therefore, be entirely banilhed from furgery. Since (as 

 Mr. Lawrence has remarked) the fize of the abdomen 

 varies according to the different ftates of the vifcera, and to 

 the motions of its parietes in refpiration, a non-elaftic 

 bandage muft vary conftantly in its degree of tightnefs, and 

 keep up either too great or too little preffure. The omen- 

 tum, or inteiline, eafily flips out when the opening is not 

 exadlly clofed, and the patient wlio wears fuch a bandage, 

 muft be in a ftate of conftant infecurity. Thofe who lead 

 an aftive life, or are obliged to ufe laborious exertions, will 

 be more particularly expofed to rifl<. If the patient, after 

 experiencing thefe defefts, endeavours to remedy them by 

 drawing the bandage tighter, he may confine the vifcera, 

 but he produces other inconveniencies. The incrcafed pref- 

 fure injures the fpermatic chord, and may affeft the tefticle : 

 the integuments become red, painful, and excoriated ; and 

 the bandage muft be entirely laid afide, until the parts liave 

 recovered. Richter has often feen painful tumefaftion of 

 the tefticle, iiydiocele, and even cirfocele, produced from 

 this caufe, and entirely diffipated by the employment of a 

 proper trufs. Traite des Hernies, p. 24. 



He alfo faw tlie pad of a non-claftic bandage excite, in the 

 region of the abdominal ring, a confiderable inflammation, 

 which terminated after a few days in fuppuration. The 

 hernia never appeared again after the cure of the abfccfs. 

 The inflammation had extended to the neck of the fac, and 

 obliterated that part. Lawrence on Ruptures, edit. iii. 

 p. 69, 70. 



Every trufs confifts of a pad, for compreffmg the ring or 

 aperture through which the hernia protrudes, and of another 

 piece, which furrounds the abdomen. To thefe are fome- 

 times added a thigJi-ftrap, which palfes under the perineam, 

 and a fcapulary, which is applied over the fhoulder. The 

 ufe of the two latter appendages is to keep the pad from 

 flipping up or down, .in inconvenience which it is difficult 

 to prevent in certain cafes, unlefs a fcapulary or thigh-ftr.ap 

 be worn. In the inelaftic truffes, the piece which extends 

 round the body, is a fimple girt or band ; but in every 

 elaftic trufs, this part is conftrufted with a fpring, which is 

 the moft important thing of the whole inftrumcnt. 



Elaftic truffes, when they arc well made, and fit properly, 



are to be preferred to the inelaftic, in regard to fecurity. 



They yield to the varying motions of the body ; arc Icfs 



liable to flip off the part upon which tliey are intended to 



Y y 2 pre's; 



