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the light brown layers of semi-decayed moss which lie above the peat proper 

 retain great absorptive powers also. It is probable, however, that it was from 

 the partly decayed material that the temporary dressing just mentioned was 

 taken. 



Sphagnum palustre 



e, epidermis; g, green cells containing chlorophyll; h, hoop-like bands, pores or openings 

 into the reservoir cells; r, reservoir cell; /, thick-walled cells that constitute the wiry center ot the 

 stem. 



Fig. s. Surface view of a portion of a leaf, x 300. 



Fig. 6. Part of a cross-section of a leaf . x 275. 



Fig. 7. Part of a cross-section ot a stem, x 300. 



Fig. 8. Reservoir cells from epidermis of a branch, x 225. 



(From drawings made by Miss Agnes Carlson). 



Thus, before the World War began, the value of sphagnum for surgical 

 dressings was known to the majority of surgeons in Germany, although it was 

 not used to any great extent until the war broke out. These facts were also 

 knowrt in a general way by the British and French surgeons, as well as to a few 

 American surgeons. 



This was practically the sphagnum situation at the outbreak of the war in 



