—91— 



In collecting and cleaning the moss the Germans do not seem to have used 

 the same care that we did. There is little doubt, as we found out later, that 

 we were too particular in the process of cleaning. Both the Germans and British 

 put less time on its preparation than we did. It is not necessary to remove 

 absolutely everything from the moss as we tried to do. Such soft pliable materials 

 as small pieces of leaves of trees or grass are not detrimental to the absorbing 

 power of the moss unless the quantity is enough to separate the particles of moss 

 so that they are not in contact. Anything harsh, however, like twigs or pine 

 needles that are apt to penetrate the dressings and irritate the wound are decidedly 

 objectionable. 



After the moss was cleaned, that is, freed from all the woody material, the 

 Germans recommended that it be washed at wells or streams. The moss was 

 then dried in the sun, at stoves, or in a kiln. With our moss we did not feel that 

 washing was necessary or even desirable as it required additional trouble in drying. 



It is interesting in looking over the work done with sphagnum by the Germans, 

 British and Americans to see how closely they have followed each other. It is 

 natural to expect that the methods of the Americans and British might be similar 

 because besides being allies, the methods of the one were known to the other. 

 In fact, practically all the information we had concerning sphagnum used as a 

 surgical dressing was obtained from the British. The Germans, however, were 

 practically isolated with little or no communication with us, and yet they have 

 followed along almost the identical lines of the British and Americans, with, of 

 course, slight modifications which will be noted as we come to them. 



After a general survey of the work done with sphagnum, one might divide 

 the dressings or pads into two broad groups; those made of the loose moss and 

 those made of compressed moss, the so-called sphagnum compresses. There are 

 several modifications within each of these groups, both as to size and method of 

 making the dressing, especially with those made of loose moss. The size of the 

 pads was determined in general by the need, but the width of the muslin for the 

 encasements was taken into account in order that there would be no waste. 



Dressings Made of Loose Sphagnum Moss 



The commonest dressing seems to have been made of loose moss much like 

 the ones described as the British type of pad.^ After all the foreign material was 

 removed from the moss it was dried and an appropriate amount put into muslin 

 sacks which were then sewed up. These were made of various sizes according to 

 the specific need. The very large ones were quilted or knotted at definite and 

 suitable intervals in order to keep the moss from shifting. It will be remembered 

 that this was the type of pad that was first made at the University of Washington 

 when the faculty and their wives were making dressings for the French relief, 

 but was replaced by the second type when they began work under the direction 



2 J. W. Hotson. Sphagnum as a surgical dressing. Published by the Northwestern Division of 

 the American Red Cross. A copy of this article may be had by writing to the author, University of 

 Washington, Seattle. Wash. 



