of the American Red Cross. By far the greatest number of sphagnum dressings 

 made in Great Britain and Germany during the war was of this type. It was 

 this type of dressing to which many American surgeons objected. 



The second type made from loose moss might be designated as the American 

 type, 3 although both the British and Germans made similar ones, but not nearly 

 as elaborate as the ones made by the American Red Cross. Certain modifications 

 of this type of pad are distinctly American. 



Hasenbalg, writing shortly after the war broke out in 1914, describes the 

 German method of making this type of dressing about as follows: Over a flat 

 frame, resembling a photographic developing frame a correspondingly large 

 piece of muslin is placed. The frame is then filled with a mixture of moss and 

 surgical lint. It is pressed together as firmly and equally as possible. The free 

 ends of the muslin are then folded together over the frame and fastened with a 

 few stitches. Wounded soldiers were employed to great advantage in making 

 these pads. 



The American method of making this type of pad is somewhat different from 

 the German, being much more elaborate. In making this dressing a piece of 

 Scottissue (thin wood-pulp paper) of appropriate size is placed on the table and 

 on it a wooden frame corresponding to the particular size of dressing to be made. 

 The frame is filled evenly with moss but not packed. Over this a thin layer of 

 non-absorbent cotton is placed and the frame removed. The margins of 

 the Scottissue are then folded over the cotton and sphagnum. A thicker layer 

 of non-absorbent cotton is put on the back of this incomplete dressing and the 

 whole encased in a piece of gauze of appropriate size, which may or may not be 

 stitched at the back. The pad is then passed through an ordinary clothes- 

 wringer in order to press the sphagnum into the cotton and thus tend to keep the 

 moss from shifting. 



Sometimes, as described by Korach, the moss plants were broken up into 

 a coarse powder. A quantity of this material was filled into small muslin bags 

 of very fine weave so that the fine particles would not escape as dust. These 

 were used as daubers in operations instead of the much dearer muslin ones. It 

 was found, however, that for daubers sphagnum is less suitable than cotton and 

 almost entirely useless for plugs, especially for the ears and nose. It was also 

 found to be of little value as a dressing for the eyes. 



Large, thick pads made of loose moss were used and did excellent service for 

 invalids who were suffering from diarrhoea or involuntary discharge of the urine. 

 When pads of this kind were changed frequently the disagreeable odor of the 

 urine was hardly noticeable. Although, in general, sphagnum dressings were 

 used only once, yet at times they were dried, treated with formaldehyde or other 

 disinfectant and used repeatedly as an absorbent. 



Quite serviceable pillows were also made frcm loose sphagnum. The moss 



^ J. W. Hotson. vSphagnum from bog to bandage, Publications Puget Sound Biological 

 Station, 2: 211-247, No. 47, 1919. 



