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What we want now, then, is information. Do not attempt to collect mate- 
rial in bulk at this time, but do collect good, generous samples of representative 
material and submit them to us for examination. We want accurate and reli- 
able information regarding the location, size, and accessibility to roads of every 
bog that dbntains surgical moss, and regarding the quality, purity, and amount 
of the material present. 
Notes on Surgical Sphagnum 
How to recognize sphagnum moss — -Sphagnum is one of the largest of the 
mosses. Like all mosses, a sphagnum plant consists of stem, leaves, and “roots.” 
Its distinguishing characters are as follows: (i) Color — pale green when wet, 
nearly white when dry; or commonly some shade of red, pink, yellow or brown; 
never a true leaf-green. (2) Plant consists of a main stem which bears many 
branches. Branches are short and grow scattered along the stem, standing 
out from it at right angles. Toward the tip of the stem they are clustered, 
forming a compact rosette. (3) Leaves are very small, almost scale-like, and 
more or less spoon-shaped. 
Where the sphagnum grows — Sphagnum may grow in any swamp, but the 
best quality grows in bogs. A bog is a peculiar type of swamp, which often 
develops in wet, undrained depressions or around the edges of ponds. Its sur- 
face is commonly quaking. Its vegetation differs from that of ordinary swamps 
in the abundance of cranberries and other “heaths,” and usually of pitcher 
plants and black spruce, and in the luxuriant development of the sphagnum 
mosses. 
How to distinguish surgical from non-surgical sphagnum — Only a few of 
the forty kinds of sphagnum found in this country are of surgical value. Exam- 
ine the sphagnums in almost any bog and you will find two quite distinct classes. 
Class I : Plants comparatively robust, with stout branches and large leaves. 
Class II: Plants comparatively delicate, with more slender branches and smaller 
leaves. Only the sphagnums of Class I are of surgical value. There are four 
important species in this class: Sphagnum papillosum , S. palustre, S. magellani- 
cum , and S. imbricatum. These are of value in the order named. They can 
be distinguished from one another roughly by color. 5 . papillosum , by far 
the best one, may be green, but ordinarily it is brownish — from yellow-brown 
to dark brown. It is never pink or purple. S. palustre is usually a pale green- 
ish-white. S. magella?iicum may be green, but commonly it is pink to purple- 
red. S. imbricatum is usually green. Note: the sphagnums of Class II ex- 
hibit similar variation in color, so that color alone cannot be relied on. 
When growing under certain conditions, any of the four sphagnums named 
may be too stiff-stemmed, too sparsely branched, or too thinly leaved to be of 
surgical value. The three species last named are ordinarily useless on this 
account. But growing under other conditions any of the four may be soft- 
stemmed, closely branched (“bushy”), and densely leaved. Material like this 
is best for surgical work-, and it is largely because it commonly has this habit 
