412 
OAKUM  AS  A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  LINT,  ETC. 
like  a  syphon,  and  discharging  the  contents  of  the  abscess  by  ca- 
pillary attraction. 
It  is  necessary  to  place  under  the  wound  a  piece  of  india-rub- 
ber cloth,  or  oiled  muslin,  for  the  sake  of  cleanliness  ;  and  in 
case  of  much  inflammation,  by  simply  wetting  the  oakum  in  cold 
water,  and  wrapping  the  oiled  muslin  around  the  limb,  or 
wounded  part,  so  as  to  exclude  the  air,  you  have  at  once  the  neat- 
est and  most  comfortable  poultice  that  can  be  applied  to  it.  In 
gun-shot  wounds,  which  go  through  and  through  a  limb,  particu- 
larly if  made  with  the  «  Minnie  ball,"  the  whirl  or  screw  of  the 
ball  entangles  in  its  thread  the  muscular  fibres  and  cellular 
tissue,  and  separates  them  from  their  attachments  for  along  dis- 
tance from  the  real  track  of  the  ball  itself. 
As  the  muscle  and  tegumentary  tissues  are  more  freely  sup- 
plied with  blood-vessels  than  the  fat  and  cellular  tissue,  the  con- 
sequence is  that  they  begin  to  granulate  much  more  readily  than 
those  other  tissues,  and  will  thus  often  close  up  the  wound,  and 
prevent  the  free  escape  of  pus,  before  those  parts  have  perfectly 
healed,  and  thus  lead  to  the  formation  of  extensive  secondary 
abscesses.  I,  therefore,  in  all  cases  where  no  blood-vessels  pre- 
vent it,  pass  an  eyed  probe  through  the  wound  and  draw  through 
it  a  few  fibres  of  the  oakum  or  tarred  rope,  which  keeps  it  per- 
fectly free,  and  the  tar  is  a  very  excellent  antiseptic,  and  re- 
moves all  unpleasant  odor. 
A  few  fresh  fibres  are  twisted  on  the  end  of  the  seton  at  every 
dressing  and  drawn  into  the  wound,  and  the  soiled  piece  cut  off 
and  removed  with  the  dressings. 
Another  great  advantage  which  the  oakum  possesses  over  lint, 
which  in  these  times  of  heavy  taxation  is  not  to  be  overlooked,  is 
its  cheapness.  Lint  at  the  present  time  costs  from  $1.25  to 
$1.35  per  pound,  whereas  the  finest  picked  oakum  can  be  ob- 
tained at  the  "  Empire  Oakum  Works,"  No.  149  West  39th 
street,  for  ten  cents  per  pound.  And.  if  it  were  universally 
adopted  in  the  army  it  would  save  many  thousands  of  dollars 
to  the  Government,  and  I  confidently  believe  the  life  of  many 
a  soldier.  And  no  surgeon  who  has  once  used  it  will  ever  re- 
sort to  lint  again — particularly  if  the  lint  is  made  of  cotton. — 
American  Medical  Times,  August  9th,  1862. 
