Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 149, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 June 1916 — New Absorbent in Surgery. [ARTICLE]

New Absorbent in Surgery.

One medical outcome of the war is the discovery that sphagnum moss and fine sawdust are excellent substitutes for absorbent cotton as dressings for wounds. The moss is the long-fibered kind commonly found In swampy places In this country that (florists and nurserymen use for protecting the roots of plants during shipment. It takes up moisture better than absorbent cotton and does not grow sodden so quickly. Of course both the moss and the sawdust are sterilized before they are used for dressings.—Youth’s Companion.