Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 168, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 July 1919 — SPHAGNUM MOSS HEALS WOUNDS [ARTICLE]

SPHAGNUM MOSS HEALS WOUNDS

American Professor Taught Its Use to Armies Fighting in Europe. ’ ADOPTED BY THE RED CROSS Is Far Superior In Many Ways to Absorbent Cotton as a Dressing— Used for Centuries in Scotland and Ireland. New Haven. —In an interview with George E. Nichols, professor of botany in the Sheffield Scientific school of Yale university, new facts were brought out concerning the use of moss in surgical dressings during the war. Prof. Nichols was botanical adviser for the American died Cross and did more than any other individual io introduce the use of sphagnum moss into the American medical profession 1 for surgical purposes. In Europe this moss has been used for many years in surgery, but nevfer before in this country. In Connecticut atone there are twenty-five different kL?ds of sphagnum and on the North American continent there are at least forty. Of these forty only two or three are actually used. Adopted by Red Cross. DurlUg the. war Dr. Nichols made extensive studies of various regions where sphagnum is found and explained methods of collecting and of making it into dressings, and dfi March, 1918, the American Rep Cross officially adopted this moss. Since that date out- Red -Cross has turned out more than a half million sphagnum dressings for the Italian army and something over 20,000 a month for the American war hospital. In September, 4915, the British-war office formally accepted sphagnum moss dressings and a year later Englund was turning out 150,00 fl a month and before the close of the war altnost, a million. The Canadian Red Cross averaged 300,000 of these dressings per month.

In Scotland and Ireland sphagnum moss has been used for many centuries for the same purposes as today, and it was used by army surgeons in the Napoleonic, the FrancoPrussian and the Russo-Japanese wars. In this country there were several reasons why it did not come into general use, the chief of which was because our army surgeons, accustomed to the use of absorbent cotton and still having plenty of this on hand, hesitated about using a substitute. Sphagnum moss is far superior to cotton in many ways, such as its better quality, cheapness of manufacture and its far superior absorbent qualities. Sphagnum moss is a small low plant, commonly pale green when wet and almost white when dry, although it may be any shade from bright red and pink to russet green and dark brown or almost black. The sphagnum most adaptable for surgical use is called sphagnum papillosum, and its absorbent quality is due to a 'peculiar pore structure in its leaves. In general sphagnum grows in wet places and attains its best development in cool, humid regions, such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Vancouver Island and western Washington, although it is Ipiown to grow as far south as New Jersey. In bogs the sphagnum grows most luxuriantly, especially in the bogs where cranberries may be found. This surgical moss is pulled up bodily, the moisture squeezed out of it and any coarse plants that may be present removed, and then washed. Next the moss is air dried and then separated into two or more grades. In making the surgical dressings of this material first a layer of cheap | non-absorbent cotton the sice of the > dressing is laid down. Over this is spread a layer of sphagnum and over the sphagnum is laid a double layer of very thin gauze paper. The whoh Is then enclosed in a gauze outer wrapping. These dressings are then run through a clothes wringer -to flatten them out After this treatment they are sent to the hospital* where they are sterilized before b> Uur used.