ble desire to regulate their neighbors
in every possible way--should not long ago have placed the ban on
fireworks of all kinds.

_Treatment of Wounds._--The treatment of wounds necessarily depends to a
considerable extent on their character and general severity: there are
certain practices, however, that apply in all cases, and should,
therefore, be resorted to wherever injuries of this kind occur. Where the
wound is superficial the bleeding is as a rule trifling in character,
and very quickly stops of its own accord. In other cases, particularly
where deep, larger blood-vessels may be severed, and if they be of any
considerable size, the hemorrhage will not cease until the subject
becomes exceedingly weak, and in some instances the bleeding will go on
until death results. Where bleeding is profuse, it may generally be
assumed that one of the larger vessels has been cut, and under such
circumstances it should be compressed until skilled assistance arrives.
There is a popular but very erroneous impression that arteries can only
be stopped by tying; as a matter of fact any one possesses sufficient
strength in the fingers to pinch them enough to stop the hemorrhage. If
possible, the operator should get his finger down into the wound, after
which he can quickly discover the exact point where pressure stops the
bleeding. One who is unaccustomed to surgical practices would, of course,
hesitate at doing this, but it cannot be too strongly urged that a
procedure of this character produces little or no pain after the finger
is first introduced, and that no one should be deterred by foolish
squeamishness from immediately doing that which in many instances can
only save the life of the victim.

Where arteries are evidently bleeding--which may be inferred from
the spurting character of the hemorrhage--a tight bandage above the
seat of the wound, if on one of the extremities, will often be
followed by a cessation of the bleeding, and where only small
vessels are cut, a bandage tightly applied over the wound itself
may accomplish a similar result. Under such circumstances the
reader should be warned that it is not safe to leave a limb tightly
bandaged in this way for any considerable length of time, as
complete death of the part below may result. Where then a ligature
is placed above or over a wound, it should be loosened cautiously
every twenty or thirty minutes, and