til his hands have been again sterilized. It is important that the
hands of the surgeon, his assistants, and nurses should not touch any
part of his own body, nor of the patient's body, except at the
sterilized seat of operation, because infection may be carried to the
wound. Rubbing the head or beard or wiping the nose requires immediate
disinfection of the hands to be practiced.

The trailing ends of ligatures and sutures should never be allowed to
touch the surgeon's clothing or to drag upon the operating table,
because such contact may occasionally, though not always, pick up
bacteria which may cause suppuration in the wound.

Instruments which fall upon the floor should not be again used until
thoroughly disinfected.

The clothing of the patient, in the vicinity of the part to be
operated upon, and the blanket and sheets used there to keep him warm,
should be covered with dry sublimate towels. All dressings should be
kept safe from infection by being stored in glass jars, or wrapped in
dry sublimate towels.

* * * * *

INFLUENCE OF REPOSE ON THE RETINA.

Some interesting researches have lately been published in an Italian
journal concerning the influence of repose on the sensitiveness of the
retina (a nervous network of the eye) to light and color. The
researches in question--those of Bassevi--appear to corroborate
investigations which were made some years ago by other observers. In
the course of the investigations the subject experimented upon was
made to remain in a dark room for a period varying in extent from
fifteen to twenty minutes. The room was darkened, it is noted, by
means of heavy curtains, through which the light could not penetrate.
After the eyes of the subject had thus been rested in the darkness, it
was noted that the sensitiveness of his sight had been increased
threefold. The mere sense of light itself had increased eighteen
times. It was further noted that the sensitiveness to light rays,
after the eye had been rested, was developed in a special order; the
first color which was recognized being red, then followed yellow,
while green and blue respectively succeeded. If color fatigue was
produced in the eye by a glass of any special hue, it was found that
the color in question came last in the series in point of recognition.
The first of these experiments, regarded from a practical point of
view, would appear to consist in an appreciation of the revivi