The surgeon should make a practice of employing a definite number of instruments and dabs for all occasions, as it will save him much anxiety in counting them at the end of the operation. During the operation the instruments and silks are immersed straight from the sterilizer in warm sterilized water. =Suture and ligature material.= The most useful material at present employed in pelvic surgery is silk. This material has a wide range of usefulness, as it is employed to secure pedicles, for the ligature of blood-vessels, and for sutures; it can be obtained of any thickness, and is easily sterilized by boiling without impairing its strength. In abdominal surgery there are four useful sizes, No. 1, 2, 4, and 6, of the plaited variety of silk. The thread is wound on a glass spool and boiled for one hour immediately before use. If any silk is left over from the operation it may be reboiled once or twice without impairing its strength. (The fate of silk ligatures is discussed on p. 117.) Many surgeons employ catgut and hold it in high esteem. I regard it as an unsatisfactory and dangerous material; moreover it cannot be boiled, which is the simplest and safest method of making ligatures sterile. =Dabs.= Nothing is so convenient for removing blood from a wound as sponges; their absorbent property and softness are excellent, but they are difficult to sterilize; therefore they are highly dangerous, and on this account should be banished from surgery. An excellent substitute is absorbent cotton-wool enclosed in gauze (Gamgee tissue). This material can be cut to any size or folded into any shape, and is easily sterilized by heat, or by boiling, without damage to its absorbent properties. For a cœliotomy six dabs are prepared of various sizes, according to the nature of the case. These are boiled for one hour and then immersed in sterilized warm water and washed from time to time in the course of the operation. I always employ six dabs, then there is no difficulty at the end of the operation concerning their number. The dabs at the completion of the operation are destroyed. Many serious consequences have arisen from dabs and instruments accidentally left in the peritoneal cavity after pelvic operations. This subject is considered on p. 105. The operator should remember that his responsibility in this matter is determined by a decision in a Court of Law. The employment of dry gauze dabs in abdominal operations is objectionable because it is harsh and irritating to the peritoneum and leads to the formation of adhesions. =Gloves.= Increasing experience proves that gloves are most valuable in securing freedom from sepsis. It is a very important matter that the surgeon, the assistant, and the nurses who help at the operation should wear rubber gloves boiled immediately before the operation for ten minutes.