The best time to perform forcible dilatation is about one week after a menstrual period. The woman should be etherized and placed in the dorso-sacral position. The vagina should be sterilized. All aseptic precautions which one would follow in any gynecological operation should be observed here. There is always danger of producing septic inflammation of the endometrium. The cervix should be exposed through the Sims speculum, and the anterior lip should be seized with the double tenaculum. Downward traction on the cervix straightens the cervical canal and renders easier the introduction of the dilator. The smaller dilator should first be introduced. No force should be used in passing it through the cervical canal. If an obstruction which cannot be gently overcome is met, the dilator should be introduced as far as the obstruction and the blades should then be separated. Slight dilatation of this kind below the angle of flexion will usually enable the operator to pass the instrument through the cervical canal at a subsequent attempt. After the smaller instrument has been introduced to the full extent the blades should be gradually separated, for a half inch or more, until the canal becomes large and straight enough to admit the large instrument. It should always be remembered that no force should be used in the introduction of either instrument. After introduction the blades of the large dilator should be slowly separated. On the handles of the Goodell instrument is a graduated scale showing the extent of the dilatation. In no case should the dilatation be carried beyond one and a half inches. In women in whom the cervix and uterus are small an inch of dilatation is sufficient. The maximum dilatation should be reached slowly and gradually. Laceration of the cervix or of the margin of the external os should be avoided. Sometimes ten or fifteen minutes are required before full dilatation is attained. When this point is reached the handles should be held in place by the screw, and the instrument should be kept in the uterus for ten or fifteen minutes longer. The longer the dilatation, the more permanent will be the result.