The _pessary Mensinga_ (price 50 cents) is a simple ring closed by an indiarubber membrane curved like a hemisphere; it is but of little importance whether the convex side be directed upwards or downwards. These instruments are made of different sizes, and are numbered corresponding to their diameters in centimeters. The greatest number that can be introduced without discomfort gives the most security. (We advise engaged women to choose their pessary some weeks before marriage, in order that the discomfort which results for the first moment may have passed away on the marriage day; 6¾ or 7 will generally be suitable; soon after marriage they should choose higher numbers. The external orifice of the genitals may be very narrow, and yet the vagina rather large). It is good to commence by trying No. 7¾. Generally the pessary is moistened with the same liquid which is used as an injection; but on the first occasion, and always when the pessary is introduced with difficulty, the genital parts may be moistened with white soap to render them slippery. When a wife is measured for a pessary she should be at her ease, undressed, without her stays, in the stooping or cowering posture, and thighs apart. She should have been to the watercloset before. To place the pessary, it is pushed vertically into the longitudinal opening of the vulva. The ring may be slightly pressed into a figure of 8, but not forcibly so as to break the spring which is in its walls. The part first introduced ought to be directed backwards; the last inserted part should disappear behind the os pubis which is felt in front. By hooking the finger behind this bone, the pessary may be pushed up as far as it will go. It is necessary to choose the pessary with care. The essential conditions are: (1) that there should be no space between the pessary and the os pubis, nor that any should remain when it is pushed as far as possible backwards. (A very small space may perhaps be left, on condition that the husband take care not to enlarge it during connection.) (2) We should feel the inferior tip of the womb covered by the membrane of the pessary when the finger is introduced as far as possible. As a rule, we should try the largest number that can enter, and then higher numbers, until the pessary is found which satisfies these conditions. If the membrane of the pessary does not cover the mouth of the womb, the pessary must be introduced not in the direction of the abdomen, but backwards towards the anus (bottom); this method of operating may fail if the woman is stooping; it will succeed better if she is lying down.