produce such irritation as to cause a return of inflammatory action, their use must be discontinued till such action has been subdued by the usual means. If the thickening of the external parts has occurred to such an extent as to cause immobility of the joint, or if partial anchylosis has ensued, the limb may be brought to the most convenient position, the knee nearly, but not quite, straight, the elbow half bent, and so on, by the cautious use of a jointed splint, fitted with an extending screw. The practitioner is not to be deterred from having recourse to the above practice, even when matter has collected and burst externally, for sometimes under its employment the cavities of abscesses contract rapidly. After the swelling and other symptoms of disease have subsided, the joint is to be slightly moved, but with great care; and, by a gradual increase of the movement, the natural motion of the part may be ultimately restored. The great object in treating chronic affections of joints must be to give them support, and prevent motion as much as possible. This is effected pretty well in the articulations, removed from the trunk, by the process above described, modified according to circumstances. The filth and smell arising from the plasters often becomes annoying, and, above all, the eruptions and excoriations produced by them prove so troublesome that the application requires to be discontinued. The principal and most essential indication, that of securing repose to the affected parts, is fully as well obtained by the application of well-adjusted splints. These may be formed of lint soaked in a mucilage of gum acacia, as described in the _Practical Surgery_, p. 150, or coarse linen may be smeared over thickly with a coating of mucilage mixed with common whiting, and another layer of linen spread over that. This is laid out smooth and allowed to dry; portions of this sheet are cut to the form of the affected joint, and, after being moistened, are applied and retained by a roller. A firm case is thus formed, which may be afterwards lined with lint or cotton wadding, and so reapplied. The most suitable splints of all are made of leather, prepared without oil, softened in warm water, and put on as above described. They are, when they have become dry, pared and well fitted, then lined with wash-leather, and padded as may be required. The employment of these splints gives great relief in cases where further excited action has been lighted up in the joint in consequence of the surface of the articulating cartilage having become ulcerated from its free or attached surfaces, or in consequence of matter finding its way into the synovial cavity from the cancelli in the head of the bone. In cases, also, where the painful sensations have existed from the first, and even before any great alteration in the external form of the joint has taken place, indicating primary ulceration of cartilage, this practice affords immediate relief.