“Up to one year ago, at this hospital, it had been customary to destroy all gauze which had been soiled by blood or pus, and I believe that this was the rule at all hospitals, although some had made an attempt to recover the gauze from their clean cases. In October, 1904, with the consent of the visiting staff, a process of washing and sterilizing all gauze was adopted, and its success has exceeded our expectations. “In the first eight months of 1904 we used over one hundred and forty miles of new gauze three feet wide. In the first eight months of 1905, we used fifty-one miles. The new gauze used in the first eight months of 1904 would have stretched from Boston nearly to New Haven, Conn., while in a corresponding period of 1905 it would have reached only five miles beyond Providence, R. I. Money actually expended for gauze during the first eight months of 1900 was: 1900, $3,774.01; 1901, $4,275.91; 1902, $3,872.61; 1903, $4,029.22; 1904, $4,366.52; 1905, $1,253.40. “That shows a saving of about $3,000 in eight months over the cost in 1903 and 1904. “The method employed is as follows: “All gauze and bandages from ward dressings, amphitheater and out-patient department and operating rooms is collected in paper bags and taken to the laundry. It is transferred from these paper bags to open work bags made of cord, these bags being only half filled. The gauze is kept in these bags throughout the rest of the process of washing and the laundry sterilization. “It is put in soak over night in cold water which is changed several times. The following morning it is put in an iron washer capable of resisting steam pressure up to ten pounds. It is then washed in cold water until the water runs perfectly clear. The gauze is then washed with warm water, soap, and sal soda. After this washing it is rinsed in hot water. After the rinsing, enough hot water is turned into the washer to cover the bags of gauze as they lie on the bottom of the washer. Steam is then turned on to a pressure of ten pounds. A self-registering thermometer placed in the gauze twice showed a temperature of 239° and 240°. The thermometer, which registers on the outside of the washer, showed a temperature of 236° at pressure of ten pounds. This temperature is maintained for one-half hour. During all this process, the washer is moving with a to-and-fro motion, which continually agitates the gauze and presents all parts of it to the action of the water and steam.