Several other plausible methods have been suggested for the cure of stricture—one by means of an instrument, that the operator could enlarge when it was passed into the urethra, through turning a screw; another, which was to introduce a tube made of some thin skin, and then to distend it with wind or water; a third, and oftentimes, in reality, a very useful and available one, is to compress the penis around the glans, and suffer the urine, as it accumulated, to distend the anterior part of the urethra before the bandage was removed and the urine suffered to escape. But they have their several disadvantages: the processes, with the exception of the last, are complicated and uncertain in their result; the instrument is not so manageable, or so useful, as an ordinary sound; and the gut, instead of distending the strictured part, enlarges the healthy portions of the urethra. The bougie, in proper hands, notwithstanding it is a simple instrument, is the most positive and effectual method of curing stricture as yet, or likely to be, discovered. An entrance, then, having by this means been gained, a bougie of a larger size is to be selected on the next occasion, and the same process repeated. It is never advisable to repeat the operation oftener than once in two days, and when the urethra is irritable, only every three or four days. By continuing in this manner, the stricture gradually yields, and a bougie as large as the orifice will permit to enter will at last proceed through the whole passage without meeting any obstacle. The operation, notwithstanding this apparent success, should not be wholly laid aside, but continued until the disposition for contraction is entirely removed; and the patient should never rest without occasionally examining his urethra, say once a month (at least once a quarter), lest he encounter a relapse. Having disposed of the treatment of stricture in its fortunately most usual—namely, the mildest—form, I proceed to consider the treatment of severe kinds—previously to which, a few remarks upon the various kinds of instruments, their structure, shape, and size, will render any subsequent allusion more intelligible.