_First Aid Rule 1.--Be sure bone is broken. If broken, patient can scarcely (if at all) move the part beyond the break, while attendant can move it freely in his hands. If broken, grating of rough edges of bone may be felt by attendant but should not be sought for. If broken, limb is generally shortened._ _Rule 2.--Do not try to set bone permanently. Send at once for surgeon._ =COMPOUND FRACTURE.= _Important. If there is opening to the air from the break, because of tearing of tissues by end of bone, condition is very dangerous; first treatment may save life, by preventing infection. Before reducing fracture, and without stirring the patient much, after scrubbing your hands very clean, note:_ _First Aid Rule 1.--If hairy, shave large spot about wound._ _Rule 2.--Clean large area about wound with soap and water, very gently. Then wash most thoroughly again with clean water, previously boiled and cooled. Flood wound with cool boiled water._ _Rule 3.--Cover wound with absorbent cotton (or pieces of muslin) which has been boiled. Then attend to broken bone, as hereafter directed, in the case of each variety of fracture._ _After the bone is set, according to directions, then note:_ _Rule 4.--Renew pieces of previously boiled muslin from time to time, when at all stained with discharges. Every day wash carefully about wound, between the splints, with cool carbolic-acid solution (one teaspoonful to a pint of hot water) before putting on the fresh cloths._ =BROKEN BONES OR FRACTURES.=[6]--It frequently happens that the first treatment of fracture devolves upon the inexperienced layman. Immediate treatment is not essential, in so far as the repair of the fracture is directly concerned, for a broken bone does not unite for several weeks, and if a fracture were not seen by the surgeon for a week after its occurrence, no harm would be done, provided that the limb were kept quiet in fair position until that time. The object of immediate care of a broken bone is to prevent pain and avoid damage which would ensue if the sharp ends of the broken bone were allowed to injure the soft tissues during movements of the broken limb. Fractures are partial or complete, the former when the bone is broken only part way through; simple, when the fracture is a mere break of the bone, and compound, when the end of one or both fragments push through the skin, allowing the air with its germs to come in contact with the wound, thus greatly increasing the danger. To be sure that a bone is broken we must consider several points. The patient has usually fallen or has received a severe blow upon the part. This is not necessarily true, for old people often break the thigh bone at the hip joint by simply making a false step.