The treatment of wounds has made wonderful progress since the antiseptic discoveries of the eminent surgeon, Sir Joseph Lister, and these sound principles have materially influenced almost every department of the healing art. It was he who first showed how dust-laden air affected injuriously the exposed tissues of the wounds; it was he who introduced all the precautions as to cleanliness of instruments; the disinfection of hands; the change of clothing; and the purification of sponges and dressings. The magnificent results of the practice of modern surgery are not owing to the superior skill of the surgeon of our time, but to the magnificent conception of the idea of _cleanliness_ from which has grown the entire superstructure of antiseptic surgery, culminating in the grand triumphs of surgical art. To the question What to do with recent wounds? The answer now becomes self-evident; Keep them clean. The best dressing for any clean wound is its own secretion carefully protected from the outside world by a fold of clean soft cloth or absorbent cotton, wetted with pure cold water. This is to be kept in its proper place by means of a bandage, and when it is desirable to remove the compress, it must first be thoroughly soaked with water so as not to tear or irritate the wound. Before Lister’s great antiseptic discovery it was the generally accepted opinion that suppuration and pus were essential to the healing of wounds; this was an error and the opposite is now established to be the truth. Pus prevents or rather delays the wounds from healing, and suppuration in wounds is a fruitful source of blood poisoning. If sand, earth, dust or dirt has gotten into or near the wound, it must be washed off with clean, fresh water, but never employ soiled or infected clothes for that purpose for these may poison the wound and do a great deal of mischief. After the wound is clean dress it in the manner described in a preceding paragraph.