laced. After the rubbing has been continued for from
fifteen to twenty minutes, the limb is placed in a comfortable
position, and retained there by pillows, sand-bags, or, if found more
convenient, by a light form of splint.

The massage is repeated once each day; the sittings last from ten to
fifteen minutes. The sequence should be, first, massage; second,
passive movement; and third, active movement. At first massage
predominates, and more passive than active movement; gradually massage
is lessened and movements are increased, active movements ultimately
preponderating.

_Splints and other Appliances._--The appropriate splints for
individual fractures and the method of applying them will be described
later; but it may here be said that the general principle is that when
dealing with a part where there is a single bone, as the thigh or
upper arm, the splint should be applied in the form of a _ferrule_ to
surround the break; while in situations where there are two parallel
bones, as in the forearm and leg, the splint should take the form of a
_box_.

_Simple wooden splints_ of plain deal board or yellow pine, sawn to
the appropriate length and width; or _Gooch's splinting_, which
consists of long strips of soft wood, glued to a backing of
wash-leather, are the most useful materials. Gooch's splinting has the
advantage that when applied with the leather side next the limb it
encircles the part as a ferrule; while it remains rigid when the
wooden side is turned towards the skin. Perforated sheet lead or tin,
stiff wire netting, and hoop iron also form useful splints.

When it is desirable that the splint should take the shape of the part
accurately, a plastic material may be employed. Perhaps the most
convenient is _poroplastic felt_, which consists of strong felt
saturated with resin. When heated before a fire or placed in boiling
water, it becomes quite plastic and may be accurately moulded to any
part, and on cooling it again becomes rigid. The splint should be cut
from a carefully fitted paper pattern. Millboard, leather, or
gutta-percha softened in hot water, and moulded to the part, may also
be employed.

In conditions where treatment by massage and movement is
impracticable, and where movable splints are inconvenient, splints of
_plaster of Paris_, _starch_, or _water-glass_ are sometimes used,
especially in the treatment of fractures of the leg. When employed in
the form of an immovable case, they are open