should be without such aid in carrying injured people. Probably many chemists would be glad to keep such stretchers in their pharmacies, and exhibit a notice to that effect in their windows, if any philanthropic society would provide the article.

But in the end, municipal, parochial, or Poor Law district governing bodies will be made responsible for this important work.

CHAPTER VII.

AMBULANCE SICK-TRANSPORT CONVEYANCES WHEELED

BY MEN.

English Military wheeled Stretcher-The Ashford Litter-Neuss Litter with wheeled support.

WITH the view of diminishing the number of bearers and attendants employed in transporting sick or injured persons, various patterns of wheeled-stretchers have been designed. They are mainly of use for civil purposes where

MILITARY STRETCHER ON WHEELED SUPPORT.

(From Surgeon-General Longmore's Gunshot Injuries.')

in cities or towns good level roads are available, and the jolting which would be caused by uneven tracks reduced to a minimum.

For military service a pattern of a wheeler stretcher is sealed. The stretcher is detachable from the wheeled support, and when loaded, one man can thus wheel one patient. In the field where battles have to be fought over every kind of broken ground, these stretchers are of little use, and no records exist of their being used to any extent in any army. The Ashford litter consists of a folding stretcher with

THE ASHFORD LITTER. THE STRETCHER DETACHED FROM THE
WHEELED SUPPORT.

pillow and removable cover, resting without any fastening on four small iron crutches, with an under-carriage of two wheels on elliptical springs.

This litter has the advantage of a crank-axle, enabling the bearers to pass with the stretcher between the wheels, so that lifting over the wheels is avoided. The stretcher by itself costs two guineas, and the litter, complete, ten guineas. It can be obtained at the Director of Stores, St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, London, E.C.

The St. John Ambulance Wheeled Litter. Price £16. Weight: complete litter, I cwt. 2 qrs. 14 lbs. ; truck, separate, 3 qrs. 7 lbs. ; litter, separate, 3 qrs. 7 lbs.

This litter is the invention of Messrs. Neuss, of Berlin, and was first employed by the Prussian Johanniter Orden (Knights of St. John), during the Franco-German War, where its practical advantages in alleviating suffering first became apparent. Considerable attention has been paid in the design of this litter to secure an easy and steady position for a patient while being transported in it. The patient does not lie in a completely horizontal posture; his head and back are somewhat raised, and inclined at an

angle with the pelvis and thighs. The head of the patient rests upon a pillow covered with glazed cloth or leather; the back, pelvis, thighs, and legs upon a flexible support of painted sail-cloth. There are two padded supports for the arms and elbows of the patient. A folding sail-cloth hood is fixed to the upper end of the carriage, and can be drawn over the head and shoulders of the patient, so as to form a sun

shade or protection against rain, without interfering with the free access of air. A cover of sail-cloth is also rolled up, and fastened by two straps at the foot of the litter. This covering, when unrolled, can be drawn up so as to lie under the upper edge of the expanded hood, and be fastened to the upper part of it. By these means the patient, during transport, can be protected against dust or inclement weather on every side. Under the part which is made to support the head and shoulders of the patient there is a wooden receptacle capable of carrying refreshments, bandages, or other parcels, or of receiving any articles belonging to the injured man who may have to be transported to the hospital. To facilitate the litter being