wounded, when those supplies were within a few miles of them in great abundance. The establishment of a laboratory from which the Medical Department could draw its supplies of chemical and pharmaceutical preparations similar to that now so successfully carried on by the Medical Department of the Navy would be a measure of great utility and economy. I therefore respectfully recommend that authority be given for this purpose.

In regard to the age at which recruits are received into service, a change is imperatively demanded, both for the interests of the Army and the welfare of individuals. The minimum is now fixed at eighteen years, and it is not uncommon to find soldiers of sixteen years old. Youths of these are not developed and are not fit to endure the fatigues and deprivations of the military life. They soon break down, become sick, and are thrown upon the hospitals. As a measure of economy I recommend that the minimum age of recruits be fixed by law at twenty years. The present manner of supporting the cartridge-box is productive of hernia or rupture. Many instances in support of this statement have occurred since the commencement of the rebellion, and reports on the subject are frequently received from medical officers. I recommend that instead of being carried by a belt around the waist, the cartridge-box be supported by a shoulder strap. This would entirely obviate the evil.

At the last session of Congress the sum of $2,000,000 was appropriated for the relief of discharged soldiers. I recommend that $1,000,000 of this sum be set aside for the establishment of a permanent home for those, who have been disabled in their country's service. This measure is one of such importance that I forbear entering into details at this early period. An establishment of the kind, organized upon an approved plan, would be productive of incalculable benefit.

Soon after my appointment I issued circulars to medical officers inviting them to co-operate in furnishing material for a medical and surgical history of the rebellion. A large number of memoirs and reports of great interest to medical science, and military surgeon especially, have been collected and are now being systematically arranged. The greatest interest is felt in this labor by the medical officers of the Army and physicians at large.

The reorganization of the Medical Department necessitates a new set of regulations for its guidance. Under your orders a board has been in session preparing an approved code. Their labors have been very much interfered with by the necessity of detailing them from time to time for more imperative duties, but I expect to be able to submit to you in a short time a complete set of regulations for your approval. I have deemed it my duty, with your sanction, to visit, from time, the hospitals and armies of the eastern portion of the country. I have thus been enabled to make myself personally acquainted with their sanitary condition and medical wants. I hope ere long to be able to extend these inspections to the West.

A uniform diet table for general hospitals has been prepared with great care and promises to work advantageously.

Large depots of medical supplies have been established at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Fort Monroe, Washington, Cincinnati Cairo, Saint Louis, and Nashville, which have proved of incalculable advantage to the sick and wounded. Moreover, large sums have been saved by the accumulation of stores before the recent advance in prices took places

48 R R-SERIES III, VOL II