agents, perfectly sound in themselves, lose so much of their vital connection with their sockets as to drop out. So insidiously do both of these diseased conditions progress, especially the latter, that many are just startled from complacent reflection on the fact of never having had toothache, to lament over irrecoverable loss.

How to Care for Permanent Teeth.-The value of the permanent teeth depends largely upon healthfulness of the first or temporary set. The milk teeth should be cared for and preserved till nature is ready to supply their places with the permanent organs; so that the arch of the mouth may be preserved, and that the roots may be absorbed and the material therein may not be lost to the system in the development of the new tooth. Irregularity of the second set would be almost unknown if by frequent visits to a competent dentist the first teeth were retained until nature should have no further use for them, and then removed.

How to Care for the Teeth Early.-The child should be taught at five to dampen the brush in water every morning, rub it over a cake of castile soap, and then brush the teeth well, inside and out, front and rear; until, with the aid only of the saliva, the mouth is full of soap-suds: then rinse with tepid water, twirling the brush sideways over the back part of the tongue, so as to cleanse it fully of the soap and leave a good taste; after each meal the mouth should be well rinsed with tepid water, as also the last thing on retiring. The mouth maintains a temperature of ninety-eight degrees; hence, if any food lodges about or between the teeth, it begins to rot very soon, giving out an acid which immediately begins to eat into the tooth, preparatory to an early decay; if solid particles are observed to lodge between the teeth, the child should be taught to use a very thin quill to dislodge it, but not without; for the more a quill is used the greater space between the teeth, which is a misfortune, as it necessitates the use of a toothpick for all after life, consuming a great deal of valuable time. A clean tooth does not decay.

How Often Should the Teeth be Washed?-Grown people should clean their teeth at least five times in the course of the twenty-four hourson rising in the morning and on going to bed at night, and after each meal. A brush as hard as can be borne without pain should be used, and the best of all applications is pure soap and water, always luke-warm.

Use of Aromatic Water.-It is the custom in some parts of England and France to rinse the mouth with warm aromatic water after eating. It is well to remember that this precaution not only tends to keep the teeth clean, but to clear the voice of those about to sing or converse.

A Mixture for the Teeth.-Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of boiling water, and before it is cold add one teaspoonful of spirits of cam

phor, and bottle for use. A tablespoonful of this mixture, mixed with an equal quantity of tepid water, and applied daily with a soft brush, preserves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous adhesions, arrests decay, induces a healthy action of the gums, and makes them look pearly white.

Tooth-Powders often Injurious.-Most kinds of tooth-powders are injurious both to the enamel and the gums; and if employed, every particle of them should be removed from the mouth by careful rinsing. The habit which some women have of using a bit of lemon, though it may whiten the teeth, and give temporary firmness and color to the gums, is fatal to the enamel, as are all acids.

"Cracking Nuts with the Teeth."-No one, young or old, should turn their jaws into nut-crackers; and it is dangerous even for women to bite off, as they often do, the ends of thread in sewing.

Importance of Healthful Gums.-Wholesome gums are more essential even than the teeth to the beauty of the mouth. They should be of a firm texture and a lively red color, and well spread over the base of each tooth, but they are often pale or livid, shrunken, fleshless, and sometimes even ulcerated. The excessive use of sugar and candies does great mischief. It is not chiefly the bad effect of the acids produced by their composition, but the grittiness of these substances which wears away the gum, bares the roots of the tooth, and spoils the mouth. This is the chief danger of the use of toothpowders.

Teething. Young children, while cutting their first set of teeth, often suffer constitutional disturbance. At first they are restless and peevish, but not unfrequently these symptoms are followed by convulsive fits, and sometimes under this condition the child is either cut off suddenly, or the foundation of serious mischief to the brain is laid. The remedy, or rather safeguard, against these circumstances consists merely in lancing the gum covering the tooth which is making its way through.

Keep close watch over the gums, and when they are swollen and red have them lanced immediately. The teeth will probably come through the day after lancing, but if they do not, and the cut heals, and a scar forms, there is nothing to be feared, as, when the teeth finally appear, the scar will give way much more easily than the uncut gum. If the teeth do not come through after two or three days, the lancing may be repeated; and this is especially needed if the child seems in much pain. The relief children experience in the course of two or three hours from the operation is often very remarkable.

"Toothache Cures."-1. Relief from toothache or neuralgic affections arising from teeth in any stage of decay, may often be obtained by saturating a small bit of clean cotton or wool with a strong solution of ammonia, and applying it immediately to the affected tooth. The pleasant contrast in

stantaneously produced sometimes causes a fit of laughter, although a moment before extreme suffering and anguish prevailed.

2. One dram of collodium flexile added to two drams of Calvert's carbolic acid is a most excellent application. A small portion should be inserted into the cavity of the tooth by means of a bit of lint.

3. Powdered alum and salt mixed in equal quantities, and placed on a small piece of damp cotton, and put into the cavity, sometimes gives permanent relief.

At a meeting of the London Medical Society, Dr. Blake, a distinguished practitioner, said that he was able to cure the most desperate case of the toothache, unless the disease was connected with rheumatism, by the application of the following remedy: Alum, reduced to an impalpable powder, two drams; nitrous spirits of ether, seven drams; mix, and apply to the tooth.

4. Two or three drops of essential oil of cloves put upon a small piece of lint or cotton-wool, and placed in the hollow of the tooth, will be found to have the active power of curing the toothache without destroying the tooth or injuring the gums.

5. Toothache may be temporarily alleviated by scrupulously cleaning out the cavity of the tooth-as decay has generally hollowed it at some partand dropping into this cavity a piece of cotton-wool soaked in creosote, or a strong solution of alum. After using the creosote, etc., the hollow of the tooth should be filled up with a pellet of cotton-wool saturated with a solution of gum-mastic in ether, or with a piece of gutta-percha softened in boiling water. The condition of the stomach and bowels should in all cases of toothache be attended to.

6. A Paris journal states that Dr. Bouchard, of that city, finds the use of electricity very efficient in cases of severe toothache, a perfect cure, even where the teeth are greatly decayed, being not unfrequently obtained, and temporary relief almost invariably ensuing. In numerous instances where alleviation was at first of short duration, the effect became more and more marked, and longer, as the treatment was repeated. The method pursued by Dr. Bouchard, in applying the electricity, is to place the positive pole of the cur rent on the cheek opposite the diseased tooth, and the negative upon the anterolateral portion of the neck; and, to avoid ulcerations, the electrodes are made very large, and their places frequently changed. The application is continued for about half an hour, although relief is frequently experienced in ten to fifteen minutes. A battery of about ten elements is used.

What to Do with Decayed Teeth.-Decayed teeth should have attention at once. If only partially destroyed, the decayed part may be cut away, and a filling inserted; but a tooth much decayed should never be allowed to remain in the mouth, as it will destroy its neighbors.

Many diseases are "Stop the ache, or

Artificial Teeth.-When teeth become so troublesome as to habitually disturb the nervous system, they should be removed. caused, and most others greatly aggravated, by toothache. remove the tooth," should be universally obeyed. Thousands of persons suffer for years in great discomfort to themselves and to all around them, until their constitutions are permanently impaired, when the removal of a single tooth would bring permanent relief.

CARE OF THE HAIR.

Growth of the Hair.-At the root of each hair is a tiny bulb, in which the nutriment is supplied. As long as these bulbs (papillæ) remain in a healthy condition, the hair will continue to grow. It is of the first importance, therefore, that the scalp be kept clean, the pores open, and the processes of the nutritive supply free and active.

How to Preserve the Hair.-Wash the scalp often and thoroughly with soft water, and wipe it dry with a towel. Keep the head well ventilated. If the hat is close, lift it often and let in the fresh air. A hat with a crown in which there is room for a reservoir of air, is much better than a close-fitting cap. Hats should not be worn in-doors.

Why Ladies are not Bald.-Ladies, notwithstanding they wear long hair, (which is more likely to fall out,) seldom are bald-headed. Their heads are not kept covered in-doors, and when out-doors they are not closely covered. In sleeping none should confine the hair in a close night-cap.

Why the Hair Falls Out.-Hair falls out for want of nourishment. It dies just as a blade of grass dies in a soil where there is no moisture. This want of nourishment is only "functional," the papillæ sacs and other apparatus remain, but are inactive. The mechanism which supplies it, the apparatus, is there to make it; but it is out of order, and makes it imperfectly; so the hair being imperfectly nourished, is dry, scant, or a mere furze, according to the degree of the defective nourishment.

How to Prevent the Hair from Falling Out.-As to men, when the hair begins to fall out, the best plan is to have it cut short, give it a good brushing with a moderately-stiff brush while the hair is dry, then wash it well with warm soap-suds, then rub into the scalp, about the roots of the hair, a little bay rum or camphor water. Do these things at least once a week. The brushing of the scalp may be profitably done twice a week. Dampen the hair with water every time the toilet is made. Nothing ever made is better for the hair than pure soft water, if the scalp is kept clean in the way we have named.

ແ Organic Baldness" Incurable.-" Organic " baldness is when the defect of nutriment arises from the destruction of the papillæ, the apparatus which made it. When the scalp is in any part entirely bare of hair, and shiny or glistening, that is organic baldness, and there is no remedy.

"Functional" Baldness Curable.-When the bulbs are uninjured, that is, the nutritive organs remain, but have become partially or wholly inactive, this is "functional baldness," and can be remedied radically and permanently in only one way and that is by taking means to improve the general health

How to Cure Functional Baldness.-If there is not that shining, glistening appearance, but a multitude of very small hairs, causing a “furziness over the scalp, that is "functional" baldness; and two things are to be done. Keep the scalp clean with soap-suds-that is a "balm of a thousand flowers." More especially and principally seek to improve your general health by eating plain, substantial food three regular times a day, and by spending three or four hours between meals in moderate exercise in the open air or in some engrossing employment.

A little turpentine applied to the bald patches by means of sponges, will hasten the first appearance of the hair, and the growth of hair, when it recommences, may be stimulated by constant shaving.

Avoid Hair-Dyes.- Hair dyes, or so-called "hair-restorers," should be strenuously avoided, as they tend to fill the pores of the skin, and almost invariably contain poisonous matters, which the system absorbs.

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Caution in Using "Hair-Oils."-The frequent use of "oils," "bear's grease,' ," "arcturine," "pomades," "lustrals,” rosemary washes," and such like upon the hair, is a practice not to be commended. These oils and greasy pomades are manufactured from lard-oil and simple lard. No "bear's grease" is ever used. If it could be procured readily it should not be applied to the hair, as it is the most rank and filthy of all the animal fats.

A Good Hair Dressing.-There are many persons whose hair is naturally very dry and crisp; and in most families there is a want of some innocent and agreeable wash or dressing, which may be used moderately and judiciously. The mixture which may be regarded as the most agreeable, cleanly, and safe, is composed of cologne spirit and pure castor-oil. The following is a good formula: Pure, fresh castor-oil, two ounces; cologne spirit, (ninety-five per cent.,) sixteen ounces. The oil is freely dissolved in the spirit, and the solution is clear and beautiful. It may be perfumed in any way to suit the fancy of the purchaser.

Value of Castor-Oil for the Hair.-A competent writer in the Boston Journal of Chemistry urges that the oil of the castor-bean has for many