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HOME DOCTOR. 



teeth.) The slightly unpleasant taste 

 which soap has when we begin to use it 

 will soon be u nnot iced. 



TOOTH POWDERS.— Many persons, 

 while laudably attentive to the preserva- 

 tion of their teeth, do them harm by too 

 much officiousness. They daily apply to 

 them some dentifrice powder, which they 

 rub so hard as not only to injure the enamel 

 by .excessive friction, but to hurt the gums 

 even more than by the abuse of the tooth- 

 pick. The quality of some of the denti- 

 frice powders advertised in newspapers is 

 •extremely suspicious, and there is reason 

 to think that they are not altogether free 

 from a corrosive ingredient. One of the 

 safest and best compositions for the pur- 

 pose is a mixture of two parts of prepared 

 chalk, one of Peruvian bark, and one of 

 hard soap, all finely powdered, which is 

 calculated not only to clean the teeth 

 without hurting them, but to preserve the 

 firmness of the gums. 



Besides the advantage of sound teeth 

 for their use in mastication, a proper at- 

 tention to their treatment conduces not a 

 little to the sweetness of the breath. This 

 is, indeed, often affected by other causes 

 existing in the lungs, the stomach, and 

 sometimes even in the bowels, but a rot- 

 ten state of the teeth, both from the 

 putrid smell emitted by carious bones 

 and the impurities lodged in their cavi- 

 ties, never fails of aggravating an un- 

 pleasant breath wherever there is a tend- 

 ency of that kind. 



TOOTHACHE, Remedies for.— i. One 

 drachm of alum reduced to an impalpa- 

 ble powder, three drachms of nitrous 

 spirit of ether — mix, and apply them to 

 the tooth on cotton. 2. Mix a little salt 

 and alum, equal portions, grind it fine, 

 wet a little lock of cotton, fill it with the 

 powder and put it in your tooth. One or 

 two applications seldom fail to cure. 3. 

 To one drachm oi collodion add two 

 drachms of Calvert's carbolic acid. A 

 gelatinous mass is precipitated, a small 

 portion of which, inserted in the cavity of 

 an aching tooth, invariably gives imme- 

 diate relief. 4. Saturate a small bit of 

 clean cotton wool with a strong solution 

 of ammonia, and apply it immediately to 

 the affected tooth. The pleasing con- 

 trast instantaneously produced in some 

 cases causes a fit of laughter, although a 

 moment previous extreme suffering and 



anguish prevailed. 5. Sometimes a sound 

 tooth aches from sympathy of the nerves 

 of the face with other nerves. But when 

 toothache proceeds from a decayed tooth 

 either have it taken out, or put hot fo- 

 mentations upon the face, and hot drinks 

 into the mouth, such as tincture of cay- 

 enne. 



WARTS, to Cure. — Warts are formed 

 by the small arteries, veins and nerves 

 united together, taking on a disposition 

 to grow by extending themselves upward, 

 carrying the scarf-skin along with them, 

 which, thickening forms a wart. Corns 

 are a similar growth, brougth about by the 

 friction of tight boots and shoes. 1. Take 

 a piece of diachylon plaster, cut a hole 

 in the centre the size of the wart, and 

 stick it on, the wart protruding through. 

 Then touch it daily with aquafortis, or ni- 

 trate of silver. They may be removed 

 by tying a string tightly around them. 2. 

 Take a blacksmith's punch, heat it red 

 hot and burn the warts with the end of 

 it. When the burn gets well the warts 

 will be gone forever. 3. Scrape down 

 enough dry cobwebs to make a ball large 

 enough to a little more than cover the 

 wart and not touch the flesh around the 

 same; lay it on top of the wart, ignite it, 

 and let it be until it is all burnt up. The 

 wart will turn white, and in a few days 

 come out. 4. Pass a pin through the 

 wart; apply one end of the pin to the 

 flame of a lamp ; hold it there until the 

 wart fries under the action of the heat. 

 A wart so treated will leave. 5. Dissolve 

 as much common washing soda as the 

 water will take up; wash the warts with 

 this for a minute or two, and let them 

 dry without wiping. Keep the water in 

 a bottle and repeat the washing often, 

 and it will take away the largest warts. 

 6. They may be cured surely by paring 

 them down until the blood comes slightly 

 and then rubbing them with lunar caustic. 

 It is needless to say this hurts a little, but 

 is a sure cure. The hydrochlorate of 

 lime applied in the same way will cure 

 after several applications and some pa- 

 tience; so will strong wood vinegar, and 

 so it is said will milk weed. The cures 

 founded upon superstitious practices, such 

 as muttering some phrases over the ex- 

 crescence, stealing a piece of beef, rub- 

 bing the wart therewith and then bury- 

 ing it under the leaves to await its decay, 



