DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 269 



excellent tonic, and he is quite fond of it when green. In- 

 stinct teaches the horse a hundred things which man dis- 

 covers only after laborious investigation, experiment, and 

 reasoning. When diseased, if he is permitted to run where 

 there are an abundance of bushes, he may very frequently 

 be seen nibbling away at such of them as possess medicinal 

 qualities, and especiall}^ those which act as tonics and astrin- 

 gents. 



. It will do no good to apply any thing to the teeth until 

 the stomach is in proper condition ; but this end having been 

 secured, it will be quite in order to remove their calcarious 

 deposits. This can be effectually done with a brush and a 

 mixture of tartaric acid with fine salt. The use of the latter 

 is to prevent the injurious effects of the acid upon the teeth, 

 in a measure. Some ashes, or a weak lye made from them, 

 may be used after this mixture, to still further counteract the 

 acid. But we must here record our emphatic objections to 

 the employment of any acids or caustics about the teeth. 

 Their effects can not be wholly neutralized, and thus, while 

 they may remove one difficulty, they are sure to bring ou 

 another. 



Some persons are in the habit of filing the teeth that are 

 affected with scurvy, and this ia an operation which may be 

 performed with decided benefit. After the incrustation has 

 been removed with the*file, the teeth will present a rough, 

 jagged, appearance, and are in fine condition to favor the 

 accumulation of more deposits. This may be remedied by 

 using a second and much smaller file, or a piece of coarse 

 sand-paper, followed by a piece of fine sand-paper. The 

 beautiful enamel which disease has destroyed no art can re- 

 place; but the surface can be given a smooth polish that 

 will be of great service, as a substitute for it, in resisting the 

 eftects of wear and decay. 



The process is a simple and easy one. It requires a twitch 

 on the horse's nose, and one man to hold it and turn the 

 lip down, whik the operator, with a file, broken off at the 

 end, scrapes off the incrustations from the teeth, and, after 





