188 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



FOR THE NF.IV EXCI.AM) FARMER. 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF THE TEETH. 



Keeping the teeth clean is indispensable to 

 their preservation. By suffering the particles 

 of fcoil and other impurities which are constant- 

 ly coUectiiiij about them to remain, is to favor 

 the production and operation of those causes 

 wliicli effect their ruin. 



Whatever then is best suited to keep them 

 clean, nithout the power of injuring tliem, is 

 also best calculated to prevent their discolora- 

 tion and decay. The same causes which pro- 

 duce caries of the teeth, tend likewise to injure 

 the gums and breath, rendering- the latter otfen- 

 f ive, the gums sponsjy, and dotachin^d; them from 

 the teeth. Most of the imported tooth pow- 

 ders, and those whose composition is kept se- 

 cret, possess some acid property, or grinding 

 power, which hurts the teeth by corroding or 

 abrading the enamel, or protecting surface of 

 them, leaving the comparatively soft and bony 

 part within, to turn black and perish, without 

 the possibility of the tooth's being restored to 

 a sound state. These dentil'rices often give the 

 teeth an unnatural whiteness and brilliancy, 

 very pleasing at tlrst, and for a time, before 

 their real cliaracter and effects are suspected. 

 All that any preparation of this kind was ever 

 intended to accomplish, by any one excepting 

 an impostor, is to keep the teeth clean, of a 

 natural whitcnes-, the gums sound, and the 

 breath sweet. 



All these effects the following powder is well 

 suited to produce, without its possrssing any 

 quality which can, in any length of time or 

 freedom of use, occasion the smallest injury of 

 any sort. From its well known property of 

 sweetening putrid and offensive substances, char- 

 coal has latterly been, by some, much commend- 

 ed, and by many used as a dentifrice. After some 

 time however, its particles were fountl to pos- 

 sess a grinding power, from their hardness, 

 which soon wore off the enamel. 



Engravers avail themselves of this property 

 of finely pulverized charcoal, to grind down 

 and polish their plates. 



THE TOOTH-POWDER. 



Take of Peruvian bark 2 parts. 



Armenian bole 4 " 



■Prepared chalk 4 " 



Myrrh 2 " 



Loaf sugar 2 " 



Carbonate of soda i a part. 

 Castile soap 2 parts. 



These are to be pulverized, mixed, and pass- 

 ed through a sieve. Any apothecary can fur- 

 nish this tooth-powder. 



TOOTH BRUSHES. 



The brush with which this poivder is to be 

 apjilied, should be sudicicnlly large and iirm, 

 and the hairs not too closely placed. 



One reason for pret'erring hard brushes is, 

 that they become softer by use, and another is 

 that if not pretty stiff, they are not tirm enough 

 to clean the teeth thoroughly. They are never 

 too hard unless they are so unyielding as to in- 

 sinuate themselves between the teeth and gums, 

 so as to separate them; this being guarded a- 

 gainst, the lirmer they are the belter. 



Having thus provided the powder and brush, 

 the question is, how are they to be used ? 



Thi! mouth should be rinsed with cold water, 

 and the brush dipped into it before the powder 



is used. A quantity ol the powder should llien 

 be taken up on the end of the brush, and appli- 

 ed to every part of each tooth, not only to the 

 anterior surface of the fore teeth, but the brush 

 covered with the dentifrice, should be succes- 

 sively applied to the inner, as well as the outer, 

 surface of the upper and lower teeth, and also 

 to their ends. The last motions of the brush 

 should be carried from the gums to the ends of 

 the teeth, in the direction of their length. This 

 serves to elongate the gum and to spread its 

 points more elegantly over the enamel. The 

 best time for using the tooth powder is after 

 breakfast, and this should be done every day. 

 In addition to this, we should be careful to 

 cleanse the mouth with water and the brush, 

 after every meal; and this should be particu- 

 larly attended to before going to rest, otherwise 

 the foulness which is too ol'ten permitted to ac- 

 cumulate through the day, cannot fail to commit 

 its ravages on the teeth, gums and breath thro' 

 the night. Benserade, a Frenchman, said of a 

 young lady, who had a very strong breath, 

 whom he heard sing, " What a beautiful voice, 

 and charming words, but the air is worth noth- 

 ing.'' Mais Pair n'en vaut rien. 



Brushing the teeth once a day, if faithfully 

 done, is preferable to many hasty and imper- 

 fect attempts to clean them. 



Merely to pass the brush a few times lightly 

 and rapidly over the teeth, is of little service ; 

 four or live minutes should be diligently spent 

 in performing this operation. 



The idea that the enamel of the teeth can 

 be injured by brushing, is as unfounded and ab- 

 surd as it would be to suppose that the palms of 

 the hands might be worn out by moderate labor. 



The same grateful and refreshing sensations 

 which result from bathing the surface of the 

 body, arise also from a proper attention to the 

 mouth. No one who neglects his mouth can 

 be said to be personally neat ; nor can any one 

 who omits this necessary attention to himself, 

 justly expect the voluntary attention of others. 



for the sew england farmer. 

 Mr. Editor, 



I send you the following; extract from a Memoir read 

 before the Royal Academy of Sciences, as tending to 

 show the great exertion, as well as the royal patron- 

 age, which is exercised in France, for the improvement 

 of their manufactures. Though the success which at- : 

 tended this effort was not so complete as could have 

 been wished, yet it appears to have settled a question 

 as to which no satisfactory information could be before 

 obtained. It had long been a question with the curi- 

 ous what animal produced the material of the Cash- 

 mere (or by some called Camel's hair) shawl, of which 

 we see generally only those of the cheaper kind. The 

 time taken as well as the intricacy of the manutacturi 

 giving to them a most prodigious value. It will be 

 seen that the individuals in this expedition passed thio' 

 Russia and Tartary. In T.-irtary was found the goat 

 which produced this remarkable fleece, in the posses- 

 sion of some wandering tribes, who gave them the 

 name of the Thibet goat. Thus the labor was pre- 

 vented of passing to Thibet, Persia or Cashmere in 

 India. It seems four hundred of these animals were 

 brought to France, being only about one third of the 

 number purchased. How far they may retain the fine- 

 ness of their down in France, and what th^ ir utility in 

 manufactures may be, time only can discover. It will 

 be very long before the subject can te immediately 



Importan- to us. But the knowledge cannot fai! to b« 

 very iu'ensting to such of your readers as havi not 

 seen this memoir. It goes to establish a fact as to 

 which there was till of late great doubt, and is indeed" 

 an object of much curiosity and gratification. W^ - 



Cashmere Goat, anil its Importation into France. 



The sight of these shawls, which are brought 

 from Asia, and which spread all over Europe, 

 make a part in the presents of the sovereigns 

 of the east, and adorn the heads and waists of 

 the rich inhabitants of those countries, gave rise 

 to the question among the naturalists of Europe, 

 what species of animal produced the material 

 from which such precious stuffs were made. — 

 Travellers gave no satisfactory information upon 

 this subject. The general opinion was, that 

 cashmeres were produced from a goat, but the 

 particular species was not determined. The 

 importation which has just been made clears up, 

 in part, this difficulty, for these animals pro- 

 duct; a down exactlv like that of which the most 

 rare shawls are made ; 1 say in part, because it 

 is not impossible that wool may be also emjdoy- 

 ed lor this purpoee, or that different kinds of 

 the goat may unite to bring the maiitifacturn to 

 perfection. I shall describe particularly those 

 which I have seen upon their arrival at two of 

 our Mediterranean ports. 



Their usual height is about 25 inches from 

 the ground to the top of the back, and the 

 length from the beginning of the tail to the 

 head, three feet. Almost all have horns, which 

 are straight, black, and for the most part round ; 

 those of some males, as well as females, are 

 thick, furry, white in the majority of individu- 

 als, some brown or black, several spotteil. They 

 are formed of long hairs, v\hich cover the legs, 

 in part, and a very soft down. The latter is 

 line in proportion as the hair is long; the 

 quality of one may be known from the other. 

 This down grows near the skin, from which it 

 separates and forms tufts, which can be drawn 

 away by a comb or by the hand. E.xcept 

 in the case of an absolute prohibition, it ap- 

 pears as if out manufacturers could have no in- 

 terest in importing these downy cashmere goats 

 into France, for the material may be procured 

 in the way of commerce: it would be sutBcient for 

 them to imitate the stuff which bears this name. 

 M. Ternaux, so well known by his beautiful es- 

 tablishments, was not of this opinion. He had 

 received, by the way of Russia, down enough to 

 make some shawls ; his success gave him the 

 idea of procuring the animal on whose body na- 

 ture had placed this down. The undertaking 

 was not an easy one. He found in M. Jaubert, 

 Master of Requests, and Professor of the Turk- 

 ish language, a man of zeal and intelligence, 

 who was not to be repulsed by obstacles, and 

 who was much attached to this country. This 

 gentleman had already travelled in the Levant, 

 and could make hini«elf understood among the 

 different nations. He was willing to undertake 

 the expedition. 



In order to obtain the protection of Govern- 

 ment, M. Ternaux presented bim to the Duke 

 of Richelieu, then Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

 This Minister,- who acknowledged the utility 

 of the projcct,made a contract with Ternaux and 

 Jaubert, in the name of the King, by which 

 Ternaux was to receive a premium of encour- 

 agoraetit if the oxped'tion succeeded. The 

 Government was to take a hundred goats at a 



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