COGSWELL ON THE HUMAN TEETH. 165 



sufficiency of bone forming material to children is the cause, no 

 doubt, why in so many cases we find such imperfect development of 

 the teeth, as well as the bones, of the youth in these days compared 

 to giants in their days, and whose teeth, 'tis said, never were 

 diseased^ and the enamel of which, as I shall shortly give several 

 instances recorded, had remained centuries in a perfect state. 



The substances most essential as bone producing in the young, 

 we shall quote from Carpenter's Physiology : — 



*'The phos. of lime is contained more or less abundantly, in 

 most articles generally used as food, and where they are deficient or 

 removed by any jneans, the animal sujfFers in consequence, if not 

 f applied in any other wa}^ ; contained largely in the seeds of many 

 plants especially the grasses, also in flour, oatmeal, corn, &g. Now 

 if this bo7ie earthy so often called, be removed by sieving, as is the 

 case in wheat flour and many other cereal grains, what is to supply 

 the system in place of it? This property '};ncst be in the blood to 

 feed the growing parts, or else a sure deficiency of the enamel. 

 The fact that insufficient coarse unbolted cereals are now consumed, 

 that the outside of wheat, oats and other grains ground and used as 

 food has been thrown aAvay is, no doubt, one reason why the pre- 

 sent generation have so imperfectly formed teeth." 



Professor Johnson's practical observations on the above gives in 

 1000 lbs of v^^hoie grain, 170 lbs bone and salt. 

 Fine flour, 60 '* " " 



Bran 700 " *' ** 



Here is a difl'erence between fine flour, ordinarily ut-od for 

 domestic purposes of 530 lbs more in 1000 lbs of bone material, 

 also shewing the whole grain is one half more. A Mr. Betz says, 

 the weight of the bran or outer coating would, in the common 

 superfine flour, constitute the oflal to be about 5 J lbs to the barrel 

 of flour, while the ordinary weight of oflal is from 65 to 70 lbs to 

 each barrel of flour. Now if we estimate the earthy constituents 

 to be f of the oflal of bran we must consider there is an actual lo£8 

 at least, in every barrel of fine flour used, of 40, lbs. Now to 

 estimate a child's consuming say a half barrel, annually, of flour, 

 we find it has been deprived of 20 lbs. of the earthy substance re- 

 quired to form the bones and teeth. 



