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which must be infinitely more efficacious than charcoal pre-
pared from any other vegetable substance whatever.
" The natives of India rub their teeth up and down with
brushes made of chewed ends of fibrous soft wood, dragon's
blood, canes, and mallow roots, which clean the interstices
of the teeth ; whereas the common tooth-brushes, by rubbing
in a horizontal direction, only wear off the enamel from the
prominent parts of the teeth, which the famous dentist, Mr.
Berdmore, has cautioned us not to do, and I have contrived
a brush to prevent it.
"The dentifrice prepared by powdering charcoal, cannot be
equal in virtue to the mungun prepared from the areca, be-
tel nut, or suparey, however they may puff it off by quackish
advertisements."
James Lind, M. D.
London, Jan. 11th, 1806.

Sir Mark Wood Baronet, M. P., Mr. Van Lynden* and
Mr. R. Winstanley, have given a most decided testimony in
favour of the superiority of the prepared areca, for a denti-
frice, over every other, f
Mr. Koecker objected to charcoal, from, as he observes,
" its cutting quality ;" by which, I suppose, he means that
when not reduced to a very fine powder, it is apt to injure
the gums by insinuating itself between them and the teeth.
I think this will seldom occur if the mouth be sufficiently
rinsed with water after using the charcoal, and this reduced
to a sufficiently fine powder.

* Late resident in a high official capacity at Ceylon, under the Dutch
Government.
t See Hertz, pages, 50 to 51.