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PYORRHCEA ALVEOLARIS. 15 gress of saliva to the place of the calculus; these are called blind " pockets " as a distinction from the open ones ; the dis- tinction, of course, is carried inside the socket itself, and so we have the claim set up that the calculus found there is not only of a very different character, but has a different origin from that of salivary calculus, or that found in open "pockets." As a precise fact I doubt the existence of any really blind cases, but hold that for every one there is a means of ingress from the mouth as well as a necessary means for drainage into the mouth. The dental surgeon may not be able to discover an opening to a " pocket " with such appli- ances as usually are at hand, but it is there nevertheless and it ought to be discovered. From observation of cases in practice I know that a fairly open " pocket " may occasionally be closed by orbicular con- traction, rendering ingress difficult, and doubtless such cases have been passed upon as blind. This is a passing condition, the opening again becoming free or fair. An exception to this, and rarely observed, is where a fistulous opening through the gum affords drainage, much as in cases of ordinary alveo- lar abscess; I have had but one such case, in which an in- cision was made to reach the calculus. Professing to entertain the highest regard for opinions ex- pressed by the distinguished writers upon this subject, and disclaiming any aspiration to appear to differ from others, it iv privilege, perhaps my duty, to take exceptions to certain conclusions, particularly where their expressions have appeared