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214 THIRD PERIOD—MODERN TIMES

inside it, by means of a split feather, a drop of oil ot vitriol, which, sa\ s
he, causes the fall of the tooth after a few days.
"
Elsewhere he says that sometimes worms are produced in carious teeth;
to kill them a drop of oil of vitriol is an excellent remedy; and this at the
same time cures the decay of the tooth and takes away the sensibility of
the nerve."
This passage does not agree very well with the preceding one, according
to which oil of vitriol would act much more radically by causing the tooth
to fall out altogether. But we will not take exception to so small a matter;
so much the more, as the author, if he were still alive, might perhaps show
us by some subtle distinction that the contradiction alluded to is only an
apparent one!
To free the teeth from tartar, Heurn likewise counsels oil of vitriol,
diluted, however, with other liquids.
A tooth must not be sacrificed excepting when it is loose and attacked
by incipient necrosis, so as to leave no hope of arresting the putrefactive
process. It is then our duty, says Heurn, to remove the tooth without
causing much pain. For this purpose, after the tooth has been separated
all around from the gums, it must be raised somewhat from the alveolus;
then it must be sprinkled with powder of euphorbia, or a paste made with
flour and the juice of the tithymalus must be applied around it, taking
care, however, to cover the neighboring teeth with wax. After two or
three days the tooth will be so loose that it can be pulled out very easily
with the fingers or with a pair of pincers.
Dental surgery properly so called has been entirely neglected by
Heurn. He was perhaps so persuaded of the efficacy of the above-
mentioned remedies as to believe that every other species of intervention
was useless. On the contrary, he does not abstain from speaking very
seriously of the miraculous virtues of certain remedies (serpent scales,
dog's teeth, etc.); and tells us, among other things, that the broth made
from a frog, when held for a length of time in the mouth, soothes dental
pams, whatever be the causes from which they originate. One would
seem to have gone back again to the days of Pliny!

THE STORY OF THE GOLDEN TOOTH.

In 1593 a rumor spread throughout Germany of a great marvel that
had appeared at Schweidnitz in Silesia: a golden tooth had erupted in
the mouth of a child aged seven years, which, more precisely designated,
was the first large molar on the left of the lower jaw.
In our days news of such a kind would be immediately qualified,
and universally held to be an imposture. But three centuries ago the