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HISTORY OF DENTAL SURGERY 169
forced into the conseqiient aperture, tlius wedging laterally.' Tliis method,
witli the thick gohl then used, would not produce even a good tilling except
by the application of great force, to which there were very obvious ol)jcctions.
The foil then came to he made thinner, until as low as two grains to the leaf
was used; but from four to six grains was the average weight of leaf.
"Upon the emplnymeut of light gold, the form of application became
changed. A sheet was rolled or Iwisted into a 'rope,' which was packed by
forcing it into tlie cavity in folds. In smaller cavities which would not
admit a rope, the half or third of a sheet was folded over a watch spring or
light strip of steel, and introduced in tlie same way as the rope.
"About the time from 1840 to 1815, isolated members of tlie profession
began to cylinders, however, were still inserted ujion the principle of the old time pellet,
iH'ing wound so tightly as to be little compressilde, and to a size just suf-
ficient to enter the cavity, into which they were forced, first by small and
then bv larger instruments, the toils being of sufticient depth to extend aloove
the margin.- The principles of cylinder filling as at present practiced ap-
pear not to have been perfectly understood at that time
"About 1851 the gross annunl nmdunt of gold foil used in the I'nited
Stales was about six thousand six hundred ounces, sold at an nverage price
of thirty dollars per ounce, or a total amount of $198. 0(10.
"In October, 184(i, Dr. ('. T. .lackson, of Boston, had a tooth filled witli
Sfiongf gold, of the manufacture of which he had previously discovered the
process.* This was the first use of this form of gold for the purpose named.
It attracted, however, very little attention from the profession until 1853,
when Mr. A. J. Watt, of Utica, N. Y., and Mr. Joseph Barling, Maidstone,
Kent, England, appeared (with it) in the field almost at the same time. Mr.
Barling does not appear to have patented his preparation,^ but Mr. Watt did;
not claiming the in\cnti()n of the article, but its application to dental pur-
poses,
"This preparation of gold \v ne plus rdtra of tilling materials; buf its first manufacture seems not to have
sustained the claims made in its belialf, for it was so easily reduced to powder
' Desirabode, loc. cit., p. 282.
- Am. Journal of Dental Science, 2n.l Series, Vol. VIII, p. 3.
' Am. Journal of Dental Science, 2nd Series, Vol. I, p. 228.
* Silliman 's Journal, 2nd Series, Vol. VI, p. 187.
' Dental Cosmos, Vol. X, p. 131.
HISTORY OF DENTAL SURGERY 169
forced into the conseqiient aperture, tlius wedging laterally.' Tliis method,
witli the thick gohl then used, would not produce even a good tilling except
by the application of great force, to which there were very obvious ol)jcctions.
The foil then came to he made thinner, until as low as two grains to the leaf
was used; but from four to six grains was the average weight of leaf.
"Upon the emplnymeut of light gold, the form of application became
changed. A sheet was rolled or Iwisted into a 'rope,' which was packed by
forcing it into tlie cavity in folds. In smaller cavities which would not
admit a rope, the half or third of a sheet was folded over a watch spring or
light strip of steel, and introduced in tlie same way as the rope.
"About the time from 1840 to 1815, isolated members of tlie profession
began to
iH'ing wound so tightly as to be little compressilde, and to a size just suf-
ficient to enter the cavity, into which they were forced, first by small and
then bv larger instruments, the toils being of sufticient depth to extend aloove
the margin.- The principles of cylinder filling as at present practiced ap-
pear not to have been perfectly understood at that time
"About 1851 the gross annunl nmdunt of gold foil used in the I'nited
Stales was about six thousand six hundred ounces, sold at an nverage price
of thirty dollars per ounce, or a total amount of $198. 0(10.
"In October, 184(i, Dr. ('. T. .lackson, of Boston, had a tooth filled witli
Sfiongf gold, of the manufacture of which he had previously discovered the
process.* This was the first use of this form of gold for the purpose named.
It attracted, however, very little attention from the profession until 1853,
when Mr. A. J. Watt, of Utica, N. Y., and Mr. Joseph Barling, Maidstone,
Kent, England, appeared (with it) in the field almost at the same time. Mr.
Barling does not appear to have patented his preparation,^ but Mr. Watt did;
not claiming the in\cnti()n of the article, but its application to dental pur-
poses,
"This preparation of gold \v
sustained the claims made in its belialf, for it was so easily reduced to powder
' Desirabode, loc. cit., p. 282.
- Am. Journal of Dental Science, 2n.l Series, Vol. VIII, p. 3.
' Am. Journal of Dental Science, 2nd Series, Vol. I, p. 228.
* Silliman 's Journal, 2nd Series, Vol. VI, p. 187.
' Dental Cosmos, Vol. X, p. 131.
