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HISTORY OF DENTAL SURGERY 341 ;

temperance, and tobacco in all its forms, and constantly denounced them in
"Items of Interest." He liad but little patience with verbosity, and with
telling force criticised the misuse and waste of words so frequently seen in
poorly edited dental journals. He now and again selected examples of this,
condensing a half page or more into a few crisp, well constructed, easily
understood sentences. For a time he offered to "schoolmaster" matter writ-
ten for dental journals, wliethcr intended for his own journal or for others.
His constant "hammering"' at it undoubtedly brought about a marked im-
provement in the work of dental writers and careless editors. Dr. Welch
served his day and generation thiiroughly well, and his little journal proved
helpful to thousands who especially needed just the matter he supplied. It
has grown wonderfully under new management; it owes much, however,
to its sponsor and founder, Thomas B. Welch, who made a place for it in
dental literature.

THE NEW YORK DENTAL RECORDER.
The first number of this monthly dental journal is dated September,
1846. It was octavo in form, published and edited by J. S. Ware, M. D.,
dentist. No. 39 Bond street. New York ; the subscription price was one dollar
a year in advance. The first volume contained ll"? pages. It was well edited,
and had rather more of a scientific tone than any of his contemporaries. Many
of the articles are of decided interest. An account of the early operations
under ether anesthesia taken from a medical journal is of historic interest
as is also a full narration of the now forgotten case of Mr. N. P. Ames, which
figured so prominently in the famous "amalgam war."' His death was said
to have resulted from mercui-y poisoning caused by the amalgam used in
filling his teeth, and was loudly proclaimed by the anti-amalgamites as a
warning against its rise. The evidence here given proves conclusively that
it had nothing to do with Mr. Ames' untimely death : his physician emphati-
cally declares that "the idea was too ridiculous to be entertained for a mo-
ment." The strong language used pro and con indicates how hot the battle
raged; while the story as here given shows conclusively that preju the material was the ruling factor with its opponents. The closely printed
pages of this little volume are of much interest from cover to cover.
The first number of the second volume is dated Octolier 1, 1847. In
the editorial column Dr. Ware announces his retirement from the journal,
and in a kindly worded paragraph introduces his friend. Dr. C. C. Allen, as
his successor, who makes his bow, and outlines the future of the "Dental