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FILLING TEETH 121

general adoption. The use of aged or annealed
alloys is therefore of importance. Whether a
freshly cut, but fully annealed, alloy will after-
wards become unduly annealed by an after-time
ageing within a reasonable period, should be known
and in view of a probable deterioration through
age, it would be well for the makers to place
the date of the annealing on the label, and state
for how long a time the alloy will remain in
perfect condition. There is still a great deal to
be learnt about dental amalgams, for the subject
has by no means reached finality. That much
progress has been made which will lead to the
use of better alloys, and better methods of using
them, is something that the dental profession should
be thankful for.
The method of mixing an amalgam is of import-
ance, and a good deal of misapprehension exists on
this point. The accurate, or fairly accurate, weigh-
ing of the alloy, and the mercury before making the
mix, does not so much depend on the necessity for
securing exact proportions of alloy and mercury in
the filling, as on the manner in which the mix can
be made. Dr. Elagg states that the mix should
be accomplished in definite proportions, with one
admixture—that is to say, that the weighing of the in-
gredients enables a mix of the desired consistence or