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350 world's history and

letter from United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to China, Hon. Charles Denby:
" Legation of the United States, )
Peking, March 24, 1893.
]
" Herman Lennmalm, Esq., D. D. S., Rockford, 111., U. S. A.
"Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of February 1, 1893, wherein you ask
me to furnish certain information regarding dentistry in this empire, I can only
express my regret that what I send you will, in its nature, be of little value to
the profession in which you are engaged—dentistry being practically unknown
to the Chinese previous to the advent into China of the Doctor of Dentistry
from the United States.
" The natives who practice dentistry to-day are those who have picked up
a limited knowledge of the work from their association with the American
professionals, and this does not extend further than extracting and putting in
easy fillings.
" There are no laws in connection with the practice of dentistry among the
Chinese, no schools and no dental publications.
"The natives have used for a long time a kind of white powder, which, it
is said, when applied to decayed teeth, has the effect of loosening the roots
and then renders extraction easy, but I am unable to ascertain the nature of
the powder and its component parts.
" It is estimated that there are not more than a dozen natives who practice
dentistry in China, and these are residents at the various treaty ports. They
do a certain amount of work among their countrymen, but the well-to-do
Chinamen generally prefer to have their teeth attended to by the American
dentist. The profession is well represented in China by men such as Dr. W»
J.
Hall, Dr. D. E. Peterson, and others. I have the honor to be,
" Yours respectfully,
" Charles Denby."
Through the Consulate of the United States at Hong Kong
we have received the following from Dr. J. W. Noble, Professor
of Dental Surgery at the College of Medicine for Chinese, at
Hong Kong:
11
There are no laws regulating the practice of dentistry, either
in China proper, or in the treaty ports. Notwithstanding this,
the foreign dentists located in the various ports are very capable,
and entitled to be classed among the best in the world."
Regarding the number of dentists in China, Dr. Noble says:
"This question is rather indefinite; the dentists here are so nu-
merous that even to but roughly estimate their number is, in the
absence of statistics, simply impossible. I have endeavored to
ascertain some definite information as to this from an official
source, but to no purpose."
The only school which teaches this subject is the College of
Medicine for Chinese in Hong Kong, and which is connected