is a method that has never been tried, and no doubt it is worthy of a trial. I think it would be well if the society would take it up, in a systematic manner, as suggested in the paper, with the hope that it would result in educating the mass of the people to appreciate prophylaxis.

Dr. R. E. Denney. Dr. Luckie spoke rather disparagingly of the plan of spreading information among the public by means of pamphlets. My brother and I have a common waiting-room. He is an oculist, and has pamphlets containing certain information about the eye on the table in the waiting-room, and I find that nearly all of my patients come into my office with one of these pamphlets in their hands. I find that people are very keen about getting any information they can concerning themselves, and I believe the plan Dr. Inglis suggests is a very good one. I think we are all too much afraid of doing something that would be considered unethical, and are inclined to let the newspapers and magazines do the educational work that we should do.

Dr. F. D. Gardiner. I never could see much use in discussing which kind of gold is the best to preserve teeth. The kind of gold used should depend entirely upon the skill and preference of the operator. If he is more skilful in the use of non-cohesive gold than he is in the use of the cohesive, he will succeed best with the non-cohesive, and vice versa. He should be equally skilled in the use of both. In that case he can use both forms, either singly or combined. He ought to be able to avail himself of the advantages of all forms of gold.

I have had rather an extensive experience with the use of non-cohesive gold entirely in the same operation. I have also used it in combination with cohesive gold, and I have used cohesive gold exclusively. I could do just as good work with one form as with the other. I have used the crystalline form, and equally good results can be obtained with that. It makes no difference whether cohesive gold can be made "soft" or not, if it is soft when you use it. Any cohesive gold, no matter how cohesive it is, if exposed

to the air and allowed to become stale, will become soft or non-cohesive, and you cannot make it cohere without annealing. One who is going to use gold should become skilled in the use of all forms, because each one has its place. There are many operations that can be performed with cohesive gold that could not be done skilfully with non-cohesive.

With regard to Dr. Inglis' paper, undoubtedly the practice of the future should be that of prevention. My practice has been gradually drifting into preventive treatment for nearly twenty years, and I never obtained as gratifying results before as I have obtained since I adopted the practice of prevention. Disease can be prevented if we are only willing to take the trouble to do it, and are thorough and systematic enough.

Dr. Geo. F. Logan. Dr. Faught said he was going to read a primary paper. As far as soft gold is concerned, my experience is so primary that I do not think I shall discuss it at all. I am glad he mentioned the care we should take to avoid injury to the enamel prisms. Dr. Register emphasized this point. I believe that if we primary gold workers. have more success with inlays than we had with the old method, the success is due to the fact that the former method enables us to avoid injuring the margins of the cavity.

Dr. Inglis mentioned educating the public. That is an interesting subject, but I think he begins at the wrong end. It seems to me that the school is the place to educate the public. The teacher speaks with an authority that the newspaper, the magazine, or even the dentist cannot. The child accepts what the teacher says as final. It is an insidious method of impressing upon and implanting into the minds of the children a fact that grows up with them. I think with very little effort we could interest the school boards, and have this work done through the schools. Instead of using textbooks on hygiene that instruct children not to use pins with which to pick the teeth because they scratch the enamel, let us get authority to revise the textbooks, and tell them something about the first molar, etc. I have had mothers

send children to have the first molar extracted. When I sent the child back with the information that it was a second tooth it was met with the positive statement that it was not, and the child was sent back to me. The present textbooks on hygiene say practically nothing about vital dental subjects. I think there is nothing that could be taught through hygiene that is more important than the care of the teeth. Children can help to take care of their teeth. It is all very well to instruct them about the other organs, but they cannot make use of their knowledge to take care of them. They must go to the physician.

Dr. Wallace wrote a small book a few years ago in which he claimed that proper preventive measures would actually prevent caries. The book caused quite a stir in the profession at the time it was published. I think that Dr. Wallace was a little over-enthusiastic, but his suggestion was a long step in the right direction.

We

Somebody mentioned root-fillings. Dr. Register called attention to the 33 per cent. of organic matter in dentin. There has been a great deal of discussion as to the possibility of destroying bacteria in the tubuli of the dentin. Some claim that there are no bacteria there. know that there are tubuli, and that there is pabulum in them. The sodiumpotassium method is very effective, but it seems to me that Dr. Howe's method is the better to sterilize the dentin. We can close up the apical foramen and force the silver nitrate and ammonia into the tubuli by pressure-of course, if the shade of the tooth is unimportant because of its position or condition.

Dr. A. Kassab. With regard to Dr. Inglis' paper, I would say that with our present knowledge of the relation of infection of the teeth to systemic diseases, I agree heartily with him about educating the public by articles prepared by the state or the national dental society. During the last month an article was published in one of the magazines entitled "How I Found Health in the Dentist's Chair," and I think that within one week it was mentioned to me by my patients more than half a dozen times. This

shows the people are anxious to get something that will help them in securing good health if they do not have it; or in taking care of it, if they do. The school is the place where children should be taught oral hygiene; but who can teach them? Many teachers are ignorant of the principles of it. In our town, through the efforts of Dr. Luckie, we have secured a set of slides, and a committee has volunteered to spread information in the schools throughout Delaware county. Permission was obtained for the members of this committee to go into the schools before the pupils from the fourth grade up, and speak to them about the importance of oral hygiene. You would be surprised to know how many, not of the children, but of the teachers, would speak to us afterward and say that they had not known these things. If they did not know them, they could not teach them. Until the time comes when the teachers receive instruction in this subject, they cannot teach it; and I agree that any method that can bring before the public the importance of saving the pearls which nature has given them is of value, because I believe that on their health depends, to a great extent, the health of the individual.

Dr. Logan. In answer to the objection of the gentleman who has just spoken, I would say that if this information were embodied in the textbooks and therefore a part of the course, it would be the teachers' business to know about it. It would be an easy matter to revise the textbooks and give the information to the teachers in that way.

Dr. Inglis. The school is the place for the child to learn oral hygiene, but there are millions of people not in the schools who are present or prospective patients. Something should be done to educate these people, and the constant presentation to them of authoritative knowledge through the medium suggested should finally move them into such action as will make prophylaxis possible. As it is, we get the consequences of neglect.

The readers of the papers received a vote of thanks. The meeting adjourned at 9.25 P.M.

ESSENTIALS OF LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS. Designed for Students and Practitioners. By FRANCIS ASHLEY FAUGHT, M.D., Director of the Laboratory of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Assistant to the Professor of Clinical Medicine, MedicoChirurgical College, etc., Philadelphia, Pa. Sixth Edition, revised. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis Company. 1917. It is unlikely that this admirable work will find a place in the library of many dentists. It deals with a subject which is distinctly outside the province of dental practice. This does not mean that the study of the pulse, the blood-picture, uranalysis, and many bacteriologic methods are immaterial to an efficient and successful treatment of oral and dental lesions. It means simply that the subject is so complex and so intricate that the dentist cannot afford to train himself to make many of the tests accurately or to interpret the results rationally. He must refer this work, as does the general practitioner, to the specialist.

From a dental standpoint, the book needs enlargement of the section on the chemistry of the saliva, and a special section on the collection of material from oral infectious foci for bacteriologic examination. From the general standpoint, this work is very complete, concise, and clear. The print is large; the size, form, and make-up of the book facilitate convenience of usage, and in particular the table of contents and the index make reference easy and rapid.

GENERAL PATHOLOGY AND BACTERIOLOGY FOR DENTAL STUDENTS. By GUTHRIE MCCONNELL, M.D., Director of the Clinical and Roentgenological Laboratories of the Waterloo Medical Society, Iowa, Capt. M.R.C., U. S. A., formerly Professor of Pathology and Bacteriology in the Philadelphia Dental College and in the Medical Department, Temple University; formerly Demonstrator of Pathology, Medico-Chirurgical College of Philadelphia; formerly Assistant Demonstrator of Histology, University of Pennsylvania, etc. Second Edition, revised. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Company. 1918.

This little book is designed for two groups: First, practitioners of dentistry who received their training before the modern, fundamentally medical viewpoint was appreciated; second, dental students. For the former group this book may be extremely desirable. A short, concise, simple exposition of pathologic facts and concepts must make this group more valuable in its service to the community.

For the latter group, dental students, the value of this book is questionable. Undoubtedly it will enable them to pass the "state board" examination, but will they have from it as deep, as real, as comprehensive a "pathologic sense" will that student who has in addition to laboratory work and lectures made collateral reference to the more elaborate texts? The student who is to practice dentistry admittedly needs different

training from that given to him who will practice general medicine, obstetrics, or abdominal surgery-but the point of divergence lies after, not before the instruction in general pathology.

A critique of this book ultimately resolves itself into a consideration of this whole class of books-books which are intermediate between the more complete, scholarly textbooks and the totally inadequate "quiz compend." If it be adImitted that there is a place for such an "intermediate" book, then in this one the treatment of certain subjects, as inflammation, bone diseases, and the streptococci-subjects all of high dental interest. -stands out as particularly insufficient.

Books Received.

Books received are acknowledged in this column, and such acknowledgment must be regarded as a sufficient return for the courtesy of the sender. Selections will be made for review in the interests of our readers and as space permits.

"Electrolytic Medication (Ionization)Theory, Technique, and Clinical Applications." Published by the Ritter Dental Mfg. Co., Rochester, N. Y., Chicago, Philadelphia, New York. 1918.

"How to Keep Well?" [Polish.] A Popular Textbook on Oral Hygiene, Descriptive and Instructive. By W. NALENCZ-KONIUSZEWSKI, D.D.S. (Published for the benefit of the three million Polish-speaking Americans.) Chicago, Ill.: Polish Peoples Publishing Co. 1917.

"An Investigation of the Methods of Disinfection as Carried Out in Dental Offices."

By ADAH ROBERTA HOLMES, B.A., M.A., Research Laboratory, University of California and California State Dental Association. Re

printed from the Journal of the California State Dental Association of March and April, 1918. [Pamphlet.]

"Congreso Dental Pan-Americano de Chile." Celebrado en Octubre de 1917. Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Universitaria, Bandera 130, Santiago. 1917.

"Dental Physiology and Oral Hygiene." By DAVID STANLEY HILL, D.D.S. First Edition, illustrated. Effingham, Ill.: The LeCrone Press, 1917.

"Nine Humorous Tales." BY ANTON CHEKHOV. Translated by ISAAC GOLDBERG and HENRY T. SCHNITTKIND. Boston: The Stratford Company. 1918. Price 25 cents.

"Interpretation of Dental and Maxillary Roentgenograms." By ROBERT H. IVY, M.D., D.D.S., Major Medical Reserve Corps, U. S. Army; Associate Surgeon, Columbia Hospital, Milwaukee; formerly Instructor in Oral Surgery, University of Pennsylvania. With 259 illustrations. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company. 1918.

"Qualitative Chemical Analysis." A Laboratory Manual of Qualitative Chemical Analysis. By A. R. BLISS, Jr., M.D., Ph.G., Professor of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.; formerly Professor of Chemistry and Pharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Alabama. Second Edition, revised and reset; 194 pages with working tables. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders Company, 1918. Cloth, $2.25 net.

"Army Dentistry." Forsyth Lectures for the Army Dental Reserve Corps. By FREDERICK A. KEYES, D.M.D., former Visiting Dentist, St. Vincent's Orphanage, Boston; Consulting Dentist, State Hospital, Medfield, Mass.; Librarian and Curator of the Museum, Forsyth Dental Infirmary, Boston. New York and London: D. Appleton & Co. 1918.

The dentist in general and the orthodontist in particular realize the correlation between the teeth and the facial contours and profiles. Perhaps it is not yet fully appreciated that the definition of the norm is an indispensable prerequisite to the study of such correlation, or that this definition has by no means been yet accepted by the anthropologist. The problem in England is infinitely simple compared with the problem in this country, whose basic complexity has for so long a time been signalized by Boas.

Parsons introduces his considerations with the comment that it is a curious thing that one of the skull forms of which we know the least is that of the modern Englishman. The reason, of course, is that we so seldom have the opportunity of studying it, since all the skulls in our dissecting rooms are cut to pieces, while those which we use in the lectures are collected from various parts of Europe. There are, however, in London a few skulls the identity of which is known, and one or the other of these is often used as the type of an English skull, though not always the same one. Parsons proposes to make a short study of these skulls with the view of determining whether they may all be regarded justly as typically English.

After a very technical anthropometric survey he accepts the prosaic and likely fact that the modern Londoner differs wonderfully little in his head form from his Saxon ancestor, except that he has lost 2 or 3 mm. in his skull length. In England, as in Norway, the brachycephalic, Alpine, or Slav blood has not had the chance of superseding and stamping out the Nordic, which it has done, if German prisoners are any test, throughout the greater part of Germany.

[New York Medical Journal, March 30, April 6, 13, 20, and 27; May 4 and 11, 1918.] The Treatment of Hemophilia. BY LOUIS T. DE M. SAJOUS.

Hemophilia is one of the big, ingrained fears of the dental profession. In the first place it is well to recognize that clinically hemophilia does not correspond with a pathologic entity. It may be due to deficiency in available calcium in the blood; to infection, as e.g. in the melena neonatorum: it may occur in hepatic cirrhosis. However, in its strict sense this term may be limited to that constitutional hereditary defect which in general is sex-linked, and which follows a modified form of the Mendelian law. This seems to be characterized by a delay in the coagulation time in the initial step of coagulation, which initial step normally is "a rendering of the platelets available by some process like solution." The platelets, while normal in numbers, seem abnormally resistant, and do not give up their prothrombin readily enough. Hemophilic blood plasma is thus likely to contain only minimal amounts of dissolved prothrombin. From this viewpoint, the rational treatment of hemophilia would consist, under emergency conditions, in supplying at once artificially the lack of prothrombin, and during the intervals between . hemorrhages, either in promoting the formation of less resistant platelets or possibly in supplying some agent which would hasten their dissolution.

For convenience this discussion may be divided into seven different headings, each of which is concerned with some form of treatment. These are (1) administration of calcium in one form or another, (2) administration of gelatin, (3) administration of normal blood serum, (4) administration of defibrinated human blood, (5) the transfusion of human blood, (6) the introduction of organic coagulating principle or principles