The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-01-24

-=-- JANUARY "a, 1871.
TUEsDAY.....''''''' '> ',.--------..-..---===-
~,.n,cr or gcefh--|~H
- Incident
:.,. ,p the Springfield Republican
says: .s &c SARATOGA
.venty wears ago remember LIT. NO ~,
then one Of the standard.bearers o. .hI
medical profession there. 10 g.ea' Jill, ,a,"i
ability he had added m extensive se ar
scientific knowledge, ana M is.S,e t Snr;ncs
W ,hat LEGALITY. AMI their respective aoapta,
~, ~ various diseases, Is, belleVe, stiii
rs,ned sc q manual Of reference.
S,r,nr n visit TO him in 1854 be told me
.aat he had made the early decay OF TEEN,
narticulsrly in our own country. a sleSsiHi !.
study for some time. he hao attrlouteu ~
20 various causes, which further infcs,'g'-
tion NOD nroyefi erroneous. one OF THESE
was the ENORMOUS and increasing use OF SUI
par In various forms. But 4 visit to the SUI
oar plantations of Louisiana and the West
indies disproved that theory; for he never
saw finer teeth than were possessed by tho
negroes who conducted the manufacture,
and who were always chewing the cane,
sucking the Juice, and eating the sugar by
III.
had finally como to the conclusion that the
trouble In question arose from the present
disuse of many articles of food which formed
q larger part OF the diet Of the past genera
tions, and the boiling of our tarinaceouS cc-
real so fine as to exclude most OF the sile-
cious element of which nature forms the
enamel Of our teeth.
He had put this last theory to the test,
to bis entire satisfaction. in case that had
Al 81 Inr1 ir tn,,n lrS,p
agement. 4 southern lady was visiting
the springs, mainly for the benefit Of an
only daughter some four or five years old,
who was living poor, puny, pining life,
having always been sickly, and who had
lost all her teeth by utter decay in their
sockets, On inquiry he found that the
child had never eaten anything except
food, chiefly cake, made Of the fnost flour,
and confectionery ad A6itum. lie put the
patient upon diet-nauSeous at first, and
only accepted as the alternative of starva-
tion-of wheaton grits, Graham bread.
dried peas and beans, so as to procure slick
enough for natures wants. In eighteen
months time the child had not only be-
come strong and hearty, but new set eff
teeth had superseded the former, strong,
white, handsome, and with splendid coat
ing of enamel which laughed at the den
list. This seemed to settle the truth Of his
theory but he thought it received still
farther confirmation by an incident which
furnished him shortly after.
ssI was on q visit to the battlefield OF
Burgoyne's invasion, and on my arrival at
Bemis Heights. learned that the owner OF
the battle-ground Of October 7. 1T77, had
!ust exhumed several skeletons in excellent
preservation. I confess to certain anti
ouarian weakness. and Immediately sought
the aforesaid landholder. / found that In
plouehing to enlarge his garden, which lay
upon the site Of the old British entrenched
camp, be had invaded the forgotten grave
of eight officers who had been buried in the
same trench. That they were officers was
proven by the universal tradition that they
alone were carried from the field which re.
NAMED in the hands of the victorious Amer
leans, while the dead of the rank and file
were left to the disposal OF the conquerorS.
Moreover, with one Of the skeletons was
found quite piece of his scarlet coat, per-
feet in texture and color, after burial If
nearly eighty years, and two eold-iaced
buttons, whose bearings enabled me to de-
termine the wearcr to have been one OF
General Frazcr's grenadiers, who were ter
ribly cut up in that fight, the General HIM
self having been killed at their head, The
skull of the said officer had been pierced
through the temple by musket ball, which
was still within it. This and the relic Of
the uniform the finder had laid aside, while
he had reburied the rest Of the bones. But,
at nv instigation, he re-opened the grave
aud permitted me to select what l chose
from its contents. y competent douceur
of currency secured to me the possession
OF all these articles, which ! still hold.
What connects the story with Dr.. Nori h
and his teeth theory WAS the splendid dem
tai development manifc,t in al the skulls,
scarce q tooth being wanting, and, with
very few exceptions, every tooth in the
finest condition, although the efflcement of
the suture in some Of the crania betokened
that the age of their former owners must
have exceeded fifty years.
"On my way home | called on the doctor
and exhibited my trophies. lie almost
danced to see in those beautiful teeth an
other proof Of his last hypothesis concern
Ing dental decay. ''Sce there said he,
"those fellows were soldiers uil their lives :;
they ate unbolted flour and legum!nous
comeStibles the retnements OF pastry,
cakes, and comtits rarely passed beneath
their splendid molars. And behold the
consequences! No decay, no loss, perpet-
ual immunity from tooth ache, and ma
nificent eating apparatus all their lives
That's theteXt l preach from heleafltrH
And think the best dental professors Of
the present day endorse him.