EDITORIAL.

THE INTEBNATIONAL TOOTH-CEOWN COMPANY'S CLAIMS.

In the Dental Cosmos for October, 1884, page 640, we published, without comment, a letter from Dr. William H. Dwinelle, president of the American Dental Protective Union, purporting to be a statement of proceedings in the United States Circuit Court, and which we believed to be a mere recital of undisputed facts; not thinking for a moment that a gentleman of Dr. Dwinelle's intelligence could have been mistaken, and confident that he would not knowingly misrepresent.

We have received a communication from Messrs. Dickerson & Dickerson, attorneys for the International Tooth-Crown Company, complaining of the injustice done to their clients by said publication; denying the truth of the statements; claiming that " at no time were any patents owned by the International Tooth-Crown Company invalidated in any court;" and affirming that "no question of fraud in obtaining the licenses was raised in the case."

In accordance with the suggestion of the Messrs. Dickerson, we have communicated with Mr. Solomon J. Gordon, attorney for the American Dental Protective Union, and also with Dr. Dwinelle, requesting them to correct any errors which the article in question may have contained.

Dr. Dwinelle informs us that, instead of stating that the patents were invalidated, he should have said "were shown to be invalid." Mr. Gordon's reply affirms the propriety of this modification of Dr. Dwinelle's language.

Dr. Dwinelle further informs us that he did not intend to assert that " the licenses were shown to have been obtained by fraud, but only to make that allegation as to the patents."

So far as we are able to ascertain, no charge of fraud in obtaining the licenses was made, and, as the hearing in question was only preliminary, it is proper for us to add that no final decision has yet been rendered upon the validity of the patents or upon any of the questions at issue.

It is hardly worth while to say that the Dental Cosmos has no desire to mislead its readers on any subject, nor to allow its pages to be used for such purpose; and that it regrets that, even inadvertently, an erroneous statement should have appeared in its pages. It assuredly would not intentionally induce any one to infringe a patentright to his own injury. The International Tooth-Crown Company is entitled to Dr. Dwinelle's disclaimer. With the desire to present the actual facts, we cordially invited the Messrs. Dickerson to make a statement of the case over their own signature; but, as they have not availed themselves of the opportunity, we have thus endeavored to set the matter straight before our readers.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL.

The Principles And Practice Of Dentistry, including Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, Dental Surgery and Mechanism. By Chapin A. Harris, M.D., D.D.S., etc. Eleventh edition. Eevised and Edited by Ferdinand J. S. Gorgas, A.M., M.D., D.D.S., author of "Dental Medicine," editor of Harris's "Dictionary of Medical Terminology and Dental Surgery," professor of the Principles of Dental Science, etc., in the University of Maryland. With 2 full-page plates and 744 other illustrations. Eoyal 8vo., pp. 994. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co., 1885. Price, cloth, $6.50; sheep, 87.50.

The first edition of this book was published in 1841; the last (tenth) edition was issued under the editorship of the late Dr. P. H. Austen.

Nearly fourteen years having elapsed since that revision, the rapid advances made during that period have necessitated another, which, as stated in the preface, was undertaken by Prof. G-orgas at the request of the publishers and of the author's family, involving, as he claims, more than a year's labor. Many changes have been made in the arrangement of topics; new chapters have been added; the number of illustrations has been greatly increased, and much that had become obsolete in theory and practice has been omitted.

Of the omissions, it is only necessary to say that good judgment has been exercised in expurgation.

Of the many valuable additions, the most considerable are under the heads of irregularity of the teeth, preparation of natural roots for attachment of artificial crowns, and vulcano-plastic work; but many other notable and valuable additions have been made throughout the volume.

The book is divided into four parts, treating respectively of anatomy and physiology, pathology and therapeutics, dental surgery, and dental mechanics. The literature of the profession has evidently been diligently searched, and we can scarcely recall a plausible theory which has been suggested, or an improved appliance or method which has been devised, within the last decade, that has not received more or less notice by the editor. There has evidently been an earnest and conscientious effort to incorporate in this volume all that belongs to a text-book of dentistry. It is sufficiently elementary for the student, while at the same time a reliable guide to the practitioner.

This new edition of Harris is so far ahead of all previous editions that it should be in the possession of every dental student, and there are few practitioners who can afford not to number it among their possessions.

It would not be difficult to criticise some of the teaching. No volume of this extent was ever written which was not open to criticism, and none such will ever be written that, in all respects, will find indorsement by any one individual. But, in the main, the instruction conveyed is reliable, the methods taught are such as are approved by some at least of those who are considered as authorities; and, until the time comes when all authorities shall agree upon all points, universal indorsement is not to be expected. We think, however, that all unprejudiced readers will admit that the eleventh edition of Harris is a volume of which the dental profession may not feel ashamed.

A System Of Practical Medicine By American Authors. Edited by William Pepper, M.B.; assisted by Louis Starr, M.D. Yol. I.—Pathology And General Diseases. Philadelphia: Lea Brothers & Co., 1885. For sale by subscription only. 8vo., pp. 1094. Cloth, $5.00; leather, $6.00; half Eussia, $7.00.

This is the initial volume of "A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors," edited by the able professor of theory and practice in the University of Pennsylvania, assisted by the clinical professor of diseases of children in the Hospital of the University.

This work, which has been in preparation for several years, is to comprise five volumes of about 1000 pages each. All of the articles are to be furnished by American physicians of recognized authority in their several departments, thus presenting a comprehensive and thoroughly practical system of American medicine.

The ground plan, so to speak, of the enterprise has been carefully prepared; the selection of authors—including the most eminent practitioners and specialists—has been judiciously made, and the "System," when completed, promises to be the best representation yet offered of modern medical science as taught and practiced in the United States of America.

Noticeable features of the volume before us are the omission of extended discussions of controverted questions and of theoretical views, and the concise and clear description of disease, of diagnosis, and of treatment, which it seems to have been the ambition of the several authors to supply. We congratulate the publishers, editors, authors, and the profession on the conception and execution (thus far) of this great undertaking.

The volume before us contains the following articles: General Morbid Processes, by Eeginald H. Fitz, M.D.; General Etiology, Medical Diagnosis and Prognosis, by Henry Hartshorne, M.D., LL.D.; Hygiene, by John S. Billings, A.M., M.D., LL.D. (Edin.); Drainage and Sewerage in their Hygienic Relations, by Geo. E. Waring, Jr., M. Inst. C. E.; Simple Continued Fever, Typhoid Fever, Typhus Fever, by James H. Hutchinson, M.D.; Relapsing Fever, by William Pepper, M.D., LL.D.; Variola, by James Kevins Hyde, M.D.; Vaccinia, by Frank P. Foster, M.D.; Varicella, by James Kevins Hyde, M.D.; Scarlet Fever, by J. Lewis Smith, M.D.; Rubeola, Rotheln, by W. A. Hardaway, A.M., M.D.; Malarial Fevers, by Samuel M. Bemiss, M.D.; Parotitis, by John M. Keating, M.D.; Erysipelas, by James Nevins Hyde, M.D.; Yellow Fever, by Samuel M. Bemiss, M.D.; Diphtheria, by Abraham Jacobi, M.D.; Cholera, by Alfred Stille, M.D., LL.D.; Plague, by James C. Wilson, A.M., M.D.; Leprosy, by James C. White, M.D.; Epidemic Cerebro-Spinal Meningitis, by A. Stille, M.D., LL.D.; Pertussis, by John M. Keating, M.D.; Influenza, by James 0. Wilson, A.M., M.D.; Dengue, by H. D. Schmidt, M.D.; Rabies and Hydrophobia, Glanders and Farcy, Anthrax (Malignant Pustule), by James Law, F.R.C.V.S.; Pycemia and Septicaemia, by B. A. Watson, A.M., M.D.; Puerperal Fever, by William T. Lusk, M.D.; and Beriberi, by Duane B. Simmons, M.D.

A Manual For The Practice Of Surgery. By Thomas Bryant, F.R.C.S., member of the Council and Court of Examiners of the Eoyal College of Surgeons, etc. With 727 illustrations. Imperial 8vo., pp. 1039. Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea's Son & Co., 1885. Price, cloth, $6.50; sheep, $7.50.

This last edition of a well-known surgical manual has been thoroughly revised, brought up to date, and can fairly claim to rank with the manuals of Ashhurst and Holmes as a guide to the student and as an epitome of surgical science for the practitioner. Mr. Bryant's well-known reputation as a careful, conservative, but able practitioner, and his very large experience both in private practice and as one of the attending surgeons at Guy's, entitle all his utterances to respectful consideration; but we are surprised to find that at this day and in the light shed upon surgery by the aseptic system during the last ten years, he is not only willing to say that "the Listerian mode of dressing has had its day," but to speak scoffingly of the whole theory of aseptic surgery, and of the theories upon which it rests. It would be safe to wager that, like the majority of its opponents, he has never given it a fair trial.

The section on the teeth was written by Mr. Henry Moon, and is, therefore, as might be expected, much superior to the articles on that subject in most other manuals or treatises on general surgery. Indeed, exclusive of the chapter on the teeth in Agnew's "Surgery," we do not know of a more concise or more reliable resume of the surgical relations of the teeth than is contained in these twentyfour pages. The rules for extracting, the causes and treatment of decay, the inflammatory affections of the pulp, the correction of irregularities, the reflex troubles connected with the teeth are all succinctly and clearly described, and render the book especially valuable to the dental practitioner. It is written in a smooth, readable style, and is typographically everything that could be desired.

The Science And Art Of Surgery: A Treatise on Surgical Injuries, Diseases, and Operations. By John Eric Erichsen, F.E.S, LL.D., F.K.C.S. Eighth edition, revised and edited by Marcus Beck, M.S. and M.B., London. F.R.C.S. With 984 engravings on wood. Yol. II., octavo, pp. 1205. Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea's Son & Co., 1884. Price, cloth, $4.50; sheep, $5.50.

The first volume of this noble work was noticed in the Dental Cosmos for December. That now before us gives like evidence of a careful and thorough condensation, and of many, various, and valuable additions, including all the advanced methods of modern practice. This volume includes chapters on diseases of the head; of the jaws and their appendages; of the mouth and the throat, and plastic surgery of the face and mouth. Erichsen's Surgery is so well known and so highly esteemed, by both American and English practitioners, that it is needless to occupy space in eulogy of it. It is sufficient to say that there is a new edition of it on the market.

Dental Surgery For Practitioners And Students. By Ashley W. Barrett, M.B., Dental Surgeon to the London Hospital. 12mo., pp. 83. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Co., 1885. Cloth, $1.00.

In this little volume of eighty pages the author has endeavored to present, under nine general and fifty-two sub-headings, the substance of what, for several years, he has, as he informs us in the preface, been teaching to students of medicine in the dental department of the London Hospital. The author hopes " that this small book may prove useful to the busy medical practitioner too much occupied to study larger and more exhaustive works on dental surgery." A little knowledge is said to be a dangerous thing, but if a medical student or practitioner is ambitious to know anything whatever about dental matters, he cannot hope to obtain such knowledge in less compass than in this small volume.