A mixture of honey with the purest charcoal will prove an admirable cleanser.
295. AN EXCELLENT OPIATE FOR THE TEETH.
Well boil and skim 1 pound of honey; add to it a quarter of a pound of bole ammoniac, 1 oz. of dragon’s blood, 1 of oil of sweet almonds, ½ an ounce of oil of cloves, 8 drops of essence of bergamot, a gill of honey water, all mixed well together, and put into pots for use.
296. VEGETABLE TOOTH-BRUSHES.
Take marine marsh-mallow roots, cut them into lengths of 5 or 6 inches, and of the thickness of a middling rattan cane. Dry them in the shade, but not so as to make them shrivel.
Next finely pulverize two ounces of good dragon’s blood, put it into a flat-bottomed glazed pan, with four ounces of highly rectified spirit, and half an ounce of fresh conserve of roses. Set it over a gentle charcoal fire, and stir it until the dragon’s blood is dissolved; then put in about thirty of the marsh-mallow sticks; stir them about, and carefully turn them, that all parts may absorb the dye alike. Continue this until the bottom of the pan be quite dry, and shake and stir it over the fire, until the sticks are perfectly dry and hard.
Both ends of each root or stick should, previous to immersion in the pan, be bruised gently by a hammer, for half an inch downwards, so as to open its fibres, and thereby form a brush.
They are generally used by dipping one of the ends in the powder or opiate, and then, by rubbing them against the teeth, which they cleanse and whiten admirably.
297. Other Vegetable Tooth Brushes.
There are several cheap sorts of these tooth-brushes which are made in the same manner, except that, as a basis, rattan cane, or even common deal, cut round, is used instead of the marsh-mallow roots.