Of the poisonous qualities of tobacco, we are informed that a drop or two of the chemical oil of tobacco, being put upon the tongue of a cat or dog, produces violent convulsions, and death itself, in the space of a few minutes; yet, the same oil used on lint, applied to the teeth, has been found of the utmost service in the tooth-ach.[21]
A very common opinion prevails among those who do not smoke, that it is bad for the teeth: a belief founded upon any thing but experience, and resulting generally from prejudice. For preserving the gums and the enamel of the teeth, in a healthy and sound state, few remedies can operate better than the smoke of tobacco. In the first instance, it renders nugatory the corruptive power of the juices that invariably set into the interstices of the teeth, and unless brushed away, remain after meals; and, in the second place, it destroys the effluvia arising at times from the breath that, in some constitutions, so quickly brings about a corrosion of the outer surface or enamel. The benefits that have resulted from smoking, in cases of the tooth-ache, have been too commonly experienced to admit of doubt. In a pamphlet that was published some thirty years ago, detailing the adventures of the Pretender; an anecdote is related of its excellence. While taking refuge in the mansion of Lady Kingsland, in the Highlands of Scotland, from his enemies, after having had recourse to many things, he smoked a pipe to free himself from this 'curse o' achs;' and after a short time, received the wished-for relief.
As another and concluding instance of the preservative power of tobacco upon the teeth, it is related in the life of the great Sir Isaac Newton, who was remarkable for the quantity of tobacco he smoked, that though he lived to a good old age, he never lost but ONE TOOTH.
BOTANICAL HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE TOBACCO PLANT.
Tobacco is a genus of the class _pentandria_. Order _monogynia_; natural order of luridæ (solaneæ, _Juss._)--GENERIC CHARACTERS--Calyx; perianthium one-leafed, ovate, half five-cleft, permanent. Corolla: one-petalled funnel-form.--_Essential Character_--Corolla funnel-form, with a plaited border, stamina inclined; capsule two-valved and two-celled.