wever, it should be carefully rinsed off. If the hair is
carefully and _thoroughly_ brushed every morning, it will not require
very frequent washings. If the scalp be kept in a healthy condition
the hair will be moist, glossy, and luxuriant, and no oil or hair wash
will be required; and these preparations generally do more harm than
good. Night-caps are most unwholesome and uncleanly contrivances, and
should be discarded altogether. They keep the head unnaturally warm,
shut out the fresh air, and shut in those natural exhalations which
should be allowed to pass off, and thus weaken the hair and render it
more liable to fall off. Ladies may keep their hair properly together
during repose by wearing a _net_ over it.

7. _The Teeth._

Do not forget the teeth. Cleanliness, health, a pure breath, and the
integrity and durability of those organs require that they be
thoroughly and effectually scoured with the tooth-brush dipped in soft
water, with the addition of a little soap, if necessary, every
morning. Brush them outside and inside, and in every possible
direction. You can not be too careful in this matter. After brushing
rinse your mouth with cold water. A slighter brushing should be given
them after each meal. Use an ivory tooth-pick or a quill to remove any
particles of food that may be lodged between the teeth.

There are, no doubt, original differences in teeth, as in other parts
of the human system, some being more liable to decay than others; but
the simple means we have pointed out, if adopted in season and
perseveringly applied, will preserve almost any teeth, in all their
usefulness and reality, till old age. If yours have been neglected,
and some of them are already decayed, hasten to preserve the
remainder. While you have _any_ teeth left, it is never too late to
begin to take care of them; and if you have children, do not, we
entreat you, neglect _their_ teeth. If the first or temporary teeth
are cared for and preserved, they will be mainly absorbed by the
second or permanent ones, and will drop out of themselves. The others,
in that case, will come out regular and even.

Beware of the teeth-powders, teeth-washes, and the like, advertised in
the papers. They are often even more destructive to the teeth than the
substances they are intended to remove. If any teeth-powder is
required, pure powdered charcoal is the best thing you can procure;
but if the teeth are kept clean, in the way we have directed, th