He then passes on to speak of the diseases of the gums: “Often small painful tumors, called by the Greeks _parulides_, are produced on the gums. It is necessary at the very first to rub them softly with powdered salt, or with a mixture of burnt mineral salt, cyperus, and catmint, meanwhile keeping the mouth open until there flows from it a good quantity of pituita; after which the mouth must be rinsed with a decoction of lentils. But if the inflammation is great, the same remedies must be used as are adopted for the ulcers in the mouth, and between the tooth and the gum must be inserted a small tent of soft lint, on which has been smeared some one of those compositions which we have said are called _antheræ_. If this, owing to the hardness of the tumor, is not possible, then by means of a sponge the steam of hot water should be made to act upon the diseased part, and, besides, an emollient cerate must be applied upon it. “Should suppuration show itself, it will be necessary to use the above-mentioned steam for a longer period; to keep in the mouth hot mulse, in which some figs have been cooked, and to lance the tumor before it is perfectly ripe, so that the pus may not, by remaining too long in the diseased part, injure the bone. But if the tumor be of great size, it will be more advisable to remove it entirely, so that the tooth remain free on both sides. After the pus has been extracted, if the wound be a small one, it is sufficient to keep hot water in the mouth, and to use externally fomentations of steam, as mentioned above; if it be large, it will be fitting to use the decoction of lentils and the same remedies with which all other ulcers of the mouth are cured. “It also happens, sometimes, that from an ulcer of the gums—whether it follow a parulis or not—one may have for a long period a discharge of pus, on account of a broken or rotten tooth, or else on account of a disease of the bone; in this case there very often exists a fistula. Then the latter must be opened, the tooth extracted, and if any bony fragment exist, this should be removed; and if there be anything else diseased, this should be scraped away. Afterward, the same remedies which have been indicated for the other ulcers of the mouth must be used. “If the gums separate from the teeth, it will be useful, in this case also, to employ those remedies called _antheræ_. But it is also beneficial to chew unripe pears and apples and to keep their juices in the mouth. Equal advantage can be derived from keeping vinegar in the mouth, provided it be not too strong.