DR. WERNER:—I look upon the treatment of a pulp principally from the standpoint of whether such pulp is absolutely necessary for the welfare of the tooth. The pulp is a formative organ. Its function decreases as the tooth develops. In young persons it is largest; grows smaller and smaller, and in old age it is nearly ossified or obliterated; that is, its retrogressive stage begins materially after the crown of the tooth erupts through the gum. I have seen three different times what Dr. Smith spoke of—the actual pulsation of the pulp—which in a large exposure, in a favorable light, is easily seen. All of those three pulps were capped and they seemingly are alive to-day, but I think the teeth would be quite as serviceable had the pulp been destroyed. From a surgical standpoint the amputation of part of the pulp may at times be successful, for we know how resistive they often are to any kind of arsenious acid treatment, yet I should never do it unless it were in a partially developed tooth, where the life of the pulp is essential. What the surgeon does after trepanning the skull, we should do in capping or bridging over the pulp cavity. He does not flow escharotics like oxychloride or oxyphosphate of zinc over the brain. He mechanically covers and takes good care not to press on the contents of the cavity. The tooth pulp must be treated in the same way; a simple mechanical covering over it being all that is necessary. Whether you put a metallic cap, or whether you put court plaster, or one of gutta-percha (though I should hesitate about using the latter), makes little difference, only be sure that you do not press upon the pulp. With the knowledge we have to-day in treating devitalized teeth, there seems little reason for a young man to risk trying to save bad cases of exposed pulps. It is in extreme practice successful only for the time being—sooner or later ending in failure. To me many so-called successful records are only apparent successes, the operations only hastening the pulps to degeneration. The flowing over of all escharotics, I think, is highly unscientific. DR. CLAPP:—The last speaker has made the statement that after the tooth is formed it no longer requires the presence of a pulp. I would like to ask him when he considers a tooth formed? DR. WERNER:—In many cases the pulps of teeth are very large at twenty-five years. A tooth, however, is usually formed and the apical foramen closed up at from three to five, or, at the latest, ten years after the eruption.