Whatever the purpose for which they are wanted, it is the general opinion that these substances are more efficacious when they have been smoked in a goat’s horn for twenty days. Hare’s rennet, too, is highly spoken of, taken in Aminean[2325] wine, in the proportion of one third of a denarius of rennet to one half of a denarius of sacopenum.[2326] Bears’ grease, mixed with equal proportions of wax and bull-suet, is a cure for imposthumes of the parotid glands: some persons add hypocisthis[2327] to the composition, or else content themselves with employing butter only, after first fomenting the parts affected with a decoction of fenugreek, the good effects of which are augmented by strychnos. The testes, too, of the fox, are very useful for this purpose; as also bull’s blood, dried and reduced to powder. She-goats’ urine, made warm, is used as an injection for the ears; and a liniment is made of the dung of those animals, in combination with axle-grease. CHAP. 49.—REMEDIES FOR TOOTH-ACHE. The ashes of deer’s horns strengthen loose teeth and allay tooth-ache, used either as a friction or as a gargle. Some persons, however, are of opinion that the horn, unburnt and reduced to powder, is still more efficacious for all these purposes. Dentifrices are made both from the powder and the ashes. Another excellent remedy is a wolf’s head, reduced to ashes: it is a well-known fact, too, that there are bones generally found in the excrements of that animal; these bones, attached to the body as an amulet, are productive of advantageous effects. For the cure of tooth-ache, hare’s rennet is injected into the ear: the head also of that animal, reduced to ashes, is used in the form of a dentifrice, and, with the addition of nard, is a corrective of bad breath. Some persons, however, think it a better plan to mix the ashes of a mouse’s head with the dentifrice. In the side of the hare there is a bone found, similar to a needle in appearance: for the cure of tooth-ache it is recommended to scarify the gums with this bone. The pastern-bone of an ox, ignited and applied to loose teeth which ache, has the effect of strengthening them in the sockets; the same bone, reduced to ashes, and mixed with myrrh, is also used as a dentifrice. The ashes of burnt pig’s feet are productive of a similar effect, as also the calcined bones of the cotyloïd cavities in which the hip-bones move. It is a well-known fact, that, introduced into the throat of beasts of burden, these bones are a cure for worms, and that, in a calcined state, they are good for strengthening the teeth.