If the thinning of the hair has progressed to a more advanced stage, other measures will have to be adopted.  The most useful application which I know of to restore growth is the following.  It is a formula given by Messrs. Squire, the well-known chemists of London, and has had an immense sale extending over many years.

Cantharidine (the best) 1 grain.

Acetic ether 6 drachms.

These are to be dissolved together; then add;

Rectified spirit 3 ounces.

Castor oil 1 ounce.

As with the pomade, this is best perfumed by the addition of about 20 or 30 drops of oil of bergamot, oil of lavender, oil of orange flower, or oil of rosemary, as fancy dictates.  The bottle should be kept tightly corked, and a little of the preparation rubbed well into the hair-roots daily.  If it create any irritation after two or three days’ use, it is best to wash the scalp with a little warm water and soap.  The pomade which has been recommended may be afterwards employed for two or three days till the irritation has subsided, when the application may be renewed.  A better plan still is, from the first, to use the hair restorer on one day, and the pomade on the next, alternately.  This foregoing application is of course not infallible, but it will be found to do more good in a greater number of cases than any known preparation.

THE NAILS

From the fact that the nails are in reality appendages of the skin, they are naturally entitled to some brief consideration.  Beneath the nail is the matrix, that part of the true skin from which the nail is formed.  The matrix has not a perfectly smooth surface, but is arranged in 8 scries of parallel ridges with alternating grooves.  The nail is of a rosy pink colour, because it is transparent enough to let the blood, circulating beneath, be seen through it.  Near the root is a little crescentric-shaped white portion called the lunula.  The growth of the nail takes place from below.  It cannot grow backwards, since it is confined in a groove.  But as the fresh cells form they gradually thrust the whole nail forward, till at last it requires paring.  As a matter of fact, however, the nails really require more attention than they usually receive.  The finger nails should be trimmed into a bow shape, and the corners rounded off, while the skin near the root of the nail, which tends to grow over the lunula, should be repressed into position by means of any suitable appliance.  On the contrary, those of the feet should be cut squarish in shape, with a hollowed-out centre, so as to prevent the nail from ingrowing.

THE TEETH