Author Description

The object of this little work is to aid the busy practitioner in the selection and administration of the medicines he prescribes, and to help him in dispensing an occupation which forms a necessary, often an irksome, but seldom an agreeable, part of his daily occupation. Formularies or Pharmacopoeias more or less complete are employed in all the London and Provincial Hospitals, Dispensaries, and Infirmaries. They are compiled with reference to the special requirements of the Institutions in which they are employed, and are designed to economize not only materials but also the time and labor of the medical officers and dispensers, and thereby to facilitate materially the work of the Institution. Stock Medicines, e.g., Concentrated Mixtures and Solutions and Pills, prepared according to adopted formulae, are commonly employed with the same object in private practice. But as far as I am aware there has been no attempt to compile a Formulary adapted to the modern requirements of General Practice, with a view to supersede as far as possible extemporaneous dispensing, and to embrace all the improvements and elegance of modem pharmacy. The present work has been undertaken with a view to supply such a Formulary. The practitioner will select those adapted to his individual requirements, and these he may obtain ready for use, and so save himself the trouble of preparation. The formulae are all reliable, none having been admitted unless sanctioned by good authority or tested by my own experience, - they are sufficiently comprehensive to supply a medicine for all ordinary cases, and as most of the remedies have the advantage of extreme portability, those most commonly required can without inconvenience accompany him on his rounds, and be at once dispensed - an obvious advantage to himself and his patients. This is more practicable now than heretofore, because the medicinal requirements of modem practice are encompassed within much narrower limits, and the practitioner may, wit