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OBITUARY NOTICE. 
medicine, he had an expert knowledge, gained by a first- 
hand study of early medical works, of which he had amassed 
a representative library. His writings on this subject 
include : 
“ On the origin of the Apothecaries’ Symbols for the 
Scruple, Drachm, and Ounce.” 
“ Carboy Symbols.” 
“ The Astral elements of the Pharmaceutical Symbols of 
the 17th Century.” 
“ Pages from a Pharmacopoeia of the Past.” 
“ Suggested Moorish origin of certain Amulets.” 
The above afford striking evidence of the thoroughness 
with which Dr. Plowright carried out his investigations. 
He was not content with “ second-hand ” knowledge, but 
dug down to the original authorities. For the first two of 
the papers just mentioned he learnt Arabic, in order that he 
might consult the early medical writers in the original, 
while, before writing the last, which deals, inter alia, with 
horse-brasses, he visited Spain in order to examine for himself 
the details of Moorish architecture, which he knew only from 
illustrations, etc. Further evidence of his love of archaeology 
is furnished by his paper, “ On the so-called Moon-dial on 
St. Margaret’s Church, King’s Lynn.” 
For thirty-two years Dr. Plowright was Medical Officer of 
Health for the Freebridge Lynn Rural District, and brought 
into this work also the same qualities of insight and careful 
investigation which have made his scientific researches so 
valuable. His reports were the subject of frequent commenda- 
tion by the Local Government Board, and usually contained 
data worthy of permanent record. Some of them, e.g., 
Report on the distribution of Calculus Disease, Report on 
the distribution of Cancer Deaths in the Freebridge Lynn 
Rural Districts, Report on Cowsheds and Dairies, etc., are 
well-known and highly esteemed. Although a Justice of the 
Peace for the Borough of Lynn, his professional duties rarely 
permitted him to take his seat on the Bench, but when occasion 
arose, his time and special knowledge were always given 
ungrudgingly, as in the case of his “ Report to the Licensing 
