PRESCRIPTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. 
681 
autograph prescriptions with unusual doses in them, because, whenever by acci¬ 
dent a physician had written a prescription giving a larger dose than appeared 
orthodox, the prescription would be referred to him for alteration or confirma¬ 
tion, and consequently they could not get these prescriptions to show. On 
one occasion he wrote out a number of prescriptions,—not in his own hand¬ 
writing, but in imitation of that of others,—and these contained unusual 
doses; but it was objected that they were not written by a qualified medi¬ 
cal man, although he thought they would have been quite as useful as if they 
had been. When a candidate saw an examiner write a prescription on pur¬ 
pose to show him, he naturally supposed it contained unusual doses ; but if 
they had a book containing prescriptions with usual and unusual doses, that 
portion of the examination would be on a fair footing with the other. It 
seemed to him possible that something might be done in this direction. 
Mr. Ince said the great object of his paper was to point out, as far as 
possible, the importance of having a collection or library of prescriptions for 
the purpose of teaching as well as examining. He did not see any reason 
why their examination books should not be open to everybody. They opened 
the museum, and all the drawers in connection with materia medica, and the 
students could examine those. Within the last two years they had added 
some excellent specimens to their collection of materia medica, and he be¬ 
lieved one of the best things done of late in connection with their museum, 
was to put the specimens of materia medica in such a shape and form that 
they could be examined and studied, because the mere reading of a book on 
materia medica would not teach much. What he wanted was, that this So¬ 
ciety should be the great emporium of teaching those who found a difficulty 
in being taught. All other learned societies illustrated in a perfect manner 
the sciences which they taught, and he thought this Society should do the 
same, and not shut up their prescription-books, and make them simple 
vehicles for examining. This method of procedure was quite unwmrthy of 
them ; and he w T as quite sure that if they took anything like a moderate in¬ 
terest in the matter they would soon have a representative collection of pre¬ 
scriptions, He could himself, without any aid, get something like fifty per 
week; and if the members would only lend their help, he felt sure that before 
December next they would have a representative library of prescriptions, so 
that wdien students came to read up for their examinations, they might not 
only learn materia medica, botan}^, and chemistry, but also the handwriting 
of the prescriber. 
Mr. Hills asked Mr. Ince how he would be able to get fifty prescriptions 
a week unaided. 
Mr. Ince replied that he hoped to do it by writing and asking friends for 
them. His object in appearing before the Society was to invoke their 
assistance. 
Mr. Hills said that, speaking as a dispensing chemist, and having a few 
prescriptions to dispense every day, he should like to know how Mr. Ince 
would secure original prescription, because generally people took their pre¬ 
scriptions away with them. 
Mr. Ince said he should get them by writing to anybody likely to have 
them, and sometimes the largest number came from the most unlikely 
sources. He thought he could decidedly raise fifty a week by this means. 
Mr. Hills remarked that his object in asking the question was to find out 
what Mr. Ince wished to accomplish, arid by what means. It was a difficult 
thing to obtain original prescriptions, unless they got a medical man to write 
them, and he did not think there would be much difficulty about that. As 
regarded Mr. Ince’s paper, he thought it a very capital one, and especially 
as to the collection which he advocated. The old prescription-books, on 
YOL. XI. 2 Y 
