492 
New  Kind  of  Plaster. 
f  Am.  Jour,  Phabm. 
\    Nov.  1,  1873. 
of  the  prescriber's  name  is  the  best  and  most  appropriate  sign  to  be 
employed. 
It  is  a  custom  in  England  to  use  the  initial  letters  of  a  signature 
when  a  deed  is  altered  to  denote  agreement  or  acquiescence,  and  there 
would  be  a  legal  value  attached  to  the  initial  letters  written  by  the 
prescriber,  and  they  would  be  useful  to  compare  with  the  actual  sig- 
nature, if  a  dispute  at  any  time  arose  concerning  a  prescription  to 
which  they  were  attached. 
The  sign  I  offer  for  your  acceptance  is  therefore  the  prescriber's 
initials  in  brackets,  written  immediately  after  the  unusual  dose : 
thus — 
Tincturae  Digitalis,    .    .    .    3iv.  [J.R.L.j 
It  would  also  be  of  inestimable  advantage  if  the  name  and  address 
of  the  prescriber  were  printed  or  written  upon  every  prescription. 
In  the  United  States  this  is  invariably  done.    (?  Edit.  Am.  J.  Ph.) 
The  loss  of  much  valuable  time  would  be  obviated  if  the  latter  sug- 
gestion became  the  rule. 
The  prescriber's  initials,  which  may  be  known  only  to  a  few  phar- 
maceutists, are  not  sufficient  to  denote  proper  authenticity,  and  the 
full  name  and  address  also  afford  protection  to  the  prescriber  and 
dispenser  alike. 
I  hope  this  Conference  will  not  only  fully  deliberate  upon  this  im- 
portant question,  but  will  decide  unanimously  upon  the  si^n  to  be 
suggested  to  the  medical  profession  for  their  adoption,  and  it  is  equal- 
ly desirable  that  a  resolution  embodying  your  decision  be  carried  and 
duly  published. — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  Sept.  27,  1873. 
PRELIMINARY  NOTICE  OF  A  NEW  KIND  OF  PLASTER. 
By  L.  E.  Shakl. 
It  is  an  uncommon  practice  among  physicians  to  order  an  aqueous 
compound  and  an  oily  substance  together  in  the  form  of  a  plaster. 
Commonly  this  case  could  be  managed  without  producing  serious  com- 
plications, but  when  the  mixture  is  to  be  applied  upon  another  plas- 
ter, previously  spread,  then  the  skill  of  the  dispenser  is  unduly  taxed. 
Sometimes  such  directions  could  not  be  carried  out  by  common  means, 
and,  therefore,  it  becomes  optional  with  the  compounder  to  change 
the  character  of  the  ingredients,  or  their  proportion  and  quantity,  as 
prescribed,  or  make  additions  which  will  afford  the  necessary  consist- 
