the hands of the common people; but all active compounds should be excluded from the nursery, or labelled, Noli me tangere.
There may be different opinions respecting the extent to which domestic medication should be carried, but there can be no question that a good medicine is better than a poor one. Whatever medicines are thus employed, should always be of the safest and most reliable kind—such as long experience and the great body of educated physicians have found useful. The United States Dispensatory contains formulas sufficient for all ordinary purposes; and if these were carefully prepared by competent apothecaries, and kept ready for use, they would be far better than the filthy and uncertain preparations now found in the shops. In Great Britain and France, and I believe most other European governments, all apothecaries and their clerks are required by law to be educated, examined and licensed; and even then, they are not allowed to deal in any medicines except such as have been approved of, and made officinal by the regular faculty. This is a wise provision, and serves not only to pro-
