in effecting its adoption. The Pharmacopœia, originally set forth in 1820 with direction for its review at every decennial period, was almost rewritten by the authors of the Dispensatory, in laborious preparation for the first meeting of the Convention in 1830; and at each subsequent convocation was—chiefly by them—carefully revised and improved. Like the Dispensatory, it was a great boon to the profession, and, indirectly, to the country also. Furnishing an authoritative formulary, it secured order and uniformity where all—except as regulated by foreign prescription—would otherwise have been discord and confusion; and if the two gentlemen principally concerned in its composition had done nothing more, it would have been enough to establish for them an enduring claim to the gratitude of the public. It is difficult—perhaps impossible—to determine their respective share in this publication; nor, where each would have generously yielded precedence to the other, is it necessary to do so. Let it suffice to know that they toiled in harmonious agreement, and that we enjoy the fruit of their labors.[1]
In the year 1847, Dr. Wood published an elaborate Treatise on the Practice of Medicine, in two large octavo volumes. It was a comprehensive survey of the whole field; and was not only received with great favor by the profession in his own country, but abroad also, and particularly in Great Britain; where it had the honor of being adopted as the text-book by several medical schools, among them by the University of Edinburgh. A gentleman[2] who visited England several years ago, in conversation with a leading London surgeon,
