Preface To The First Edition

For many years the author has fell the need of a pocket edition of our Alateria Mcdica, contain iiij? the •characteristic and cardinal symptoms of all our known remedies, arranged acct)rding to the Hahnemannian wSchema for leady reference. I herewith offer the profession an attempt to supply this need, of a handy miiltuvi in parro edition, to he used at the hedside or consulted while making the daily rounds. This work contains the well-known verified characteristics of almost every drug, besides other less important symptoms essential for the selection of the curative remedy, and thus it sup'liiements every other w(U'k on Materia Mcdica. In its present compact form it contains the maximum nninber of relial)lc Materia Medica facts in the minimum space. It is, therefore, an epitome of the whole Homoeopathic Materia Alcdica, brought up to date by including the scattered verifications found in our journalistic literature. My part of the work has been mainly selective and detective in the endeav^or to complete as accurate and practical a book as possible, guided, however, by the experience of over twenty years as a general practitioner and a teacher of Materia Medica. The dosage recommended needs some apology. It is, of course, suggestive only; more often to be wholly disregarded. I have followed the lines of the earlier Homoeopathists in this regard, and given what was then considered the usual range of potency, to which I have added my own experience and that of many observing practitioners. As a teacher of Materia Aledica I am constantly importuned by students to suggest the potency — something to start them with, at least. VI

The female symptoms throughout have been critically examined and enriched by Professor James \V. Ward, the eminent gyna?cologist and practitioner of wide experience. This adds much to the practical value of the book, and I hereby desire to acknowledge my indebted-* ness to Dr. Ward for tins important aid and other valuable hints and suggestions. If students and younger practitioners could be encouraged to make use of this skeleton of dryg action, and note the verifications occurring in their practice and gradually enlarge the symptomatology by further study and observation, a most useful and practical work would soon be theirs. A general Index and Repertory is in preparation, and will be published as a companion volume. William P>oericke, M. D. S'aM Francisco, May, 1901.