Heretofore one of the greatest objections to the free use of Injections, as a domestic remedy, has been the inconvenience and clumsy size of the instruments employed for the purpose, and the manner of their construction, such as to render them liable in a short time to get out of repair, and become worthless. It had therefore become a matter of necessity that a new instrument should be introduced, that could be used with ease either for injecting the bowels of children, for female uses, or for self-administration. The new instrument which is herewith offered to the public, termed the Improved Portable Syringe, or Domestic Injecting Apparatus, we have taken great pains with to perfect, so as to overcome the many serious objections entertained against the old ones, and which we flatter ourselves we have succeeded in doing, by constructing it in such a manner as to render it impossible for it to get out of repair, unless by the abuse of the user. Its size makes it extremely portable, so much so that it can be carried in the pocket without the least inconvenience; and being made on the principle of the pump, is capable of injecting any given quantity of fluid without being taken to pieces, or altered in the least, and with any degree of force or rapidity that may be necessary; and in connection with the crooked or angular tube, can be used by an invalid without any assistance or difficulty, therefore making it a very superior and convenient instrument for self use. Also, in connection with the vaginal tube, as a female syringe, and with the small tube for injecting the bowels of children, which is a very difficult matter with the common instruments formerly used for the purpose. One very important feature in this instrument is, that an injection of which gruel forms a part will be found to be as easily administered as one more fluid, therefore rendering it invaluable to physicians and others who have frequently to resort to such an Instrument, and are annoyed to find the instruments with which most families are supplied will not answer the purpose.

This little book of rules and directions, which has been carefully prepared by an experienced physician, and which is herewith presented to our readers as an accompaniment to the Improved Portable Syringe, is not intended as a medical work or treatise on the human system, which are often printed to accompany instruments of the kind, and which few people ever read or care about, but is intended merely as a guide in the administration of the more simple remedies in the form of injections, well knowing that the majority of the people had rather rely on the advice of an experienced physician in all critical cases than their own judgment, formed from reading books of the kind.

Boston, January, 1856.