The exact renormalization group and approximation solutions

We investigate the structure of Polchinski's formulation of the flow equations for the continuum Wilson effective action. Reinterpretations in terms of I.R. cutoff greens functions are given. A promising non-perturbative approximation scheme is derived by carefully taking the sharp cutoff limit and expanding in `irrelevancy' of operators. We illustrate with two simple models of four dimensional $\lambda \varphi^4$ theory: the cactus approximation, and a model incorporating the first irrelevant correction to the renormalized coupling. The qualitative and quantitative behaviour give confidence in a fuller use of this method for obtaining accurate results.