PHARMACY. 



cilages : and the more ponderous, as the 

 mercurial and other metallic prepara- 

 tions, thick honey, conserve, or extracts. 



Light powders require about half their 

 weight of syrup ; or of honey, about three 

 fourths their weight : to reduce them in- 

 to a due consistence for forming pills. 

 Half a drachm of the mass will make five 

 or six pills of a moderate size. 



Gums and inspissated juices are to be 

 first softened with the liquid prescribed : 

 the powders are then to be added, and 

 the whole beat thoroughly together, till 

 they be perfectly mixed. 



Pilulx aloeticae, Edin. Dubl. pills aloe- 

 tic. 



Pilulae aloes compositae, Lond. pills 

 aloetic, compound. 



Pilulae aloes cum assafoetida, Edin. pills 

 aloetic with assafoetida. 



Pilulae aloes cum colocynthide, Edin. 

 pills aloetic with colocynth. 



Pilulae aloes cum myrrha, Lond. pills 

 aloetic with myrrh. 



Pilulae assafoetida compositae, Edin. pills 

 of assafostida, compound. 



Pilulae galbani compositae, Lond. pills 

 of galbanum, compound. 



Pilulse ammoniareti cupri, Edin. pills of 

 ammoniaret of copper. 



Pilulae hydrargyri, Lond. Edin. Dubl 

 pills of quicksilver. 



Pilulae opii, Lond. pilulae opiatae, Edin. 

 pills of opium. 



Pilulae rhei compositae, Edin. pills of 

 rhubarb, compound. 



Pilulae scillx, Lond. Dubl. Edin. pills of 

 squills. 



Pilulae stibii compositae, Dubl. pills of 

 antimony, compound ; Plummer's. 



The common mercurial pill is one of 

 the best preparations of mercury, and 

 may, in general, supersede most other 

 forms of this medicine. In its preparation 

 the mercury is minutely divided, and pro- 

 bably converted into the black oxide. 

 To effect its mechanical division it must 

 be triturated with some viscid substance. 

 Soap, resin of guaiac, honey, extract of 

 liquorice, manna, and conserve of roses, 

 have all been at different times recom- 

 mended. The soap and guaiac have been 

 rejected, on account of their being de- 

 composed by the juices of the stomach ; 

 and the honey, because it was apt to 

 gripe some people. With regard to the 

 others, the grounds of selection are not 

 well understood ; perhaps the acid con- 

 tained in the conserve of roses may con- 

 tribute to the extinction of the mercury. 

 We learn when the mercury is complete- 

 ly extinguished, most easily, by rubbing 



a very little of the mass with the point of 

 the finger on a piece of paper, if no glo- 

 bules appear. As soon as this is the case, 

 it is necessary to mix with the mass a pro- 

 portion of some dry powder, to give it a 

 proper degree of consistency. For this 

 purpose powder of liquorice root has 

 been commonly used ; but it is extremely 

 apt to become mouldy, and to cause the 

 pills to spoil. The Edinburgh College 

 have, therefore, with great propriety, 

 substituted for it starch, which is a very 

 inalterable substance, and easily procured 

 at all times in a state of purity. It is ne- 

 cessary to form the mass into pills imme- 

 diately, as it soon becomes hard. One 

 grain of mercury is contained in four 

 grains of the Edinburgh mass, in three of 

 the London, and in two and a half of the 

 Dublin. The dose of these pills must be 

 regulated by circumstances ; from two to 

 six five- grain pills may be given daily. 



CLASS XXIV. Cataplasmata. CATA- 

 PLASMS. 



By cataplasms are generally under- 

 stood those external applications which 

 are brought to a due consistence or form 

 for being properly applied, not by means 

 of oily or fatty matters, but by water or 

 watery fluids. Of these many are had re- 

 course to in actual practice ; but they are 

 seldom prepared in the shops of the apo- 

 thecaries, and in some of the best modern 

 Pharmacopoeias no formula of this kind is 

 introduced. The London and Dublin Col- 

 leges, however, although they have 

 abridged the number of cataplasms, still 

 retain a few ; and it is not without some 

 advantage that there are fixed forms for 

 the preparation of them. 



Cataplasma aluminis, Lond. Coagulum 

 aluminis, Dubl. cataplasm of alum, alum 

 curd. 



Cataplasma cumini, Lond. cataplasm of 

 cummin, London treacle. 



Cataplasma sinapeos, Lond. Dubl. cata- 

 plasm of mustard 



Cataplasms of mustard are commonly 

 known by the name of sinapisms. They 

 were formerly frequently prepared in a 

 more complicated state, containing gar- 

 lick, black soap, and other similar arti- 

 cles ; but the above simple form will an- 

 swer every purpose which they are capa- 

 ble of accomplishing. They are employ- 

 ed only as stimulants : they often inflame 

 the part and raise blisters, but not so per- 

 fectly as cuntharides. They are frequent- 

 ly applied to the soles of the feet in the 

 low state of acute diseases, for raising the 



