ON MEDICATED PESSARIES AND SUPPOSITORIES. 
547 
seems to keep unchanged for any reasonable length of time, and leaves little to 
be desired as a basis for pessaries. The lard is introduced partly as a tempering 
medium, and partly, as suggested when speaking of suppositories, to facilitate 
the proper division and admixture of the medicinal substance before adding to 
the melted stearine. When the substance is bulky, as in case of tannin, a small 
quantity of almond oil may be added with advantage. In the same way, where 
such crystalline salts as iodide of potassium are required, glycerine may be sub¬ 
stituted for either lard or oil, as suggested by Dr. Tanner. The comparative- 
stability of the fats obtained from the cocoa-nut is no new fact; my friend 
Mr. Reynolds informs me that many years ago, in search for the best and least 
easily decomposed material for ointments containing solution of diacetate of 
lead, theobroma oil being then comparatively unknown, he found nothing 
answer so well as cocoa-nut oil. 
Having determined the best formula for an excipient, we are still only at the 
outset of our work, so much depends upon the mode in which its subsequent 
manipulation is conducted. The Pharmacopoeia, in its directions for the prepa¬ 
ration of suppositories, is exceedingly vague :— u When the mixture has solidi¬ 
fied, divide the mass into twelve equal portions, to be formed into cones, which 
are to be allowed to stand until they acquire sufficient firmness.” Its vague¬ 
ness, however, has the advantage of leaving a great deal to the discretion of the 
operator. A desire for a little more uniformity and finish than the primitive 
means of a slab and palette knife would yield, led me, soon after the publication 
of the Pharmacopoeia, to suggest to Messrs. S. Maw and Son a form of mould 
for casting the cones ; and I believe that they have since then supplied to a 
number of pharmaceutists moulds made from the same pattern. It is a very 
simple contrivance—a piece of gun-metal, dividing down the middle, with holes 
bored in it of the desired size and shape, the metal being plated, with the view 
of preventing corrosion. The first they made was of small size, for six supposi¬ 
tories ; but more recently they have constructed a larger pattern for twenty-four, 
somewhat improved in form, and provided with hinges at the bottom for con¬ 
venience in opening and greater accuracy in fitting. (Fig. 1.) Both of these, 
and a mould for pessaries of similar construction to the first, except in point of 
size, are upon the table. 
A somewhat different contrivance, represented by the annexed woodcut (Fig. 
2), has been tried, but it possesses no advantage over that just described, and 
there are some inconveniences attending its use. It is made somewhat on the 
principle of a common bullet-mould, but the long handles, suitable enough for 
Fig-1. 
