424 
OK EXCIPIENTS FOE PILLS. 
wine after gum resinous, or acid after quinine pills, as a very limited amount 
of Pharmaceutical knowledge will show. To proceed with the experimental 
part, I have again carefully made up the formulae given in his letter, using 
minims instead of drops, and though Mr. Savage was obliged to give them up 
as a lamentable failure, yet, by judiciously varying the proportions of the exci¬ 
pients, I have been able to produce very good pills, of course rather larger than the 
last, but still of a reasonable size, and perfectly free from the outrageous defects 
mentioned by him. In only one case (c) did the creasote exude, and that was so 
very slight as to call for no special notice. I can only account for Mr. Savage’s 
failure by a possible want of practice in this speciality ; creasote pills being un¬ 
doubtedly difficult to manage by those who are unaccustomed to them; it is 
not unreasonable to suppose that they who frequently dispense such medicines 
are more likely to succeed than those who have not similar opportunities. I 
am, therefore, still of opinion that bread, where admissible, is a better vehicle for 
such pills than wax. It makes, especially with the aid of tragacanth paste, a 
soft and plastic mass which does not crumble or split up; true, it becomes a 
little harder after the lapse of a few days, but as these pills are generally ordered 
in small numbers and taken quickly, it is not of much importance. Supposing 
that Mr. Savage wishes the pepsine test to be taken as conclusive evidence of 
the solubility, or otherwise, of those substances submitted to it in the gastric 
juices, I will now endeavour to prove that his wax pills are indigestible, for a 
pill of beeswax, digested with 5 grs. pepsine in 2 drms. water at 100° for seven 
hours remained quite unchanged, while a wax and soap pill, which is a very 
different thing to wax alone, was completely dissolved by water only at 100 J , 
and the same pills made, when rubbed up with water, a beautiful emulsion. If 
there was no objection to the use of soap and wax, I might sometimes prefer it 
to bread, but could not feel justified in using either or both, unless ordered, 
and certainly not wax alone. 
Further, I don’t consider the solubility of wax in the stomach proved by the 
action of purgative pills coated therewith, however thickly, as the moisture and 
heat without, aided by a plastic mass, often containing an alkali within, w'ould 
be sure to cause their disintegration ; it is probable that a solid pill of wax 
w r ould be unaffected. In trying “to prove the fallacy of my experiments,’ 
Mr. Savage shows a little inconsistency, for he commences his letter by saying 
that u wax is the best excipient for creasote pills,” but gives, as a pattern 
formula, one containing wax and soap, which I have shown to be a totally dis¬ 
tinct thing. Just a word as to the drop. I would advise no one to measure 
other person’s drops by his own ; that there is a difference between a drop and a 
minim 1 suppose no one denies, in my case the discrepancy nowhere approaches 
that given by Mr. Savage, and I still think the same end is attained by a drop 
as a minim for creasote pills, as the trifling difference between the two cannot 
appreciably affect the value of the remedy, especially as all operators may not 
be careful to drain out thoroughly their measure, or may not be provided with 
a minim tube. I must now apologize for the more than intended length of this 
letter, but if it conveys any useful information, I trust your readers will not 
consider their time and patience wasted, by your obedient servant, 
T. H. Hustwick. 
9, West Derby Street, Liverpool. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL. 
Sir,—X have read with interest the paper delivered before the Conference by 
Mr. Savage on the subject of excipients for pills, as well as Mr. Hustwick’s re¬ 
marks, and the former gentleman’s reply to those remarks. Before the subject 
