August 13, 1870.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
129 
requires, and neatness demands, an imcoated marginal 
-edge. This is usually secured by pasting strips of paper 
along the edges of the skin, and removing them after the 
spreading of the plaster is effected. It is just here that 
a practical difficulty frequently arises. The paper edges 
are liable, from drying of the paste, to adhere so strongly 
that either paper or skin will give way upon an attempt 
;at their removal; the application of water will then be 
necessary to soften the attachment, and the final result 
may be expected to present a daubed and uncleanly as¬ 
pect. This difficulty may be entirely avoided by apply¬ 
ing to the paste-brush a little glycerine before the ad¬ 
justment of the marginal strips. 
Coating of Pills. —A prevailing fashion in pharmacy, 
or rather among prescribers, is the use of sugar-coated 
pills. This is very detrimental to the practice of legiti¬ 
mate pharmacy, whatever may be its effect upon those 
who swallow the pills. An extemporaneous process of 
sugar-coating is a desideratum for which our colleges of 
pharmacy should unite in offering a prize. In the ab¬ 
sence of this, a very excellent substitute may be found in 
resin. This substance is easily applied, gives a hard, 
tasteless surface, a handsome appearance, and has a de¬ 
cided tendency to protect the pills from change. The 
coating cannot interfere with their medicinal action, for 
it is readily dissolved by the fluids of the stomach. The 
process of coating is easy and expeditious, and no appa¬ 
ratus is required. 
We proceed as follows, keeping prepared a solution of 
resin in ether, one part of resin to ten parts of the fluid. 
We return the pills, after they have been rolled to shape, 
to the mortar in which their ingredients were mixed, 
pour over them a little of the resinous solution, give the 
mortar a few twirls, and roll them out upon the platform 
of the pill-machine or pill-tile. By the time the label is 
prepared the pills will have become sufficiently dry to 
allow boxing. A little dusting powder, preferably lyco¬ 
podium, should be dusted over them, and the work is 
done. 
Speaking of pills, an idea occurs which is worth sug¬ 
gesting to the manufacturers of pill-machines, namely, 
that these convenient implements be made to cut thirty 
pills instead of twenty-four. The former number of 
pills is much more frequently prescribed than the latter. 
A great improvement would be the placing of numerals 
before each groove, so that the operator may not be 
obliged to count the grooves whenever a fractional num¬ 
ber of pills are to be divided. 
While making suggestions, we will continue by add¬ 
ing that there is a great need for vials, especially for 
half-, one-, and two-ounce vials, with lips suitable for 
dropping liquids. With the ware of the market at pre¬ 
sent, it is almost impossible for an expert to be successful 
in dropping; so what must be the experience of invalids 
and nurses in this respect ? The defect may be easily 
remedied by making the lips of vials for such uses broad 
and thin. If we insist in demanding such improvements 
as we are suggesting, manufacturers will be eager to 
supply them .—The Chicago Pharmacist. 
GLUCOSE. 
We learn from the ‘Grocer’ that glucose is fast be¬ 
coming an article of commerce. Some large parcels have 
been already received from the Continent, and, unless 
the lowness of the price obtained for it proves to be a 
bar to its free production, considerable quantities may be 
expected. It is offered in the form of huge blocks or 
cakes, but when specially prepared for the use of brewers, 
it undergoes a process of crushing that reduces it into 
small particles resembling grains of malt. It is not 
allowed by the Excise authorities to enter a brewery in 
a liquid state. By some brewers, especially those in¬ 
terested in the production of pale sparkling ales, it is 
preferred to either malt or sugar for obtaining sound and 
wholesome liquors, in which there is none of that acidity, 
impurity, or treacly sweetness which may be frequently 
detected in ales and beer brewed from the common classes 
of raw sugar. With confectioners, who require the ad¬ 
dition of an almost colourless preparation for their more 
delicate manufactures, it is gradually taking the place of 
sugar. 
CHEAP AERATED BEVERAGES. 
The following analyses and remarks are taken from 
an article with the above title in the ‘ Food Journal ’ for 
August:— 
“ Lemonade .—A good and pure lemonade should show 
on analysis nothing but sugar and citric acid, and should 
have a pressure in bottle of at least 60 lbs. to the square 
inch. Six samples were tested with the following re¬ 
sults :— 
No. 
Con¬ 
tents of 
bottles. 
Citric 
Acid. 
Sugar 
per bottle. 
Tartaric 
Acid per 
bottle. 
Sul¬ 
phuric 
Acid. 
Copper 
or 
Lead. 
1 
9 oz. 
None 
Nearly 1 oz. 
grs. 
9-21 
None 
None 
2 
i pint 
yy 
About | oz. 
20-46 
J) 
yy 
3 
8| oz. 
yy 
>> 
17-50 
yy 
Trace. 
4 
oz. 
yy 
„ foz. 
17-50 
yy 
yy 
5 
£ pint 
A little 
>1 
40-00 
yy 
Large 
6 
None 
55 
>> 
20-60 
» 
trace. 
Trace. 
“Thus we see that in the cheap lemonade there is 
rarely a trace of lemon-juice at all, the syrup being com¬ 
pounded of sugar, tartaric acid, and essence of lemons. 
In four cases out of six, poisonous metallic contamination 
was abundantly evident. The aeration was very imper¬ 
fect, except in the case of No. 4, but even in that sample 
it fell far short of the proper amount. The lemonades 
were all more or less turbid, and, under the microscope, 
revealed myriads of organized germs and cells with a 
bright nucleus.” 
“ Ginger Beer .—In the common ginger beer, we find 
that the rule is to reduce the sugar and the ginger to the 
minimum possible quantity, adding cream of tartar and 
capsicum to contribute the sharpness and pungency so in 
vogue with the drinkers of the article. The beer is also 
commonly contaminated with iron, we presume from the 
boilers in which it is made. Six samples of this beverage 
were also tested, with the following results :— 
No. 
Contents 
of Bottle. 
Acetic Acid 
per bottle. 
Cream of 
Tartar 
per bottle. 
Total 
Solids. 
Metals. 
1 
i pint 
2-63 
grs. 
2-0 grs. 
187"6grs. 
Iron. 
2 
yy 
7-75 
?> 
3-6 „ 
137-1 „ 
55 
3 
>> 
11-00 
» 
4-0 „ 
226-0 „ 
Copper. 
4 
yy 
9-60 
yy 
4-0 „ 
172-5 „ 
None. 
5 
» 
2-30 
yy 
3-5 „ 
244-5 „ 
55 
6 
yy 
5-60 
yy 
2-7 „ 
205-4 „ 
55 
“ This table shows that in all the beers acetic acid had 
been formed, and some, such as 3 and 4, were very bad 
in this respect. These same numbers are also to be dis¬ 
tinguished by an extra dose of cream of tartar, while 
No. 3 was found to contain copper, presumably from the 
vessels used in manufacture. One bottle smelt so strongly 
of petroleum that its contents were undrinkable.” 
SEWAGE IRRIGATION. 
The following letter from Mr. J. J. Mechi, of Tiptree 
Hall, on the above subject, has appeared in the ‘ Times,’ 
under the heading “ Waste ”:— 
“ Every well-wisher to the country who reflects upon 
the great sewage question, and its present condition, 
must feel humiliated by our national and willing help¬ 
lessness and shortcomings as regards the disposal and 
