June 17, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1009 
tion of its active ingredient, the design of the prescrip¬ 
tion was executed. The weight of each suppository 
might have been left unchanged by omitting enough 
cacao butter to balance the wax that was added. 
It is needless to repeat examples, though many diffi¬ 
cult ones might be given from actual experience; it is 
sufficient to state a few general principles. 
When dry substances are prescribed, they should be 
reduced to fine powders (if not already so), then tho¬ 
roughly incorporated with the grated cacao butter, and 
rubbed in a mortar until the mixture becomes a plastic 
mass easily rolled into lengths, divided and formed into 
suppositories. Should moist substances, such as ex¬ 
tracts or any articles not dry, be prescribed, they may 
be rubbed first with about an equal bulk of the grated 
cacao butter, and afterwards readily combined with 
the remaining ingredients. 
As a general rule, all substances used in medicating 
suppositories must be either in the state of a fine powder 
or a uniform paTo; the prescriptionist must decide upon 
the more easily attainable state. 
The advantages of using the cacao butter in the grated 
state are numerous. It furnishes the moans of easy 
manipulation, of readily adjusting the melting-point, of 
avoiding the delay of melting and cooling, and the use 
of ice which is not always procurable, of thorough and 
perfect incorporation of its ingredients, of exactness 
with which the mass may be divided; besides the satis¬ 
faction it gives the prescriptionist of knowing that no 
separation nor subsidence of any of its ingredients can 
possibly take place, which certainly cannot be felt when 
the substance is melted and moulded.— American Journal 
of Fluxrmacy. 
THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF CAMPHOR. 
BY R. BOTHER. 
The peculiar predilection of camphor for the crystal¬ 
line form, is one of the petty annoyances inherent to the 
dispensing department. Insignificant as the objection 
may seem, it is nevertheless one for which the dispensing 
pharmaceutist is but too willing to accept a remedy. 
This difficulty is chiefly experienced with powdered 
camphor, but the objection, likewise, though in a less 
obvious degree, applies to the aqueous solution. The 
most perfect means of pulverizing camphor, although 
not the most practicable, is undoubtedly the method by 
precipitation. The trituration with small quantities of 
chloroform, ether, benzine, and naphtha, has been pro¬ 
posed ; but none of these substances possess any advan¬ 
tages over alcohol, which even still is preferable to all. 
There is no difficulty whatever in pulverizing camphor, 
the object is to retain it so. 
For this purpose it has been suggested to triturate the 
camphor with small quantities of magnesium carbonate. 
If this management ensured the pulverulent state in¬ 
definitely, the magnesium would often be objectionable. 
The writer has not tested the process, but was informed 
by good authority that it is not satisfactory; a similar 
result is experienced by precipitating the camphor with 
water from an alcoholic solution, holding the magnesium 
carbonate in suspension. Other dry substances, as starch, 
for instance, have been used with equally indifferent 
success. The writer, feeling the necessity of some alter¬ 
native, and basing his theory of this crystallization upon 
the volatility of camphor, applied an ethereal solution of 
rosin with a view of coating the particles with a deposit 
of resin. The experiment, however, yielded a negative 
result. The writer, assuming then that a non-volatile 
solvent might retard the crystallization, employed a 
small proportion of fixed oil—preferably castor oil. This 
addition is entirely unobjectionable, and although it 
does not strictly meet the most sanguine expectation of 
preventing crystallization, it yet modifies this tendency 
to such a degree that after a long trial the writer is so 
thoroughly satisfied with its peculiar advantages that 
the complete success of the experiment would have been 
scarcely^ hailed with more delight. The proportion of 
castor oil employed is about one part in thirty of cam¬ 
phor, or even less. It is added, together with the alcohol, 
to the camphor, and the whole triturated to the proper 
degree of fineness. The great advantage rests in the 
fact that the crystals of camphor subsequently formed 
are exceedingly minute, and that the oil entirely removes 
the very disagreeable adhesiveness and tenacity of the 
camphor, which becomes so troublesome during the tri¬ 
turation of pure camphor. Camphor containing the oil 
can be triturated in large or small quantities, without 
in the least clogging the mortar or pestle. The powder, 
after keeping even a long time, mixes perfectly and with 
facility with all the ordinary ingredients with which it 
is usually combined in prescriptions. The peculiar gum- 
| miness has been perfectly removed by the intervention 
of the oil. 
The aqueous solution of camphor is another point at 
issue. It has been supposed that during cold weather 
camphor water drops part of its camphor. However, 
this phenomenon is only apparent. The writer has often 
been struck by the extraordinary solvent power of verv 
cold water upon camphor, so that during the coldest 
winter weather the cold water drawn fresh Rom the 
hydrant, and having a very low temperature, always 
yielded the strongest camphor-water, which, when sub¬ 
jected to the warm temperature of the room, deposited 
camphor abundantly and in weighable quantities, not 
upon the glass above the liquid, but floating in beautiful 
crystals in the liquid itself; so much so, that the water 
was often filtered again before use. 
To verify the above conclusion, the writer employed 
lukewarm water. The camphor was first finely tritu¬ 
rated with the aid of alcohol, then with the magnesium 
carbonate, first rubbed through a coarse sieve, then with 
a portion of the water, and poured into a capacious 
bottle; the remainder of the water was then gradually 
added, and the mixture violently shaken during the 
intervals, and finally filtered. (This is essentially the 
writer’s manipulation for the aromatic waters.) The 
bottle containing the filtrate was securely corked and 
allowed to cool. After six hours a very thin film of 
crystalline camphor had deposited on the walls of the 
bottle above the liquid, the latter containing no visible 
trace, not even floating upon the surface. The liquid 
wa3 again filtered and exposed to intense cold for a long 
time, but no more camphor separated, although the 
liquid possessed the taste of camphor in a marked degree. 
Therefore, to make camphor-water, free from separated 
camphor, use lukewarm water, or use water of the ordi¬ 
nary temperature, let it become equalized to the tempe¬ 
rature of the room, and, after a repose of twenty-four 
hours, filter. But to make a supersaturated camphor- 
water, employ water having a very low temperature.— 
The Tharmacint. 
THE CHEMISTRY OF CALICO PRINTING. 
BY JAMES BLAIR. 
[Continuedfrom page 992.) 
Figment Colours .—These consist essentially, first, of 
the colouring-matter to be printed; secondly, of the 
fixing material; and thirdly, of the thickening neces¬ 
sary to give the colour consistence, and to prevent the 
running or spreading of the colour, and so the spoiling 
of the figure to be printed. 
Insoluble Colours.—The principal insolulle colours 
are—ultramarine, Guignot’s green, chromate of lead, 
Prussian blue, brown earths, aniline black and lakes, 
of the colouring principles of Persian berries, logwood, 
cochineal, etc. with iron, alumina and oxide of tin. 
Soluble Paint Colours.—These are chiefly the Anilino 
colours, . viz. magentas, blues, mauves, violets, green, 
orange, scarlet and brown. 
The Phenol Colours.—Azuline blue, rosolic acid and 
