48 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[July 13, 1S71. 
through, the tails of comets and the blue of the sky to 
the dust of London, from the germ theory of disease 
down to this fireman’s respirator. Instead of this trivial 
example I could, if time permitted, point to others of a 
more considerable kind in illustration of the tendency of 
pure science to lead to practical applications. Indeed, 
those very wanderings of the scientific intellect which 
at first sight appear utterly unpractical, become in the 
end the wellsprings of practice. Yet I believe there is 
a philosophy embraced by some of our more ardent 
thinkers (who, I fear, on many points commit the well- 
intentioned, but fatal mistake of putting their own 
hopeful fancies in the place of fact) that would abolish 
these wanderings of the intellect and fix it from the 
outset on practical ends alone. I do not think that that 
philosophy will ever make itself good in the world, or 
that any freedom-loving student of nature could or 
would tolerate its chains.” 
A short time before the lecture I had an opportunity 
of inspecting the apparatus of Mr. Sinclair, which has 
been tested and highly spoken of by the superintendent 
of the Manchester Fire Brigade. The original idea is 
due to Yon Humboldt, who proposed it for the Hartz 
mines. Galibert constructed the apparatus in an im¬ 
proved form, and it has been still further improved by 
Mr. Sinclair, who has purchased Galibert’s patent. It 
consists of an air-tight bag, from which issue two tubes 
that unite on a single one with a respirator mouth¬ 
piece. The bag is filled with air, and the wearer in¬ 
spires through one valve and expires through another. 
The expired breath is carried to the bottom of the bag, and 
is stated to remain there in consequence of the chilling 
experienced in its passage downwards. A bag of not 
inordinate size is stated to be sufficient to supply a man 
with air for twenty minutes. Mr. Sinclair’s apparatus 
was exhibited during the lecture. 
J. T. 
SUPPOSITORIES. 
AX INAUGURAL ESSAY, BY F. M. GOODMAN. 
(Continued from page 27.) 
Rue tar ati ox.—Several years ago it was customary to 
mould a cone of some vehicle, then bore a hole into its 
base, and into this opening was inserted the medicinal 
substance; the opening was then closed by pouring in a 
little melted vehicle and smoothing off with a spatula. 
But in boring these holes there is danger of cracking the 
cone. A much better and far less troublesome method, 
is to fill the mould with melted vehicle, and when it has 
begun to set , or has formed a thin coating on the inside 
of the mould, the still liquid portion may be poured out, 
and a very perfect hollow cone is the result. These 
cones may be kept on hand, and any substance prescribed 
can be inserted, and the openings closed as above men¬ 
tioned. 
When the material to be used as a vehicle is melted, 
it should never be put into the dish in large pieces, for 
such a prolonged application of heat is necessary to melt 
them that the substance becomes unnecessarily hot, and 
consequently requires a considerable time to cool. The 
best way is to have the material as finely divided as pos¬ 
sible. To cut it into small pieces, or to scrape it, is rather 
difficult, but the following plan will be found very ex¬ 
peditious, and has the desired effect, viz. Take a plane, 
such as carpenters use, invert it, letting it be at rest; 
spread a piece of paper under it, and “ cocoa-butter the 
plane and not plane the cocoa-butter.” Having on hand 
a supply of this shaved material, be it either cocoa-butter 
and spermaceti, or suet, the necessary quantity is weighed 
and placed in a dish, and a very slight heat is employed 
—just enough to render it fluid. 
As generally prepared, the medicinal ingredients are- 
intimately mixed throughout the entire mass, which 
should be perfectly free from lumps, to prevent the ac¬ 
cumulation of which is the most difficult part of the 
operation. 
In preparing suppositories it is always best, in the ex¬ 
perience of the writer, to use two dishes—one in which 
to melt the vehicle, and the other to be used for mixing 
the medicinal ingredients, as extracts, or other substances' 
that may have been ordered. The latter vessel also is 
to receive the melted vehicle added in small portions 
from the other dish. If the vehicle is too warm when 
mixed with the solution of the extract, the extract will 
separate. This difficulty may be overcome by setting 
the dish in cold water and stirring constantly till the 
mixture becomes thick, by which time it is usually 
smooth. When the remainder of the warm vehicle is 
added it will raise the temperature of the cooled portion, 
in doing which its own temperature will be diminished, 
and the whole will be smooth and uniform. When it 
has cooled sufficiently, indicated by its consistence, which 
should be that of honey, it may be poured into the 
moulds. 
In making urethral suppositories, the writer has found 
the following to be a rather difficult method, though re¬ 
commended by some. It is certainly less convenient 
than moulding in a glass tube : Take a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of the shaved material, place in a dish and heat 
enough to render it a little soft (without melting it)— 
about the consistence of paste. This can also be done in 
a warm mortar, which, being very thick, will retain the 
heat for a considerable length of time; enough of the 
substance may be removed to make one or two supposi- • 
tories, and the remainder will retain its soft condition 
while left in the warm mortar. While the substance is 
in this semi-solid condition, remove it from the dish or 
mortar to a board about twelve inches wide, divided into 
two-inch spaces. The board is constructed on the prin¬ 
ciple of a pill-machine, having strips on either side, so 
arranged that they may be replaced by strips of other 
sizes, according to the diameter desired for the finished 
suppository, which varies from one to three-sixteenths of 
an inch. There is also provided a flat piece of wood for 
a roller. The material is placed upon the board, and 
rolled out as in rolling pills, into pieces which may be- 
twelve inches long, if the operation be successfully con¬ 
ducted. The rolled mass is then divided into equal parts- 
according to the two-inch marks upon the board. 
The difficulty in this process is that the substance is- 
not very tenacious, and upon cooling cracks and crum¬ 
bles beneath the roller, though one or two may be rolled 
at a time very readily. 
When the urethral suppository is moulded in the fun¬ 
nel-tube, the method adopted to remove the moulded 
mass is to get the tube very cold, so that a little pressure 
with the piston will expel it, or, to get it thoroughly 
chilled, then to dip it into water warmed to about 85° or 
90° F., and removing it from the water, to apply pressure- 
by the piston; when two inches are expelled, cut it oft', 
and expel two inches more, etc. When cut off, the pieces- 
may be laid gently on a piece of paper, or allowed to- 
drop into cold water. 
In order to fill this tube, the lower end must be closed,, 
which may be done by dipping it into the melted vehicle,. 
placing the finger over the upper orifice, and then hold¬ 
ing the lower end in cold water. The substance within, 
the end will congeal and prevent the egress of the liquid 
portion subsequently added. 
In using the metallic moulds, it is a source of great 
annoyance to have the suppository stick fast to the mould, 
which is invariably caused by not having the mould cold 
when filled. This is an extremely essential point. The 
tray should be filled with ice and water, and allowed to 
stand a few minutes before using, in order that the mould 
may become thoroughly chilled. 
In an article written by Mr. J. B. Moore, which ap— 
