A^ptJembe?,hi902?' }    Dividing  Powders  in  Prescription  Work.  425 
Assayed  (after  keeping 
No.  labelled.  Assayed.  6  months.) 
I 
2 
3 
4 
No 
15  volumes  available  oxygen.       15*5  volumes.       13*5  volumes. 
10       "  "  "  10-5       "  875  " 
4,  after  standing  the  above-mentioned  time,  was  still  as  strong 
as  the  maker  claimed  it  to  be.  I  believe  that  if  the  cork  is  removed 
from  a  package  containing  hydrogen  peroxide  as  soon  as  obtained 
from  the  manufacturer,  and  a  piece  of  absorbent  cotton  inserted,  it 
will  keep  better.  The  loss  from  evaporation  is  small,  and  gases 
forming,  which  would  cause  deterioration,  are  allowed  to  escape. 
Possibly  this  would  not  be  a  practical  way  to  treat  small  packages, 
but  it  may  be  employed  where  a  large  bottle  is  used  to  dispense 
from. 
Laboratory  of  W.  L.  Cliffe,  Philadelphia. 
A  METHOD  OF  DIVIDING  POWDERS  IN  PRESCRIPTION 
WORK. 
By  Isaac  M.  Wbii^s. 
Query  No.  15.  What  is  the  best  method  for  dividing  powders  in 
prescription  work  ? 
The  last  few  years  have  seen  many  time-saving  inventions  for  the 
pharmacist  as  well  as  the  druggist,  all  of  which  should  have  been 
received  and  hailed  as  blessings.  Many  when  once  used  and  the 
old  way  laid  aside  for  a  time  are  never  taken  up  again  except  as 
relics  of  the  past  inconveniences.  We  wonder  how  we  ever  were 
contented  to  do  our  work  with  them  ;  but  necessity,  it  has  been 
said,  is  "  the  mother  of  invention,"  and  has  brought  out  more  useful 
time  and  labor-saving  inventions  than  all  else  combined. 
The  little  device  which  I  now  describe  is  one  of  this  kind.  After 
dividing  powders  in  prescription  work  for  years  by  weighing  each 
powder  separately,  as  well  as  by  simply  dividing  with  the  spatula 
the  thoroughly  triturated  compounded  ingredients  into  a  number  of 
powders  called  for,  I  thought  of  this  method,  which  I  think  you  will 
all  agree  with  me  is  an  up-to-date  device  for  this  work. 
It  is  composed  of  three  pieces.    No.  1  is  the  base  and  is  jy^ 
1  Read  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion, June,  1902. 
