174  Antiseptic  Cottons  and  Gauzes.  {AmAj?!£i8s7*rm' 
sand  and  saw-dust.  To  the  natural  absorbent  properties  of  these  ma- 
terials it  is  necessary  only  to  add  the  presence,  throughout  their  sub- 
stance, of  a  sufficient  amount  of  some  antiseptic  material  to  destroy  or 
render  inert  any  septic  germs  that  may  be  brought  in  contact  with  it. 
Materials  thus  prepared  constitute  the  antiseptic  dressings." 
Antiseptic  (Moras.— This  comparatively  new  class  of  products  has 
lately,  more  especially  through  the  published  researches  of  Sir  Joseph 
Lister,  found  extensive  application  in  Europe  and  the  United  States, 
as  a  dressing  in  the  antiseptic  treatment  of  wounds.  They  have  been 
prepared,  only  to  a  limited  extent  by  pharmacists;  the  manufacturers 
of  cotton  and  surgical  dressings  having  had  under  their  control  almost 
the  entire  production.  Their  preparation  involves  no  especial  diffi- 
culties in  work  or  appliances  used  and  opens  up  a  new  field  of  labor 
to  the  pharmacist  who  i  •  desirous  of  extending  his  work  in  all  profit- 
able dir  ctions  of  his  profession.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
cause  of  this  delay  may  be  found  in  the  limited  demand  upon  phar- 
macists for  the  articles,  many  physicians  purchasing  direct  from 
dealers  in  surgical  dressings;  and  secondly,  through  their  hesitation,  in 
the  lack  of  practical  knowledge,  as  to  the  proper  methods  of  proced- 
ure. The  first  cause  cm  be  eliminated  ;  the  second,  the  writer  will 
endeavor  in  a  measure  to  supply  by  giving  the  formulas  necessary, 
with  results  of  his  personal  experience  in  their  preparation  for  hos- 
pital employment. 
Borated  Cotton. — Since,  according  to  the  Pharmacopoeia,  boric  acid 
is  readily  soluble  in  3  parts  of  boiling  water  and  25  parts  of  cold 
water,  it  is  evident  that  hot  water  will  readily  dissolve  1 5  per  cent,  of 
boric  acid  and  precipitate  a  very  large  proportion  on  cooling,  and,  if 
purified  cotton  be  treated  with  an  equal  weight  of  a  hot  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  the  acid  of  that  strength  and  dried  it  will,  of  necessity,  con- 
tain 15  per  cent,  of  the  acid  ;  a  very  desirable  strength  to  insure  its 
antiseptic  properties.  But  in  practice  it  will  be  found  that  cotton 
readily  absorbs  from  about  four  to  five  times  its  weight  of  water  ;  the 
exact  proportions  varying  with  the  absorbency  of  the  cotton,  the 
quantities  of  antiseptic  cotton  made  at  a  time,  the  manner  of  impreg- 
nating with  the  medicated  solution  and  the  degree  of  subsequent  ex- 
pression. Hence  it  is  better  to  make  the  water  four  to  five  times  the 
weight  of  cotton  used,  impregnate  in  thin  layers  in  a  flat,  open  vessel 
and  express  moderately  or  in  such  a  manner  that  after  all  the  cotton 
has  been  treated  there  will  be  no  medicating  liquid  left.    Borated  cot- 
