236  Blaud's  Pills.  $£tm' 
in  all  nine  samples  of  the  pills,  I  estimated  the  amount  of  iron  present 
in  the  ferrous  state,  calculating  it  as  carbonate. 
A  contained  14  9  per  cent.  FeC03 
B  "   14-25  " 
C  "   220 
D  "   19-49  " 
E  "   20-1       "  " 
F  "   15-4 
G  "   99  « 
H  "   145 
I  "    10-0 
These  samples,  with  the  exception  of  G  and  I,  were  to  ail  outward 
appearance  passable  pills,  although  some  would  have  been  greatly 
improved  if  a  little  more  care  had  been  taken  in  rounding  them  off 
with  the  pill  finisher.  G  and  I  fell  to  powder  when  pressed  between 
the  fingers.  C  and  E  must  have  been  made  with  dried  sulphate  of 
iron,  as  the  theoretical  percentage  of  FeCOs  in  a  mass  made  with  50 
per  cent.  FeS047H20,  the  usual  strength,  is  only  20*8  per  cent.,  pro- 
viding no  oxidation  has  taken  place,  a  thing  which  is  absolutely  im- 
possible if  you  attempt  to  form  the  ferrous  carbonate  in  the  mortar. 
Of  course  I  am  perfectly  aware  that  many  pharmacists  believe  the 
proper  course  to  adopt  in  making  Blaud's  Pills  is  to  hinder  chemical 
action  as  much  as  possible,  trusting  to  the  reaction  taking  place  in  the 
stomach  while  the  pill  is  being  disintegrated ;  but  I  do  not  think 
that  was  the  intention  of  the  originator  of  these  pills,  neither  do  I 
think  the  majority  of  us  follow  out  that  idea  in  preparing  them.  We 
have  no  right  to  take  for  granted  that  FeCOs  is  formed  in  the 
stomach,  while  we  all  can  see  for  ourselves  that  it  is  in  the  mortar. 
Inquiries  at  the  various  shops  where  I  was  supplied  with  specimens 
elicited  the  following  amusing  differences  of  opinion  regarding  their 
preparation.  One  gentleman  tells  me  he  dries  separately  the  iron 
sulphate  and  potass,  carbonate,  mixes  the  iron  with  one-sixteenth  of 
its  weight  of  tragacanth,  adds  the  potass,  salt  and  beats  into  a  mass 
with  treacle.  His  intention  is  to  prevent  chemical  action  between  the 
salts  as  much  as  possible. 
Another  dissolves  2  oz.  FeS04  in  hot  water,  and  the  same  quan- 
tity of  K2C03,  mixes  the  solutions  and  evaporates  to  dryness, 
making  up  to  4  oz.  with  equal  weights  of  pulv.  acacia  and 
liquorice.     They  are  then  massed  with  glycerin  and  syrup.  This 
