FANCY  AND  FASHION  IN  PHARMACY. 
3 
In  what  is  here  said,  we  have  ventured  no  opinion  upon  the 
effect  of  this  treatment  upon  the  solubility  and  consequent 
activity  of  pills.  We  learn  from  a  physician  who  has  prescribed 
them,  that  the  conclusion  often  hastily  drawn  against  their 
eligibility  is  not  borne  out  by  experience.  Another  remark 
needs  to  be  made  ;  not  only  is  the  quality  of  the  foil  important 
with  reference  to  the  lustre  of  the  coating,  but  Dutch  metal, 
which  is  so  often  substituted  for  gold  foil,  is  quite  unsuitable 
from  containing  copper  and  zinc. 
For  sugar-coating,  our  apparatus  offers  facilities  over  some 
other  contrivances  ;  the  sugar  being  triturated  with  gum  arable 
into  a  dust-fine  powder,  and  introduced  into  the  spheres,  can  be 
readily  transferred  to  the  moistened  pills,  but  we  believe  there 
is  no  good  way  of  giving  the  desirable  surface  to  these 
"  dragees''  without  the  application  of  carefully  regulated  heat. 
DISPENSING. 
The  mode  of  dispensing  pills  has  sometimes  an  importance 
which  is  overlooked  by  pharmaceutists.  In  England,  the  prac- 
tice obtains  among  those  who  cater  to  the  taste  of  the  wealthy, 
of  sending  out  pills  in  vials,  which  are  regularly  made  and  sold 
by  the  dealers  in  Druggists'  Sundries,  of  the  proper  sizes  for  one, 
two,  or  three  dozen  pills  ;  these  have  cork  stoppers  capped  with 
turned  tops  of  satin  or  box-wood,  and  are  certainly  well  adapt- 
ed to  the  purpose,  especially  where  pills  are  deliquescent,  or  have 
a  special  tendency  to  become  dry  and  hard.  The  construction 
of  pill  boxes  has  especially  engaged  our  attention  of  late, 
from  observing  the  rather  unsightly,  though  otherwise  superior 
description  imported  from  Germany.  Improving  upon  them  in 
style,  we  have  adopted  the  same  mode  of  construction,  and  have 
produced  a  very  superior  pill  box,  such  as  is  shown  in  the 
^  drawing.     Instead  of  the  top  and  bottom 
piece  being  as  in  the  common  kind,  cut  out  of 
^^^^   J  such  size  as  to  fit  into  the  cylinder,  constitu- 
ting the  sides  of  the  box,  they  are  so  large  as  to  extend  over 
its  edge,  on  which  they  are  secured  by  a  margin  of  fancy  paper 
covering  the  projecting  ridge.  Every  pharmaceutist  of  experi- 
ence must  have  noticed  how  often  pill  boxes  are  returned  with 
