6 
FANCY  AND  FASHION  IN  PHARMACY. 
the  proportion  of  one  part  to  five  of  the  cocoa  butter,  to  answer 
a  very  good  purpose. 
The  use  of  metallic  moulds  for  making  suppositories,  though 
no  doubt  convenient  and  readily  obtained  at  moderate  expense 
from  syringe  makers,  is  quite  unnecessary,  as  the  paper  cone  is 
convenient,  always  accessible,  and  may  be  adapted  to  any  size 
required.  Perhaps  the  most  suitable  weight  for  a  suppository  is 
25  grains,  and  there  seems  no  advantage  in  departing  from  this 
standard  for  ordinary  purposes.  They  are  readily  introduced 
when  much  larger,  as  indicated  in  the  prescriptions  of  Drs.  Pan- 
coast  and  S.  W.  Mitchell,  published  in  the  paper  already  referred 
to  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  perhaps  equally  efficacious 
when  still  smaller,  the  butter  of  cocoa  being  merely  used  as  a 
vehicle,  to  be  increased  or  diminished  at  pleasure.  The  object 
in  having  this  preparation  of  an  uniform  size  is  to  facilitate  the 
construction  of  the  paper  moulds,  which,  when  a  suppository  of 
25  grains  is  prescribed,  may  be  made  as  follows : 
A  piece  of  very  stout  glazed  paper  is  cut  up  into  oblong  pieces, 
2J  inches  long  by  1|  wide,  and  rolled  into  a  cone,  which  should 
be  If  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  at  the  base  ;  the  free  end 
of  the  paper  is  secured  by  a  tip  of  sealing  wax,  and  at  the  ex- 
treme point  of  the  cone  an  eighth  of  an  inch  is  clipped  off,  and 
the  opening  sealed  up.  The  object  is  next  to  arrange  these 
cones  with  the  open  end  in  a  proper  position  to  be  filled  with 
ingredients ;  this  is  conveniently  done  in  a  shallow  vessel  of 
flaxseed — sand  is  objectionable  from  its  liability,  if  accidentally 
thrown  into  the  cone,  to  produce  irritation  when  the  supposi- 
tory is  applied.  The  butter  of  cocoa  and  wax  should  be  melted 
by  a  gentle  heat,  and  then  the  active  ingredients  added  and  con- 
stantly stirred  until  it  begins  to  chill,  then  poured  into  the  paper 
cones  and  set  aside  to  harden.  The  paper  should  not  be  removed 
from  the  suppository  until  it  has  become  thoroughly  hardened, 
and  by  this  means  it  will  acquire  a  clear,  polished  surface.  The 
time  required  to  prepare  a  dozen  or  more  suppositories  is  from 
half  an  hour  to  an  hour ;  the  physician  should  be  reminded  in 
advance  that  they  cannot  be  furnished  without  some  little 
delay. 
