1 6  8  Compound  Cathartic  Pills.  { ^^^1™' 
During  the  dipping  process  it  is  advisable  to  keep  the  gelatin  solution 
at  a  temperature  between  1400 — I50°F.,  and  to  turn  the  dipped  pills 
backwards  and  forwards  and  sideways,  so  as  to  distribute  the  solution 
equally,  until  it  has  slightly  congealed,  otherwise  it  will  gather  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  pill  in  a  drop,  and  the  coating  on  that  side  will  be  out 
of  all  proportion  to  that  of  the  other  parts.  When  the  solution  has 
to  be  kept  on  the  fire  for  some  time  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  add 
water  now  and  then  to  make  up  for  that  lost  by  evaporation. 
Lowell,  N.  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Remarks  by  the  Editor. — In  the  calculations  contained  in  the  pre- 
ceding paper,  it  seems  that  the  items  of  labor  and  fuel  have  not  been  con- 
sidered, and  it  appears  to  us  very  properly  so,  as  long  as  the  pharmacist 
manufactures  for  his  own  use,  and  without  the  employment  of  additional 
help  can  thereby  advantageously  turn  to  account  hours  of  leisure,  and 
utilize  heat  otherwise  wasted. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  "  powdered  "  aloes  is  accounted  for,  while  the 
Pharmacopoeia  directs  u  purified  "  socotrine  aloes.  The  purification 
may,  at  first  sight,  appear  to  be  an  unnecessary  refinement,  since 
impurities  in  that  variety  of  aloes  are  not  readily  observable.  But  any- 
one who  will  undertake  to  purify  a  larger  quantity  of  the  drug  will 
collect  sufficient  vegetable  fragments,  stones,  goat  skins  and  the  like, 
as  to  induce  him  to  change  his  mind.  3,342^  lbs.  of  air-dry  socotrine 
aloes,  purified  in  different  lots,  lost  478 J  lbs.  or  13*42  per  cent.,  a 
good  portion  of  which  consisted  of  the  impurities  mentioned. 
In  making  extract  of  colocynth  on  the  large  scale,  the  separation  of 
the  seeds  is  a  practical  impossibility,  and  even  on  the  small  scale  the 
operation  is  tedious  and  incomplete,  the  immature  and  shrivelled  seeds 
at  least  remaining  firmly  imbedded  in  the  pulp.  For  this  reason  manu- 
facturers crush  the  fruit  with  the  precaution  not  to  break  the  seeds. 
Thus  prepared  and  treated  with  the  officinal  menstruum,  3,460!-  lbs. 
of  commercial  colocynth  of  average  good  quality  hare  yielded  us  495J 
lbs.  of  drv  extract,  equal  to  14*32  per  cent.  The  details  of  the  different 
operations  are  now  not  accessible  to  us,  but  they  doubtless  agree  closely 
with  those  of  Dr.  Squibb  (see  t-Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1867,  p.  16),  who 
obtained  from  9951 J  lbs.  of  colocynth  1349J  lbs.  =  13*56  per  cent, 
of  extract,  the  highest  yield  being  16*2,  and  the  lowest,  in  an  excep- 
tional case,  1 1 '3  per  cent.   Dr.  Squibb  [Ibid.,  1857,  P*  9%)  also  records 
