AVp°ri^878arm'}  New  Device  for  Perforating  Plasters.  171 
acid,  dissolved  in  a  little  boiling  water,  added  to  each  pound  of  pre- 
serves, while  yet  warm,  will  protect  them  without  imparting  any 
"pkysicky"  taste. 
Norfolk,  Va.  
ON  A  DEVICE  FOR  PERFORATING  PLASTERS. 
By  Joseph  P.  Remington. 
{Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  March  19.) 
Porous  plasters  have  been  used  so  extensively,  and  their  merits  of 
furnishing  external  medication,  whilst  permitting  the  escape  of  exhala- 
tions from  the  skin,  are  so  well  known  and  appreciated  that  the  notice 
of  the  expiration  of  the  patent,  which  was  circulated  a  few  years  ago, 
was  to  many  pharmacists  a  welcome  one.  Since  this  time  several 
manufacturers  have  been  very  industrious  in  increasing  their  lists  of 
ready-made  plasters,  and  now  the  varieties  are  numbered  not  by  ten  but 
by  hundreds. 
The  introduction  of  rubber  into  the  basis  of  spread  plasters  marked 
an  era,  and  the  advantages  soon  giew  to  be  appreciated.  First,  the 
plaster  was  rendered  much  more  flexible  and,  hence,  more  comfortable 
to  the  wearer,  the  stiff,  often  brittle  combinations  in  use  were  rapidly 
replaced.  Secondly,  by  a  peculiar  combination  the  plaster  remained 
soft  and  could  be  applied  to  the  skin  without  application  of  heat,  and 
thus  it  was  fair  to  presume  that,  if  a  plaster  was  adhesive  at  ordinary 
temperature  of  the  air,  it  would  be  very  apt  to  stick  to  the  skin,  which 
usually  has  a  temperature  of  98*6°F. 
Thirdly,  when  to  the  above  valuable  points  was  added  perforation, 
or  as  it  is  technically  termed,  "  porousing,"  it  was  believed  that  perfec- 
tion was  attained. 
One  of  the  principal  reasons  for  the  decline  in  the  demand  for  plas- 
ters spread  by  the  apothecary  has  undoubtedly  been  the  superiority  of 
the  porous  plasters  furnished  by  the  manufactures  on  a  large  scale  and 
machine-made;  the  patient  recognized  this  fact  and  called  for  them — 
the  apothecary  was  usually  too  glad  to  be  relieved  of  what  is  almost 
always  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  disagreeable  duties  of  the  shop, 
and  hence  the  prosperity  of  the  manufacturers. 
But  the  same  causes  which  undermine  so  many  industries  in  our 
country  (as  in  others)  is  actively  at  work  among  the  plasters.  Compe- 
tition, and  the  demand  by  apothecaries  for  cheaper  products,  has  resulted 
