4i8 
An  Efficient  Drug  Press. 
{  A.m.  Jour.  Pharca. 
t      Sept.,  1878. 
applied  to  a  single-screw  press  without  making  the  horizontal  block 
raise  or  cant  along  the  side,  thus  making  the  pressure  uneven  and  partial 
or  filling  the  perforations  and  preventing  the  flow  of  the  expressed 
liquids ;  neither  can  it  be  used  for  expressing  oil  or  fatty  substances,  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  applying  heat.  It  is  also  troublesome  to 
clean,  as  every  part  of  the  press  must  necessarily  be  soiled  by  the  drug 
or  liquid. 
The  press  known  as  Friedrich  Mohr's  horizontal  double  screw  press 
seems,  to  my  mind,  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  pharmacy  than 
those  previously  described,  1st,  because  canting  or  uneven  pressure  is 
impossible,  the  sack  containing  the  drug  being  placed  between  the  two 
screws  ;  2d,  because  it  is  easy  of  access,  being  open  on  all  sides  ;  3d,, 
because  it  is  useful  for  expressing  everything  but  oils  ;  4th,  because  it 
is  easily  cleaned,  easily  repaired,  and  cheap.  However,  it  is  not  unob- 
jectionable, 1st,  because  great  power  cannot  be  attained  with  the  short 
lever  handles  attached  to  the  nuts,  which  alone  are  movable,  the 
screws  being  stationary  in  the  movable  horizontal  block ;  2d,, 
because  there  is  always  great  danger  of  bending  or  breaking  the 
screws  because  only  one  screw  can  be  turned  at  a  time,  and  by  care- 
lessly drawing  one  tighter  than  the  other  injury  must  result  to  the 
press  ;  3d,  because  the  press,  if  carefully  operated,  is  very  slow  and 
tedious  in  its  results  ;  4th,  because  it  is  not  adapted  to  the  expression 
of  oils  unless  by  the  use  of  metallic  saddle-plates,  which  could  be 
heated  and  hung  upon  the  horizontal  blocks,  the  drug  for  expression 
resting  between  the  heated  saddle  shaped  plates.  This,  however,  would 
only  insure  partial  success,  as  the  heat  must  always  be  very  irregular  in 
temperature  and,  of  course,  rapidly  dissipated,  when  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  remove  the  cold  plates  and  replace  them  with  heated  ones,, 
occasioning  much  labor,  with  trifling  results. 
Having  often  experienced  the  wants  of  a  good  substantial  drug  press,, 
and  being  unable  to  purchase  one  that  approached  my  idea  of  a  perfect 
druggists'  press,  I  had  one  made,  which  has  proved  satisfactory  in 
every  way,  and  which  I  will  now  try  to  describe. 
The  first  part  consists  of  a  strong  and  substantial  framework,  made 
of  ashwood,  2J  inches  square,  32  inches  long,  26  inches  wide  and  25 
inches  high,  forming  the  base  or  table,  upon  which  the  press  moves. 
The  second  part  consists  of  two  pieces  of  timber,  resting  upon  this 
frame,  each  of  which  is  28  inches  in  length,  9  inches  high  and  6  inches 
