396  The  Filling  of  Wafer  Capsules.       { *miiJ%g** 
of  medicine,  and  to  have  them  in  as  small  wafers  as  possible.  In  fact, 
a  pharmacist  may  gain  some  credit,  both  with  physician  and  patient,  by 
using  the  smallest  size  of  wafers  possible.  I  therefore  write  the  pre- 
sent communication  to  indicate  a  method  which,  I  think,  will  aid 
others,  as  it  has  done  in  some  cases  already  when  the  plan  was  adopted. 
It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  pour  a  large  amount  of  medicine  in  the 
centre  of  the  wafer  off  of  the  end  of  a  spatula  or  out  of  a  piece  of 
creased  paper,  as  is  often  attempted,  especially  if  the  wafer  is  small. 
The  consequence  is  that  a  larger  size  than  necessary  is  frequently 
taken. 
I  think  it  worth  while  to  state  that  an  easy  and  sure  method  of  filling 
them  to  their  utmost  capacity  is,  first  to  put  the  medicine  into  a  small 
cone  of  paper  or  thin  metal,  and  then  compress  the  powder  or  other 
medicine  slightly  with  the  end  of  the  finger  or  in  any  other  convenient 
way,  and  afterward  to  invert  the  cone  over  the  wafer  and  gently  tap  it 
if  necessary,  when  on  removing  the  cone  the  medicine  will  generally 
be  found  centrally  located  in  the  wafer,  and  nothing  remain  to  be  done 
but  to  cover  it  with  another  similar  wafer,  previously  moistened,  and 
finally  compress  the  edges  together.  If  the  cone  is  short  in  proportion 
to  the  diameter  of  its  base,  the  powder  may  be  too  easily  dislodged  and 
may  be  scattered  over  too  much  surface  of  the  wafer.  In  such  case 
the  wafer  may  be  placed  on  the  cone  before  it  is  inverted,  so  as  to 
invert  both  wafer  and  cone  in  one  act,  and  thus  confine  the  powder 
within  the  limits  of  the  base  of  the  cone.  A  little  practice  will  insure 
quite  a  gratifying  success. 
It  is  scarcely  worth  telling  many  pharmacists  that  a  cone  can  be 
made  of  paper  in  about  two  minutes  by  taking  a  round  label  or  other 
paper,  which  should  be  glazed  and  of  about  one  and  a  quarter  inch  dia- 
meter, cutting  it  in  half  and  pasting  along  the  straight  edge  or  diameter 
of  one-half,  and  folding  it  into  a  cone  over  the  end  of  the  finger,  so 
that  the  straight  edge  shall  form  the  junction  or  seam,  and  the  paste 
will  cause  it  to  unite.  By  holding  the  seam  together  and  gently  warm- 
ing it,  the  cone  will  soon  be  finished.  A  small  wooden  handle  may 
be  attached  by  thrusting  it  through  the  point  of  the  cone  and  pasting  it 
to  the  paper. 
In  filling  the  cone  with  the  medicine,  I  think  the  best  way  is  to  press 
the  edge  of  it  against  the  tile  or  slab  just  by  the  powder,  flattening  the 
rim  of  the  cone  by  gentle  pressure,  and  forcing  the  powder  into  the 
