3H 
Bichloride  of  Mercury  Tablets. 
{Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1914. 
Mix  the  salts  and  color  the  mixture  with  the  eosin  dissolved  in 
water.  Allow  the  mixture  to  dry  in  the  air  and  compress  into 
portions  weighing  i  or  2  grammes  each. 
The  German  Pharmacopoeia  iv  (1900),  and  again  in  the  fifth 
edition  (1910),  adopts  the  title  "  Pastilli  Hydrargyri  bichlorati  "  and 
directs  that  from  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  mercuric  chloride  and 
sodium  chloride  colored  with  a  red  coal-tar  dye  are  to  be  made 
cylinders  twice  as  long  as  thick  and  weighing  1  or  2  grammes  each. 
Sublimate  pastilles  must  be  dispensed  in  sealed  bottles  labelled 
"  Poison, "  and  each  pastille  must  be  wrapped  in  black  paper  on 
which  is  printed  in  white  the  word  "  Poison  "  and  the  content  of 
mercuric  chloride  stated  in  grammes. 
The  Swedish  Pharmacopoeia  (1901),  under  the  title  of  Pastilli 
chlorati  hydrargyria,  directed  that  "  Sublimate  pastilles  "  should  be 
hard  cylinders  or  prisms  weighing'  either  1  or  2  grammes  each  and 
composed  of  equal  parts  of  mercuric  chloride  and  sodium  chloride 
and  colored  red  by  an  aniline  dye.  It  likewise  introduced  the  re- 
quirement that  each  tablet  must  be  wrapped  in  black  paper  on 
which  was  printed  in  white  the  word  "  Poison." 
The  Austrian  Pharmacopoeia  (1906),  under  the  title  Pastilli 
hydrargyri  bichlorati  corrosivi,  directed  that  equal  parts  of  mercuric 
chloride  and  sodium  chloride  should  be  triturated  to  a  thorough 
mixture  and  colored  with  a  solution  of  eosin  and  compressed  into 
pastilles  weighing  2  grammes  or  1  gramme.  The  pastilles  are 
directed  to  be  dispensed  in  glass  bottles  under  a  poison  label,  and 
the  pastilles  are  to  be  singly  wrapped  in  black  paper  with  the  word 
"  Poison  "  imprinted  in  white. 
The  Swiss  Pharmacopoeia  (1907)  adopts  as  a  title  "  Hydrargy- 
rum bichloratum  compressum,"  and  as  synonym  "  Pastilli  Sub- 
limati."  The  formula  is  mercuric  chloride  666  Gm.,  sodium  chloride 
333  Gm.,  Eriocyanin  A  1  Gm.,  mixed  and  compressed  into  tablets 
weighing  37.5  eg.,  75  eg.,  and  1.5  Gm.,  and  containing  respectively 
each  25  eg.,  50  eg.,  and  1  Gm.  of  corrosive  sublimate.  It  directs 
that  each  tablet  must  be  wrapped  in  black  paper  on  which  is  printed 
in  white  the  weight  of  the  sublimate  contained,  the  word  "  Poison," 
and  a  death-head  design. 
The  British  Pharmaceutical  Codex,  in  the  first  edition  of  1907, 
and  likewise  in  the  191 1  edition,  gave  formulas  for  a  series  of  these 
tablets.  Under  the  name  of  "  Solvellse  Hydrargyri  Perchloridi, — 
Soluble  Mercuric  Chloride  Tablets,"  and  as  a  synonym  "  Antiseptic 
