488 
Gelatine  Capsules. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X  September,  1896. 
air  over  them,  and  when  dry  and  hard  are  stripped  from  the  mould 
by  machine.  The  caps  are  joined  to  the  bodies  by  hand,  and  at  the 
same  time  defective  capsules  are  sorted  out  and  rejected.  The 
finest  quality  of  gelatine  is  alone  suitable.  The  one  other  process 
we  are  familiar  with  varies  from  the  foregoing  only  in  the  fact  that 
after  dipping  the  moulds,  the  capsules  are  allowed  to  dry  wholly,  or 
almost  wholly,  before  stripping." 
I  also  quote  from  a  letter  of  "  The  Merz  Capsule  Company,"  of 
Detroit,  who  write :  "  In  order  to  make  capsules  properly  and  suffi- 
ciently cheap,  it  requires  a  large  amount  of  complicated  and  expen- 
sive machinery  and  constant  attention  to  small  details,  inasmuch 
as  the  1^0Q  of  an  inch  difference,  more  or  less,  in  the  thickness  of  a 
capsule  will  either  make  it  a  loose-joining  or  a  tight-joining 
capsule." 
The  last  invention  on  the  field  of  capsules  is  that  of  Mr.  Heine- 
man,  who  now  manufactures  empty  elastic  capsules  for  fluids. 
"  By  means  of  these  the  druggist  is  enabled  himself  to  fill  elastic 
capsules  as  occasion  may  require,  perfectly  and  without  loss  of  time, 
doing  the  work  as  well  as  the  capsule  manufacturer  himself  could 
do  the  same  in  the  factory.  The  convenient  shells  will  keep  almost 
indefinitely,  are  always  ready  for  use,  and  enable  the  druggist  not 
alone  to  avoid  carrying  a  large  stock  of  filled  capsules,  but  enable 
him  to  dispense  freshly-made  capsules  containing  an  almost  indefi. 
nite  variety  of  formulas  with  whatever  variations  physicians  may  be 
pleased  to  give  them  from  time  to  time,  as  the  needs  of  the  patient 
may  require." 
The  use  of  the  gelatine  capsule  is  daily  extending,  not  only  in 
medicinal  and  pharmaceutical  adaptation,  but  also  for  mechanical 
purposes  of  varied  kinds.  They  are  employed  for  beef-juices  and 
other  extracts,  for  candies  and  chocolates,  for  inks  and  bluing.  The 
latest  use  to  which  they  are  put  is  for  packing  cigars,  in  order  to 
better  preserve  the  flavor,  and  daily  new  ideas  appear  in  which  the 
gelatine  capsule  may  take  part  in  due  time. 
2.     FILLING  THE  CAPSULE  WITH  POWDERS  OR  PILL  MASS. 
There  exists  a  great  diversity  of  opinions  as  to  the  proper  way  of 
dispensing  medicinal  media  in  gelatine  capsules.  While  some  phar- 
macists claim  that  a  mass  should  always  be  prepared,  others  con- 
tend that  the  only  proper  way  is  to  fill  the  mixture  of  the  various 
