6  Notes  on  Practical  Pharmacy.         {Ara  jra0nUj£5arr0" 
NOTES  ON  PRACTICAL  PHARMACY. 
By  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.G. 
Read  before  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting, 
Dec.  20. 
Glycerin  Suppositories. — The  best  method  of  preserving  these 
from  the  decomposing  action  of  the  air  is  to  enclose  them,  sepa- 
rately, in  small,  wide-mouthed,  dry  vials;  tightly  cork,  dip  cork  and 
top  of  bottle  into  melted  paraffin,  and  cool,  when  the  contents  will 
be  perfectly  sealed.  The  formula  of  Prof.  Remington  (Amer.  Jour. 
Phar.,  1892,  p.  457),  gives  very  good  satisfaction.  The  practice  of 
wrapping  glycerin  suppositories  in  paraffin  paper  or  tin-foil  is 
objectionable,  mainly  for  the  reason  that  ignorance  may  lead  a  user 
to  insert  suppository,  wrapper  and  all. 
Sponge -cleaning. — After  beating  to  separate  mineral  impurities  as 
much  as  possible,  macerate  in  diluted  hydrochloric  acid  to  dissolve 
lime  salts,  wash  in  cold  water,  knead  thoroughly  by  hand  with  green 
soap  in  hot  water,  rinse,  immerse  in  a  I  :  20  carbolic  acid  solution 
and  keep  for  use.  This  is  the  plan  followed  by  Dr.  Gersten,  who 
says,  in  his  well-known  work  on  Surgery,  that :  Sponges  once  used 
in  an  aseptic  operation  can  be  used  again.  Careful  washing  out  with 
green  soap  and  hot  water  to  remove  fibrin  and  blood,  and  then 
immersion  in  a  I  :  20  carbolic  acid  solution  is  all-sufficient. 
Gargles. — If  there  is  any  value  at  all  in  the  antiseptic  theory  it 
should  be  carried  out  thoroughly.  Gargles  are  often  used  in 
infectious  conditions  of  the  throat,  and  it  is  a  logical  necessity  that 
where  water  is  specified  in  their  making,  distilled  or  boiled  water 
should  always  be  used,  whether  specified  by  the  physician  or  not. 
In  the  writer's  experience,  fluid  extract  of  sumach  has  wholly 
replaced  the  older  infusion  of  sumach,  made  from  the  berries,  that 
used  to  be  the  delight  of  many  physicians  to  prescribe  in  gargles. 
Hammond's  Mixture  (modified).. —  The  original  formula  for 
Hammond's  Mixture  called  for  pyrophosphate  of  iron  and  diluted 
phosphoric  acid.  The  meta-  form  of  the  acid  was  usually  recom- 
mended. Upon  suggestion,  some  two  years  ago,  the  physicians  of 
the  Insane  Department  of  the  Philadelphia  Hospital  tried  the  official 
diluted  orthophosphoric  acid  and  phosphate  of  iron,  in  place  of  the 
meta-acid  and  pyro-salt  usually  used,  with  very  excellent  results ; 
and  the  mixture,  as  modified,  has  been  daily  employed  ever  since. 
The  modified  formula  is  : 
