Am.  Jour.Pharm. 
Jan..  189.3. 
Notes  on  Practical  Pharmacy. 
7 
Take  of— 
Strychnine  sulphate,  
Iron  phosphate  (U.  S.  P.,  '80), 
Diluted  phosphoric  acid,    .  .  . 
Syrup  of  ginger,  
Syrup  of  lemon,  
of  each 
4  fluid  ounces. 
2  grains. 
5  fluid  drachms. 
Water,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  1  pint. 
Mix  by  dissolving  the  solids  in  the  water,  which  should  be  being  hot, 1 
add  the  acid,  and  then  the  syrups. 
Dose — One  to  two  teaspoonfuls.  . 
Copper  Arsenite  Mixtures. — Copper  arsenite  is  now  being  more  or 
less  used  in  diarrhoea,  and  occasionally  it  has  been  ordered  in  mix- 
ture form,  instead  of  the  usual  pill.  In  such  cases  it  is  advisable  to 
add  a  few  drops  of  diluted  hydrochloric  acid,  to  dissolve  the  arsenical 
salt,  or  if  the  mixture  be  alkaline  the  compound  will  be  dissolved. 
Attfield  states  that  it  is  wholly  insoluble  in  water.  Whether 
dilute  HC1  affects  the  chemical  character  of  the  arsenite  is  unstated 
by  Attfield,  but  even  if  it  does,  it  would  be  a  most  dangerous 
procedure  to  dispense  the  mixture  simply  holding  it  in  suspension. 
Ointment  Block. — Quite  a  bright  idea  is  this  new  ointment  slab 
or  block,  made  of  a  number  of  sheets  of  parchment  paper,  backed 
card-board,  and  manufactured  by  Fox,  Fultz  &  Webster,  of  Boston. 
The  object  of  the  block  is  that  an  ointment  can  be  made  upon  the 
top  sheet  of  the  layer,  the  sheet  removed  and  thrown  away,  and 
the  slab  will  be  ready  for  another  ointment;  thus  doing  away  with 
the  usual  ointment  slab  and  its  frequent  cleaning.  Practically,  how- 
ever; there  will  be  found,  I  fear,  several  objections  to  its  use.  First, 
with  a  stiff  ointment  it  will  be  hard  to  thoroughly  admix  ingredients  ; 
second,  ointments  may  be  smeared  over  its  sides  and  spoil  the  lower 
sheets,  and  third,  the  parchment  paper  may  decompose  chemical  pro- 
ducts  mixed  on  it.  Upon  this  sample  "block,"  I  have  made  some  iodine 
ointment,  and  you  will  notice  that  the  iodine  has  decomposed  the 
paper.  Still,  the  "  block"  is  an  ingenious  idea  and  may  find  a  cer- 
tain application  in  the  making  of  ointments. 
Gelatin  Capsules. — Within  the  past  few  years  the  usage  of 
gelatin  capsules  has  greatly  increased,  and  the  reason  is  not  far 
to  find,  in'  that  through  them  many  efficient  but  unpleasant  sub- 
stances can  be  exhibited  without  offending  the  most  delicate  of 
palates.  Among  the  more  common  products  so  used  at  the  present 
time,  there  may  be  mentioned  :  Terebene,  oil  of  turpentine,  oil  of 
