Am  j^iST™"}  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  337 
ABSTRACTS  FROM  THE  FRENCH  JOURNALS. 
Translated  for  The  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy. 
Animal  charcoal,  as  a  pill  excipient,  is  used  by  M.  E.  Voile 
(Bull,  de  la  Soc.  de  Pharm.  de  Bordeaux,  May,  1893,  p.  142),  as 
follows  : 
Creasote  pills. — Place  in  a  porcelain  mortar  2  gm.  animal  charcoal, 
add  1  gm.  or  43  drops  of  creasote,  beat  rapidly  and  if  the  creasote 
is  not  entirely  absorbed  add  more  animal  charcoal  (about  060  gin.) 
in  small  portions.  The  mass  is  now  nearly  pulverulent  and  in 
order  to  bind  it,  it  is  necessary  to  add  0-20-0-25  gm.  turpentine; 
then  knead  the  mass  rapidly,  and  divide  into  20  pills. 
Croton  oil  pills. — Take  of  croton  oil  49  drops,  and  animal  char- 
coal sufficient  for  20  pills.  For  these  pills  it  is  unnecessary  to  use 
turpentine  to  bind  the  mass. 
Animal  charcoal  is  also  useful  as  an  excipient  in  pills  of  a  more 
complicated  formula,  where  for  instance  1  gm.  creasote  is  associated 
with  1  gm.  each  of  tannin  and  iodoform;  allow  the  animal  charcoal 
to  absorb  the  creasote,  as  in  the  above  directions  for  creasote  pills, 
then  a  Id  the  tannin  and  iodoform,  mix  intimately  and  bind  the 
mass  with  turpentine.  The  caustic  taste  of  the  creasote  is  con- 
siderably lessened  by  the  animal  charcoal,  so  that  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  roll  the  pills  in  magnesia  or  tolu.  By  means  of  animal 
charcoal  the  above  medicaments  can  also  be  administered  in  the 
form  of  cachets;  the  author  gives  the  following  two  formulas: 
(1)  Creasote,  2  gm.;  washed  animal  charcoal,  5  gm.;  mix  inti- 
mately and  divide  into  10  cachets. 
(2)  Oil  of  turpentine,  5  gm.;  washed  animal  charcoal,  10  gm.; 
mix  intimately  and  divide  into  10  cachets. 
Tar  pills. — Dr.  Ivanoff  gives,  in  Semaine  medicate,  of  May  13, 
1893,  a  new  process  of  preparing  these  pills,  using  clay  as  the  exci- 
pient, of  which  only  a  very  small  quantity  is  necessary  to  obtain  a 
mass  of  pillular  consistency.  The  author  has  found  it  possible  to 
make  pills  of  small  size,  containing  13  cgm.  of  tar;  they  are  pre- 
served in  glycyrrhiza  powder. 
New  pill  excipient. — Prof.  Carles  (Bull,  de  la  Soc.  de  pharm.  de 
Bordeaux)  gives  the  following  process  for  preparing  pills  of  alter- 
able medicaments,  such  as  potassium  permanganate,  silver  nitrate, 
gold  chloride,  the  iodides  of  mercury,  etc.,  which  with  this  excipient 
