12 
MANUFACTURING  PILLS  ON  A  LARGE  SCALE. 
time  to  time  to  remove  the  metallic  dust.  The  operation  is 
tedious  and  troublesome,  and  led  M.  Quevenne  to  the  substitu- 
tion of  "  Iron  by  hydrogen,"  which  is  more  elegant  and  soluble, 
but  much  more  costly.  It  should  have  been  observed  that  the 
instruments  used  must  be  perfectly  dry  and  free  from  dampness, 
and  that  the  operation  should  be  performed  on  a  dry  day. 
Alcoholized  iron  is  largely  sold  in  New  York  (probably  among 
German  apothecaries),  and  is  said  to  be  often  substituted  for 
iron  by  hydrogen.  The  best  of  it  cannot  be  far  from  equal  to 
reduced  iron,  and  it  has  the  merit  of  not  containing  sulphur,  so 
commonly  observed  in  the  commercial  reduced  iron. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  some  of  the  manufacturers  of  fine 
chemicals  do  not  make  reduced  iron  a  speciality.  The  practical 
difficulties  of  the  process  are  easily  overcome  and  avoided  by  an 
intelligent  operative,  and,  once  acquired,  no  reason  need  prevent 
regular  results.  Cannot  some  of  our  friends  take  hold  of  it, 
and  supply  the  market  with  pure  metallic  iron  by  hydrogenic 
reduction,  free  from  sulphur,  and  of  a  light  spongy  texture,  at  a 
price  that  will  bring  it  into  more  general  use  ? 
ON  A  PREVIOUSLY  UNPUBLISHED  METHOD  OF  MANU. 
FACTORING  PILLS  ON  A  LARGE  SCALE. 
By  Edward  Parrish. 
Some  years  ago  I  came  to  the  knowledge  of  a  process  for 
making  pills  in  the  large  way,  which  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
communicate  from  fear  of  compromising  the  interests  of  an  in- 
genious practical  confectioner  who  was,  for  a  short  time,  in  my 
employ.  Considering  this  motive  no  longer  binding,  I  offer  to 
Pharmacists  the  following  process  : 
Having  granulated  a  suitable  quantity  of  sugar,  separate  the 
smaller  and  larger  granules  by  sieves,  so  as  to  bring  the  whole  to 
a  uniform  degree  of  coarseness.  Now  prepare  a  clean  copper 
pan  of  suitable  size,  suspended  by  a  rope  or  chain  two  or  three 
feet  above  a  small  furnace  containing  a  charcoal  fire ;  introduce 
the  granules,  moisten  them  with  thick  mucilage  or  syrup,  and 
dust  over  them  the  ingredients  to  constitute  the  pills,  which  must 
have  been  previously  reduced  to  very  fine  powder  and  thoroughly 
