ON  SUPPOSITORIES  AND  MEDICATED  PESSARIES. 
55 
minim  measure  ;  and  other  shapes  may  be  readily  formed  from  a 
piece  of  wood,  no  matter  what  kind,  roughly  cut  into  shape  of  a 
size  larger  than  that  ultimately  required,  putting  it  into  the  fire 
for  a  second  or  two,  and  dressing  it  into  the  exact  pattern  by  the 
use  of  a  file. 
Supposing  suppositories  of  the  usual  size  and  form  are  required, 
and  that  the  model  is  ready,  the  tinfoil  may  be  cut  into  conveni- 
ent disks  by  pressing  it  upon  a  two-ounce  pill-box,  and  cutting 
out  with  scissors  ;  the  foil  being  first  folded,  a  dozen  or  more  of 
disks  may  be  cut  at  once ;  place  the  point  of  the  cone  in  the 
centre  of  one  of  the  disks,  and  fold  the  foil  closely  about  it, 
avoiding  wrinkles  as  much  as  possible ;  the  foil  mould  is  then 
ready  for  use,  and  may  be  dropped  off  the  tip  of  the  dibble  into  . 
the  clay  stand.  The  moulds  having  been  arranged  in  this  way, 
"and  the  requisite  ingredients  melted  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  set 
in  hot  water,  the  moulds  will  be  most  conveniently  filled  by  means 
of  a  common  glass  syringe,  the  piston  being  removed  and  an 
india-rubber  ball  substituted  ;  the  bottle  being  taken  in  one  hand 
and  the  sjmnge  in  the  other,  the  fluid  ingredients  are  to  be 
stirred  with  the  syringe  till  they  begin  to  thicken,  and  then 
transferred  to  the  moulds  by  means  of  the  syringe,  the  active 
constituents  being  kept  thoroughly  mixed  through  the  mass  during 
the  operation,  by  stirring  with  the  syringe  between  the  lifting  of 
each  portion  of  the  material  from  the  bottle. 
While  the  suppository  is  still  soft,  though  not  fluid,  it  may,  if 
necessary,  be  removed  from  the  clay  by  carefully  lifting  foil  and 
all  together,  and  if  it  is  important  to  save  time  they  may  be  im- 
mersed in  cold  water  till  quite  firm,  when  the  foil  may  be  rolled 
off,  and  they  are  fit  for  delivery  to  the  patient.  Of  course,  if 
there  is  no  need  for  hurry,  they  are  just  as  well  left  in  their  stand 
till  quite  hard. 
Any  one  who  has  experienced  the  same  difficulty  with  the  metal 
mould  which  I  have  done,  will  probably,  with  advantage,  follow 
my  example  in  adopting  tinfoil,  the  original  mould  being  simply 
used  instead  of  a  clay  stand  to  support  the  foil. 
The  same  proceeding  exactly  is  adapted  to  the  production  of 
pessaries  or  suppositories  of  other  sizes  and  shapes,  probably  also 
of  medicated  bougies,  though  with  these  I  have  as  yet  had  no  ex- 
perience. 
