228 
SUPPOSITORIES. 
turn,  exciting  irritation.    I  have  known  this  to  be  the  case  in 
more  than  one  instance. 
The  greater  number  of  the  suppository  moulds  which  T  have 
met  with  in  the  market  seem  to  have  been  very  carelessly  made, 
not  unfrequently  having  deep  scratches  and  other  defects  in 
them  ;  therefore  care  should  be  taken,  in  purchasing  moulds,  to 
select  those  which  have  a  smooth  and  uniform  surface,  and  as 
free  from  defects  as  possible,  otherwise  they  will  disfigure  and 
impart  a  rough  and  inelegant  appearance  to  the  suppository, 
which  will  be  very  mortifying  to  the  operator,  who  perhaps  has 
taken  special  pains,  with  every  step  of  the  process,  to  secure  a 
handsome  result,  but  finds  his  best  efforts  in  vain.  The  coating 
will  frequently,  to  some  extent,  remedy  this  difficulty  by  filling  - 
up  slight  defects  or  inequalities  in  the  moulds. 
The  exact  capacity  of  each  set  of  moulds  should  be  known  be- 
fore attempting  to  use  them,  which  can  be  easily  ascertained  by 
ypr,eparing,  in  one  mould  of  each  set,  a  plain  suppository  of  cacao 
; butter,  and  weighing  it.    Then,  in  weighing  out  the  excipient  for 
any  given  number  of  suppositories,  make  as  nearly  as  possible 
proper  allowance  for  the  bulk  of  the  medicinal  ingredients.  There 
will  then  be  less  risk  of  adding  too  much  of  the  excipient,  and 
having  a  portion  of  the  mixture  left  over  after  the  requisite  num- 
ber of  moulds  have  been  filled,  which  ought  to  be  assiduously 
avoided,  but  which  will  sometimes  happen  unless  the  above  pre- 
caution is  observed.    If  the  medicinal  ingredients  are  not  bulky, 
or  not  in  large  quantity,  scarcely  any  allowance  for  their  bulk 
will  be  necessary ;  such  is  the  case  if  morphia,  opium,  extracts 
of  belladonna,  cannabis  indica,  or  many  other  active  remedies 
which  might  be  named,  are  prescribed. 
Either  rectal  or  vaginal  suppositories,  of  any  size,  can  be  made 
with  equal  facility  by  the  above  process  and  manipulation.  The 
time  required  to  make  a  dozen  suppositories,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  is  about  thirty  minutes  ;  but  when  dispatch  is 
necessary,  they  can  be  prepared  and  ready  to  deliver  to  the  cus- 
tomer in  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  minutes,  when  every  appli- 
ance is  at  hand.  But  when  it  can  be  afforded,  ample  time  should 
be  allowed  for  them  to  remain  in  the  refrigerating  vessel  to  be- 
come perfectly  hard,  so  as  to  admit  of  all  necessary  handling 
