386 
ON  SOME  PREPARATIONS  OF  ASSAFOETIDA. 
this  form,  in  the  proper  dose,  to  be  almost  equally  efficient  as 
when  given  in  the  usual  forms  by  the  stomach.  I  have  experi- 
enced upon  myself  strongly  marked  excitant  effects  of  the  vola- 
tile oil,  in  a  very  short  time  after  a  suppository  of  the  drug  had 
been  introduced,  and  which  continued  for  a  considerable  length  of 
time.  To  derive  satisfactory  results  from  its  employment,  how- 
ever, in  this  form,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  supposito- 
ries should  be  prepared  with  care  from  pure.,  fresh  tears,  and  not 
from  the  partially  inert  drug  in  powder. 
Suppositories  of  assafoetida  are  very  difficult  to  prepare,  owing 
to  the  resin  of  the  fresh  drug  not  being  miscible  with  melted 
butter  of  cacao.  This  has  proved  an  almost  insuperable  obstacle 
to  their  successful  manufacture.  Assafoetida  has  proved  more 
intractable  in  my  hands  than  any  other  substance  of  which  I 
have  attempted  to  make  suppositories.  It  being  utterly  impossi- 
ble by  any  of  the  usual  means  to  retain  it  in  intimate  mixture 
with  the  cacao  butter,  in  the  liquid  state,  long  enough  to  pour 
into  the  moulds,  the  resinous  portion  would  separate  and  obsti- 
nately adhere  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  notwithstanding  the 
most  careful  and  varied  manipulation. 
To  remedy  this  difficulty  and  source  of  trouble  and  annoyance, 
I  instituted  a  series  of  experiments,  and  tried  various  means, 
without  avail,  until  it  finally  occurred  to  me  that  if  I  would  sa- 
ponify the  resin  and  volatile  oil  with  an  alkali,  that  it  would 
promote  the  solubility  of  the  resin,  and  render  it  miscible  with 
the  melted  fat.  I  selected  liq.  potassae  as  the  most  eligible  and 
convenient  for  the  purpose,  and  employed  it  in  the  proportion  of 
one  drop  to  about  eight  grains  of  the  drug,  with  complete 
success. 
When  perfectly  pure  tears  can  be  procured,  they  may  be 
thoroughly  malaxated  in  a  mortar  until  perfectly  smooth,  and 
the  liq.  potassse  then  dropped  in  and  well  incorporated,  and  the 
whole  afterwards  well  rubbed  with  the  butter  of  cacao,  and  sup- 
positories prepared  in  the  usual  manner.  But  as  it  is  important 
that  suppositories  should  contain  nothing  in  their  composition 
which  would  be  likely  to  create  irritation,  and  as  assafoetida  is 
so  generally  contaminated  with  impurities  that  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  obtain  tears  in  sufficient  quantity,  perfectly  free  from 
