Am.  Jom.  Pharm.  \ 
Nov.  1, 1873.  J 
Iodide  of  Iron  Pills,  etc. 
499 
3.  Take  a  sufficient  quantity  of  iron,  so  that  a  small  quantity  of  it 
will  remain  in  excess  after  the  complete  saturation  of  the  iodine; 
this  excess  of  iron  prevents  the  alteration  of  the  iodide,  during  the 
preparation  as  well  as  while  keeping  the  pills. 
4.  Substitute  a  mixture  of  gum  and  sugar  for  the  honey,  which 
presents  the  triple  inconvenience  of  being  acid,  of  rendering  the  exact 
formation  of  the  pill  mass  rather  difficult  owing  to  the  water,  which  it 
contains  in  great  abundance,  and  of  being  very  hygrometic  when  con- 
centrated. 
5.  Use  gum  arabic  in  preference  to  gum  tragacanth,  because  it 
gives  a  mass  less  elastic,  more  homogeneous  and  dissolving  better  and 
quicker  in  the  stomach. 
6.  Use  an  iron  dish  instead  of  glass  or  porcelain  vessels. 
7.  Operate  at  a  temperature  of  50°  to  60°  C.  (122°  to  140°  F.) 
These  rules  form  the  basis  of  the  formula,  and  of  the  mode  of  opera- 
tion, which  is  as  follows  : 
Take  of— 
Pure  iodine,  »  *  *  4*10  grams. 
Powdered  iron,  .  1*90  " 
Powdered  sugar,      ....  2*50  " 
Powdered  gum  arabic,    .  .  .  2-50  " 
Distilled  water,       .  .  .  .  2-50  " 
Put  in  an  iron  dish  the  water  and  the  powdered  iron,  add  the  iodine 
gradually,  and  facilitate  the  reaction  by  stirring  with  a  spatula  of 
iron  and  by  warming  a  little  ;  when  the  reaction  is  complete,  add  the 
gum  and  the  sugar,  then  heat  to  about  50°  C,  stirring  continually, 
and  until  the  mass  will  cease  to  drop,  when  a  little  is  taken  up  with 
the  end  of  the  spatula.  When  that  has  been  reached,  the  operation 
offers  no  further  difficulties  ;  the  pills  may  be  readily  rolled  out  and 
coated. 
To  obtain  the  pills,  incorporate  into  the  mass  5  grams  of  powdered 
liquorice  root,  if  necessary ;  heat  it  for  some  minutes,  divide  the  mass 
into  one  hundred  pills,  roll  them  in  the  powdered  gum,  and,  if  de- 
sired, coat  with  mastic  and  tolu. 
For  sugar-coated  pills  (drage'es),  incorporate  with  the  mass  7*50 
grams  of  powdered  gum  arabic,  then  heat  it  slightly  to  soften  it.  The 
hundred  pills  obtained  are  rolled  in  powdered  gum  arabic,  then  placed 
in  a  suitable  vessel,  heated  and  agitated  with  a  circular  motion  until 
of  the  proper  hardness,  after  which  they  may  be  sugar-coated. 
