128  Wax,  Tallow,  etc.,  in  Suppositories.    |  ^nkS, Tstl" 
principally  at  Manilla  and  Singapore.  The  former  is  the  finest,  and 
€osts  when  pure  about  £2  per  ounce. — E.  RiMMEL. — Lond.  Pharm. 
Journ.^  Jan.  21,  1871. 
ON  THE  USE  OF  WAX,  TALLOW,  ETC.,  IN  SUPPOSITORIES. 
By  Charles  L.  Eberle. 
Query  29. — The  fasing-point  of  true  butter  of  cacao  being  near  that  of  the 
temperature  of  the  body,  what  is  the  influence  of  such  additions  as  wax,  tallow, 
&c.,  on  its  fusing-point,  and  to  what  extent  are  such  additions  objectionable,  if 
at  all,  in  vaginal  or  urethral  suppositories  ? 
Pure  cacao-butter  may  be  asserted  to  be  but  rarely  if  ever  met  with 
in  the  drug  market.  Tiie  samples  for  sale  vary  sensibly  in  color  and 
consistency,  and  no  positive  rule  for  judging  of  a  pure  article  by  cur- 
sory examination  can  be  offered.  A  candid  admission  by  several 
prominent  manufacturers  of  the  article,  reveals  the  fact  of  its  frequent 
adulteration,  and  since  the  extended  demand  and  sale  of  this  produc- 
tion for  cosmetic  and  suppository  application,  a  greater  variety  of 
mixtures  known  as  butter  of  cacao  is  to  be  found  than  formerly. 
The  pharmacist,  however,  but  seldom  applies  it  to  uses  other  than 
in  the  preparation  of  suppositories,  the  successful  use  of  which  de- 
pends upon  a  base,  whose  point  of  fusion  will  correspond  to  animal 
heat,  which  can  be  handled  readily  when  in  form,  and  which  upon  ex- 
posure to  the  natural  heat  of  the  body  will  promptly  liquefy,  not  melt 
slowly,  thus  depositing  quickly  the  medicating  ingredient  upon  the 
surface  to  which  it  has  been  exhibited. 
The  butter  of  cacao  most  nearly  satisfactory  to  pharmacial  use,  is 
of  a  dirty  white,  inclined  to  yellow  in  appearance,  firm  under  pressure, 
yet  disposed  to  yield  its  surface  when  held  in  the  hand  by  the  warmth 
thus  imparted,  fusing  readily  at  or  about  98^,  which  sets  rapidly  after 
fusion  when  exposed  to  cold,  and  which,  after  such  exposure,  main- 
tains its  original  character  at  ordinary  temperatures. 
Such  cacao  butter  may  be  had.  I  here  exhibit  a  specimen,  and 
under  proper  manipulation  it  needs  no  addition  of  a  hardening  ingre* 
dient  to  adapt  it  to  suppository  use. 
Cacao-butter  at  98°  F.  liquefies.  This  is  more  apparent  in  the 
rectum  or  vagina  than  by  merely  holding  in  the  hand.  The  mixtures, 
I  mean  the  mixtures  made  by  the  pharmacist  with  the  cacao-butter  of 
the  market,  vary  in  their  behavior  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  and 
character  of  the  hardening  ingredient  used  in  connection  with  it. 
