Syrup  of  Ipecacuanha. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1      Sept.,  1879. 
each  end  of  the  thread  and  then  into  wood,  and  expose  to  as  cool  a 
draught  of  air  as  possible.  When  hard  enough  to  place  in  the  box,  cut 
the  thread  close  to  each  pill  with  a  pair  of  scissors  or  sharp  knife,  thus 
leaving  no  hole  in  the  coating  ;  the  little  piece  of  thread  in  each  pill  in 
length  equal  to  the  diameter  of  the  pill  should  do  no  harm. 
Pills  can  be  coated  in  this  way,  I  think,  in  less  time  than  by  any 
other  method.  They  compare  favorably  in  appearance,  solubility,  etc*, 
with  pills  coated  with  any  other  substance,  or  with  the  same  substance 
in  any  other  and  longer  way.  With  sufficient  practice,  every  pill  can 
be  caught  on  the  thread  and  neatly  rolled  without  touching  it  with  the 
fingers  ;  twenty-four  pills,  or  more,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
machine,  can  thus  be  coated  as  easily  as  one  by  the  needle,  as  ordina- 
rily used,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  they  dry  quicker,  as  in  coating 
with  the  needle  the  last  pill  coated  will  not  be  hard  when  the  first  is 
ready  for  the  box.  Even  if  at  first  only  half  the  number  of  pills  adhere 
on  the  thread,  they  may  be  coated  as  easily  as  one,  and  the  remainder 
can  be  coated  on  the  needles  until  the  manipulator  improves. 
Some  of  the  advantages  of  this  coating  are  that  it  is  always  ready 
for  use — and  thus  injury  caused  by  repeated  heating  is  prevented — it  does 
not  mould  or  decompose,  it  drys  or  hardens  quickly,  can  be  applied  to 
pills  as  soon  as  made,  and  when  applied  is  more  soluble  than  gelatin 
alone. 
I  would  say,  in  conclusion,  that  I  have  been  able  by  practice  to  make 
the  thread  work  successfully  on  my  machine,  but  there  is,  perhaps, 
enough  of  trouble  in  learning  how,  to  make  it  doubtful  that  this 
method  will  be  of  general  use  ;  still  it  is  an  idea  which  is  freely  given 
for  what  it  may  be  worth.  The  coating  may  not  be  entirely  new  to 
others,  but  it  is  to  me,  and,  as  far  as  has  been  possible,  I  have  reviewed 
the  pharmaceutical  literature  on  this  subject.  It  may  be  capable  of 
improvement  ;  and  for  such  purpose,  and  for  a  trial  of  what  I  believe 
to  be  its  advantages  over  other  coatings,  it  is  now  placed  before  the 
profession. 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  July  29th,  1879. 
SYRUP  OF  IPECACUANHA. 
Editor  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  : 
In  the  "  Journal  "  for  July,  p.  349,  Mr.  E.  G.  Bissell  gives  a  for- 
mula for  the  preparation  of  this  syrup,  which  is  no  doubt  a  great 
