Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan.,  1888. 
Dispensing  Memoranda. 
19 
finished  his  batchy  whilst  the  former  is  still  trying  various  excipients, 
and  when  done  makes  them  larger  or  smaller  than  necessary^  and 
probably  too  soft. 
Ext.  cascar.  sag.  has  now  become  very  popular,  and  owing  to  its 
disagreeable  taste  is  frequently  prescribed  in  form  of  pill,  which  is 
often  very  refractory,  it  being  a  difficult  matter  to  prevent  them '^fall- 
ing." Pills  sent  out  as  hard  as  they  could  possibly  be  made  have  been 
too  frequently  returned  en  masse. 
Having  had  the  same  difficulty,  a  few  experiments  were  accordingly 
tried,  and  the  following  method  is  one  which  I  have  used  almost  daily 
for  a  good  length  of  time,  and  never  known  to  fail. 
After  trying  various  excipients,  with  little  success,  the  softening  of 
the  pills  and  consequent  ^'  falling,^'  could  only  be  attributed  to  absorp- 
tion of  moisture,  so,  in  order  to  prevent  this,  a  coating  of  varnish  was 
tried,  and  proved  the  supposition  to  be  correct. 
In  dispensing  pills  containing  ext.  cascar.  sag.,  varnishing  (or  coat- 
ing with  gelatin,  etc.)  is,  therefore,  considered  a  sine  qua  non. 
The  commercial  extract  is  usually  very  soft,  when  fresh,  and,  if 
kept  from  damp  and  moisture,  becomes  harder  on  keeping,  and  much 
more  difficult  to  manipulate.  The  best  way  is  to  at  once  evaporate  it 
down  by  means  of  a  water-bath,  when  it  becomes  very  brittle  and  is 
readily  reduced  to  powder,  making  up  to  original  weight  with  some 
inert  powder,  as  sugar  of  milk,  and  preserving  in  a  stoppered  bottle. 
This  is  the  form  in  which  I  always  use  it,  and  kept  thus,  it  saves 
much  valuable  time  in  rapid  dispensing. 
To  each  pill  is  added  J  grain  each  of  pulv.  tragac.  and  pulv.  althsese, 
massing  with  spirit,  just  adding  a  few  drops  of  syrup  to  keep  it  soft 
enough  for  rolling. 
Some  may  think  this  a  rather  elaborate  and  lengthy  process,  but 
in  practice,  which  is  the  chief  consideration,  it  is  simple,  quick  and 
reliable. 
Fel  bovinum  being  also  of  a  hygroscopic  nature,  can  be  successfully 
dispensed  in  the  same  manner. 
Of  course,  in  selecting  a  pill  excipient  there  are  several  important 
points  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  such  as  not  to  increase  the  size 
of  the  pill  more  than  can  possibly  be  helped,  not  to  impair  its  solu- 
bility, nor  to  have  any  chemical  action  on  the  various  ingredients,  etc. 
Trimethylamince  hydroclilor.  has  been  much  prescribed  in  a  pilular 
form  just  recently.    This  substance  occurs  in  crystals  which  are  ex- 
