EDITORIAL. 
471 
pills  are  the  assafoetida  pill,  the  compound  cathartic  pill,  the  blue  pill, 
the  copaiba  pill,  and  granules  of  extract  of  Cannabis  Indica  and  Podophyl- 
lin.  As  specimens  of  saccharo-plastic  art,  they  are  equal  to  the  best  we 
have  seen  of  foreign  origin.  The  pills  are  globular  and  not  discolored,  the 
coating  close  and  uniform,  and  in  the  case  of  the  assafoetida  pill,  the  odor 
is  retained  quite  as  well  as  in  those  of  Gamier,  Lamaroux  &  Go's.  So  large 
is  the  demand  for  this  novelty,  that  Messrs.  Tilden,  who  put  out  a  great 
variety  of  extracts  in  this  form,  besides  the  regular  pills,  have  been  making 
about  one  million  pills  a  month  for  the  present  year.  These  pills  are  neatly 
put  up,  in  ounce  and  two  ounce  vials,  with  cork  stoppers.  They  are  all 
prepared  at  their  laboratory  at  New  Lebanon.  The  resinoids  are  those  of 
Podophyllum,  Leptandra,  Cimicifuga,  and  Hydrastis,  and,  so  far  as  their 
sensible  properties  will  decide  if;,  are  of  excellent  quality  and  purity. 
"We  hope,  ere  long,  that  some  ingenious  apothecary  will  invent  and  pub- 
lish an  eligible  and  ready  method  of  sugar  coating  pills  extemporaneously, 
so  that  the  pills  in  a  prescription  may  be  coated  whilst  they  are  being 
waited  for.    Such  a  process  is  at  present  a  desideratum. 
Formula  for  making  Tinctures,  Infusions,  Syrups,  Wines,  Mixtures, 
Pills,  &c,  simple  and  compound,  from  fluid  and  solid  extracts,  prepared 
at  the  laboratory  of  Tilden  &  Co.,  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y.  Established, 
1848.  Tilden  &  Co.,  New  Lebanon,'  N.  Y.,  and  98  John  Street,  New 
York,  1858.    Pp.  162,  octavo. 
If  any  evidence,  not  already  given,  were  required  to  show  the  extensive 
operations  of  Tilden  &  Co.,  in  the  way  of  Concentrated  Pharmaceutical 
preparations,  it  would  be  afforded  by  a  glance  at  the  volume  before  us ;  a 
book,  written  for  the  mere  purpose  of  showing  the  formulae  for  preparations, 
derivable  from  their  more  concentrated  ones,  by  dilution  and  mixture.  It 
appears,  from  the  prefatory  remarks,  to  have  become  the  custom  among  a 
certain  class  of  rural  physicians  and  apothecaries  to  use  these  extracts  and 
fluid  extracts,  in  making  the  weaker  preparations,  as  tinctures,  syrups, 
wines,  &c. ;  and  this  book  has  been  issued  to  afford  such  a  uniform  and 
reliable  set  of  formulae  as  shall  make  the  resulting  preparations  accord,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  with  those  of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  In  a  word,  through 
this  book,  Messrs.  Tilden  &  Co.  say  to  all  those  who  use  their  preparations, 
we  will  save  you  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  grinding,  extracting,  and  eva- 
porating, by  offering  for  your  acceptance  preparations  involving  all  this 
labor,  by  which  you  can,  with  mere  mixing  and  dilution,  prepare  the  pre- 
parations of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  and  many  others  not  officinal.  For  the 
country  physician,  this  may  be  proper,  and,  in  some  cases,  to  the  apothe- 
cary ;  but  to  make  a  general  application  of  the  rule  is  wrong.  No  con- 
scientious apothecary  is  warranted  in  using  su*eh  preparations  to  save  him- 
self trouble,  unless  he  is  fully  aware  of  all  the  circumstances  of  their 
preparation.    We  believe  Messrs.  Tilden  &  Co.  have  committed  a  great 
