5»4 
Editorial. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X  November,  1895. 
EDITORIAL. 
ANIMAL,  CHARCOAL,  AS  A  PILL,  EXCIPIENL\ 
Senor  Evicle,  in  Revista  Farmaceutica  Argentina,  has  contributed  an  article 
on  the  foregoing  subject,  which  deserves  more  than  passing  attention.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  animal  charcoal  is  an  excellent  absorbent  ;  but  before  it  is 
adopted  as  a  pill  excipient  it  would  be  just  as  well  to  inquire  whether  its  active 
absorbing  property  is  not  an  objection.  In  the  article  referred  to,  for  a  trans- 
lation of  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal  of  October  5th, 
the  following  formula  is  offered: 
Beech  creosote  1  gramme. 
•  Tannin  (prepared  with  ether)  .  1  " 
Iodoform  1  ?* 
Make  twenty  pills. 
To  quickly  get  a  satisfactory  and  smooth  mass,  first  absorb  the  creosote  with  animal 
charcoal  as  previously  directed,  add  the  tannin  and  iodoform  triturated  together,  mix  well 
and  mass  with  Venice  turpentine.  Pills  thus  prepared  may  be  sent  out  rolled  in  magnesia, 
silvered  or  varnished  with  tolu  varnish,  which  latter  helps  to  mask  the  caustic  taste  of  the 
creosote,  although  the  animal  charcoal  does  this  to  a  great  extent. 
It  strikes  us  that  this  is  a  step  in  the  wrong  direction  in  the  administration  of 
medicine,  for  if  the  pills  made  according  to  this  formula  should  be  absorbed  in 
the  stomach  or  intestines  it  would  indicate  a  greater  power  of  these  organs  than 
they  usually  get  credit  for.  Possibly  a  more  resistant  pill  mass  might  be  made, 
but  if  so,  we  don't  remember  to  have  heard  of  it. 
Animal  charcoal  may  have  a  claim  as  a  constituent  of  certain  pill  masses,  but 
it  should  be  so  compounded  with  the  other  ingredients  as  to  make  a  mass  that 
would  readily  disintegrate  in  the  liquid  contents  of  the  stomach. 
CREOSOTE  OR  CREASOTE  t 
Joseph  Ince  contributed  a  paper  on  this  subject  to  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal 
of  October  12th,  in  anticipation  of  the  issue  of  the  Imperial  Pharmacopoeia. 
His  citation  of  authorities  is  quite  extensive,  but  he  has  apparently  overlooked 
an  important  contribution  on  the  same  question  by  Charles  Rice  in  the 
•  American  Journal,  of  Pharmacy,  April,  1894.  Dr.  Rice  practically  ex- 
hausted the  subject,  and  presented  overwhelming  reasons  for  adopting  "creo- 
sote." If  there  is  any  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  compilers  of  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia  on  this  matter,  they  should  by  all  means  read  Dr.  Rice's 
remarks. 
H.  C.  Myers,  Ph.D.,  has  undertaken  the  directorship  of  a  department  of  phar 
macy,  recently  established  in.  the  University  of  Washington,  at  Seattle.  Dr 
Myers  attended  the  session  of  1886-87,  at  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Phar- 
macy, and  then  went  to  Europe,  where  he  studied  chemistry,  first  at  Gottingen 
and  later  at  Strassburg,  where  he  took  his  degree.  He  has  been  for  some  time 
instructor  in  chemistry  at  Stanford  University. 
