2  54  Experiments  with  Pills  of  Phosphorus.  { 
Bullock  &  Crenshaw  ;  No.  3,  by  Warner  &  Co.,  and  No.  4,  made 
with  balsam  of  tolu. 
All  were  placed  in  water  at  90°  F.  and  heat  gradually  raised.  In  two 
minutes  coating  on  No.  2  entirely  dissolved,  but  pill  hard. 
In  five  minutes  No.  i  completely  liquified. 
The  heat  was  now  up  to  98°,  showing  little  effect  upon  No.  3,  and 
none  whatever  upon  No.  4. 
In  six  minutes  coating  on  No.  3  was  slowly  dissolving.  Heat  raised 
to  110°.  No.  3  coating  dissolved  and  pill  with  No.  2,  slowly  separat- 
ing, but  not  softened  much.  No.  4  soft,  but  retaining  form.  After 
half  an  hour's  digestion,  Nos.  2  and  3  still  undissolved,  no  change  in 
No.  4.  From  these  simple  experiments,  we  see  the  relative  solubility 
in  the  stomach  of  the  various  excipients  used  in  making  these  pills. 
One  of  our  physicians  made  several  experiments  with  some  of  the 
above  pills,  the  results  of  which  are  given  in  connection  with  this  pa- 
per. These  pills  can  be  made  of  any  desired  strength,  and  will  keep 
indefinitely.  I  present  a  sample  made  as  above.  It  is  not  the  purpose 
of  this  article  to  enter  into  the  discussion  of  the  action  of  phosphorus 
upon  the  system,  but  that  its  effects  and  doses  ought  to  receive  more 
attention  no  one  will  dispute,  especially  as  it  is  being  extensively  used, 
and  in  such  variable  doses. 
EXPERIMENTS  WITH  PILLS  OF  PHOSPHORUS  COMBINED  WITH 
CERTAIN  EXCIPIENTS. 
BY   CHARLES   G.   FROWERT,   M.  D. 
[Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  May  iSth.) 
SERIES  I. 
Experiments  with  phosphorus  pills,  combined  with  the  excipient  bal- 
sam of  tolu^  one-twentieth  grain  in  each  pill,  (No.  4  of  pill  series  in 
preceding  paper.) 
Experiment  i . — Two  pills  were  taken  one  hour  after  a  hearty  meal, 
by  adult  male,  in  good  health.  Examination  of  faeces  ten  hours  after- 
wards, revealed  the  pills  as  entire  as  when  swallowed,  but  somewhat 
softer. 
Experiment  2. — Another  subject  swallowed  one  pill  half  an  hour 
after  a  hearty  meal.  The  pill  was  recovered  eighteen  hours  afterwards 
in  the  faeces, — hard,  and  as  a  nucleus,  about  which  was  gathered  faeces 
one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
