PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES. 
541 
may  be  rubbed  to  powder  before  its  mixture  with  the  liquid,  and 
the  attachment  of  a  "  shaking  label"  to  the  vial.  Solid  extracts 
may  be  brought  into  solution  by  the  same  means  with  great 
facility. 
The  moral  effect  of  such  a  display  of  chemical  ware  before 
the  admiring  eyes  of  the  patient  may  be  considered,  in  some 
rare  instances,  as  equally  beneficial  with  the  product  of  the  com- 
bined skill  of  the  physician  and  pharmacist. 
In  spreading  plasters  extemporaneously,  convenience  requires 
and  neatness  demands  an  uncoated  marginal  edge.  This  is 
usually  secured  by  pasting  strips  of  paper  along  the  edges  of 
the  skin,  and  removing  them  after  the  spreading  of  the  plaster 
is  effected.  It  is  just  here  that  a  practical  difficulty  frequently 
arises.  The  paper  edges  are  liable,  from  drying  of  the  paste, 
to  adhere  so  strongly  that  either  paper  or  skin  will  give  way 
upon  an  attempt  at  their  removal ;  the  application  of  water  will 
then  be  necessary  to  soften  the  attachment,  and  the  final  result 
may  be  expected  to  present  a  daubed  and  uncleanly  aspect.  This 
difficulty  may  be  entirely  avoided  by  applying  to  the  paste  brush 
a  little  glycerine  before  the  adjustment  of  the  marginal  strips. 
Coating  of  Pills. — A  prevailing  fashion  in  pharmacy,  or 
rather  among  prescribers,  is  the  use  of  sugar-coated  pills.  This 
is  very  detrimental  to  the  practice  of  legitimate  pharmacy, 
whatever  may  be  its  effect  upon  those  who  swallow  the  pills. 
An  extemporaneous  process  of  sugar-coating  is  a  desideratum 
for  which  our  colleges  of  pharmacy  should  unite  in  offering  a 
prize.  In  the  absence  of  this,  a  very  excellent  substitute  may 
be  found  in  resin.  This  substance  is  easily  applied,  gives  a 
hard,  tasteless  surface,  a  handsome  appearance,  and  has  a 
decided  tendency  to  protect  the  pills  from  change.  The  coating 
cannot  interfere  with  their  medicinal  action,  for  it  is  readily 
dissolved  by  the  fluids  of  the  stomach.  The  process  of  coating 
is  easy  and  expeditious,  and  no  apparatus  is  required. 
We  proceed  as  follows,  keeping  prepared  a  solution  of  resin 
in  ether,  one  part  of  resin  to  ten  parts  of  the  fluid :  We  return 
the  pills,  after  they  have  been  rolled  to  shape,  to  the  mortar  in 
which  their  ingredients  were  mixed,  pour  over  them  a  little  of 
the  resinous  solution,  give  the  mortar  a  few  twirls,  and  roll  them 
