254 
Improved  Troche  Board. 
Am.  Four.  Pharm. 
May,  1880. 
^ers.  No  particular  quality  of  paper  is  needed,  the  only  requisite  being, 
it  should  not  be  too  highly  calendered.  A  smooth  piece  of  board  is 
(HOW  drawn  over  the  surface  of  the  tank  when  it  is  ready  for  a  fresh 
operation.  The  edges  of  books  are  stained  in  a  similar  manner  ;  the 
book  being  taken  unbound  and  pressed  between  boards  tightly  together 
so  chat  none  of  the  color  shall  penetrate  beyond  its  surface  ;  they  are 
afterwards  when  dry,  burnished  with  a  hot  iron  tool  by  hand.  The 
|>roducts  afforded  by  this  process  are  of  infinite  variety,  and,  as  can  be 
imagined,  no  two  products  are  ever  exactly  alike,  and  by  varying  the 
•colors  an  almost  endless  and  kaleidoscopic  change  can  be  produced. 
Philadelphia^  April  20,  1880. 
IMPROVED  TROCHE  BOARD  AND  ROLLER. 
By  Francis  E.  Harrison,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  demand  for  troches  having  of  late  so  largely  increased,  it  has 
become  necessary  that  we  should  seek  some  means  of  facilitating  their 
•manufacture.  With  a  view  to  that  end,  I  have  devised  an  entirely  new 
form  of  board,  which  I  think  will  obviate  the  objectionable  points  of 
the  one  now  generally  in  use-.  The  present  board  is  similar  to  that 
used  by  housekeepers  as  a  bread  or  pie  board,  with  the  addition  of  two 
■strips,  one  of  which  is  tacked  upon  each  side  of  the  upper  surface, 
within  the  range  of  the  roller  ;  so  that  when  the  medicated  mass  is 
rolled  it  will  be  reduced  to  the  thickness  of  the  space  intervening 
between  the  roller  and  the  board.  Such  an  arrangement  answers  very 
well  for  troches  of  one  thickness,  but,  as  different  troches  vary  in  thick- 
ness, such  a  board  is  of  only  limited  use,  and  it  may  be  necessary  to 
have  a  different  one  for  each  kind  of  troche  ;  or,  when  using  only  one 
board,  to  change  the  strips  in  each  case,  unless  the  operator  relies 
chiefly  on  his  skill  in  rolling  a  mass  to  a  uniform  thickness  without 
such  mechanical  guides.^ 
The  following  is  a  description  of  the  troche  board  devised  by  me, 
upon  which  all  sizes  of  troches  can  be  made  : 
The  Board  is  16  inches  long,  1 1  inches  wide  and  f  of  an  inch  thick  ; 
attached  to  it  on  the  under  surface  are  two  beveled  pieces,  1 1  inches 
in  length,  so  as  to  run  entirely  across  the  board  ;  these  pieces  are  f  of 
^  An  improved  troche  board  was  described  by  F.  L.  Slocum  in  "Amer.  Jour. 
Phar.,"  1879,  page  589- — Editor. 
