162 
PREPARATION  OF  BLUE  PILL,  ETC. 
while  to  compound  their  own.  Now  that  a  new  Pharmacopoeia 
is  under  consideration,  and  every  one  expected  to  give  a  hint 
or  two  if  possible,  I  am  induced  to  give  my  mode  of  manipula- 
tion, as  I  am  not  aware  of  its  being  followed  by  any  one  else. 
A  most  intimate  and  perfect  division  of  the  metal  is  effected  in 
a  very  short  time  and  with  comparatively  little  trouble, — and 
with  this  recommendation,  that  the  ingredients  are  in  every 
respect  the  same  as  the  Pharmacopoeia  formula. 
Pil.  Hydrarg. — To  make  this  I  triturate  the  mercury  with  the 
powdered  liquorice  (adding  a  small  quantity  of  distilled  or  rose 
water)  till  the  globules  are  quite  imperceptible,  the  confection  of 
roses  is  next  added  and  all  well  mixed.  The  rapidity  with  which 
the  liquorice  "kills"  the  mercury  is  really  astonishing  to  one 
accustomed  to  the  old  way  of  rubbing  the  metal  with  the  con- 
serve. It  forms  a  perfectly  homogeneous  mass  of  a  proper  pill 
consistence. 
Hydrarg,  cum  Creta. — For  mixing  this,  I  first  put  the  mercury 
into  a  bottle  with  an  equal  weight  of  prepared  chalk,  and  well 
shake  them  together  till  the  metal  is  invisible  to  the  naked  eye, 
which  takes  place  in  a  few  minutes.  I  then  turn  it  out  into  a 
large  Wedgwood  mortar  and  rub  with  the  remainder  of  the  chalk 
till  the  globules  are  no  longer  visible.  The  time  consumed  by 
these  modes  of  operation  is  so  short,  that  there  can  be  no  ex- 
cuse for  any  one  not  preparing  their  own  blue  pill  and  grey 
powder,  which  it  is  obviously  their  duty  to  do,  especially  in  a 
more  exclusively  dispensing  establishment.  A  pound  of  blue 
pill  was  made  as  above  in  one  hour,  in  which  no  globules  were 
discoverable,  even  by  a  Coddington  lens. 
9,  North  Street,  Bristol,  Nov.  19,  1855. 
[The  process  for  making  grey  powder  is  similar  to  that  now 
generally  adopted  by  wholesale   druggists,  the  mercury  and 
chalk  being  put  into  a  cask  which  is  turned  on  an  axis  Ed.] — 
Lond.  Pharm.  Jour.  Jan.  1,  1856. 
