preparation represents 0.100 Gm. of phosphorus, or 10 grains equal 1 grain, and may be conveniently weighed without danger of ignition. It keeps well for some time, but gradually the phosphorus becomes oxidized, the change beginning on the exterior and slowly extending inward.

Compound Pills of Rhubarb.-Compound pills of rhubarb will become very hard by age, and as they are not often called for, it is decidedly better to keep the ingredients properly mixed, in a glass-stoppered bottle, and inake the mass when required. A mixture of syrup and water, or glycerin and water, may be used with advantage in place of water, as in the case of pills of aloes

and mastic.

THE OFFICIAL MASSES.

As stated before, these masses are usually employed as constituents of other pill-masses; they are Massa Ferri Carbonatis and Massa Hydrargyri. The latter only is of sufficiently firm consistence to admit of being rolled into pills which will retain their spherical shape without the addition of absorbents, except when freshly made in warm weather.

Mass of Ferrous Carbonate, or Vallet's Mass, is a mixture of ferrous carbonate, sugar, and honey. Even when very carefully made, so as to contain the full amount of iron salt, it is never of a pilular consistence, but always in the form of a rather tenacious paste. The Pharmacopoeia directs the preparation of ferrous carbonate by mixing cooled and filtered solutions of ferrous sulphate and sodium carbonate, made respectively with crystallized ferrous sulphate 100 Gm., boiling distilled water 200 Cc. and syrup 20 Cc., and monohydrated sodium carbonate 46 Gm. and boiling distilled water 200 Cc., and then washing the resulting precipitate well with sweetened water (syrup 1 volume, distilled water 19 volumes) until the newly formed sodium sulphate has been removed; the washing is best performed by decantation in flasks having a narrow neck, and which can be tightly stoppered. The precipitate is then drained. on a strainer, mixed with clarified honey 38 Gm. and sugar 20 Gm., and the whole evaporated in a tared capsule, with constant stirring, until reduced in weight to 100 Gm.

The iron solution should be poured slowly into the alkaline solution and the flask frequently rotated as long as carbon dioxide escapes, after which it is filled with distilled water, corked, and set aside. The object of adding syrup to the iron solution, and of the subsequent washing of the precipitate with sweetened water, is to prevent oxidation of the iron salt as far as possible. Instead of distilled water, pure river or spring water recently boiled may be used throughout the process.

Theoretically the official product should contain about 42 per cent. of ferrous carbonate, as 100 Gm. of crystallized ferrous sulphate

will yield 42 Gm. of the carbonate, but as there is always some loss during the washing process, the finished mass rarely contains more than 36 per cent., and this much only if care has been observed to prevent oxidation by rigid exclusion of air. Freshly precipitated ferrous carbonate is greenish gray, gradually deepening in color, and the finished mass is decidedly green, but should not be brown, which would indicate oxidation. When Vallet's mass is allowed to stand for some time, even in well-covered jars, it becomes dry on the surface and assumes a blackish-green color. The change extends to the interior very slowly, being due to the gradual escape of moisture.

Mass of Mercury, better known as Blue Mass or Blue Pill, is probably the most familiar of all pill-masses. In the official formula 33 parts of mercury are triturated with a mixture of 9 parts of glycerin and 33 parts of honey of rose, until extinguished, the viscid character of the vehicle enabling a rapid division into minute globules. When mercury is no longer visible to the naked eye, and the mixture has assumed a uniform brownish-gray appearance, 10 parts of powdered licorice root and 15 parts of powdered althea are gradually added with constant trituration, until the mercury is so finely divided that it cannot be detected with a lens of at least 10 diameters magnifying power. Blue mass contains 33 per cent. of metallic mercury, which probably undergoes slight superficial oxidation in the course of time, but is well protected by the other ingredients.

24

CHAPTER XXIX.

CONFECTIONS AND LOZENGES.

CONFECTIONS.

THIS class of medicinal preparations still finds recognition in the leading pharmacopoeias, although, in this country at least, they are very rarely used by physicians. At one time the incorporation of saline and vegetable remedial agents with honey or fruit-pulp was a favorite mode of medication, such being the invariable composition of electuaries or confections, which were dispensed in the form of a thick, semifluid mass. When made with honey, or with the addition of glycerin, confections retain their original soft condition for a long time; but if made with fruit-pulp, or sugar and water, the moisture gradually evaporates and the mass becomes dry and hard. All medicinal ingredients must be added in the form of impalpable powder, and heavy metallic salts should never be employed, as they are prone to sink to the bottom and thus become separated. Whenever essential oils are to be incorporated in confections, they should first be triturated thoroughly with some finely powdered sugar; narcotic extracts or other potent remedies should be added in the form of solution, so as to insure their uniform distribution throughout the soft mass.

The U. S. Pharmacopoeia at present recognizes but 2 confections, and the German Pharmacopoeia 1-Electuarium Senna; while the British Pharmacopoeia still retains 4-confection of pepper, roses, senna, and sulphur.

The Official Confections.

Confectio Rosa.-Confection of rose, which at one time was largely used as a favorite excipient for certain pill-masses, possesses little or no medicinal virtue. It is made by rubbing 80 Gm. of red rose leaves, in No. 60 powder, with 160 Cc. of stronger rose water, previously heated to 65° C. (149° F.), for the purpose of reducing the rose petals to a pulpy condition, and then gradually adding 120 Gm. of clarified honey and 640 Gm. of finely powdered sugar.

Confectio Sennæ.-Confection of senna, sometimes called for under the name of lenitive electuary, if carefully prepared, presents an agreeable, mild laxative preparation. The Pharmacopoeia directs that 100 Gm. of tamarind, 70 Gm. of prune, 120 Gm. of fig, and

160 Gm. of cassia fistula be digested with 500 Cc. of water for three hours on a water-bath. The coarser portions are then to be separated with the hand and the pulpy mass rubbed first through a coarse hair sieve, and then through a fine one or through a muslin cloth. This treatment with the hands is objectionable, and by no means necessary, for if the digestion be carried on on a boiling water-bath for three hours, with occasional stirring by means of a thick glass rod or a porcelain spatula, the pulpy mixture can easily be passed through a hair sieve with the aid of a horn spatula. The residue remaining in the sieve is again digested for a short time with 150 Cc. of water, the mixture treated as before, and the product added to the pulpy mass first obtained. In the pulpy liquid 555 Gm. of sugar are dissolved and the whole evaporated to 895 Gm., to which while yet warm are added 100 Gm. of senna, in No. 60 powder, and 5 Gm. of oil of coriander. It will be found advisable, instead of adding the oil directly with the senna to the pulp, to triturate it thoroughly first with about 50 Gm. of sugar, which should be reserved for that purpose out of the original quantity.

LOZENGES OR TROCHES.

Lozenges are solid, flattened masses of round, oval, or other desirable shape, not intended for mastication, but to be dissolved slowly in the mouth, therefore not adapted for medicines which are expected to undergo disintegration in the stomach prior to any therapeutic action. In one or two cases the cylindrical form is preferred, as for the well-known licorice lozenges and Wistar's cough lozenges. The remedial action of lozenges is generally designed to be purely local, (either as an expectorant, demulcent, stimulant, sedative, astringent, or antiseptic.

The usual base or vehicle for lozenges is sugar (that known among confectioners as lozenge sugar being preferred), although powdered extract of licorice also is added at times, and, of late years, fruit paste, made from black or red currants, has come extensively into use for certain kinds of lozenges. Adhesiveness is obtained by the addition of tragacanth or acacia, and syrup or water (plain or aromatic) is used to supply the necessary moisture. All medicinal constituents, as well as the sugar or extract of licorice should be in very fine powder to insure a smooth paste, and potent remedies, wherever possible, should be added either in the form of solution or triturated with a small quantity of sugar before being mixed with the other ingredients, so as to insure uniform distribution. Tragacanth is preferable to acacia for making a lozenge-mass, as the resulting paste is more tenacious; in both cases the mucilage is to be preferred to the powder with the subsequent addition of water, as in the latter case it is often difficult to avoid an excess of moisture, which retards subsequent drying.

The British Pharmacopoeia (1898) admits acacia only as the

adhesive agent for lozenges, and designates four distinct bases or vehicles of the following composition: Simple basis-sugar 496 Gm., powdered acacia 19.5 Gm., mucilage of acacia 35.5 Cc., water a sufficient quantity. Fruit basis-sugar 439.5 Gm., powdered acacia 19.5 Gm., mucilage of acacia 35.5 Cc., black-currant paste 56.75 Gm., water a sufficient quantity. Rose basis-sugar 496 Gm., powdered acacia 19.5 Gm., mucilage of acacia 17.5 Cc., rose water a sufficient quantity. Tolu basis-sugar 482 Gm., powdered acacia 19.5 Gm., mucilage of acacia 35.5 Cc., tincture of tolu 10.5 Cc., water a sufficient quantity. Instead of giving individual formulas for making the 17 varieties of lozenges recognized, a general formula, adjusted for 500 lozenges, is given under the head of each basis, as follows: 500 times the quantity of medicinal agent required for one lozenge is intimately mixed with the sugar and acacia, and a paste then made with the other ingredients, which is divided into 500 equal parts and dried at a moderate temperature.

Lozenge-masses are made after the manner of pill-masses, except that more adhesive material is used, and the paste is made somewhat softer. The proportion of powdered tragacanth necessary for a well-made plastic mass may vary from 1 to 3 per cent. of the total weight of the mixed powders (acacia about three or four times as much); and in making the mass the necessary water or syrup should be added cautiously, and the mixture well kneaded after each addition, so as to avoid too soft a condition, which readily occurs on account of the great solubility of the sugar. A good plan is to follow the suggestion of Hager, to reserve about one-fifth of the powder, and when the remaining four-fifths have been made. into a plastic mass, quickly incorporate the reserve portion, which can be done without risk of the mass becoming dry and crumbly. For massing small quantities of material a Wedgewood mortar and pestle will be found quite convenient, while for large quantities the pill-mass mixers shown on page 345 are preferable.

After a suitable mass has been made, it is transferred to a hardwood board or a stone slab, rolled out into either a flat sheet or a cylinder, and divided into the requisite number of parts. When cylindrical lozenges are to be made, the mass is rolled out without dusting and divided into pieces about five-eighths of an inch in length, by means of a special cutter. In order to prevent the mass from adhering the flat roller may be lightly rubbed with a very small quantity of oil of sweet almond. For flat lozenges the mass is conveniently rolled out into a sheet, the required thickness of which must be ascertained by experiment; this is done by dividing the weight of the whole mass by the number of lozenges to be made, then weighing off as many grains of the mass as correspond to the quotient obtained, and forming this into a lozenge by means of a punch or spatula. As every well-made lozenge-board is provided with guides and screws for regulating different thicknesses, no difficulty will be experienced in adjusting the side strips to the proper