14. On the Advantages of a High Temperature in the Preparation of Blistering Plaster

Abstract

Materia Mcdica and Pharmacy. 4G3 they may be safely left to the discretion of the compounder. The mode made use of in one establishment where I have superintended its preparation is as fol¬ lows: a quantity of the roots of sarsaparilla, either split or not, but not cut into short portions, is either subjected to the vapour of steam for a few minutes, or if time admit, left in a damp cellar for twenty-four or thirty-six hours, and subse¬ quently introduced for an hour into a stove or oven moderately heated, which processes have the effect of loosening the connection between the bark and albur¬ num and ligneous portion, when the former may be easily stripped off, and pow¬ dered finely in a mortar, and the powder may afterwards be taken simply in a spoonful of any bland fluid, or may, in cases where quinine is indicated, be united with a suitable proportion, and the flavour be covered with a little oil of cinnamon-or the powder either simply, or combined with sulphate of quinine, or in gouty habits, with capsicum or ginger, may be made into pills, and admi¬ nistered in the proportion of from two to four scruples daily.