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2. Press it forcibly through cotton muslin.

Using gum Acacia (gum Arabic):

1. Combine 1 part gum Arabic to 2 parts water, let sit for several hours, and strain.

2. Or moisten 50 Gm Acacia with 75 ml cold water, set aside for several hours for the gum to dissolve completely, then add sufficient water to make up 125 ml.

Using gum Tragacanth:

1. Mix 18 ml glycerin with 76 ml water.

2. Heat to boiling.

3. Remove from fire and add 6 Gm gum Tragacanth.

4. Macerate for 24 hours, stirring now and then.

5. Strain forcibly through cotton muslin.

Preparing the Lozenge

1. Mix and sift the dry powders to be used (powdered herb and sugar, lactose infusions—see lactose powder infusion, above). If essential oils are to be incorporated, triturate them with the sugar at this time. The finer the powder, the better the quality of the lozenge.

2. Stir in sufficient powder to a prepared mucilage to make a mass of proper consistency. The quantity of mucilage to use always depends upon the character of the powder. If the powder is quite absorbent, more mucilage is required.

3. Once the final mass is prepared, it is ready to be formed into a flat cake by placing it upon a hard, level, dusted surface and rolling it with a cylindrical roller (which can be lightly oiled if necessary to prevent sticking). The thickness of the cake determines the weight of the lozenge, so it is more exact to have some means of adjusting the thickness. The herbs I use for making lozenges are not critically dose specific, so I usually avoid this rolling out (and cutting) process entirely by calculating an appropriate size portion for a dose, separating and rolling it between my palms into a little ball, laying it on a hard surface dusted with powdered sugar, and then flattening and shaping it with my fingers; then I do another one, then another.… It is a mellow task that proceeds at about the same rate of speed and degree of excitement as filling capsules. You get into the rhythm of it, and in a brief, peculiar segment of your lifespan the job is completed.

Lozenge Rolling Board

4. If you choose to employ the hard surface and roller technique, cut out each lozenge using a small, improvised, cookie cutter-type device.

5. Lay the formed lozenges out on a screen or on a large sieve to dry; a plate works in lieu of a screen; however, you have to turn the lozenges over with a tiny little spatula to dry them out underneath.

Making lozenges requires some trial and error to discern the right consistency for the lozenge-mass. Hold aside some of the powder and some of the mucilage. Be aware that mucilage deteriorates fairly quickly. Mix a mass, roll out a small portion of it (set the larger portion in a tightly covered jar to retain its moisture), and cut the disks, or form the cakes in whatever way you choose, lay them out to dry overnight, and see what you get. You can always go back to the main mass and adjust it for further experimentation by adding more mucilage or more powder. With sufficient stirring and kneading, the original mass will incorporate the modifying additions. Take accurate notes until you get it down. Make your first experimental lozenges tasty (1 part Wintergreen powder to 2 parts sugar makes a pleasant-tasting, aromatic treat); this way people won’t mind testing these and giving you feedback as to the tenacity and basic “suckability” of your lozenges.

Remember, the finer the powder (#60 & #80, see “Powdering” below), the better the lozenge.

MARC

The term marc is from the old French word marcher, to trample (as on grapes). The marc is the insoluble residue remaining after extracting the soluble components of an herb with a menstruum (solvent), or the pulpy residue left after the juice has been pressed from grapes, apples, other fruits, vegetables, or herbs.

MATERIA MEDICA (THE MATERIALS OF MEDICINE)

Usually a materia medica is a treatise on the materials used in a particular school or system of medicine, discussing their history, source, physical characteristics, constituents, and actions.