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An Introduction to Parallel
Programming

SECOND EDITION

Peter S. Pacheco
University of San Francisco

Matthew Malensek
University of San Francisco
Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Chapter 1: Why parallel computing

1.1. Why we need ever-increasing performance

1.2. Why we're building parallel systems

1.3. Why we need to write parallel programs

1.4. How do we write parallel programs?

1.5. What we'll be doing

1.6. Concurrent, parallel, distributed

1.7. The rest of the book

 1.8. A word of warning

1.9. Typographical conventions

1.10. Summary

1.11. Exercises

Bibliography

Chapter 2: Parallel hardware and parallel software

2.1. Some background

2.2. Modifications to the von Neumann model

2.3. Parallel hardware

2.4. Parallel software

2.5. Input and output

2.6. Performance

2.7. Parallel program design

2.8. Writing and running parallel programs

2.9. Assumptions

2.10. Summary

2.11. Exercises

Bibliography

Chapter 3: Distributed memory programming with MPI

 3.1. Getting started

3.2. The trapezoidal rule in MPI

3.3. Dealing with I/O

3.4. Collective communication

3.5. MPI-derived datatypes

3.6. Performance evaluation of MPI programs

3.7. A parallel sorting algorithm

3.8. Summary

3.9. Exercises

3.10. Programming assignments

Bibliography

Chapter 4: Shared-memory programming with Pthreads

4.1. Processes, threads, and Pthreads

4.2. Hello, world

4.3. Matrix-vector multiplication

4.4. Critical sections

4.5. Busy-waiting

4.6. Mutexes

4.7. Producer–consumer synchronization and semaphores

4.8. Barriers and condition variables

 4.9. Read-write locks

4.10. Caches, cache-coherence, and false sharing

4.11. Thread-safety

4.12. Summary

4.13. Exercises

4.14. Programming assignments

Bibliography

Chapter 5: Shared-memory programming with OpenMP

5.1. Getting started

5.2. The trapezoidal rule

5.3. Scope of variables

5.4. The reduction clause

5.5. The parallel for directive

5.6. More about loops in OpenMP: sorting

5.7. Scheduling loops

5.8. Producers and consumers

5.9. Caches, cache coherence, and false sharing

5.10. Tasking

5.11. Thread-safety

5.12. Summary
 5.13. Exercises

5.14. Programming assignments

Bibliography

Chapter 6: GPU programming with CUDA

6.1. GPUs and GPGPU

6.2. GPU architectures

6.3. Heterogeneous computing

6.4. CUDA hello

6.5. A closer look

6.6. Threads, blocks, and grids

6.7. Nvidia compute capabilities and device architectures

6.8. Vector addition

6.9. Returning results from CUDA kernels

6.10. CUDA trapezoidal rule I

6.11. CUDA trapezoidal rule II: improving performance

6.12. Implementation of trapezoidal rule with warpSize thread

blocks

6.13. CUDA trapezoidal rule III: blocks with more than one warp

6.14. Bitonic sort

6.15. Summary
 6.16. Exercises

6.17. Programming assignments

Bibliography

Chapter 7: Parallel program development

7.1. Two n-body solvers

7.2. Sample sort

7.3. A word of caution

7.4. Which API?

7.5. Summary

7.6. Exercises

7.7. Programming assignments

Bibliography

Chapter 8: Where to go from here

Bibliography

Bibliography

Bibliography

Index
Copyright
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United States

Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or

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This book and the individual contributions contained in it

are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than
as may be noted herein).
Cover art: “seven notations,” nickel/silver etched plates,
acrylic on wood structure, copyright © Holly Cohn

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly
changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods,
professional practices, or medical treatment may become
necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their
own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using
any information, methods, compounds, or experiments
described herein. In using such information or methods
they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety
of others, including parties for whom they have a
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ISBN: 978-0-12-804605-0

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Last digit is the print number: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedication

To the memory of Robert S. Miller

Preface
Parallel hardware has been ubiquitous for some time
now: it's difficult to find a laptop, desktop, or server that
doesn't use a multicore processor. Cluster computing is
nearly as common today as high-powered workstations
were in the 1990s, and cloud computing is making
distributed-memory systems as accessible as desktops. In
spite of this, most computer science majors graduate with
little or no experience in parallel programming. Many
colleges and universities offer upper-division elective
courses in parallel computing, but since most computer
science majors have to take a large number of required
courses, many graduate without ever writing a
multithreaded or multiprocess program.
It seems clear that this state of affairs needs to change.
Whereas many programs can obtain satisfactory
performance on a single core, computer scientists should
be made aware of the potentially vast performance
improvements that can be obtained with parallelism, and
they should be able to exploit this potential when the need
arises.
Introduction to Parallel Programming was written to
partially address this problem. It provides an introduction
to writing parallel programs using MPI, Pthreads, OpenMP,
and CUDA, four of the most widely used APIs for parallel
programming. The intended audience is students and
professionals who need to write parallel programs. The
prerequisites are minimal: a college-level course in
mathematics and the ability to write serial programs in C.
 The prerequisites are minimal, because we believe that
students should be able to start programming parallel
systems as early as possible. At the University of San
Francisco, computer science students can fulfill a
requirement for the major by taking a course on which this
text is based immediately after taking the “Introduction to
Computer Science I” course that most majors take in the
first semester of their freshman year. It has been our
experience that there really is no reason for students to
defer writing parallel programs until their junior or senior
year. To the contrary, the course is popular, and students
have found that using concurrency in other courses is much
easier after having taken this course.
If second-semester freshmen can learn to write parallel
programs by taking a class, then motivated computing
professionals should be able to learn to write parallel
programs through self-study. We hope this book will prove
to be a useful resource for them.
The Second Edition
It has been nearly ten years since the first edition of
Introduction to Parallel Programming was published.
During that time much has changed in the world of parallel
programming, but, perhaps surprisingly, much also remains
the same. Our intent in writing this second edition has been
to preserve the material from the first edition that
continues to be generally useful, but also to add new
material where we felt it was needed.
The most obvious addition is the inclusion of a new
chapter on CUDA programming. When the first edition was
published, CUDA was still very new. It was already clear
that the use of GPUs in high-performance computing would
become very widespread, but at that time we felt that
GPGPU wasn't readily accessible to programmers with
relatively little experience. In the last ten years, that has
clearly changed. Of course, CUDA is not a standard, and
features are added, modified, and deleted with great
rapidity. As a consequence, authors who use CUDA must
present a subject that changes much faster than a
standard, such as MPI, Pthreads, or OpenMP. In spite of
this, we hope that our presentation of CUDA will continue
to be useful for some time.
Another big change is that Matthew Malensek has come
onboard as a coauthor. Matthew is a relatively new
colleague at the University of San Francisco, but he has
extensive experience with both the teaching and
application of parallel computing. His contributions have
greatly improved the second edition.
About This Book
As we noted earlier, the main purpose of the book is to
teach parallel programming in MPI, Pthreads, OpenMP, and
CUDA to an audience with a limited background in
computer science and no previous experience with
parallelism. We also wanted to make the book as flexible as
possible so that readers who have no interest in learning
one or two of the APIs can still read the remaining material
with little effort. Thus the chapters on the four APIs are
largely independent of each other: they can be read in any
order, and one or two of these chapters can be omitted.
This independence has some cost: it was necessary to
repeat some of the material in these chapters. Of course,
repeated material can be simply scanned or skipped.
On the other hand, readers with no prior experience with
parallel computing should read Chapter 1 first. This
chapter attempts to provide a relatively nontechnical
explanation of why parallel systems have come to dominate
the computer landscape. It also provides a short
introduction to parallel systems and parallel programming.
Chapter 2 provides technical background on computer
hardware and software. Chapters 3 to 6 provide
independent introductions to MPI, Pthreads, OpenMP, and
CUDA, respectively. Chapter 7 illustrates the development
of two different parallel programs using each of the four
APIs. Finally, Chapter 8 provides a few pointers to
additional information on parallel computing.
 We use the C programming language for developing our
programs, because all four API's have C-language
interfaces, and, since C is such a small language, it is a
relatively easy language to learn—especially for C++ and
Java programmers, since they will already be familiar with
C's control structures.
Classroom Use
This text grew out of a lower-division undergraduate
course at the University of San Francisco. The course
fulfills a requirement for the computer science major, and it
also fulfills a prerequisite for the undergraduate operating
systems, architecture, and networking courses. The course
begins with a four-week introduction to C programming.
Since most of the students have already written Java
programs, the bulk of this introduction is devoted to the
use pointers in C.1 The remainder of the course provides
introductions first to programming in MPI, then Pthreads
and/or OpenMP, and it finishes with material covering
CUDA.
We cover most of the material in Chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, and
6, and parts of the material in Chapters 2 and 7. The
background in Chapter 2 is introduced as the need arises.
For example, before discussing cache coherence issues in
OpenMP (Chapter 5), we cover the material on caches in
Chapter 2.
The coursework consists of weekly homework
assignments, five programming assignments, a couple of
midterms and a final exam. The homework assignments
usually involve writing a very short program or making a
small modification to an existing program. Their purpose is
to insure that the students stay current with the
coursework, and to give the students hands-on experience
with ideas introduced in class. It seems likely that their
existence has been one of the principle reasons for the
course's success. Most of the exercises in the text are
suitable for these brief assignments.
 The programming assignments are larger than the
programs written for homework, but we typically give the
students a good deal of guidance: we'll frequently include
pseudocode in the assignment and discuss some of the
more difficult aspects in class. This extra guidance is often
crucial: it's easy to give programming assignments that will
take far too long for the students to complete.
The results of the midterms and finals and the
enthusiastic reports of the professor who teaches operating
systems suggest that the course is actually very successful
in teaching students how to write parallel programs.
For more advanced courses in parallel computing, the
text and its online supporting materials can serve as a
supplement so that much of the material on the syntax and
semantics of the four APIs can be assigned as outside
reading.
The text can also be used as a supplement for project-
based courses and courses outside of computer science
that make use of parallel computation.
Support Materials
An online companion site for the book is located at
www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals/book-
companion/9780128046050.. This site will include errata
and complete source for the longer programs we discuss in
the text. Additional material for instructors, including
downloadable figures and solutions to the exercises in the
book, can be downloaded from
https://educate.elsevier.com/9780128046050.
We would greatly appreciate readers' letting us know of
any errors they find. Please send email to
mmalensek@usfca.edu if you do find a mistake.
Acknowledgments
In the course of working on this book we've received
considerable help from many individuals. Among them we'd
like to thank the reviewers of the second edition, Steven
Frankel (Technion) and Il-Hyung Cho (Saginaw Valley State
University), who read and commented on draft versions of
the new CUDA chapter. We'd also like to thank the
reviewers who read and commented on the initial proposal
for the book: Fikret Ercal (Missouri University of Science
and Technology), Dan Harvey (Southern Oregon
University), Joel Hollingsworth (Elon University), Jens
Mache (Lewis and Clark College), Don McLaughlin (West
Virginia University), Manish Parashar (Rutgers University),
Charlie Peck (Earlham College), Stephen C. Renk (North
Central College), Rolfe Josef Sassenfeld (The University of
Texas at El Paso), Joseph Sloan (Wofford College), Michela
Taufer (University of Delaware), Pearl Wang (George Mason
University), Bob Weems (University of Texas at Arlington),
and Cheng-Zhong Xu (Wayne State University). We are also
deeply grateful to the following individuals for their
reviews of various chapters of the book: Duncan Buell
(University of South Carolina), Matthias Gobbert
(University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Krishna Kavi
(University of North Texas), Hong Lin (University of
Houston–Downtown), Kathy Liszka (University of Akron),
Leigh Little (The State University of New York), Xinlian Liu
(Hood College), Henry Tufo (University of Colorado at
Boulder), Andrew Sloss (Consultant Engineer, ARM), and
Gengbin Zheng (University of Illinois). Their comments and
suggestions have made the book immeasurably better. Of
course, we are solely responsible for remaining errors and
omissions.
Slides and the solutions manual for the first edition were
prepared by Kathy Liszka and Jinyoung Choi, respectively.
Thanks to both of them.
The staff at Elsevier has been very helpful throughout
this project. Nate McFadden helped with the development
of the text. Todd Green and Steve Merken were the
acquisitions editors. Meghan Andress was the content
development manager. Rukmani Krishnan was the
production editor. Victoria Pearson was the designer. They
did a great job, and we are very grateful to all of them.
 Our colleagues in the computer science and mathematics
departments at USF have been extremely helpful during
our work on the book. Peter would like to single out Prof.
Gregory Benson for particular thanks: his understanding of
parallel computing—especially Pthreads and semaphores—
has been an invaluable resource. We're both very grateful
to our system administrators, Alexey Fedosov and Elias
Husary. They've patiently and efficiently dealt with all of
the “emergencies” that cropped up while we were working
on programs for the book. They've also done an amazing
job of providing us with the hardware we used to do all
program development and testing.
Peter would never have been able to finish the book
without the encouragement and moral support of his
friends Holly Cohn, John Dean, and Maria Grant. He will
always be very grateful for their help and their friendship.
He is especially grateful to Holly for allowing us to use her
work, seven notations, for the cover.
Matthew would like to thank his colleagues in the USF
Department of Computer Science, as well as Maya
Malensek and Doyel Sadhu, for their love and support.
Most of all, he would like to thank Peter Pacheco for being
a mentor and infallible source of advice and wisdom during
the formative years of his career in academia.
Our biggest debt is to our students. As always, they
showed us what was too easy and what was far too difficult.
They taught us how to teach parallel computing. Our
deepest thanks to all of them.
1 “Interestingly, a number of students have said that they
found the use of C pointers more difficult than MPI
programming.”
Chapter 1: Why parallel
computing
From 1986 to 2003, the performance of microprocessors
increased, on average, more than 50% per year [28]. This
unprecedented increase meant that users and software
developers could often simply wait for the next generation
of microprocessors to obtain increased performance from
their applications. Since 2003, however, single-processor
performance improvement has slowed to the point that in
the period from 2015 to 2017, it increased at less than 4%
per year [28]. This difference is dramatic: at 50% per year,
performance will increase by almost a factor of 60 in 10
years, while at 4%, it will increase by about a factor of 1.5.
Furthermore, this difference in performance increase has
been associated with a dramatic change in processor
design. By 2005, most of the major manufacturers of
microprocessors had decided that the road to rapidly
increasing performance lay in the direction of parallelism.
Rather than trying to continue to develop ever-faster
monolithic processors, manufacturers started putting
multiple complete processors on a single integrated circuit.
This change has a very important consequence for
software developers: simply adding more processors will
not magically improve the performance of the vast majority
of serial programs, that is, programs that were written to
run on a single processor. Such programs are unaware of
the existence of multiple processors, and the performance
of such a program on a system with multiple processors
will be effectively the same as its performance on a single
processor of the multiprocessor system.
 All of this raises a number of questions:

• Why do we care? Aren't single-processor systems

fast enough?
• Why can't microprocessor manufacturers continue
to develop much faster single-processor systems?
Why build parallel systems? Why build systems
with multiple processors?
• Why can't we write programs that will automatically
convert serial programs into parallel programs,
that is, programs that take advantage of the
presence of multiple processors?

Let's take a brief look at each of these questions. Keep in

mind, though, that some of the answers aren't carved in
stone. For example, the performance of many applications
may already be more than adequate.

1.1 Why we need ever-increasing performance

The vast increases in computational power that we've been
enjoying for decades now have been at the heart of many of
the most dramatic advances in fields as diverse as science,
the Internet, and entertainment. For example, decoding the
human genome, ever more accurate medical imaging,
astonishingly fast and accurate Web searches, and ever
more realistic and responsive computer games would all
have been impossible without these increases. Indeed,
more recent increases in computational power would have
been difficult, if not impossible, without earlier increases.
But we can never rest on our laurels. As our computational
power increases, the number of problems that we can
seriously consider solving also increases. Here are a few
examples:

• Climate modeling. To better understand climate

change, we need far more accurate computer
 models, models that include interactions between
the atmosphere, the oceans, solid land, and the ice
caps at the poles. We also need to be able to make
detailed studies of how various interventions might
affect the global climate.
• Protein folding. It's believed that misfolded proteins
may be involved in diseases such as Huntington's,
Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's, but our ability to study
configurations of complex molecules such as
proteins is severely limited by our current
computational power.
• Drug discovery. There are many ways in which
increased computational power can be used in
research into new medical treatments. For example,
there are many drugs that are effective in treating a
relatively small fraction of those suffering from some
disease. It's possible that we can devise alternative
treatments by careful analysis of the genomes of the
individuals for whom the known treatment is
ineffective. This, however, will involve extensive
computational analysis of genomes.
• Energy research. Increased computational power
will make it possible to program much more detailed
models of technologies, such as wind turbines, solar
cells, and batteries. These programs may provide
the information needed to construct far more
efficient clean energy sources.
• Data analysis. We generate tremendous amounts of
data. By some estimates, the quantity of data stored
worldwide doubles every two years [31], but the vast
majority of it is largely useless unless it's analyzed.
As an example, knowing the sequence of nucleotides
in human DNA is, by itself, of little use.
Understanding how this sequence affects
development and how it can cause disease requires
extensive analysis. In addition to genomics, huge
quantities of data are generated by particle
 colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider at
CERN, medical imaging, astronomical research, and
Web search engines—to name a few.

These and a host of other problems won't be solved without

tremendous increases in computational power.

1.2 Why we're building parallel systems

Much of the tremendous increase in single-processor
performance was driven by the ever-increasing density of
transistors—the electronic switches—on integrated circuits.
As the size of transistors decreases, their speed can be
increased, and the overall speed of the integrated circuit
can be increased. However, as the speed of transistors
increases, their power consumption also increases. Most of
this power is dissipated as heat, and when an integrated
circuit gets too hot, it becomes unreliable. In the first
decade of the twenty-first century, air-cooled integrated
circuits reached the limits of their ability to dissipate heat
[28].
Therefore it is becoming impossible to continue to
increase the speed of integrated circuits. Indeed, in the last
few years, the increase in transistor density has slowed
dramatically [36].
But given the potential of computing to improve our
existence, there is a moral imperative to continue to
increase computational power.
How then, can we continue to build ever more powerful
computers? The answer is parallelism. Rather than building
ever-faster, more complex, monolithic processors, the
industry has decided to put multiple, relatively simple,
complete processors on a single chip. Such integrated
circuits are called multicore processors, and core has
become synonymous with central processing unit, or CPU.
In this setting a conventional processor with one CPU is
often called a single-core system.
1.3 Why we need to write parallel programs
Most programs that have been written for conventional,
single-core systems cannot exploit the presence of multiple
cores. We can run multiple instances of a program on a
multicore system, but this is often of little help. For
example, being able to run multiple instances of our
favorite game isn't really what we want—we want the
program to run faster with more realistic graphics. To do
this, we need to either rewrite our serial programs so that
they're parallel, so that they can make use of multiple
cores, or write translation programs, that is, programs that
will automatically convert serial programs into parallel
programs. The bad news is that researchers have had very
limited success writing programs that convert serial
programs in languages such as C, C++, and Java into
parallel programs.
This isn't terribly surprising. While we can write
programs that recognize common constructs in serial
programs, and automatically translate these constructs into
efficient parallel constructs, the sequence of parallel
constructs may be terribly inefficient. For example, we can
view the multiplication of two matrices as a sequence
of dot products, but parallelizing a matrix multiplication as
a sequence of parallel dot products is likely to be fairly slow
on many systems.
An efficient parallel implementation of a serial program
may not be obtained by finding efficient parallelizations of
each of its steps. Rather, the best parallelization may be
obtained by devising an entirely new algorithm.
As an example, suppose that we need to compute n
values and add them together. We know that this can be
done with the following serial code:
 Now suppose we also have p cores and . Then each
core can form a partial sum of approximately values:

Here the prefix indicates that each core is using its own,
private variables, and each core can execute this block of
code independently of the other cores.
After each core completes execution of this code, its
variable will store the sum of the values computed by
its calls to . For example, if there are eight
cores, , and the 24 calls to return the
values

1, 4, 3, 9, 2, 8, 5, 1, 1, 6, 2, 7, 2, 5, 0, 4, 1, 8, 6, 5,
1, 2, 3, 9,
then the values stored in might be

Here we're assuming the cores are identified by

nonnegative integers in the range , where p is the
number of cores.
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and friends, who were either blind to their danger, or heroically
despised it, fell a sacrifice to their sympathy.
“Even the eyes of the patient were considered as sources of
contagion, which had the power of acting at a distance, either on
account of their unwonted lustre, or the distortion which they always
suffer in plague, or in conformity with an ancient notion, according
to which the sight was considered as the bearer of a demoniacal
excitement.
“The pestilential death of the sick, who expectorated blood,
caused a terrible contagion far and near, for even the vicinity of
those who had fallen ill of plague was certain death, so that parents
abandoned their infected children, and all the ties of kindred were
dissolved.”
There is a striking similarity between the above description,
referring to the plague of 1348, and the following, which is extracted
from Dr Döppner’s official medical report to the Russian government
on the plague which manifested itself at Veltianka in Astrakan as
lately as January, 1879. Dr Döppner, writes:—
“The necessary remedies were employed to combat the disease.
I prescribed especially salicylic acid, muriatic acid, quinine, &c., but
everything proved useless. Not a single patient recovered, viz. Dr
Koch and six of his assistants died, the priest of the Stanitza, the
Cossacks employed in burying the dead; in a word, all those who
approached the persons attacked with the disease, although
furnished with the means of preservation used in like circumstances,
very few escaped the plague.[112]”
[112] ‘Lancet.’

No case of plague has occurred in England for more than two

centuries, although in 1721 it half depopulated Marseilles, and
committed fearful ravages at Moscow, in 1771.
 Within the present century it has appeared in Europe at the
following places:—At Malta, in 1813; at Calabria, in 1816; at Corfu,
in 1818; in Silesia, in 1819; and amongst the Russian troops in
Bulgaria, in 1824. In Malta between 4000 and 5000 people fell
victims to it.
It made its last appearance in England in 1665, and was
especially fatal in London, where it carried off, as we have already
seen, 65,596 people. Because of the frightful mortality it occasioned,
this particular outbreak of the disease has been named by historians
“The Great Plague of London.” Rapidly spreading from Westminster,
where it first manifested itself, to the more closely built city, its
progress increased with the warm weather, until during the sultry
months of August and September it reached its height. “Thus,”
writes Pepys in his diary, August 31st, 1665 “this month ends with
great sadness upon the public through the greatness of the plague
everywhere through the kingdom almost. Every day sadder and
sadder news of its increase. In the city died this week 7496, and of
them 6102 of the plague. But it is feared the true number of the
dead this week is near 10,000; partly from the poor that cannot be
taken notice of through the greatness of the number, and partly
through the Quakers and others that will not have the bell ring for
them.” The general aspect of the pestilence stricken city is thus
described by Pepys, “To the Exchange, where I have not been a
great while. But, Lord! how sad a sight it is to see the streets empty
of people and very few upon the ‘Change. Jealous of every door that
one sees shut up, lest it should be plague; and about us two shops
in three, if not generally more, shut up.”
The doors of a house infected with the plague were marked
with a red cross, and on them was written the words, “The Lord
have mercy upon us.” Pepys tells of the fright he experienced when
he came upon two houses of this description, in Drury-lane, for the
first time; and as he adds that he was compelled to buy some roll
tobacco to smell and to chew, it may be concluded that this
substance was at that time regarded as somewhat of a safeguard
against the disease.
Large carts called nightly at the infected habitations and
collecting the bodies of any dead conveyed them to pits, into which
they were flung, covered with quicklime. This rude kind of burial
became a necessity as the disease gained ground, because the
ordinary grave-yards were full to overflowing. “This is the first time,”
writes Pepys, “since I have been in the church since I left London for
the plague, and it frightened me indeed to go through the church
more than I thought it could have done, to see so many graves lie
so high upon the churchyards where people have been buried of the
plague.”
Such was the fury of the pestilence, and frequently so sudden
were its attacks, that wayfarers were often assailed with it in the
streets, and staggering like drunken men fell down into the road or
pathways insensible or dead. Merchants in their counting-houses,
clergymen in the act of reading the burial service, buyers and sellers
in the market-place, were similarly assailed by the malignant malady,
and it was no uncommon occurrence for the mourner at the grave of
a relative or friend one day, to be himself borne to his own tomb the
next. It is not improbable the infection may have been conveyed by
the rapidly decaying and putrid corpse to large numbers of people,
owing to the custom that prevailed of crowds of mourners attending
the obsequies.
Pepys records how he saw in broad daylight two or three
burials, one at the very heels of another, each followed by forty or
fifty people. Furthermore, he states that one day on his way to
Greenwich, during the month of August in 1665, he passed a coffin,
“with a dead body therein, dead of the plague, lying in an open
close belonging to Coombe Farm.”
If this exposure of plague-stricken corpses were at all general, it
will readily be perceived how greatly it must have aided the
propagation of the pestilence.
 Another important agent in the diffusion of the plague must
have been the infected clothing, whether of the dead or of those
who had been in near or close contiguity to them. On this part of our
subject Dr Guy, remarks:—“Nor will this surprise us if we imagine the
frantic and successful efforts that must have been made by the non-
infected to escape, and the temptation to servants and nurses to
appropriate and remove the property of the dying and the dead.
Indeed, Dr Hodges accuses the nurses of strangling their patients,
and secretly conveying the pestilential taint from sores of the
infected to those who were well; and he justifies his accusations ‘of
these abandoned miscreants’—the Gamps and Prigs of the
seventeenth century—by two instances; the one, of a nurse who, ‘as
she was leaving the house of a family, all dead, loaded with her
robberies, fell down dead under her burden in the streets,’ the other,
of a worthy citizen who, being considered dying by his nurse, was
beforehand stripped by her, but recovering again, he came a second
time into the world naked.”
Lastly, in endeavouring to account for the great prevalence and
excessively fatal character of this pestilence, we must not leave out
of consideration one important factor—viz. fear.
We can easily conceive how powerfully the appalling incidents
by which the plague was accompanied must have affected the
imaginations of those who were in its midst, and thus have
stimulated the fear, which, acting by its depressing mental effect,
would predispose and prepare men and women for the reception of
the contagion.
In ‘Pepys’ Diary’ we find a circumstance recorded corroborative
of this. A certain alderman, stumbling at night over a dead body in
the street, when he reaches home tells his wife of his adventure,
and she is forthwith seized with the plague and dies of it.
Furthermore, the belief derived from knowledge of the deadly
character of the disease, operating upon the minds of those who
were attacked by it, would greatly diminish the chances of their
recovery, since they would most likely regard seizure and death as
synonymous.
There is an old Eastern fable which tells of a traveller journeying
from an infected city, and overtaking the plague, who had not long
left it. The traveller accosts the plague and reproaches him for
having slain thirty thousand people in the city. “You are in error
there,” replied the plague, “I slew only ten thousand, fear slew the
rest.”
Tropical climates are never visited by plague. In those countries
which suffer from its ravages it prevails most during the hot months
of the year, and its virulence and spread appear to be commensurate
with increase of temperature. In northern climates it diminishes with
the approach of cold weather. In Europe it has always been most
fatal during the summer and autumn, and in the great plague of
London the greatest mortality prevailed during the months of August
and September.
PLAICE. The Platessa vulgaris, a well-known flat fish, common
to both the English and Dutch coasts. Its flesh is good, and easy of
digestion, but more watery than that of the flounder.
PLANTAIN. The plantain, which belongs to the nat. ord.
Musaceæ, and is a native of the East Indies, is cultivated in all
tropical and subtropical regions of the world, in many of which it
constitutes the principal food of the inhabitants. There are a great
many varieties of the plantain, in some of which the stem is 15 or 20
feet high, whilst in others it does not exceed 6 feet. It is one of the
largest of the herbaceous plants.
The fruit is sometimes eaten raw, but is more generally boiled
or roasted. It contains both starch and sugar. Boiled and beaten in a
mortar, it forms the common food of the negroes in the West Indies.
It also constitutes the chief food of the Indians of North and South
America.
 Humboldt has calculated that the food produce of the plantain is
44 times greater than that of the potato and 133 times that of
wheat.
The banana is a species of plantain. See Banana.
PLASMA. The liquor sanguinis. A tenacious plastic liquid,
forming the coagulating portion of the blood, and that in which the
corpuscles float.
PLAS′TER. (In boiling, &c.) See Mortar.
Plaster of Paris. Calcined sulphate of lime. See Alabaster,
Gypsum, Lime, &c.
PLASTER. (In pharmacy.) Syn. Emplastrum, L. Plasters
(emplastra) are external applications that possess sufficient
consistence not to adhere to the fingers when cold, but which
become soft and adhesive at the temperature of the human body.
Plasters are chiefly composed of unctuous substances united to
metallic oxides, or to powders, wax, or resin. They are usually
formed, whilst warm, into 1⁄ 2-lb. rolls, about 8 or 9 inches long, and
wrapped in paper. When required for use, a little is melted off the
roll by means of a heated iron spatula, and spread upon leather,
linen, or silk. The less adhesive plasters, when spread, are usually
surrounded with a margin of resin plaster, to cause them to adhere.
In the preparation of plasters the heat of a water bath, or of
steam, should alone be employed. On the large scale, well-cleaned
and polished copper or tinned copper pans, surrounded with iron
jackets, supplied with high-pressure steam, are used for this
purpose. The resins and gum resins that enter into their composition
are previously purified by straining. After the ingredients are mixed,
and the mass has acquired sufficient consistence by cooling, portions
of it are taken into the hands, anointed with a little olive oil, and well
pulled or worked until it becomes solid enough to admit of being
formed into rolls. To promote the cooling of the plaster it is usual to
plunge it into cold water, and to expose it to the action of the fluid
by working it about under the surface, after which it is well pulled in
the hands to remove the superfluous water; but this process must
not, on any account, be practised on compound plasters, containing
odorous substances, or substances soluble in water. These should be
suffered to cool on an oiled marbled slab, until sufficiently ‘stiff’ to
be formed into rolls. Many plasters, as those of lead and resin,
derive much of their whiteness and beauty from the treatment just
referred to. White plasters are not, however, always the best; but
they are those which are most admired, and the most sought after
in trade.
Plasters are preserved by enveloping the rolls with paper, to
exclude the air as much as possible, and by keeping them in a cool
situation. A few, as those of belladonna and ammoniacum with
mercury, are commonly placed in pots. When kept for any length of
time, they are all more or less apt to become hard and brittle, and to
lose their colour. When this is the case, they should be remelted by a
gentle heat, and sufficient oil added to the mass to restore it to a
proper consistence.
The operation of spreading plasters for use requires skill and
experience on the part of the operator. Various textures are
employed for the purpose, of which linen or cotton cloth, or leather,
are those most generally employed. Silk and satin are used for ‘court
plaster.’ The shape and size must be regulated by the part to which
they are to be applied.
On the large scale plasters are spread by means of a ‘spreading
machine.’
Compound plasters are now much less frequently employed in
medicine than formerly. Those principally in use are such as afford
protection to sores and abraded surfaces, and give support to the
parts. A few, however, which contain acrid, stimulating, and narcotic
substances, and operate as rubefacients, blisters, or anodynes, are
still retained in the Pharmacopœias.
 Plaster of Ac′onite. Syn. Emplastrum aconiti, L. Prep. (Curtis.)
Gently evaporate tincture of aconite to the consistence of a soft
extract, then spread a very small portion over the surface of a
common adhesive plaster, on either calico or leather. Mr Curtis has
strongly recommended this plaster in neuralgia. A little of the
alcoholic extract may be employed instead of that obtained fresh
from the tincture.
Plaster, Adhe′′rent. See Plaster, Soap (Compound).
Plaster, Adhe′sive. See Plaster, Resin, Court p., &c.
Plaster, Adhesive Lime. Syn. Emplastrum adhæsivum calcareum.
Prep. Soap of lime, 200 parts; boiled turpentine, 100 parts; suet, 25
parts.
Plaster, Ammoni′acal. Syn. Dr Kirkland’s volatile plaster;
Emplastrum ammoniæ, E. a. hydrochloratis, L. Prep. Take of lead plaster,
1 oz.; white soap (shaved fine), 1⁄ 2 oz.; melt them together, and,
when nearly cold, add of sal ammoniac (in fine powder), 1 dr.
Stimulant and rubefacient. Dr Paris, who highly recommends it in
pulmonary affections, employs double the above proportion of sal
ammoniac. Its efficacy depends on the gradual extrication of free
ammonia by the decomposition of the sal ammoniac, on which
account it is proper to renew the application of it every 24 hours.
Plaster of Ammoni′acum. Syn. Emplastrum ammoniaci (Ph. L.,
E., & D.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L. & E.) Ammoniacum (strained), 5 oz.;
dilute acetic acid (distilled vinegar), 8 fl. oz. (9 fl. oz.—Ph. E.);
dissolve, and, frequently stirring, evaporate by a gentle heat to a
proper consistence.
2. (Ph. D.) Gum ammoniacum (in coarse powder), 4 oz.; proof
spirit, 4 fl. oz.; dissolve by the aid of a gentle heat, and evaporate,
as before.
Obs. This plaster is adhesive, stimulant, and resolvent, and is
employed in scrofulous and indolent tumours, white swellings, &c. In
the Ph. D. 1826 vinegar of squills was ordered instead of distilled
vinegar.
Plaster of Ammoniacum with Hem′lock. Syn. Emplastrum
ammoniaci cum cicutâ, L. Prep. (Ph. E. 1744.) Gum ammoniacum, 8 oz.;
vinegar of squills, q. s. to dissolve; hemlock juice, 4 oz.; gently
evaporate, as before. In cancerous and other painful tumours. A
better plan is to add 1 dr. of extract of hemlock to 1 1⁄ 4 oz. of
strained ammoniacum (previously reduced to a proper consistence
with a little distilled vinegar), melted by a very gentle heat.
Plaster of Ammoniacum with Mer′cury. Syn. Emplastrum
ammoniaci cum hydrargyro (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L. &
E.) Olive oil, 1 dr.; heat it in a mortar, add of sulphur, 8 gr.; triturate;
further add of mercury, 3 oz.; again triturate, and when the globules
are extinguished, add it to ammoniacum (strained), 1 lb. (12 oz., B.
P.), previously melted by a gentle heat, and mix them well together.
2. (Ph. D.) From ammoniacum plaster, 4 oz.; mercurial plaster, 8
oz.; melted together by a gentle heat, and then stirred constantly
until nearly cold.
3. (Wholesale.) Take of mercury, 38 oz.; prepared sevum, 5 oz.;
triturate, as last, and add the mixture to strained ammoniacum, 10
lbs., previously sufficiently softened by a gentle heat. Possesses a
fine blue colour, and is quickly made.
Obs. This plaster cannot be rolled till considerably cooled, and
neither this nor the simple plaster must be put into water. It is
powerfully discutient, and is applied to indurated glands, indolent
tumours, &c.
Plaster, An′odyne. See Plaster, Opium, Plaster, Belladonna, &c.
Plaster, Antimo′′nial. Syn. Emplastrum antimoniale, E. antimonii
potassio-tartratis, L. Prep. (U. C. Hosp.) By sprinkling tartar emetic, in
very fine powder, on the surface of a spread Burgundy pitch (or
common adhesive) plaster. It has been successfully applied to the
nape of the neck, in the scarlatina of children; also the chest, in
phthisis; and, with the addition of a little opium, in rheumatic
affections of the joints.
Plaster, Arnica. (Ph. U. S.) Syn. Emplastrum arnicæ. Prep.
Alcoholic extract of arnica, 1 1⁄ 2 oz.; resin plaster, 3 oz. Add the
extract to the plaster previously melted over a water bath, and mix it
thoroughly.
Plaster, Aromatic. Syn. Stomach plaster; Emplastrum aromaticum,
L. Prep. (Ph. D. 1826.) Strained frankincense (thus), 3 oz.; beeswax,
1⁄ 2 oz.; melt them together, and, when the mass has considerably
heated, add, of powdered cinnamon, 6 dr.; oils of allspice and
lemons, of each 2 dr. Stimulant; applied over the stomach in
dyspepsia, spasms, nausea, flatulence, &c. Camphor, 1 dr., is
commonly added.
Plaster of Assafœtida. Syn. Antihysteric plaster, Antispasmodic
p.; Emplastrum assafœtidæ (Ph. E.), E. antihystericum, &c., L. Prep. (Ph.
E.) From lead plaster and strained assafœtida, of each 2 oz.;
strained galbanum and beeswax, of each 1 oz.; melted together.
Antispasmodic; applied to the stomach or abdomen in spasms,
hysteria, &c.; and to the chest in hooping-cough.
Plaster, Baynton’s Adhesive. Prep. From yellow resin, 1 oz.;
lead plaster, 1 lb.; melted together. Recommended for bad legs, and
other like sores.
Plaster of Belladon′na. Syn. Emplastrum belladonnæ (B. P., Ph.
L., E., & D), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Soap plaster, 3 oz.; melt it by the
heat of a water bath; add of extract of belladonna (deadly
nightshade), 3 oz.; and keep constantly stirring the mixture until it
acquires a proper consistence.
2. (Ph. E.) Resin plaster, 3 oz.; extract of belladonna, 1 1⁄ 2 oz.;
as the last.
3. (Ph. D.) Resin plaster, 2 oz.; extract of belladonna, 1 oz.
 4. (B. P.) Extract of belladonna, 3; resin plaster, 3; rectified
spirit, 6; rub the extract and spirit together in a mortar, and when
the insoluble matter has subsided, decant the clear solution, remove
the spirit by distillation or evaporation, and mix the alcoholic extract
thus obtained with the resin plaster melted at the heat of a water
bath, continuing the heat until with constant stirring the plaster has
acquired a suitable consistence.
Uses, &c. As a powerful anodyne and antispasmodic; in
neuralgia and rheumatic pains, and as an application to painful
tumours. The plaster of the shops is usually deficient in extract. The
following formula is in common use in the wholesale trade:—Lead
plaster and resin plaster, of each 2 1⁄ 2 lbs.; extract of belladonna,
1 3⁄ 4 lb. This plaster must not be ‘pulled’ in water.
Plaster, Berg’s Antirheumatic. Syn. Gout paper; Emplastrum
antirheumaticum, Charta antirheumatica, L. Prep. By digesting
euphorbium, 2 parts, and cantharides, 1 part (both in powder), in
rectified spirit, 10 parts, for eight days; adding to the strained liquid,
black resin and Venetian turpentine, of each 4 parts; assisting the
mixture by a gentle heat. Two or three coats of the product are
successively spread over the surface of thin paper. Used in gout and
rheumatism. (‘Anat. of Quackery.’)
Plaster, Black. Syn. Emplastrum nigrum. Prep. Mr Sharp’s black
plaster was formed by boiling together olive oil, 13 oz.; wax, 2 1⁄ 2
oz.; carbonate of lead, 10 oz.
Plaster, Black Diach′ylon. See Court plaster.

Plaster of Black Pitch. Syn. Emplastrum picis nigræ, L. Prep.

(Ph. Wirtem.) Black pitch, black resin, and beeswax, of each 8 parts;
suet, 1 part; melted together. Rubefacient and stimulant.
Plaster, Blistering. See Plaster of Cantharides.
Plaster, Bree’s Antiasthmatic. Prep. From lead plaster, 1 oz.;
olive oil, 1 dr.; melted together, and, when somewhat cooled, mixed
with powdered camphor, 2 dr.; powdered opium, 1 dr., and at once
spread on leather.
Plaster, Brown. Syn. Emplastrum fuscum, L.; Onguent de la mère,
Fr. The butter, lard, oil, suet, and wax should be first melted
together, and the heat gradually increased until they begin to
smoke; the litharge is then to be sifted in, and the stirring and heat
continued until the mixture assumes a brown colour; the pitch is
next added, and the whole stirred for some time longer.
Plaster, Brown Diach′ylon. See Plaster of Galbanum.
Plaster, Bryony. (Boerhaave.) Syn. Emplastrum bryoniæ. Prep.
Strained galbanum, 4 oz.; wax plaster, 9 oz.; olive oil, 1 oz. Melt
together and add powdered bryony root, 2 oz.; flowers of sulphur, 1
oz.; Ethiops mineral, 2 dr.; stir till cold.
Plaster of Bur′gundy Pitch. Syn. Cephalic plaster, Breath p.;
Emplastrum picis (B. P., Ph. L. & E.), E. p. compositum, E. p. Burgundicæ,
L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Prepared (strained) Burgundy pitch, 2 lbs.;
prepared frankincense (thus), 1 lb.; yellow resin and beeswax, of
each 4 oz.; melt them together, then add, olive oil and water, of
each 2 fl. oz.; expressed oil of nutmeg (mace), 1 oz.; and,
constantly stirring, evaporate to a proper consistence.
2. (Ph. E.) Burgundy pitch, 1 lb.; resin and beeswax, of each 2
oz.; olive oil and water, of each 1 fl. oz.; oil of mace, 1⁄ 2 oz.; as the
last.
3. (B. P.) Burgundy pitch, 26; common frankincense, 13; resin,
4 1⁄ 2; yellow wax, 4 1⁄ 2; expressed oil of nutmegs, 1; olive oil, 2;
water, 2; add the oil and the water to the other ingredients,
previously melted together; stir, and evaporate to a proper
consistency.
Uses, &c. Burgundy-pitch plaster is stimulant, rubefacient, and
counter-irritant. It is a common application to the chest in
pulmonary affections, to the joints in rheumatism, and to the loins in
lumbago. Spread on leather, it forms a good warm plaster to wear
on the chest during the winter. “When it produces a serous
exudation, it should be frequently renewed.”
The Burgundy-pitch plaster of the shops is commonly made as
follows:—Factitious Burgundy pitch (bright coloured), 42 lbs.; palm
oil (bright), 3⁄ 4 lb.; beeswax (bright), 5 lbs.; melt, and, when nearly
cold, add, of oil of mace, 6 oz.; oil of nutmeg, 1 oz.
Plaster of Burgundy Pitch (Irritating). (Ph. G.) Syn.
Emplastrum picis irritans. Prep. Burgundy pitch, 32 oz.; yellow wax, 12
oz.; turpentine, 12 oz.; euphorbium, 3 oz.
Plaster, Califa′cient. Syn. Warm plaster; Emplastrum calefaciens
(Ph. D.), L. Prep. (Ph. D.) 1. Plaster of cantharides, 1⁄ 2 lb. (1 part);
Burgundy pitch, 5 1⁄ 2 lbs. (11 parts); melt them together by a gentle
heat, and stir the mixture as it cools until it stiffens. Stimulant,
rubefacient, and counter-irritant; in a variety of affections. In some
persons, when long applied, it blisters or produces a running sore.
2. (Ph. B.) Cantharides in coarse powder, 4 oz.; boiling water, 1
pint; expressed oil of nutmeg, 4 oz.; yellow wax, 4 oz.; resin, 4 oz.;
soap plaster, 3 1⁄ 4 lbs.; resin plaster, 2 lbs. Infuse the cantharides in
the boiling water for six hours; squeeze strongly through calico, and
evaporate the expressed liquid by a water bath till reduced to one
third. Then add the other ingredients and melt in a water bath,
stirring well till the whole is thoroughly mixed.
Plaster, Camphor. Syn. Emplastrum camphoræ. Camphor is best
applied by sprinkling the powder on the warm surface of a spread
adhesive or other plaster. Blisters are treated in this way to prevent
strangury.
Plaster, Can′cer. Syn. Emplastrum anticancrosum, L. Prep. 1. Wax
plaster, 1 oz.; extract of hemlock, 1 dr.; levigated arsenious acid, 1⁄ 2
dr.
 2. (Richter.) Extract of hemlock, 1 oz.; extract of henbane, 1⁄ 2
oz.; powdered belladonna, 1 dr.; acetate of ammonia, q. s. to form a
plaster. Both the above must be used with great caution. See Cancer,
&c.
Plaster of Canthar′ides. Syn. Blistering plaster, Vesicant p.,
Plaster of Spanish flies; Emplastrum cantharidis (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.),
E. c. vesicatoræ, E. lyttæ, L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Yellow wax and suet, of
each 7 1⁄ 2 oz.; lard, 6 oz.; resin, 3 oz.; melt them together, remove
the vessel from the fire, and, a little before they concrete, sprinkle in
of cantharides (in very fine powder), 1 lb. (12 oz. B. P.), and mix.
2. (Ph. E.) Cantharides, beeswax, resin, and suet, equal parts;
as the last.
3. (Ph. D.) Spanish flies, 6 oz.; prepared lard, resin, and yellow
wax, of each 4 oz.; proceed as before, and “stir the mixture
constantly until the plaster is cool.”
4. (Wholesale.) From beeswax and good lard, of each 4 lbs.;
flies and yellow resin, of each 6 lbs.; suet, 10 lbs. A commonly used
formula, the product of which is, however, greatly inferior to that of
the Pharmacopœia.
Obs. All the above are used to raise blisters. The plaster is
spread on white leather with a cold knife, and is surrounded with a
margin of resin plaster to make it adhere. A piece of thin muslin or
tissue paper is usually placed between the plaster and the skin to
prevent absorption. A little powdered camphor is sometimes
sprinkled on the surface of the spread plaster, to prevent strangury.
A better mode of obviating the action on the urinary organs is by the
copious use of diluents. This plaster should be rolled in starch
powder, and not with oil.
Plaster of Cantharides (Compound). Syn. Emplastrum
cantharidis compositum, L. Prep. (Ph. E.) Venice turpentine, 4 1⁄ 2 oz.;
cantharides and Burgundy pitch, of each 3 oz.; beeswax, 1 oz.;
verdigris (in fine powder), 1⁄ 2 oz.; powdered mustard and black
pepper, of each 2 dr.; mix at a heat under 212° Fahr. Stronger than
the last, and quicker in its action; but it causes more pain, and is
much more apt to occasion troublesome ulcerations. Used in gout,
spasms of the stomach, &c.
Plaster, Capuchin′. See Plaster of Euphorbium.
Plaster of Car′bonate of Lead. Syn. Emplastrum plumbi
carbonatis, E. cerussæ, L. Prep. (P. Cod.) Carbonate of lead, 1 lb.; olive
oil and water, of each 2 lbs.; boil them together until they combine
and form a plaster; lastly, remelt this with white wax, 3 1⁄ 2 oz. Its
properties resemble those of ordinary lead plaster. An excellent
emollient and defensive plaster. See Plaster, Mahy’s.
Plaster, Cephal′ic. Syn. Labdanum plaster; Emplastrum cephalicum,
E. labdani, L. Prep. (Ph. L. 1788.) Labdanum, 3 oz.; frankincense
(thus), 1 oz.; melt, and add to the mixture, when nearly cold,
powdered cinnamon and expressed oil of mace, of each 1⁄ 2 oz.; oil
of mint, 1 dr. Applied to the forehead or temples, in headache; to
the stomach, in colds, &c. See Plaster of Burgundy pitch, &c.
Plaster, Cheselden’s Stick′ing. Syn. Emplastrum plumbi cum
pice, L. Prep. From lead plaster, 2 lbs.; Burgundy pitch (genuine), 1
oz.; melted together.
Plaster, Corn. Syn. Emplastrum ad clavos, L. Prep. 1. Resin
plaster, 5 parts; melt, stir in of sal ammoniac (in fine powder), 1
part, and at once spread it on linen or soft leather.
2. (Kennedy’s.) From beeswax, 1 lb.; Venice turpentine, 5 oz.;
verdigris (in fine powder), 1 1⁄ 2 oz.; mixed by a gentle heat, and
spread on cloth. It is cut into pieces, and polished, and of these 1
dozen are put into each box.
3. (Le Foret.) Galbanum plaster, 2 oz.; melt by a very gentle
heat; add, sal ammoniac and saffron, of each 1⁄ 2 oz.; powdered
camphor, 2 oz.; and, when nearly cold stir in of liquor of ammonia, 2
oz. Applied, spread on leather, to the corn only, as it will blister the
thinner skin surrounding its base.
4. (Ph. Sax.) Galbanum plaster, 1 oz.; pitch, 1⁄ 2 oz.; lead
plaster, 2 dr.; melt them together, and add verdigris and sal
ammoniac (in fine powder), of each 1 dr. For other formulæ, see
Plaster of Verdigris (below), and Corns.
Plaster, Court. Syn. Sticking plaster, Isinglass p.; Emplastrum
ichthyocollæ, E. adhesivum anglicum, L. Prep. 1. Isinglass, 1 part; water,
10 parts; dissolve, strain the solution, and gradually add to it of
tincture of benzoin, 2 parts; apply this mixture, gently warmed, by
means of a camel-hair brush, to the surface of silk or sarcenet,
stretched on a frame, and allow each coating to dry before applying
the next one, the application being repeated as often as necessary;
lastly, give the prepared surface a coating of tincture of benzoin or
tincture of balsam of Peru. Some manufacturers apply this to the
unprepared side of the plaster, and others add to the tincture a few
drops of essence of ambergris or essence of musk.
2. (Deschamps.) A piece of fine muslin, linen, or silk is fastened
to a flat board, and a thin coating of smooth, strained flour paste is
given to it; over this, when dry, two coats of colourless gelatin, made
into size with water, q. s., are applied warm. Said to be superior to
the ordinary court plaster.
3. (Liston’s.) Soak isinglass, 1 oz., in water, 2 1⁄ 2 fl. oz., until it
becomes swollen and quite soft; then add of proof spirit, 3 1⁄ 2 fl. oz.,
and expose the mixture to the heat of hot water, frequently stirring,
until the union is complete; lastly, apply four coats of the solution to
the surface of oiled silk nailed to a board, by means of a soft brush.
4. (Dr Paris.) Black silk or sarcenet is strained and brushed over
10 or 12 times with the following composition:—Gum benzoin, 1⁄ 2
oz.; rectified spirit, 6 oz.; dissolve. In a separate vessel dissolve of
isinglass, 1 oz., in as little water as possible; strain each solution,
mix them, decant the clear portion, and apply it warm. When the
last coating is quite dry, a finishing coat is given with a solution of
Chio turpentine, 4 oz., in tincture of benzoin, 6 oz.
Obs. The common ‘COURT PLASTER’ of the shops is generally
prepared without using spirit, and with merely sufficient tincture of
benzoin, or other aromatic, to give it an agreeable odour. Formerly,
black silk or sarcenet was exclusively employed as the basis of the
plaster, but at the present time checkered silk is also much in favour.
‘Flesh-coloured court plaster’ is likewise fashionable. ‘Transparent court
plaster’ is prepared on oiled silk. ‘Waterproof court plaster’ is simply
the common plaster which has received a thin coating of pale drying
oil on its exposed surface. The FINEST COURT PLASTER of the West-end
houses is now prepared on gold-beaters’ skin (or the prepared
membrane of the cæcum of the ox), one side of which is coated with
the isinglass solution, as above, and the other with pale drying oil or
a solution of either gutta percha or caoutchouc in chloroform, or in
bisulphuret of carbon.
Plaster of Cro′ton Oil. Syn. Emplastrum crotonis, E. olei tiglii, L.
Prep. (Bouchardat.) To lead plaster, 4 parts, melted by a very gentle
heat, add of croton oil, 1 part. A powerful counter-irritant; it also
generally acts powerfully on the bowels.
Plaster of Cum′in. Syn. Emplastrum cumini (Ph. L.), E. cymini, L.
Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Burgundy pitch, 3 lbs.; beeswax, 3 oz.; melt, add of
cumin seed, caraways, and bay-berries, of each (in powder) 3 oz.;
next add of olive oil and water of each 1 1⁄ 2 fl. oz., and evaporate to
a proper consistence.
2. (Wholesale.) From yellow resin, 7 lbs.; beeswax and linseed
oil, of each 1⁄ 2 lb.; powdered cumin and caraway seeds, of each 7
oz.; mix.
Obs. This is a mere revival of the formula of the Ph. L. 1724. In
that of the Ph. L. 1778 no water was ordered, and the powders
simply stirred into the melted mass shortly before it cools; the
common practice in all laboratories.
 Cumin plaster is carminative, stimulant, and discutient. It is
applied over the regions of the stomach and bowels in colic,
dyspepsia, and flatulence, and is also applied to indolent tumours. It
has long been a favourite remedy with the lower classes.
Plaster, Delacroix’s Agglu′tinative. Syn. Emplastrum glutinans
Sancti Andreæ a Cruce, E. picis cum elemi, L. Emplâtre d’André de la Croix,
Fr. Prep. (P. Cod.) From Burgundy pitch, 25 parts; gum elemi, 6
parts; Venice turpentine and oil of bays, of each 3 parts; melted
together, and strained.
Plaster, Diach′ylon. See Plaster of Lead.
Plaster, Diapal′ma. See Plaster, Palm.
Plaster of El′emi. Syn. Emplastrum elemi, L. Prep. From wax
plaster, 3 parts; gum elemi, 1 part; melted together by a gentle
heat. Stimulant and discutient. Used for issues, &c.
Plaster of Euphor′bium. Syn. Emplastrum euphorbii, L. Prep. 1.
(Guy’s Hosp.) Burgundy pitch plaster, 8 oz.; melt, and add of
euphorbium (in powder), 1 dr.
2. (Capuchin plaster—Ph. Wirt.) Burgundy pitch and beeswax, of
each 3 oz.; Venice turpentine, 1 oz.; melt them together, add, gum
ammoniacum, olibanum, mastic, and lapis calaminaris, of each 1 oz.;
euphorbium, pyrethrum, and common salt, of each (in powder) 2
oz.; and stir until the mass concretes. Both of the above are
stimulant, rubefacient, and counter-irritant.
Plaster, Fayard’s. See Paper (Gout).
Plaster of Flower of Ointments. Syn. Emplastrum flos
unguentorum dictum, L. Prep. From frankincense (thus), yellow resin,
suet, and beeswax, of each 1 lb.; olibanum, 1⁄ 2 lb.; Venice
turpentine, 5 oz.; gum myrrh, 2 oz.; white wine, 16 fl. oz.; boil to a
plaster, adding, before the mass cool, of camphor, 1⁄ 2 oz.
Calorifacient and stimulant.
 Plaster of Frank′incense. Syn. Strengthening plaster;
Emplastrum thuris, E. roborans, L. Prep. (Ph. L. 1788.) To lead plaster,
2 lbs., melted by a gentle heat, add of frankincense (thus), 1⁄ 2 lb.,
dragon’s blood (in powder), 3 oz., and stir well. In muscular
relaxations, weak joints, &c. Mr Redwood says that a “better-looking
plaster is produced by melting the frankincense and dragon’s blood
together, and straining them through a cloth, then mixing these with
the lead plaster previously melted.” See Plaster of Oxide of Iron.
Plaster of Gal′banum. Syn. Compound galbanum plaster, Yellow
diachylon, Gum plaster, Diachylon with the gums, Emplastrum galbani (B.
P., Ph. L.), E. gummosum (Ph. E.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Take of strained
galbanum, 8 oz.; common turpentine, 1 oz.; melt them together,
then add of prepared frankincense (thus), 3 oz.; and next, of lead
plaster, 3 lbs., previously melted over a slow fire.
2. (Ph. E.) Gum ammoniacum and galbanum, of each 1⁄ 2 oz.;
melt them together, strain, and add, of litharge plaster, 4 oz.;
beeswax, 1⁄ 2 oz. (both previously melted); and mix the whole
thoroughly. These proportions are the same as those of the B. P.
3. (Wholesale.) From lead plaster, 42 lbs.; yellow resin, 12 lbs.;
strained galbanum, 3 lbs.; strained assafœtida, 1 oz.
Obs. Galbanum plaster is stimulant and resolvent, and is much
used in indolent, scrofulous, and other tumours, painful gouty and
rheumatic joints, in rickets, &c.
Plaster, Gaulthier’s. Prep. (Guibourt.) Palm plaster, 12 parts;
olive oil and white wax, of each 1 part; melt, and add of Venice
turpentine, 2 parts. More adhesive than the simple PALM PLASTER.
Plaster of Gin′ger. Syn. Emplastrum zingiberis, L. See Ginger.
Plaster, Gout. Syn. Emplastrum Antarthriticum, L. See Plaster of
Galbanum, Pitch, &c.; Paper, Gout.
Plaster of Gum. See Plaster of Galbanum.
 Plaster of Hem′lock. Syn. Emplastrum conii, E. cicutæ, L. Prep.
1. Wax, 1 part; Burgundy pitch, 9 parts; melt them together, and
add of extract of hemlock, 3 parts.
2. (Ph. Bat.) Lead plaster and beeswax, of each 1 lb.; olive oil, 6
fl. oz.; melt, and add of powdered hemlock (recent), 1 lb.
Obs. Hemlock plaster is occasionally used as an application to
painful and malignant ulcers and tumours, painful joints, &c. A
spread plaster of it, with 6 or 8 gr. of tartar emetic (in very fine
powder) sprinkled over its surface, has been highly extolled as a
counter-irritant in hooping-cough, phthisis, &c.
Plaster of Hen′bane. Syn. Emplastrum Hyoscyami, L. Prep. As
the last, but using henbane instead of hemlock. As an anodyne, in
various external affections.
Plaster of I′odide of Lead. (Ph. B.) Syn. Emplastrum plumbi
iodidi. Prep. Add iodide of lead in fine powder, 1 oz.; to soap plaster
and resin plaster, of each 4 oz., previously melted together. Mix
thoroughly.
Plaster of Iodide of Potas′sium. Syn. Emplastrum potassii
iodidi (Ph. L.), L. Prep. (Ph. L.) Iodide of potassium, 1 oz.; olive oil, 2
fl. dr.; triturate them together, then add, of strained frankincense
(thus), 6 oz.; wax, 6 dr.; and stir constantly until the mass cools.
“This plaster is to be spread on linen, rather than on leather.” Used
as a discutient or resolvent; more particularly as an application to
scrofulous tumours and indurations.
Plaster of I′odine. Syn. Emplastrum iodinii, L. Prep. Triturate
iodine, 1 dr., in a warm mortar, with olive oil, 1 oz.; then add, of
beeswax, 1 oz.; yellow resin, 1⁄ 2 oz.; previously melted together,
and stir the whole until it concretes. It should be, preferably, spread
at once on leather, and applied shortly after being prepared. Used as
the last.
 Plaster of Iodine (Compound). Syn. Emplastrum iodinii
compositum, L. Prep. 1. Iodine, 1 dr.; iodide of potassium, 2 dr.; rub
them to a fine powder, add this to lead powder, 2 oz.; Burgundy
pitch, 1 oz.; previously melted together, and just about to concrete.
More active than either of the preceding.
2. (Emp. iod. cum belladonnâ.) To belladonna plaster, 2 oz., melted
by a very gentle heat, add iodine and iodide of potassium (in fine
powder), of each 1 dr.; and stir the mixture until nearly cold.
Powerfully resolvent and anodyne. Used in the same cases as the
preceding, when there is much pain.
Plaster of I′ron. See Plaster of oxide of Iron.

Plaster of I′′singlass. See Plaster, Court.

Plaster, Is′sue. Syn. Emplastrum ad fonticulos, Sparadrapum pro
fonticulis, L. Prep. 1. From beeswax, 1⁄ 2 lb.; Burgundy pitch and
Chio turpentine, of each 4 oz.; vermilion and orris powder, of each 1
oz.; musk, 4 gr.; melted together and spread upon linen. This is
afterwards polished with a smooth piece of glass moistened with
water, and cut into pieces.
2. (Ph. Aust.) Yellow wax, 6 oz.; mutton suet, 2 oz.; lard, 1 1⁄ 2
oz.; melt, add of turpentine, 1 1⁄ 2 oz., and afterwards of red lead, 4
oz.; dip pieces of linen into the melted mixture, pass these between
rollers, and, when cold, polish them, as before, and cut them into
squares. The issue plaster (issue paper; charta ad fonticulos) of the
Ph. Suecica is a nearly similar compound, with the addition of about
1-48th part of verdigris, in very fine powder, and being spread upon
paper.
Plaster, Kennedy’s. See Plasters, Corn.
Plaster, Kirkland’s. See Plaster, Ammoniacal.
Plaster of Lab′danum. See Plaster, Cephalic.
 Plaster of Lead. Syn. Lead plaster, Litharge p., Common p.,
Diachylon, Simple diachylon, White d.; Emplastrum plumbi (B. P., Ph. L.),
E. lythargyri (Ph. E. & D.), E. commune, Diachylon simplex, L. Prep. 1.
(Ph. L.) Oxide of lead (litharge), in very fine powder, 6 lbs.; olive oil,
1 gall.; water, 1 quart; boil them over a slow fire, constantly stirring
to the consistence of a plaster, adding a little boiling water, if nearly
the whole of that used in the beginning should be consumed before
the end of the process.
2. (Ph. E.) Litharge, 5 oz.; olive oil, 12 fl. oz.; water, 8 fl. oz.; as
the last.
3. (Ph. D.) Litharge, 5 lbs.; olive oil, 1 gall.; water, 1 quart.
4. (Otto Kohnke.) For each lb. of litharge employed, add 1⁄ 4 pint
of colourless vinegar (each fl. oz. of which is capable of saturating
1⁄ 2 dr. of carbonate of potassa); add the oil, boil until all moisture is
evaporated, and until only a few striæ of litharge rise to the surface,
then remove the vessel from the heat, add gradually 1⁄ 3 to 1⁄ 2 as
much vinegar as before, and boil the mixture to a proper
consistence.
5. (Wholesale.) From Genoa oil, 7 galls. (or 65 lbs.); litharge
(perfectly free from copper), 28 lbs.; water, 2 1⁄ 2 galls.; boil to a
plaster, as before.
6. (B. P.) Oxide of lead, in very fine powder, 1; olive oil, 2 1⁄ 2;
water, 1; boil all the ingredients together gently by the heat of a
steam bath, and keep them simmering for 4 or 5 hours, stirring
constantly until the product acquires the proper consistence for
plaster, adding more water during the process, if necessary.
Obs. The London College orders too little oil. The second,
fourth, and fifth formulæ produce beautiful plasters, that keep well;
those of the others, although very white, get hard and brittle much
more rapidly. The proper proportion of oil is fully 2 1⁄ 3 times the
weight of the litharge,—2 1⁄ 2 times appears the best quantity; and
without this is used, the plaster speedily gets hard and non-
adhesive. The process consists in putting the water and the litharge
into a perfectly clean and well-polished tinned copper or copper-pan,
mixing them well together with a spatula, adding the oil, and boiling,
with constant stirring, until the plaster is sufficiently hard, when
thoroughly cold. This process usually occupies from 4 to 5 hours, but
by adopting the fourth formula an excellent plaster may be made in
from 20 to 30 minutes. This plaster is generally cooled by immersion
in cold water; and to render it very white, a quality highly prized in
the trade, it is usual to submit it to laborious ‘pulling,’ in the manner
already noticed.
Use. As a simple defensive plaster or strapping; but principally
as a basis for other plasters.
Plaster, Liston’s. See Plaster, Court.
Plaster, Mahy’s. Syn. Emplastrum plumbi carbonatis, E. p. c.
compositum, L. Prep. (Ph. U. S.) Carbonate of lead (pure white lead), 1
lb.; olive oil, 32 fl. oz.; water, q. s.; boil them together, constantly
stirring until perfectly incorporated; then add, of yellow wax, 4 oz.;
lead plaster, 1 1⁄ 2 lb.; and when these are melted, and the mass
somewhat cooled, stir in of powdered orris root, 9 oz. A favourite
application in the United States of America to inflamed and
excoriated surfaces, bed sores, burns, &c.
Plaster of Mel′ilot. Syn. Emplastrum meliloti, E. è meliloto, L.
Prep. 1. (Ph. E. 1744.) Fresh melilot, chopped small, 6 lbs.; suet, 3
lbs.; boil until crisp, strain with pressure, and add, of yellow resin, 8
lbs.; beeswax, 4 lbs., and boil to a plaster. Stimulant. Used to dress
blisters, &c. The greater portion of this plaster in the shops is made
without the herb, and is coloured with verdigris. (See the next
formula.)
2. (Wholesale.) Take of yellow resin, 18 lbs.; green ointment,
4 1⁄ 2 lbs.; yellow wax, 3 lbs.; finely powdered verdigris, q. s. to give
a deep-green colour.
 Plaster, Mercu′′rial. Syn. Emplastrum mercuriale, E. hydrargyri
(B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Add, gradually, of sulphur,
8 gr., to heated olive oil, 1 fl. dr., and stir the mixture constantly with
a spatula until they unite; next add of mercury, 3 oz., and triturate
until globules are no longer visible; lastly, gradually add of lead
plaster (melted over a slow fire), 1 lb., and mix them all well
together. (About 1 fl. dr. of balsam of sulphur may be substituted for
the oil and sulphur ordered above.) These proportions are the same
as those of the B. P.
2. (Ph. E.) Resin, 1 oz.; olive oil, 9 fl. dr.; mix by heat, cool, add
of mercury, 3 oz., and triturate until its globules disappear; then add
of litharge plaster, 6 oz. (previously liquefied), and mix the whole
thoroughly.
3. (Ph. D.) Oil of turpentine, 1 fl. oz.; resin, 2 oz.; dissolve, with
the aid of heat; add of mercury, 6 oz.; triturate until the globules
disappear, and the mixture assumes a dark grey colour, then add of
litharge plaster (previously melted), 12 oz., and stir the whole until it
stiffens on cooling.
4. (Wholesale.) Take of mercury, 7 lbs.; prepared serum, 1⁄ 2 lb.;
triturate until the globules disappear, and add the mixture to lead
plaster (melted by a gentle heat), 36 lbs.; stir them well together,
and until they concrete. Very fine bluish-slate or lead colour.
Obs. Mercurial plaster is used as a discutient in glandular
enlargements, and other swellings; and is also applied over the
hepatic regions in liver complaints.
Plaster, Mercurial, with Belladon′na. Syn. Emplastrum
hydrargyri cum belladonnâ, L. Prep. From mercurial plaster, 6 dr.;
extract of belladonna, 2 dr.; olive oil, 1 dr.;mixed by a gentle heat.
One of our most useful anodyne and discutient applications, in
painful scirrhous, scrofulous, and syphilitic tumours. The Medico-
Chirurgical Pharm. orders 1⁄ 2 fl. dr. of hydrocyanic acid to be added
to every 2 oz. of the above.
 Plaster of Mezereon and Cantharides. (Ph. G.) Syn.
Emplastrum mezerei cantharidatum. Prep. Cantharides in coarse powder,
3 oz., mezereon cut and dried, 1 oz.; acetic ether, 10 oz. by weight.
Macerate for 8 days, filter, and dissolve in the filtered liquid 175 gr.
of sandarac, 87 gr. of eleme, 87 gr. of resin, which, spread on silk
previously covered with the following solution; isinglass, 2 oz.;
distilled water, 20 oz.; rectified spirit, 5 oz. by weight.
Plaster of Min′ium. Syn. Emplastrum minii, E. è minio, E. plumbi
oxydi rubri, L. Prep. (Ph. L. 1746.) Olive oil, 4 lbs.; minium (red lead),
in fine powder, 2 1⁄ 2 lbs.; water, q. s.; proceed as for lead plaster
(which it closely resembles).
Obs. To ensure a good colour and the quality of keeping well,
the quantity of oil should be increased about 1-3rd. When
discoloured by heat it forms the ‘brown minium plaster’ (emp. è
minio fuscum) of old pharmacy. Lead plaster, either alone or with the
addition of a little red lead, is usually sold for it.
Plaster of Minium (Compound). Syn. Nuremberg Plaster;
Emplastrum minii compositum, L.; Emplâtre de Nuremberg, Fr. Prep.
(Soubeiran.) Red lead, 12 parts; olive oil, 8 parts; grind them
together on a porphyry slab, and add the mixture to lead plaster, 50
parts, beeswax, 24 parts, melted together; lastly, when nearly cold,
stir in of camphor, 1 part.
Plaster, Morrison’s Adhesive. Syn. Morrison’s adhesive paste.
From wheaten flour, 2 oz.; mild ale, 1⁄ 2 pint; stir them together, and
heat the mixture to the boiling point; when cold, add of powdered
resin, 3 oz.; and, constantly stirring, again heat them to boiling.
Used as a depilatory in ringworm, &c.
Plaster of Mu′cilages. Syn. Diachylon compositum, Emplastrum è
mucilaginibus, L. Prep. (Ph. L. 1746.) Beeswax, 20 oz.; oil of
mucilages, 4 oz.; melt, and add them to strained ammoniacum, 3
oz.; common turpentine, 1 oz., previously melted together. Stimulant
and emollient.
 Plaster of Mus′tard. Syn. Emplastrum sinapis, L. This is always
an extemporaneous preparation. Flour of mustard is made into a stiff
paste with lukewarm water, or with vinegar, and is then spread on a
piece of calico or linen (folded two or three times); over the surface
of the mustard is placed a piece of gauze or thin muslin, and the
plaster is then applied to the part of the body it is intended to
medicate. Its action is that of a powerful rubefacient and counter-
irritant; but its application should not be continued long, unless in
extreme cases. Its effects are often apparently wonderful. We have
seen very severe cases of facial neuralgia, sore throat, painful joints,
rheumatic pains, &c., relieved in a few minutes by means of a
mustard plaster or ‘poultice.’
Plaster, Nuremberg. See Plaster, Minium (Compound).
Plaster of Oak-mistletoe. (Hardy.) Syn. Emplastrum visci
quercini. Prep. To 2 parts of melted beeswax add gradually 1 part of
juice of true oak mistletoe, and form a plaster. In neuralgic pains.
Plaster of O′′pium. Syn. Emplastrum anodynum, E. opii (B. P., Ph.
L. E. & D.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Lead plaster, 8 oz.; melt, and add of
frankincense (thus), 2 oz.; next, add of extract of opium, 1 oz.,
previously dissolved in boiling water, 1 fl. oz.; and, constantly
stirring, evaporate the mixture over a slow fire to a proper
consistence. This plaster is much stronger than that of the Ph. L.
1836 and of the other British Colleges.
2. (Ph. L. 1836.) Lead plaster, 1 lb.; melt, add of powdered thus,
3 oz.; mix, and further add, of powdered opium, 1⁄ 2 oz., water, 8 fl.
oz., and boil to a proper consistence.
3. (Ph. E.) Litharge plaster, 12 oz.; Burgundy pitch, 3 oz.; liquefy
by heat, then add, by degrees, of powdered opium, 1⁄ 2 oz., and mix
them thoroughly. This and the preceding contains only 1-3rd part of
the opium ordered in the present Ph. L. & D.
4. (Ph. D.) Resin plaster, 9 oz.; opium, in fine powder, 1 oz.; as
the last. Same as B. P.
 5. (Ph. B.), Powdered opium, 1 oz.; resin plaster, 9 oz.; melt the
plaster and add the opium.
Obs. The above plaster is reputed anodyne, and useful in
various local pains; but its virtues in this way have been greatly
exaggerated. The formula of the Ph. L. 1836, from being less costly,
is still often employed in place of that of the Ph. L. 1851. The
following is commonly used:—Lead plaster, 14 lbs.; yellow resin, 2
lbs.; powdered opium, 1⁄ 2 lb.
Plaster of Opium and Camphor. (Dr Paris.) Syn. Emplastrum
opii et camphoræ. Prep. Opium and camphor, of each 1⁄ 2 dr. Lead
plaster q. s. Mix.
Plaster of Ox′ide of I′ron. Syn. Iron plaster, Frankincense p.,
Strengthening p.; Emplastrum roborans, E. ferri (B. P., Ph. L. E. & D.), E.
thuris, E. ferri oxydi rubri, L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) Lead plaster, 8 oz.;
frankincense (thus), 2 oz.; melt them together over a slow fire,
sprinkle into the mixture sesquioxide of iron, 1 oz., and mix the
whole well together.
2. (Ph. E.) Litharge plaster, 3 oz.; yellow resin, 6 dr.; beeswax, 3
dr.; melt them together, then add of red oxide of iron, 1 oz.,
previously triturated with olive oil, 3 1⁄ 2 fl. dr.
3. (Ph. D.) Litharge plaster, 8 oz.; Burgundy pitch, 2 oz.;
peroxide of iron, in fine powder, 1 oz.; as No. 1. Same as B. P.
4. (Wholesale.) From lead plaster (quite dry), 84 lbs.; powdered
yellow resin, 14 lbs.; ‘crocus martis’ (lively coloured), 14 lbs.; olive
oil, 3 pints; as No. 2.
5. (B. P.) Add hydrated peroxide of iron in fine powder, 1 oz., to
Burgundy pitch, 2 oz., and litharge plaster, 8 oz., previously melted
together, and stir the mixture constantly till it stiffens on cooling.
Obs. Iron plaster is reputed strengthening and stimulant. It is
employed as a mechanical support in muscular relaxation, weakness
of the joints, &c., especially by public dancers. Its tonic action is
probably wholly imaginary. No. 4 is the ‘EMPLASTRUM ROBORANS’ of the
shops at the present time.
Plaster, Oxycro′ceum. Syn. Emplastrum oxycroceum, L. Prep. 1.
(Ph. E. 1744.) Beeswax, 1 lb.; black pitch and strained galbanum, of
each 1⁄ 2 lb.; melt, and add of Venice turpentine, powdered myrrh,
and olibanum, of each 3 oz.; powdered saffron, 2 oz.
2. (Wholesale.) From black pitch, 9 lbs.; black resin, 11 lbs.;
beeswax and lard, of each 2 1⁄ 2 lbs.; melted together. Warm;
discutient. Still popular with the lower orders. The saffron of the
original formula never finds its way into the oxycroceum plaster of
the druggists.
Plaster, Palm. Syn. Emplastrum diapalmum, L.; Diapalme, Emplâtre
diapalme, Fr. Prep. (P. Cod.) Lead plaster, 32 parts; yellow wax, 2
parts; melt them together, add of sulphate of zinc, 1 part, dissolve in
a little water, and continue the heat, with constant agitation, until all
the water is evaporated.
Obs. This plaster originally contained palm oil, and this
ingredient is still ordered in the formulæ of Plenck and Reuss.
Soubeiran directs white wax to be employed.
Plaster, Paracelsus’s. Syn. Emplastrum Paracelsi, E. stypticum, L.
Prep. From lead plaster, 28 lbs.; galbanum plaster, 2 lbs.; powdered
white canella and gum thus, of each 1 1⁄ 2 lb.; melted together. The
original formula, as well as that of the Ph. L. 1721 were similar,
although much more complicated.
Plaster of Pitch. Syn. Poor man’s plaster, Gout p., Anti-rheumatic
p.; Emplastrum pauperis, E. antirheumaticum, E. antarthriticum, E. picis
commune, L. This has been already noticed under the head of Resin
Paper. It is also, but less frequently, spread on cloth and leather.
Plaster, Prestat’s Adhe′sive. Prep. From lead plaster, 2 1⁄ 2
lbs.; yellow resin, 5 oz.; Venice turpentine, 4 oz.; gum ammoniacum
and mastic, of each 1 1⁄ 4 oz.; made into a plaster, and spread on
linen or calico.
Plaster of Red Lead. See Plaster of Minium.
Plaster of Res′in. Syn. Adhesive plaster, Resinous p.; Emplastrum
adhesivum, E. resinæ (B. P., Ph. L. & D.), E. resinosum (Ph. E.), E.
lythargyri cum resinâ, L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) To lead plaster, 3 lbs., melted
by a gentle heat, add of resin, 1⁄ 2 lb., also liquefied by heat, and
mix. The formula of the Ph. U. S. is similar.
2. (Ph. E.) Litharge plaster, 5 oz.; resin, 1 oz.; mix with a
moderate heat.
3. (Ph. D.) To litharge plaster, 2 lbs., melted by a gentle heat,
add, of powdered resin, 4 oz., Castile soap, in powder, 2 oz., and mix
them intimately.
4. (Wholesale.) Pale lead plaster (from a previous batch, and
quite dry), 72 lbs.; olive oil (Genoa), 3 lbs.; melt them together in a
bright and perfectly clean copper pan, and sift in of pale yellow resin
(in powder), 12 lbs., stirring all the while. The mixture is to be
cooled, and ‘pulled’ or ‘worked,’ after the manner of lead plaster.
5. (B. P.) Resin (in powder), 2; litharge plaster, 16; hard soap, 1;
melt the plaster with a gentle heat, add the resin and soap, first
liquefied, and mix.
Obs. Resin plaster, spread upon calico, forms the well-known
‘STRAPPING’ or ‘ADHESIVE PLASTER’ so extensively used to protect raw
surfaces, support parts, and for dressing ulcers, retaining the lips of
recent cuts and wounds in contact, &c. It is gently stimulant, and is
thought to assist the healing process. It is also employed as a basis
for other plasters. The ‘HOSPITAL PLASTER’ of certain houses is of this
kind. See Plaster of Soap, Compound.
Plaster, Resol′vent. Syn. Emplastrum resolvens, E. ex mixtis
quatuor, L. Prep. (P. Cod.) Galbanum, hemlock, mercurial, and soap
plasters, equal parts, melted together.
 Plaster, Roper’s Royal Bath. Prep. (Cooley.) Strained black
pitch, 16 oz.; Burgundy pitch, 10 oz.; tar and beeswax, of each 1
oz.; melt, and, when considerably cooled, add of expressed oil of
mace, 2 dr.; croton oil, 1 dr.; and spread the mixture upon heart-
shaped pieces of white sheep-skin, without remelting it. Stimulant
and counter-irritant; recommended by its proprietor as a cure for all
human ailments. The ‘Bath-plaster Pills,’ also prepared by Mr Roper,
resemble several of the aperient pills already noticed. (See ‘Anat. of
Quackery.’)
Plaster, Scott’s. Prep. From lead plaster, 14 oz.; olive oil and
white resin, of each 1 oz.; melted together, and spread on calico.
Plaster, Sharp’s Black. Prep. From olive oil, 5 parts;
carbonate of lead, 4 parts; beeswax, 1 part; boiled to a plaster.
Plaster, Simple. See Plaster, Wax.
Plaster of Soap. Syn. Emplastrum è sapone, E. saponis (Ph. L. E. &
D.), L. Prep. 1. (Ph. L.) To lead plaster, 3 lbs., melted by a slow heat,
add of Castile soap, sliced, 1⁄ 2 lb., resin, 1 oz., both (also) liquefied
by heat, and, constantly stirring, evaporate to a proper consistence.
2. (Ph. E.) To litharge plaster, 4 oz., gum plaster, 2 oz., melted
together, add of Castile soap, in shavings, 1 oz., and boil a little.
3. (Ph. D.) To litharge plaster, 2 1⁄ 2 lbs., melted over a gentle
fire, add of Castile soap, in powder, 4 oz., and heat them together
(constantly stirring) until they combine.
4. (B. P.) Hard soap (in powder), 6; lead plaster, 36; resin (in
powder), 1; to the lead plaster, previously melted, add the soap and
the resin, first liquefied, then, constantly stirring, evaporate to a
proper consistence.
Obs. Care must be taken to evaporate all the moisture from the
above compounds, as, if any is left in the plaster, it turns out
crumbly, and does not keep well. Much heat discolours it. (See
below.)
 Soap plaster is emollient and resolvent, and is used in abrasions
and excoriations, and as a dressing to soft corns, lymphatic tumours,
&c.
Plaster of Soap (Camphorated). (P. Cod.) Syn. Emplastrum
saponis camphoratum. Soap plaster, 10 oz.; camphor, 48 gr.

Plaster of Soap (Compound). Syn. Emplastrum saponis

compositum, E. adhærens, L. Prep. (Ph. D. 1826.) Resin plaster, 3 oz.;
soap plaster, 2 oz.; melted together.
Obs. Less emollient, but more stimulant, than the simple plaster.
The ‘EMPLASTRUM È MINIO CUM SAPONE’—Ph. E. 1744 was made by
melting 1 part of soap with 5 parts of minium plaster. Neither of the
above must be put into water. See Plaster of Resin, Ph. D.
Plaster of Soap-ce′rate. Syn. Emplastrum cerati saponis (B. P.).
Prep. 1. From soap cerate, heated by means of a water bath until all
the moisture is evaporated. Sometimes 2 or 3 dr. each of powdered
mastic and gum ammoniacum are added for each pound of cerate.
The product is generally spread whilst still warm. Said to be
suppurative, resolvent, cooling, and desiccative. See Cerate (soap).
2. (B. P.) Hard soap, 10; beeswax, 12 1⁄ 2; oxide of lead (in
powder), 15; olive oil, 20; vinegar, 160; boil the vinegar with the
oxide over a slow fire, or by a steam bath, constantly stirring them
until they unite; then add the soap and boil again in a similar
manner until all the moisture is evaporated; lastly, mix with the wax
previously dissolved in the oil, and continue the process till the
product takes the consistence of a plaster.
Plaster of Squill, Compound. Syn. Emplastrum scillæ
compositum. Prep. Galbanum, 1⁄ 2 oz.; soap, 1⁄ 2 oz.; litharge plaster, 2
oz.; melt together, and add opium, 1 dr.; ammoniacum, 1⁄ 2 oz.;
vinegar of squills, 3 oz., mixed together; keep them over the fire
constantly stirred till they are incorporated.
 Plaster, St Andrew’s. Prep. From yellow resin, 8 oz.; gum
elemi, 2 oz.; Bordeaux turpentine and oil of the bay-laurel, of each 1
oz.; melted together by a gentle heat. A stimulant, resolvent, and
adhesive plaster, once supposed to possess extraordinary virtues.
Plaster, Stick′ing. See Plaster, Court, Plaster of Resin, &c.
Plaster, Stom′ach. See Plaster, Aromatic, &c.
Plaster, Strength′ening. See Plasters of Frankincense and
Oxide of Iron.
Plaster, Styp′tic. See Plaster of Oxide of Iron, Paracelsus’s p.,
&c.
Plaster of Sul′phate of Quinine′. Syn. Emplastrum quiniæ, E. q.
disulphatis, L. Prep. 1. Sulphate of quinine, 1 dr.; resin plaster, 1 oz.
Applied to the abdomen in intermittents.
2. Sulphate of quinine, 1 dr.; mercurial plaster, 2 oz. In
affections of the liver or spleen, following intermittents, applied over
the regions of those viscera.
3. Resin plaster, 9 dr.; sulphate of quinine, 1 dr.; camphor and
oil of cajeput, of each 1⁄ 2 dr. Applied over the epigastrium as a
prophylactic of cholera.
Plaster of Thus. See Plaster of Frankincense.
Plaster of Ver′digris. Syn. Emplastrum æruginis, E. cupri
subacetatis, L. Prep. (P. Cod.) Beeswax, 4 parts; Burgundy pitch, 2
parts; melt, add of Venice turpentine and prepared verdigris (in
powder), of each 1 part, and stir until the mass is nearly cold. For
other formulæ, see Plaster, Corn, &c.
Plaster, Ver′mifuge. Syn. Emplastrum vermifugum, E.
anthelminticum, L. Prep. From powdered aloes, 1 dr.; oil of chamomile,
10 drops; croton oil, 2 drops; oil of turpentine, q. s.
 Plaster, Vigo’s. Syn. Emplastrum vigonis, L. Prep. (P. Cod.) Lead
plaster, 40 oz.; mercury, 12 oz.; liquid styrax, 6 oz.; beeswax,
turpentine, and resin, of each 2 oz.; ammoniacum, bdellium, myrrh,
and olibanum, of each 5 dr.; saffron, 3 dr.; oil of lavender, 2 dr.;
made into a plaster s.a.
Plaster, Warm. See Calefacient plaster, Burgundy pitch p., &c.
Plaster of Wax. Syn. Simple plaster; Emplastrum attrahens, E.
simplex (Ph. E.), E. ceræ, L. Prep. 1. (Ph. E.) Beeswax, 3 oz.; suet and
yellow resin, of each 2 oz.; melt them together, and stir the mixture
briskly until it concretes by cooling.
2. (Ph. L. 1836.) Yellow wax and suet, of each 3 lbs.; yellow
resin, 1 lb.; as the last. Intended to be employed as a simple
dressing, especially to blistered surfaces. It is now seldom used.
Plaster, White Diach′ylon. See Plaster of Lead.
Plaster, Yellow Diach′ylon. See Plaster of Galbanum.
Plaster, Zinco-lead. Syn. Emplastrum zinco-plumbicum, E.
Diapompholygos, L. Prep. (Ph. Suec.) Beeswax, 1 lb; olive oil and
graphite (black lead), of each 6 oz.; carbonate of lead, 4 oz.; oxide
of zinc (impure), 3 oz.; olibanum, 1 1⁄ 2 oz.; boil to a plaster.
Astringent and desiccant. Other forms substitute an equal weight of
litharge for the graphite.
PLATE. The name is commonly given to gold and silver
wrought into instruments or utensils for domestic use.
The cleaning of plate is an important operation in a large
establishment, as its durability, and much of its beauty, depend on
this being properly done. The common practice of using mercurial
plate powder is destructive to both of these, as mercury not only
rapidly erodes the surface of silver, but renders it soft, and, in
extreme cases, even brittle. The only powder that may be safely
used for silver is prepared chalk, of the best quality. For gold, the
form of red oxide of iron, known as Jeweller’s Rouge, is the most
useful and appropriate.
In his ‘Workshop Receipts’ Mr Spon recommends the following:
—“Take an ounce each of cream of tartar, common salt, and alum,
and boil in a gallon or more of water. After the plate is taken out and
rubbed dry it puts on a beautiful silvery whiteness. Powdered
magnesia may be used dry for articles slightly tarnished, but if very
dirty it must be used first wet and then dry.”
Chamois leather, a plate brush, or very soft woollen rags, should
alone be used to apply them; and their application should be gentle
and long continued, rather than the reverse. Dirty plate, after being
cleaned with boiling water, may be restored by boiling it in water,
each quart of which contains a few grains of carbonate of soda, and
about an ounce of prepared chalk, calcined hartshorn, or cuttle-fish
bone, in very fine powder. The ebullition sets up a gentle friction,
which effects its purpose admirably. The boiled plate, after being
dried, is best ‘finished off’ with a piece of soft leather or woollen
cloth which has been dipped into the cold mixture of chalk and
water, and then dried. The same method answers admirably with
German silver, brass, pewter, and all the softer metals. See Powder
(Plate), &c.
PLAT′INA. See Platinum.
PLA′′TING. The art of covering copper and other metals with
either silver or gold.
Plating is performed in various ways. Sometimes the silver is
fluxed on to the surface of the copper by means of a solution of
borax, and subsequent exposure in the ‘plating furnace,’ and the
compound ingot is then rolled to the requisite thinness between
cylinders of polished steel. The common thickness of the silver plate
before rolling is equal to about the 1-40th of that of the compound
ingot. Sometimes the nobler metal is precipitated from its solutions
upon the copper by the action of chemical affinity, or, more
frequently, by the agency of electro-chemical decomposition
(electro-plating).
The metal employed for plating is a mixture of copper and
brass, annealed or hardened, as the case may require. For electro-
plated goods, ‘nickel silver’ is now almost invariably employed. See
Electrotype, Gilding, Platinising, Silvering, &c.
PLAT′INISING. Metals may be coated with platinum by nearly
similar processes to those already referred to under Plating. In the
‘moist way’ vessels of brass, copper, and silver are conveniently
platinised in the following manner:—Solid bichloride of platinum, 1
part, is dissolved in water, 100 parts, and to this solution is added of
common salt, 8 parts; or, still better, 1 part of ammonio-chloride of
platinum and 8 parts of chloride of ammonium are placed in a
suitable porcelain vessel, with about 40 parts of water, and the
whole heated to ebullition; the vessels or utensils, previously made
perfectly bright, are then immersed in the boiling liquid. In a few
seconds they generally acquire a brilliant and firmly adhering layer of
platinum.
Silver plates for voltaic batteries are commonly platinised by
immersing them for a few seconds in a mixture of saturated solution
of bichloride of platinum, 1 part; dilute sulphuric acid, 3 parts; water,
4 to 6 parts. Platinum battery plates are covered with a pulverulent
deposit of platinum by means of the electrotype.
Platinised asbestos is prepared by dipping asbestos into a
solution of bichloride of platinum, or one of the double chlorides of
that metal, and then gradually heating it to redness. It is used as a
substitute for spongy platinum. See Electrotype, Voltaic electricity.
PLAT′INUM. Pt. Syn. Platina, White gold; Platinum, L. A heavy,
greyish-white metal, occurring chiefly in certain of the alluvial
districts of Mexico and Brazil, in the Ural mountains of Russia, in
Ceylon, and in a few other places. It occurs in nature under the form
of grains and small rolled masses, associated with palladium,
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