A step in the direction of rendering tablet making available for extemporaneous preparation was made in 1909 by A. Schleimer[5] by advocating the use of cacao butter in lieu of granulation of the powder and subsequent drying. This brings tablets into the category of extemporaneous preparations. All that is necessary is to add three percent of cacao butter to the powder, and it is ready for immediate compression in a tablet machine. Having found that cacao butter is liable to become rancid on keeping of some tablets made with it, the author experimented to find a substitute devoid of this tendency, and found it in paraffin of low melting point.[6] For tablets that are not to be kept for any length of time, cacao butter is preferable, as it melts readily and is digestible. The amount of paraffin, however, that enters into the composition of each tablet is so small that in spite of its indigestibility, it seems that it could not meet with any but theoretic objection. Either of these materials, in form of fine shavings, is added to the extent of three to five per cent. with just sufficient trituration to distribute fairly well. Excessive trituration lessens the efficiency of the lubricating agent. If the tablet has a tendency to stick to the punches, the material can be worked better if a little talcum, say three per cent. is added to the powder by stirring it in with a spatula rather than by trituration. This process renders tablet making no more difficult or time-consuming than the making of pills or capsules. * * * * *